Television Rant: Prove me wrong.
POSTED BY: HiroStone
UPDATED: Monday, February 23, 2004 16:35
VIEWED: 13366
PAGE 3 of 6
Oh gosh!
I didn't know when I posted this thread that it's be like this. I was just writing down what was in my head bursting to get out. I'm glad I got a good discussion going. I'm gonna rant more often now!
Now, I don't know what the 'average' American view does watch. Some people like to watch juggle geese. 
Now, I don't hate all of reality TV. I just hate reality TV where people who have no self respect make complete, total, moronic ass-clowns of themselves. You know where they eat stuff on a dare, like you could make you little six year old little brother/sister do. Any executive that has a "new" idea for a competative reality show should be 
Reality shows that are like documentaries I actually do like. But the others... 
But I don't watch FOX anymore out of protest; no Simpsons, no Football, no nothing. People don't like change, people don't like something different, that's why they watch the same old drivel.
We all don't know what to do about the state of TV today. Even tonight, at dinner with friends, we were all talking about why Angel was cancelled and Charmed piece of "go seh" was renewed! 
All I can say is to urge all of you, change the channel, watch or rent a DVD, read a book, write/e-mail to everyone you know who knows a guy who knows a friend: tell them - NO MORE REALITY TV. WE'RE SMART, WE'RE ANGRY AT HELL FOR YOU CANCELLING OUT SHOWS AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GORRAM TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!
PATIENCE
Mal! How you doin', boy?
MAL
Walkin' and talkin'.
-Hiro
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Oh gosh!
I didn't know when I posted this thread that it's be like this. I was just writing down what was in my head bursting to get out. I'm glad I got a good discussion going. I'm gonna rant more often now!
Now, I don't know what the 'average' American view does watch. Some people like to watch juggle geese.
Now, I don't hate all of reality TV. I just hate reality TV where people who have no self respect make complete, total, moronic ass-clowns of themselves. You know where they eat stuff on a dare, like you could make you little six year old little brother/sister do. Any executive that has a "new" idea for a competative reality show should be
Reality shows that are like documentaries I actually do like. But the others... But I don't watch FOX anymore out of protest; no Simpsons, no Football, no nothing. People don't like change, people don't like something different, that's why they watch the same old drivel.
We all don't know what to do about the state of TV today. Even tonight, at dinner with friends, we were all talking about why Angel was cancelled and Charmed piece of "go seh" was renewed! All I can say is to urge all of you, change the channel, watch or rent a DVD, read a book, write/e-mail to everyone you know who knows a guy who knows a friend: tell them - NO MORE REALITY TV. WE'RE SMART, WE'RE ANGRY AT HELL FOR YOU CANCELLING OUT SHOWS AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GORRAM TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!
PATIENCE
Mal! How you doin', boy?
MAL
Walkin' and talkin'.
-Hiro
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Sigh, Other than the news and movies, (Oh! Angel, and Stargate SG1) nothing. I stick to the movie channels and THC, wife watches Discover, National Geographic, and the kids all have video games. We got a lot of DVDs, but as far as broadcast TV, forget about it.
No Leno, No Conan, no Enterprise, no reality TV. And most of the movies on the movie channels are crap, so don't watch a lot of those any more.
"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"
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Going way, way back to the beginning of this thread - laziness, that's the key. The exec's find a formula that works, and makes money, for minimum effort, and they stick with it. The good people, after a long day at work, throw something in the microwave, slump on the sofa, switch on the tv, and, "oh no, not this crap again", so they channel-hop to the least unbearable until they finish eating and finally find the energy to move again. Exec's think, "hey, this is getting viewers", so you'd think mediocrity would be the end result (reinforcement of "least unbearable"s), but no - every has different ideas on what they can stomach, so on it goes.
Okay, so perhaps a slightly over-dramatised picture, but I think that's a big part of it.
