quote:
I don't see how anyone can say anything but the 00s. There will always be bad TV, but niche programming has allowed some truly stellar shows on the air, and the medium has been able to attract far better talent than it could in the 70s, when it was seen as the ghetto for people who couldn't cut it in movies.

But there was a lot of creativity in the 80s and 90s. Sure it wasn't bug budget, and none of it has aged particularly well, but they tried really hard to do different things.

I still think any list, best half hours and best hour longs, would be made up of mostly shows from that time span.

I'd argue though that the 2000s have been quite stellar so far.

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Posted by Baloo

Formerly MDGeaux

Member since Sep 2003

49645 posts

Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:32 am to Freauxzen

quote:
But there was a lot of creativity in the 80s and 90s. Sure it wasn't bug budget, and none of it has aged particularly well, but they tried really hard to do different things.

They definitely built the foundation for the Golden Age, but even the best shows of that generation were still pretty formulaic and designed primarily to get into syndication, so the plot could never really advance. There's a few exceptions, and it's why Twin Peaks was such a game-changer, but even ambitious TV back then wasn't TOO ambitious. I think the best shows from that era were still ones that relied heavily on tropes and passive viewing.

I love Homicide and think it's one of the best things ever on TV, but it still did its best to reset after every episode. It's descendent is The Wire, which blows it away.

I will say that the 90s were a goldmine for the anti-sitcom. Probably the best era for that: Married with Children, Roseanne, and The Simpsons are probably the cream of the 80/90s crop. I will admit that it was the Golden Era for sitcoms.

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