Lets face in, TV has lost its touch. Now, with the abundance of actors, the advanced array of technology, and cheesy plots, it’s safe to say we’ve lost hope with producing classic, good shows like “The Brady Bunch” and “Full House.”
While this statement is arguable, after reading this article, I must say that television shows are now solely based around ideas of crude humor and sexual innuendo. Don’t believe me? Well take a look at this excellent example that Genzlinger puts forth about how the Cosby show was then (1980s) and how it would be now…
Even if you’ve never seen an episode of “The Cosby Show,” I’m sure an automatic signal came to mind where you could totally imagine the shift in humor throughout the decades.
Nowadays, the theme of “sex sells” is evident all over television. If it won’t be about making fun of one of the feeble characters in the show, it’ll be a sexual remark about the promiscuous, (or independent), character.
The article makes it claims by referring to shows where the decline in “good TV” is clearly apparent. Shows like “Mom,” “2 Broke Girls,””Back in the Game, and more, are all comedies. Most of these shows have plots that are almost inexcusable to consider as shows, yet are aired as comedic masterpieces.
Albeit, someone must be the clown of the show who spews out stupid remarks. But why must even the most intelligent of characters have to have some fatal flaw? Where does the line begin to draw between funny and down right inappropriate? Even the most tasteful of these jokes could not match to a sophisticated story line.
But whats even more criminal than the awfulness of the actual shows is the pressure of prominent guest stars to “roll in [the] muck” of the TV sitcom mess. For example, Emmy award winning and Tony-nominated actress, Margo Martindale, plays the mother of Will Arnett’s character on the CBS Comedy, “The Milers.” “The entire subplot in the series” says the author of this article, “was built around her digestive tract, specifically gas.”
Yes, it is still possible to find great, noteworthy characters in television, but the innocent versus the annoying character duo seems to be what the crowd demands.
Man, where did classic TV go wrong?
Works Cited
Genzlinger, Neil. “Kids These Days: They’re All Older Than 50.” The New York Times. N.p., 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/20/arts/television/tvs-problematic-portrayal-of-aging.html>.
This is a really interesting point and article. I’ve definitely noticed this switch because I am an avid fan of shows such as Saved By the Bell, Blossom,and Full House. These are all sitcoms that don’t run anymore, except when the TV stations decide to play reruns. I personally enjoyed shows like The Cosby Show a lot more than certain shows we have now. The language in many of the modern series is definitely quite different from what it used to be. The sitcoms of the past were more innocent and playful, while now much of the humor has, for some reason, transitioned into being quite crude. For this reason, I totally agree with what this article is saying, and it’s quite sad. I thought it was a nice touch to include the picture of how the language would change in The Cosby Show as an example, it’s pretty eye-opening.
I believe this as well. I totally agree with Mariana on this issue. Where did Full House go? Art must come from somewhere, as all pieces of art are usually based on something else. Nothing is really “original” anymore, but where did they take originality? Obviously to the dumps with all this sex. I have noticed that even Disney shows have become more sexual, in that they have all these underlying sexual innuendos. Example being good luck charlie. Very family style show, but lots of sexual innuendos.
Janice Fong
I’m not sure I quite agree with the article in question. Although television in the 1980s was undoubtedly more reserved and achieved comedy within those boundaries, I wouldn’t say that type of television is the only type of “good” show. I can name a few running comedic programs that rely on smart humor based on storyline or politics, for example, “Modern Family” or “Parks and Recreation.” These shows are family friendly and don’t rely on the theme of “sex sells.” Both have Emmy nominations and accolades. These shows do differ from “The Cosby Show” and “The Brady Bunch,” but only because the plots have been elevated to more relevant issues. Television of the past focused on one element (family, in the example of the previously mentioned shows). However, the world is so technologically connected today that people across different country coasts can understand that their daily lives are not so different; TV today must bridge both lives. Therefore, it cannot be so limited on one subject but speak to more issues. And, often, some of those issues are not pleasant but must be addressed. I think it’s hasty to say there are no good shows that do not rely on sex because it’s more correct to say modern television boldly addresses more social conflicts.
I definitely agree with you that the theme of sex is apparent in many modern shows and that television series are less reserved today. However, I also think that shows have evolved to appeal to contemporary audiences and make the plotlines more relevant to viewers’ own lives. I love classic shows like “Full House” and “The Cosby Show,” but our generation and younger generations probably wouldn’t appreciate the show as much because we have grown up under different social circumstances.
Older shows don’t appeal to younger generations anymore just due to the rapidly changing values and times. Much of the humor used in older shows are lost upon the youth today, and therefore, modern shows need to adapt and incorporate trendy things to capture the attention of these generations. A lot of effort would have to be used if producers want to bring back the older shows as a popular primetime event.
I could not agree more. TV has taken a major turn in our present day from the old classic shows to, as you mentioned, the theme of sex sells. This change can be looked down upon but it will not be easy to change. This was an uncontrollable change that now looks almost impossible to reverse. The humor seen on older shows just do not apply to the new generation anymore in result to the change. In order to go back, it would take a period of several decades and generations and with all producers on board with bringing back old comedy. I think it is possible but very unlikely.
I personally come from a conservative background when it comes to sex and nudity. For every show I have a change channel to length ratio: the amount of times the channel has to be changed during the duration of the show. I’ve noticed that despite our VERY LIMITED tolerance increase for kissing or hugging scenes, the ratio has increased in the past several years. In fact, what I’m seeing (or not seeing) is not confirmation bias but studies show that the amount of sex in television has increased. I agree with you that it seems that the quality of television has decreased in favor of crude and sexual humor. It’s true that sex sells and that’s precisely the reason why the quality of shows is decreasing. Luring viewers with sex and nudity saves producers from developing creative and we’ll thought out story lines. Leave it to sex when you can’t think of anything else… http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/tv-sex-studies-sparse-in-recent-years-1200703706/
The argument posed in this article is very strongly phrased. While I don’t agree with the correlation between how good a show is and the time period in which it was produced, the other point made in the article still stands–there has been a visible shift in the content of these shows from very reserved in terms of affection to unreserved. How do we measure the quality of a TV show? By the content of its characters? By its plot? By the snappy dialogue and catchy one-liners? All of the above? Perhaps we shouldn’t be quick to judge our TV shows by shows that were produced in previous years. The more pressing question, I think, is: do these shows genuinely reflect our present culture?
This is a really interesting concept, and I definitely agree with what you, as well as the article pointed out: the type of humor presented in television has deteriorated immensely. Nowadays, most shows have very inappropriate jokes added into the everyday dialogues that the characters are exchanging. Very often, it is due to these comments that I choose not to watch a television show. I find it utterly despicable how screenwriters today rely on the most absurd of jokes to promote their shows. To me, potty jokes come off as petty, and I do not find them funny. Old classic shows used to have so much to offer, simply because the underlying jokes were symbolic, and had actual meaning to them. Meaningless jokes to me make a show meaningless in my perspective.