When you need to rant...

[D'Snowth]

So the producers of THE BIG DANG THEORY have decided that the show needs . . . even more sex! That's all this show has been about from the beginning is sex: everytime you look up, the characters are always in bed with each other, and thanks to this show as well as cons, nerds have gone from being somewhat socially awkward yet insightful and ingenius people who eventually changed the world and made a difference to being sexually repressed deviants. I'm seriously reconsidering my proposition of a number of years ago in initializing something of a Cleanup Brigade: television needs a serious cleaning up - enough with sex, enough with the lewd content, enough with the bottom-of-the-barrel low-brow humor, we need to bring back shows that have stories to them, context, subtext, characters actually doing something other than getting their rocks off all the time.

 

[fuzzygobo]

The easiest way to register a protest is simply not watch. The hardest thing is getting enough people to agree with you. Diminished viewership = lower ratings = less advertising revenue. If a significant loss of revenue is the only way to get the producer's/writers' attention, something might get done. But with revenue streams from network, syndication, DVD sales, merchandising, etc., it's hard to put a dent in Big Bang's pockets.

I agree, TV needs to get cleaned up quite a bit. Reality shows, poorly-written sitcoms (not to mention poorly-written commercials that sponsor them), catty talk shows, we need the equivalent of a bulldozer to clear them out.
But as long as we have cable systems with hundreds of channels, and program directors' needs to fill the void with subpar programming, (TLC and then some), we're kinda stuck where we are. At least we can turn it off, even if nobody else does.

 

[Drtooth]

You see, I find reality programming a million times more offensive than any amount of extremely soft core network sex (which has more rules to it than you think) or even the odd level of violence you can get away with now. Even the uplifting, hopeful shows are demeaning. American Idol... we all know everyone watches just to see the untalented people get their unrealistic dreams crushed. It's not Simon that was mean the whole time, it's the ironic viewership. And do not get me started on "The Biggest Loser," which even the name is as backhanded as a (non-sexual) double entendre as it suggests. Heck, TLC signed up a certain family that's part of a frightening cult because "Whoamahgosh! Look at the freaks and their big freak family!" Why the moral guardians keep ignoring these awful shows and going after scripted ones is beyond me, unless they're "guilty pleasures" for them too. Man, I hate that term. It's like carte blanche to watch terrible programming.

And I agree. If I hate a show, I don't watch it. I complain about its existence, even though I really shouldn't, but why bother finding more things to hate about it? Though, as I said in the new Muppet show threads, not watching only matters if you're a Neilsen family. Doesn't mean you shouldn't not watch anyway, just means you're not part of the randomly selected few that supposedly represent the whole country. And yes, bad shows keep getting renewed all the time while shows with a small cult following manage to disappear unless they're (to quote a generic Muppet alligator) really really lucky.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

My dad took my iPod Touch away from me last night.

He still hasn't given it back to me yet.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm sorry, but I'm getting tired of Seth MacFarlane's shows always pre-empting SEINFELD on Mondays.

 

[D'Snowth]

Here's a new one: you know how Drtooth, heralde, mr3urious, and others have complained about how lazy, cheap, and obviously Photoshop-esque movie posters are today? DVD covers have increasingly faced this problem; Disney appears to be one of the worst offenders, but so many DVD covers nowadays have this cheap, bootleg look to them - as a DVD afficiando (wish they didn't shut that site down), I always felt like the more eye-catching the cover or box looked, the more that added to the overall set (especially those collector's editions). Now? They look like something someone who isn't even quite an amateur would have designed on their home computer and printed them out on stock.

 

[Drtooth]

My main complaint is the "Big Face" covers. Comparatively, I don't care how badly photoshopped some movie covers come off because that's at least trying. Just a big character face and a logo? That's supposed to make the DVD pop out in a sea of DVD with a character face and a logo.

These things basically say "you can stream this crap now, this is just overstock." Like no craps were given one way or another. If there's anything lazier than the re-release of "Follow that Bird" it's the "Big Bird and friends" re-re-rerelease. I don't see why they're trying to pass off older movies already on DVD as "new" via minimalism, when just putting them in the same package they were before does the same thing.

 

[D'Snowth]

CBS strikes again. It's bad enough they colorized the rare I LOVE LUCY Christmas special as well as select other episodes (and they did a horrendous job at that), but now they're doing the same thing to two of the absolutely greatest black-and-white episodes of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW: "The Christmas Story" and "The Pickle Story." This is enough to make me want to go to CBS's headquarters and demolish their editing department.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't see why colorizing these things is still a thing. No one ever liked classic movies being color treated, and I don't even see the point of broadcasting these on current television prime time. There's better places to see them. If they're so desperate for Holiday programming, dust off the Garfield special or something. I mean, you're not going to get an audience of people who fondly remember the show or (relatively) younger fans of classic sitcoms dressing them up for a low common denominator, and said denominator probably won't appreciate older sitcoms anyway (at least ones from that far back). But someone must be watching if this was successful enough to keep doing.

While I'm not one of those that can't stand things not being in color, I will say this. Ever watch an old "The French Chef" before WGBH was able to transmit in color? While I'll admit, I like the contrast and sharpness of black and white, the worst thing they ever showed on television not in color is...well... food. And while that was completely understandable and beyond control back then, it still is...unsettlingly unappetizing.

 

[D'Snowth]

I don't see why colorizing these things is still a thing. No one ever liked classic movies being color treated, and I don't even see the point of broadcasting these on current television prime time.

They keep saying they do it "for kids of all ages to enjoy," and sadly, that is kind of the truth. At least, when I was a kid, I was the only one in school who liked Rocky and Bullwinkle - all the other kids hated it because it was "old." Any with kids mentality today, every "old" is automatically "bad," so they won't watch it. Even Brad Pitt tried to get his kids to watch the Rankin/Bass Rudolph with him, but they hated it because it was old.