Also, going even further back than the start of this thread - Television: It's great, it's the new thing, it's a wireless with moving images! All very exciting - think what we can show, but there are only so many hours in the day, so create an extra channel or two. Great, so diversity of taste is catered for, until more and more channels are born, then cable and satellite, and suddenly you have more viewing hours than you know what to do with - ah, diversity - except that there's more broadcasting space than viewers, so suddenly there's competition - all this space needs to be filled, and fast, so let's throw something together and bung it in, then persuade people who don't want to watch tv that it really is great - by the time they realise it isn't, it'll be too late.
57 channels and nothing on. THIS is what going mad feels like....
Oops, sorry, got infected by the rant virus there [anyone need a soapbox - one careful-ish owner?]
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I'd be happy to rent that there soap box as long as it's decorated as pretty as Inara's shuttle!
I am still waiting for a channel that is basically the 'fan' run channel. It would be so simple. Start a network, get some of that satelite action, buy a channel, get paying subscribers. Then have a web site, called 'what do you want to watch?' whatever people pick gets on the air. Alternately this could just be the Cult TV network (where is the Cult TV network? why don't we have this?), where 'cult TV show' is not a swear word. Home to Angel, Buffy, Firefly, Star Trek, Farscape, Roswell, Andromeda, and so much more!
Thankfully I am not guilty of watching Reality TV, okay well except for the PBS ones (Frontier house RULED!) and MTVs. I like watching the freak show that is Carmen and Dave. I think Jessica Simpson is the stupidest thing on 2 legs. BUT those are the extent of my Reality watching, and alas they are not major network. I also have a Queer Eye obsession, but that's more of a make-over show, and it's actual reality, I mean the gays really do fix up these guys so it's not fake reality.
The biggest question isn't what don't we watch? But what is it we do watch? I watch the following shows, and some I do feel guilty about watching, but overall not so much:
Whoopi, she's hi-larious, and I think the wigger chick is hi-larious too, all of 'em are hi-larious with their smoking and drinking and strange habits... mmm fun!
Ellen: cos she's preferable to the 6pm news here
Angel: cos it's all I've got left of my Jossverse and no matter how bad it gets I'll still watch. TNT & WB
ER: Blame Dr. Kovach for this one
Scrubs: Hi-larity squared.
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: Cos I love the gays, I can't help myself I'm a f*g Hag.
Nick & Jessica: Cos she's so dumb I am waiting for her to choke on her own spit.
Carmen & Dave: Cos they aren't as wierd as you all thought. (BTW the MTV programming is usually a Sunday afternoon thing cos there is nothing to do or watch then)
Buffy on FX, and occasionally the late night rerun on Fox or UPN.
X-Files on anything but Fox.
Dark Angel & Roswell reruns on Sci-Fi, but only when I am home during the day which is pretty much never.
I also had a thing for Miss Match but it's Miss MIA right now (Cordelia and the Captain were guest stars, gotta support that)
What I will be watching when they decide to put it on:
Wonder Falls & Still Life, and yes I know they are on FOX BUT the way I see it, the only way to change TV is to not just stop watching crap, but to only watch what we actually like. Otherwise we will all be forced to see "The most important third watch ever!" for the rest of time.
Alternately we could all just get lives, and stop obsessing over TV. But when you live in a cold place for half the year, that's a bit hard to manage.
I also am a big fan of the Year round programming dealy that Fox has started. It gives more of a chance for more shows to be made (and cancelled). But see, summer shows won'thave the same ratings expectations as standard season shows, so they have a higher liklihood of sticking around because lets face it, being a summer show is like being a little brother, if your older brother (fall-spring programming) is smart as a whip, the expectations placed on you as the little brother are less, so when you get an A your parents flip out with joy, you get a B they are happy too, and if you get a C they aren't disappointed cos they're expectations weren't high to begin with. Okay srange metaphor. I think it's time the soapbox got passed down.
One very shiny soapbox for rent, with genu-ine companion decorating.
Any takers?
