re: Are we in a golden era of TV right now?

Hell I'm just getting to NYPD Blue and The Big Bang Theory.

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Are we in a golden era of TV right now?

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No

There's so much NOT right with TV right now.

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Just watched the last episode of Shogun and it was one of the more gut wrenching hours of TV I’ve seen in a long long time.

Fallout is great. Bear is one of the best things in years. Gentlemen was one of the best spinoffs I’ve ever seen. Halo kinda righted itself. Succession had a great run.

White Lotus. Beef. Only Murders in the Building. Poker Face. Twisted Metal. Barry. Last of Us. Severance. Devs. The Old Man. Stranger Things. Witcher (S1&2.) 3 body problem. Peacemaker. Mare of Easttown. Yellowjackets. House of Dragon. Masters of the Air. What we do in the shadows. Could go on and on.

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You named shows, some of which lots of people think suck. Very few that that the consensus is they're very good.

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but I’m to a point where I can’t catch up and there’s dozens of shows I haven’t even seen that I randomly stumble across or remember to watch

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If it were a GREAT show, don't you think you'd have remembered to keep watching? I mean, seriously. If it's something I look forward to, I make a point of seeing it.

Now, on to some of the other issues with TV today; your list goes across several different services. Netflix, Prime, Max, Paramount, Apple, Peacock etc. That's not even counting the Disney+ shows, some of which (Mandalorian, Andor, Loki etc) are considered very good too. So you have shows spread across a multitude of services, some of which might be the only thing you will watch on that service. I'm not paying for all of them, I don't think it's a great experience to binge something in a week and then wait over a year for the next season.

And then we have length of season- 10 episodes, if you're lucky. Network TV would give you 25+ a season. Call it "filler" if you want, but if I love a show, I don't mind having a new episode every week. It's kinda like having cupcake games in college football; there's no drama when LSU plays Grambling, but I do get to watch LSU play, so that's better than no game.

Another thing I'd mention- the best currently to me right now is Shogun and Fallout. Shogun is a remake of a miniseries, Fallout is closely based on a game. There's nothing wrong with either show, but they're also not original concepts. Remaking a miniseries in particular- today's format IS miniseries, so they basically just dusted the old script off and reshot it. It doesn't go deeper, or do anything new (it can't if it is to stay true to the book). Again, it's done well, and I like it. But I've already seen it; and it's set in 16th Century Japan. There isn't something that happens that you couldn't portray back in 1980 or whenever the miniseries was made, that modern techniques show better. If anything, I would say some of the offshore scenes were better/more expensive in the original. The lighting was better in the original (the interior scenes are dark in this version).

I would say a "Golden Age" would have multiple shows EVERYONE watches, that are original in idea, that you don't forget about watching the next episode until the season is done.

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Fallout is not great

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I disagree. The level of detail on their sets as well as the cinematography is top tier. They are also doing a decent job in honoring the source material and retconning the things that don't matter as much to make it friendlier for TV. The cast and characters are the weakest part of the series IMO.

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The Sopranos
The West Wing
Band of Brothers
Six Feet Under
24
The Shield
The Wire
Battlestar Galactica
The Office
Deadwood
Lost
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
How I Met Your Mother
Rome
Avatar: The Last Air Bender
Friday Night Lights
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
The Big Bang Theory
Luther
Sherlock
The Walking Dead
Homeland
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Orange Is the New Black
Better Call Saul
Black Sails
Stranger Things
The Crown

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I've watched exactly ten episodes in total out of all of those shows, 6 of those episodes being the first 6 of season 1 of Friday Night Lights.

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Are we in a golden era of TV right now?

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No, but we are in a golden era of video game adaptations into shows.

They used to be a joke, responsible for the absolute shittiest TV and movies.

Now, you have:
Fallout
The Last of Us
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Arcane
Castlevania
Witcher S1

Some not as great, but still fun shows as well, like Twisted Metal

There are plenty of misses, sure, but considering how bad video game adaptations used to be this really is its golden age.

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I liked all of those shows back then, too.

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I didnt like about half those shows, but they attracted far more eyes than anything today. Because it either reflected a part of life that didnt exist in the viewers world, or they saw great meaning or memories in the characters and stories being told

For example, I dont think I ever watched an entire episode of Golden Girls. It just wasnt my thing. However, it was top rated, because tons of the older generation could strongly relate to the characters

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I've watched exactly ten episodes in total out of all of those shows, 6 of those episodes being the first 6 of season 1 of Friday Night Lights.

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thanks for letting us know.

"Dynamite drop in Monty!"

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Back to top
Nope. We just left it. I would argue the Golden Era of TV started in the late-90s with the premiere of shows like The Sopranos and The West Wing.

During the period from 1999-2019 you had the following shows premiere that really set the pop culture world on fire:

The Sopranos
The West Wing
Band of Brothers
Six Feet Under
24
The Shield
The Wire
Battlestar Galactica
The Office
Deadwood
Lost
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
How I Met Your Mother
Rome
Avatar: The Last Air Bender
Friday Night Lights
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
The Big Bang Theory
Luther
Sherlock
The Walking Dead
Homeland
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Orange Is the New Black
Better Call Saul
Black Sails
Stranger Things
The Crown

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And during this period of time, you still had The Simpsons, King of the Hill, South Park, Quality SNL, and the late night shows like Conan, Letterman, and Leno were still running and still funny and interesting. And for a good chunk of that time frame, The Daily Show was still funny.

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I've watched exactly ten episodes in total out of all of those shows, 6 of those episodes being the first 6 of season 1 of Friday Night Lights.

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Is this a joke?

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Fallout is not great

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The cast and characters are the weakest part of the series IMO.

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I don't see how the cast and characters being the weakest part makes a great series.