Is TV better than it used to be?

[MrMon]

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I doubt there's one hospital show pre-St. Elsewhere that stands up anymore.

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MASH is pre-St. Elsewhere, no? Stands up.

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Not as well as you think. For one thing, it's not really a medical show, and two, the canned laughtrack is really, really, really annoying. If I were reissuing the show on DVD, I'd redo the soundtrack without the canned laughter, it'd be SOOOO much better. The other problem is the last few years of the show are virtually unwatchable. It's starts of really great, continues on at a decent mix of good and bad, and then becomes retitled "The World According to Alan Alda Starring Alan Alda, Written by Alan Alda, Directed by Alan Alda, and Conceived By Alan Alda. Did I Mention Alan Alda Is On This Show?".

No show can survive being hijacked by its star like that, no matter how good it started.

[cognito20]

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If I were reissuing the show (M*A*S*H) on DVD, I'd redo the soundtrack without the canned laughter, it'd be SOOOO much better.

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Actually, all the M*A*S*H DVDs that I own (up through Season Five) come with an option to turn off the laugh track, an option I usually take advantage of. Agree with your general point about Alda's hijacking of the show, although it was still a pretty good show even after that. Just not what it had been.

--Scott

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
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I doubt there's one hospital show pre-St. Elsewhere that stands up anymore.

[/ QUOTE ]

MASH is pre-St. Elsewhere, no? Stands up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not as well as you think. For one thing, it's not really a medical show, and two, the canned laughtrack is really, really, really annoying. If I were reissuing the show on DVD, I'd redo the soundtrack without the canned laughter, it'd be SOOOO much better. The other problem is the last few years of the show are virtually unwatchable. It's starts of really great, continues on at a decent mix of good and bad, and then becomes retitled "The World According to Alan Alda Starring Alan Alda, Written by Alan Alda, Directed by Alan Alda, and Conceived By Alan Alda. Did I Mention Alan Alda Is On This Show?".

No show can survive being hijacked by its star like that, no matter how good it started.

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Agree that that show became extremely awful some years before its end. It made the show more about Alan Alda than about anything else -- and he is one smarmy, mealy-mouthed guy.

[maryfield48]

I've posted this before, but it's relevant here too. Years ago I read an Economist article that posited (not surprisingly, given the source) a market-driven theory. This theory was that the different business models of advertising-driven versus subscriber-driven TV have a lot to do with the increase in 'quality'.

Broadcast TV was in business to deliver audiences to advertisers. The bigger the better. So anything edgy or quirky or potentially polarising is a bad idea. Middle of the road light entertainment is optimal.

Cable stations, on the other hand, need to persuade subscribers to sign up and re-up. So they try to produce shows that have 'hooks', and create buzz about them - people will stay with you if there is one show they really love.

These are generalizations, of course. It doesn't mean broadcast TV never produced anything quirky, or that all original cable series are high-end. Just that those were the inevitable tendencies of each business model.