Adrianna
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Hello my fellow Browncoats,
If today is any indication of what's in store for me at work tomorrow, I might be posting again on another subject that's been bugging me for awhile. Similar to the Television rant, and closely involving some fan favorites, including Firefly (I don't want to say movie yet in case I jinx it!)
So, I'm gonna be standing on that purty lil Companion decorated soapbox, hopefully with something significant to say about the state of fandom today.
-Hiro
Simon: This is what going mad must feel like...
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I can't prove anyone wrong, 'cause they're not. But on the subject of rants, let me pose a question:
Could the American Civil War happen today?
Overlook the whole time-line thing, alternate future, etc. Think about this - your country is being hi-jacked away from you by money and corporations, rich old men are in power who couldn't give a fig about anyone outside whatever they perceive as their "own" people. Elections can't be trusted. Technically, the law would support incarcerating me because of posting this. Our purported leaders lie to us as a matter-of-course and get upset when we don't just let it slide. Our media is comprised of parrots. A fetus has better laws protecting it then an actual, living and breathing woman does.
So...what do you think? Ready to take up arms and fight for what you believe is right? Are you willing to risk your family, your body, your health, your pension, your mortgage to fight for freedom?
SO WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH TV????? Isn't it the same thing? Acceptance? A life too busy, too tired, too disengaged, too fragile, to take up a cause? How much has to be taken away - and not necessarily directly from YOU, but from a people en masse - before you feel the need to demand it back? How many people really don't mind being treated like morons by tv exec's, because then they don't have to think, because it's easier?
Somewhere along the way, we the people have become unimportant. Our opinions, demands, etc. no longer have any merit. Outrage is only acknowledged when it's directed against someone's bare breast. Don't bother getting all tiffy over your neighbor having to decide if groceries or rent is more important this month - nobody with the power to do anything, cares.
I'm not sure if my rant is making the connections the way I want. Basically, I think we've become too complacent and comfortable, and too intent on keeping what we have - so those that can, ignore us. Hence crap tv. Hence the term "cult show." Petitions? We did that. Advertising? We did that. Internet posts, letters to the editors, direct mailings - we did all of that. And those with the power, still did what they wanted to. With no accountability. I don't watch tv, outside of a little public television. And I will not watch tv once this whole digital thing happens. I just plain old refuse. Just as I won't buy Proctor & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, etc. products. Hit them where it hurts - in the $$s. Unfortunately, the bankrolls have gotten so huge, I don't think they even feel it anymore.
I've just successfully depressed the absolute hell out of myself 
.
So am I advocating truly taking up arms? No - but what would it take to get you to do it? I guess the whole tv discussion set me on this course, and it's something I've been truly wondering about for a while now. When did my voice become unimportant, and when will I be willing to fight my cousin to get it back?
Sigh...sorry...
****
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it.
-Woodrow Wilson
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HOLY CRAP!!! When did I become a militant?!? Oh well....
****
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it.
-Woodrow Wilson
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I agree with a lot of first post. Laziness. Lazy, lazy, lazy. Over here in UK we have yet another Big Brother coming to tv, and can I apologise to the rest of the world for my country ever making this show and exporting it, as its awful stuff. I mean the figures over here for last series were so terribly low, they had to start throwing all sorts of weird things in to try and attract attention, and from what I hear it didnt help. And yet, they are making another one. We also had I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of here, year 2, booooooring, they get E list people who want some money or attention to support their flagging careers, and get dumped in a jungle and have to crawl through spiders and snakes, and while i find it amusing to think of them having to do that just to get somewhere, its not clever or interesting, and now the animal rights people are having a go for being nasty to all the bugs and creepy insects!!!
