Sue Nami Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 Couldn't agree more! And by the way,I don't actually watch these shows I mentioned above. So there's not an issue of changing the channel to avoid it. Its just that the whole reality mentality has become too prevalent on promos while channel surfing in my desperate attempt to find something of redeeming value on television. My whole point is that its scary that we are all being dumbed down and complacent. I don't have cable and don't want it. I just watch PBS most of the time. They have good programming and their News Hour has the best news. I love Nova and their documentaries...they have lots of good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Nami Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 Couldn't agree more MLE. I suppose its our fault for having higher television viewing standards for ourselves. And you make a really good point: There are a thousand channels and there's literally nothing to watch of any substance. I challenge any programmer to put on a channel devoted to history that's not a reality show. It is an economic issue where these shows are simply inexpensive to produce and the corporations that own these channels are looking for low cost and high revenue programming. So we get what we pay for. This isn't just my opinion either. I've heard the same sentiment from numerous other viewers who have given up and cancelled cable and just watch PBS. Disagree, it's not a supply and demand issue, it's a COMMAND issue as a result of an economic one. The entertainment industry cannot afford to pay a million dollars an episode to actors on a popular television series like they once did with those on "Friends". Also, are there really "so many other channels to watch" because I have about a thousand of them and can never find anything to watch...? If you're into history and there is only one history channel out there and all they play are reality programs then there is an obvious problem, isn't there? Maybe people like Sue and myself are different and we need a little more intellectual stimulation than today's average television connoisseur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Disagree, it's not a supply and demand issue, it's a COMMAND issue as a result of an economic one. The entertainment industry cannot afford to pay a million dollars an episode to actors on a popular television series like they once did with those on "Friends". Also, are there really "so many other channels to watch" because I have about a thousand of them and can never find anything to watch...? If you're into history and there is only one history channel out there and all they play are reality programs then there is an obvious problem, isn't there? Maybe people like Sue and myself are different and we need a little more intellectual stimulation than today's average television connoisseur. Disagree. These shows wouldn't continue without advertisement supported by viewership, even at the cheap rate of producing them. If you can't find anything to watch with your thousand channels - then a person of intellect, as you classify yourself, would not be wasting their money on your subscription. Yes, I agree you and "Sue" are definitely in a league of your own....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 C'mon bud, you know who these two are - right? When that bell rang "Sue" certainly came running..... Maybe you and Sue are the same person and you're having a conversation with yourself? Where is this 'Sue' person anyway? Who starts a thread and then abandons it without a trace? If you are so intellectual read a damn book instead of watching reality tv in the first place. You two are 1) overstating the popularity of reality shows; hence 2) overstating the problem of reality shows. I have no problem avoiding the programs you and Sue are bitching about; I haven't even heard of 75% of the ones you mention. If y'all are so intellectual it shouldn't be that difficult for you, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Couldn't agree more! And by the way,I don't actually watch these shows I mentioned above. So there's not an issue of changing the channel to avoid it. Its just that the whole reality mentality has become too prevalent on promos while channel surfing in my desperate attempt to find something of redeeming value on television. My whole point is that its scary that we are all being dumbed down and complacent. Are you insinuating that I am dumbed down and complacent, missy? Don't go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder1978 Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 ...DON'T FEED THE TROLL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 You are so Right Stryder. Trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder1978 Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 ....but it was interesting reading what others on this board do watch! There are a few (very few) reality shows that are worth watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Killing time with the dance shows until Downton Abbey returns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 The entertainment industry cannot afford to pay a million dollars an episode to actors on a popular television series like they once did with those on "Friends". David Schwimmer knows about all that money. http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/02/07/david-schwimmer-turns-historic-home-into-teardown/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 ....but it was interesting reading what others on this board do watch! There are a few (very few) reality shows that are worth watching. I was talking about the trolls...not our wonderful member posts. Anyway, I think they're gone, the trolls, not the members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayougal65 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Killing time with the dance shows until Downton Abbey returns Virginia, I love Downton! Maggie Smith is my absolute hero! I have seasons 1-3 on DVD! Can't get into the dance shows... Several people in my office follow DWTS religiously! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Virginia, I love Downton! Maggie Smith is my absolute hero! I have seasons 1-3 on DVD! Can't get into the dance shows... Several people in my office follow DWTS religiously! I haven't been watching DWTS but I do watch SYTYCD and Dance Moms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayougal65 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I was talking about the trolls...not our wonderful member posts. Anyway, I think they're gone, the trolls, not the members. I hope so, I was thinking, good grief this reality TV discussion is getting intense! Hey PottedPlant, Should we show them what New Orleans Reality TV is all about? (Morgus and Chopsley) that's about as reality as I get! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p-rPJvVHrHg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder1978 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I really enjoyed "Everest: Beyond the Limits" when it was on. Hard to fake and script a show when people are dying at 27.000 feet! Same with "Deadliest Catch". