TV now and then

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Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
This is not some "the way it used to be" wistfulness. You kids got it good.

When I was growing up, TV writing worked around Dick and Laura having twin beds, every girlfriend of the Ponderosa fellows meeting tragic and predictable ends before the hour was up, and "Gilligan's Island" and "The Beverly Hillbillies" representing fine-toned humor.

Well. Now you have all kinds of things. Big Bang Theory for humor (which I watch), things like Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, Homeland (none of which I watch), and others providing their plotlines and character development that keep workers at the water cooler or on Facebook occupied with breathless revelations.

Seriously. The writing has notched up tremendously over the years, even to where a minor channel (A&E) can produce some tight, engrossing storylines (Longmire). True, there are less restrictions on writing than there used to be. But there's also far more channels, which you'd think would thin out the talent. On any given night, you can see any number of series that keep their viewers glued to the tube, reveling in the revelations of that evening.

Please note: I do not include reality, or cooking competition, or other such shows in them. Literally, I could not be less interested or impressed.
 
M

mjs9153

Guest
Hear you Grandpa,one exception to that about the writing is the old b/w Twilight zone,of which the Scyfy channel will be showing a marathon on July 4th..there were some great stories written there,quite a few by Richard Matheson,one of Mr K's predecessors..
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
Oh, there were gems in the past, no doubt about it. Yeah, some of the old Twilights were wonderful, and I always liked the Addams (much more than their competition, The Munsters, which to me was more formulaic comedy of the time). Laugh-In got away with a lot ("And here's Big Dan Rowan and Big Dick Martin!!"), and in earlier black-and-white times, Ernie Kovacs could be brilliant. I never watched The Fugitive, but it sure had a bunch of people enthralled. And let's remember that Star Trek still lives.

Edited to add:

Mary Ann over Ginger. I like the girl-next-door look. Which may be why I like Betty over Wilma. Betty literally was the girl next door.
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
I will watch Andy Griffith any day of the week. To me, it still holds up. In fact, I still watch it on Netflix. And the little guy I watch (He's 2 and a half) has been asking his mom to watch Andy. lol. It is our duty as the elders of this world to expose our children to the best of the best and to teach them about days of yore.
 
Mar 12, 2010
6,538
29,004
Texas
Oh, there were gems in the past, no doubt about it. Yeah, some of the old Twilights were wonderful, and I always liked the Addams (much more than their competition, The Munsters, which to me was more formulaic comedy of the time). Laugh-In got away with a lot ("And here's Big Dan Rowan and Big Dick Martin!!"), and in earlier black-and-white times, Ernie Kovacs could be brilliant. I never watched The Fugitive, but it sure had a bunch of people enthralled. And let's remember that Star Trek still lives.

Edited to add:

Mary Ann over Ginger. I like the girl-next-door look. Which may be why I like Betty over Wilma. Betty literally was the girl next door.
Ernie Kovacs was a genius! Do you remember the Nairobi Trio? They cracked me up :rofl: I liked The Honeymooners too.
 

Lily Sawyer

B-ReadAndWed
Jun 27, 2009
6,625
15,016
South Carolina
Mary Ann over Ginger. I like the girl-next-door look. Which may be why I like Betty over Wilma. Betty literally was the girl next door.

Mary Ann literally lived across the street from me when I was growing up. I took care of Dawn Wells' lawn when she was out of town and hung out many a time with her. What you saw on TV was what you got with Dawn: smart, enthusiastic, upbeat, really cute. She had a B.A. in chemistry from Stephens College in Missouri, a son from a previous marriage, and a hot boyfriend on the 6:00 news (local anchor on CBS affiliate). I loved her.
 
M

mjs9153

Guest
Oh, there were gems in the past, no doubt about it. Yeah, some of the old Twilights were wonderful, and I always liked the Addams (much more than their competition, The Munsters, which to me was more formulaic comedy of the time). Laugh-In got away with a lot ("And here's Big Dan Rowan and Big Dick Martin!!"), and in earlier black-and-white times, Ernie Kovacs could be brilliant. I never watched The Fugitive, but it sure had a bunch of people enthralled. And let's remember that Star Trek still lives.

Edited to add:

Mary Ann over Ginger. I like the girl-next-door look. Which may be why I like Betty over Wilma. Betty literally was the girl next door.
Loved the old trek episodes..Kirk was such a hotdog,while Spock just hung out being a zen master.
gorn-shatner.jpg
 

EMTP513

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2012
503
1,923
This is not some "the way it used to be" wistfulness. You kids got it good.

When I was growing up, TV writing worked around Dick and Laura having twin beds, every girlfriend of the Ponderosa fellows meeting tragic and predictable ends before the hour was up, and "Gilligan's Island" and "The Beverly Hillbillies" representing fine-toned humor.

Well. Now you have all kinds of things. Big Bang Theory for humor (which I watch), things like Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, Homeland (none of which I watch), and others providing their plotlines and character development that keep workers at the water cooler or on Facebook occupied with breathless revelations.

Seriously. The writing has notched up tremendously over the years, even to where a minor channel (A&E) can produce some tight, engrossing storylines (Longmire). True, there are less restrictions on writing than there used to be. But there's also far more channels, which you'd think would thin out the talent. On any given night, you can see any number of series that keep their viewers glued to the tube, reveling in the revelations of that evening.

Please note: I do not include reality, or cooking competition, or other such shows in them. Literally, I could not be less interested or impressed.

I couldn't stop laughing at that episode of Big Bang Theory before Under the Dome came on.
He said "Could you tell her my package reminds you of a puma's tail?"
She looked at him so funny that I just cracked up laughing. His man-package resembles a puma tail?
That's hilarious.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Mary Ann literally lived across the street from me when I was growing up. I took care of Dawn Wells' lawn when she was out of town and hung out many a time with her. What you saw on TV was what you got with Dawn: smart, enthusiastic, upbeat, really cute. She had a B.A. in chemistry from Stephens College in Missouri, a son from a previous marriage, and a hot boyfriend on the 6:00 news (local anchor on CBS affiliate). I loved her.
...that is WAY cool....I would have been surrounded by a constant puddle of drool...what a cutey...