Inventive TV is scary, its unfamiliar, its outside the box, its strange....its also wonderful!!!! It attracts people from talk and gossip, it builds through word of mouth and now this wonderful thing, the Internet, point in fact, ok a movie, but look at first Blair Witch!!! They need NEW ideas, not regurgitated crap, or new spins on old crap, they need NEW writers, not same people at helms of franchises such as Trek who turn out another crap show, they need to know when to say enough is enough, and they definately need to listen to the fans sometimes. Yes, yes, before someone says, if they listened to the fans all the time, nothing would get made, I mean, they need to have some fan input, and take note of it, take it into consideration. If one person says that character sucks, fine, opinion, if 10,000 say that character is bad, then go look into it, just investigate!!!
Very annoyed at the moment with cancellation of some good shows, only bright spot is Firefly movie in the long distance. Can't wait.
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I agree with you, Milora,
In the state of the nation as it is today, I wouldn’t be surprised if another civil war broke out. Similar to the uprisings of the French against the aristocracy, a conflict would certainly arise between the lower and middle class of America against the upper class, more specifically the ‘old boys club’ known as Congress and the Presidency. Now, I can be proven wrong about this, but when was the last time any of you looked at any of our modern Presidents and thought of them as we think of our founding fathers. How would Clinton, Nixon, Johnson, Bush Sr. and W. be compared to Washington, Jefferson, Adams, even Lincoln?
Now, I know what most of you are thinking; “the Civil War started because of slavery.” Well, yes, that was a major contributing factor, but there were others just as important, but not written as prominently in history. There were issues of economics, federal and state legislation conflicts, congressional assignments, etc. Wars aren't started on the Carlin "Bigger Dick" theory, it's a complex matter.
And Milora is right; there is such an apathy with some citizens of our nation, mostly with those disillusioned with government. There are those that are so fixed on not rocking the boat, going with the status quo, and leaving sleeping dogs lie that their willing to say, ‘It doesn’t matter’ with the big issues, and chastise the insignificant ones, where common sense says it’s no big deal. There are some in this country that have no healthcare, there was a young Florida girl murdered from a man who should’ve been in jail, there is a continuing hostilities in the Middle East with our soldiers getting killed and yet the media’s main focus is on a woman’s exposed breast, a hotel heiress’ illicit movie, and an weirdo singer’s eccentricities with little boys?
I admit I’m apathetic too. I’m apathetic about arguments with the government about ‘who is going to pay the bill’ with healthcare, homelessness, prisons, famine, plague, pestilence, war (<-four horsemen reference) etc. I’m apathetic about conservatives that hide behind the bible saying that gay marriage is a sin. Until I get a flaming bush, or a almighty thunderbolt or an e-mail in my inbox from God, gay marriage is right by me. I’m apathetic about parents too busy or too clueless to discipline or monitor their children; you don’t like what they watch, shut the damn TV off. You don’t like that video game they have, hey, you shouldn’t have bought them that $200 game system in the first place unless they deserved it! I’m also sick of Hollywood; Ashton, get some acting lessons; Benifer, I could care less; M.J., why beat a dead horse? This like this is the drug that has been given to Americans to give them a hazy view of the world that’s around them.
I’m not a pessimist by any means. I believe good does conquer evil. I believe true love wins out at the end. I believe that someday, someday… Joss Whedon will win the accolades he so richly deserves! Still, I’m here to reiterate, reality TV, like Fear Factor, Survivor, and American Idol are not real! They are edited to the point where it’s fit into a timeslot where every damn minute is exciting and leave the boring parts on the proverbial cutting room floor. Just think of it. Shows like that are at a minimum shot from three to several weeks, sometimes months at a time. That’s hundred hours of unwatched footage. That, my friends, is reality TV.
You want reality; turn on TLC, the Discovery or National Geographic Channel. Or watch college sports, where the players actually care how they play, instead of the pros that whine and complain about how their million dollar contracts aren't enough. Turn on the news, or better still read the newspaper or the internet news-sites. Be informed, just in case a second civil war breaks out.
-Praemontis, praemunitus… (Forewarned, forearmed…)
-Hiro
From With Honors:
Simon Wilder: You asked the question, sir, now let me answer it. The beauty of the Constitution is that it can always be changed. The beauty of the Constitution is th
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