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayougal65 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I really enjoyed "Everest: Beyond the Limits" when it was on. Hard to fake and script a show when people are dying at 27.000 feet! Same with "Deadliest Catch". My husband enjoys Deadliest Catch, he is a commercial fisherman so he can identify. Too real for me, and although not the same type of fishing or waters I worry enough without watching it on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder1978 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Bayougal65, I can understand your hesitation to watch that show with your husband doing the same job......just in warmer water! Tell him he has my admiration - that is NOT a job for the weak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I hope so, I was thinking, good grief this reality TV discussion is getting intense! Hey PottedPlant, Should we show them what New Orleans Reality TV is all about? (Morgus and Chopsley) that's about as reality as I get! I forgot about Morgus and Chopsley. We used to watch them all the time. I loved Chopsley...so y'at, so New Orleans. If people only knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Reality TV programs are cheaper to produce than scripted drama or comedy programs that use real actors and writers. This is why both network and cable television air them. The problem with them (IMHO) is that most people and their lives aren't that interesting. "Real" people's lives can't compare to what a good writer could make up in collaboration with a good director and actors. The only reality TV programs I can stomach are Project Runway, Antiques Roadshow and some of the cooking contests like Iron Chef America and Chopped. The contestants in these shows must have some talent and skill to do well so it's not all underhanded shenanigans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLE Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Couldn't agree more MLE. I suppose its our fault for having higher television viewing standards for ourselves. And you make a really good point: There are a thousand channels and there's literally nothing to watch of any substance. I challenge any programmer to put on a channel devoted to history that's not a reality show. It is an economic issue where these shows are simply inexpensive to produce and the corporations that own these channels are looking for low cost and high revenue programming. So we get what we pay for. This isn't just my opinion either. I've heard the same sentiment from numerous other viewers who have given up and cancelled cable and just watch PBS. I only have higher viewing standards because when I grew up viewing standards were higher. PBS has some good programming. American Experience is one of the best programs on television, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLE Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Disagree. These shows wouldn't continue without advertisement supported by viewership, even at the cheap rate of producing them. If you can't find anything to watch with your thousand channels - then a person of intellect, as you classify yourself, would not be wasting their money on your subscription. Yes, I agree you and "Sue" are definitely in a league of your own....... If 75% of primetime is reality shows, not to mention the mainstream media obsessing over the latest gossip on these shows, then obviously they will get viewership. You can only surf for so long before you finally just pick something. My level of intellect has nothing to do with my paying for a thousand "channels of shit on the TV to choose from". Other people live here with me too. Cancelling my subscription is not a decision I'd make without taking others thoughts and feelings into consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLE Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 My husband enjoys Deadliest Catch, he is a commercial fisherman so he can identify. Too real for me, and although not the same type of fishing or waters I worry enough without watching it on TV. But isn't that the most interesting twist of it all...? As Americans we used to sit down in front of the television set and watch programs that had a moral compass or were in some way educational to the mind or the heart. Now, we come home from work, plop down on the couch and enjoy our leisure time watching shows about being at work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayougal65 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 But isn't that the most interesting twist of it all...? As Americans we used to sit down in front of the television set and watch programs that had a moral compass or were in some way educational to the mind or the heart. Now, we come home from work, plop down on the couch and enjoy our leisure time watching shows about being at work! As i stated in my first post on this thread the reality shows I have a problem with are the ones who promote pissy behavior as the norm. Period! I think that type of show does plenty of harm when people begin thinking that is the way to handle problem solving and life situations in general. I am in public service/public relations as well as manage a large staff of various ages... I see it every day. I am sorry, but this is the problem with this conversation. You seem to be taking the intellectual route with this discussion and don't even realize how you have shot yourself in the foot. Shows that inform people about things they know nothing about could be deemed "educational" not "reality" per se! Whether it is antiques, trucking, commercial fishing, pawn shop visits, restoring cars, restoring homes, dancing, alternative living, dirty jobs, etc. They may not be my cup of tea, but I don't have to watch. I think Deadliest Catch shows a way of life that many people didn't know existed and hopefully the next time you sit down at a restaurant and eat your king crab legs, or your (American caught) shrimp fettucini, or Maryland crab cakes (by the way that probably came from Louisiana) you appreciate the people who brought it to your table! I don't know where you are from, but where I am from Commercial Fishing is a way of life, not a "job". My husband is a 3rd generation commercial fisherman and until recently I lived less than 300 feet from the bayou! (And it is a way of life that is fast disappearing due to foreign imports, but that is a whole different discussion.) It takes a very special breed of hard-working person to make their living from the waters or the land. When my husband sits and watches Deadliest Catch he is watching a dying breed of men who share his love of the water and making their living off the land they love and respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Bayou Gal: My uncles still dredge oysters down off The Parish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayougal65 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Bayou Gal: My uncles still dredge oysters down off The Parish. right back atcha, my girl! The fam got out of oysters years ago, prob should have stayed in! Just about everyone I know still has leases off Plaquemines. Between BP and the freshwater diversions it is going to be a major fight to stay in the game! Now that would be a GREAT reality show! And extremely educational, too! Never mind! I will quit while I am ahead... Maybe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.