MovieChat Forums > Timeless (2016) Discussion > Explain this,someone please..

Explain this,someone please..

posted 8 years ago by tomkofof
8 replies | jump to latest

How is it,or maybe it isn't ..that people can go from watching,for instance. ..Justified,let's say and Breaking Bad and Bates Motel and Walking Dead and Vikings and Preacher and Mr Robot ,etc,etc,...( I know some are over now) to Bones ,NCIS and frankly I can't go on because I don't know any others,ahh,Criminal Minds,there's one.. and other 20plus procedural and them back to cable again...

I don't get it? And we're not even talking reality,which I know is everywhere.ive never seen any...except on you tube,..the really good talent stuff..

HOW???

I know they depend on very pretty,all media does,although less so on many cable series ...and I know some people don't have the time or want to spent it on a real story,unlike proceedurals that go from ep to ep,without much but a thread of background...nothing too vital. So why?? And I'm not trying to be obstreperous for the heck of it... I really don't get it. I try every fall to watch something that I think I might enjoy...I really like the people in the superhero time travel series,,but I just couldn't get past a couple. I do watch Supernatural and Elementary..so I watch two that I think are good.
But otherwise,I just can't find one. Thing is..I watch a lot of cable series,immersion end some.

There must be a style that defines it. Party of it is the censors are different,this is true. But could that be it??? Just the censors are different. Would thst define how good something is?

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

How is it, or maybe it isn't ..that people can go from watching, for instance, Justified, Breaking Bad, Bates Motel, Walking Dead, Vikings, Preacher, Mr Robot, etc, etc,... (I know some are over now) to Bones, NCIS, and frankly I can't go on because I don't know any others, ahh, Criminal Minds, there's one.. and other 20plus procedurals and then back to cable again...

The short answer is that in a nation of over 300 million, individual tastes vary. No two people will like ALL of the same shows. Liking one on the first list does not preclude liking one on the second list and vice-versa.

Justified was a great show. It was nowhere near realistic. Walking Dead is of course science fiction (example: There is a US Marshal's service, but there are not zombies), so it can in no way be compared to any reality-based show. I have not watched the others you listed.

On your other list, I enjoy NCIS as well. It also lacks realism- for example NCIS does NOT investigate many of the cases shown. I differentiate this show from the cartoon spinoff NCIS: LA. Law & Order was the longest running crime procedural and one of the best, ditto Homicide: Life on the Street. My personal favorite modern crime show was Robbery Homicide Division, a short-lived LAPD show from 2002.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] tomkofof 8 years ago

Thanx for the response...I wasn't really expecting one,.lol..

True..but it doesn't answer why something as mundane and formula as NCIS or BONES..and I'm just using those because they are so popular and have been around forever,sustains for a decade plus... And NCIS has what 4 others like it,so the same pretty much.

I developed a clot in my leg that collapsed causing the vein to collape..it was the biggest most important vein in the body, so it had a domino effect of pretty serious disability. So TV. Lol. It became important all of a sudden...

Before that I didn't watch tv. Very little..
At first I caught up on NYPD Blue and a lot of others. X-Files,things known to be good. I thought ,wow some really good stuff. This was early 2000's ... I aslo watched Lost,NCIS and eventually Bones,but stopped after a few years. I did because I discovered what was on cable. I sleep poorly and there are reruns of older series some awful,but popular that I've seen.

My question really is this. It takes a lot of veiwersnip to keep something on tv these days and many very good things are cancelled. Some really bad ones too...lol..
But quality wise there is no comparison.. They are better,far more Intelligent and don't do filler episodes to make 20plus a year.

So I'm confused as to the whole of it...Maybe people don't know. Or are just habit prone, I know I am. It would seem that some of the ad things wouldn't be tolerated. Maybe is is just preference.

I heard one of the stars of NCIS tell some entertainment reporter that they are successful because they are more like a sitcoms ... If you know tv you'll see that ,he said. It was the guy who plays DINOZZO. (sp).

I own Homicide LITS...I bought it after seeing it on reruns...

I wouldn't watch Buffy until convinced and it was very good because of the writing as was Angel. So there are some I would have missed that were worth the entertainment value..

Anyway,I'm confused with as busy as people seem,that some of these are sustained,but maybe it is because of it...

Walking Dead is drama ..that is why it is good,I believe. Zombie driven drama and very excellent drama. The zombie are secondary. It is the people who are dangerous..
Anyway I was curious what people might respond with..

[–] snagswolf 8 years ago

Different strokes for different folks.

The only thing that riles my balls is when people think their opinions and tastes are better than other's.

[–] tomkofof 8 years ago

Well I've seen many hateful arguements on IMDB that were just about opinion and preference....this question is more sociallogical lol...

[–] patstar-1 8 years ago

If I understand your question right then in my opinion the cable channels have the much better shows because they don't interfere nearly as much with the show creators/runners as the network channels do. I'm making a bunch of assumptions here so basically I'm talking out my ass lol but my guess is that the networks have to pander to a much larger/broader demographic and they generate most of their revenue from their advertisers. That limits the networks from pushing the envelope, doing anything that could be considered controversial, etc. On the other hand the cable channels generate much of their revenue from their subscribers and cable isn't censored. The fact that a consumer has to select each cable channel they wish to subscribe to and pay directly for it each month is a virtual consent that the consumer accepts the programming without censorship which gives cable a lot more freedom than network channels have.

Bottom line, network has to cater to a much larger and diverse consumer base while keeping their advertisers happy too. They appear to stick to an old formula for producing content with little variation and when they have something that works, they just stick with it and milk it for all it's worth!

Cable on the other hand has to keep their consumer base (which is smaller than networks) happy and interested but they don't have anywhere near the constraints the networks do so they can afford to really push the boundaries and to try new things. I could be way wrong here but I believe that the FX channel was doing poorly until they started producing riskier original programming like The Shield and Rescue Me, and a bunch others since but all within the last 10-15 years. Same with AMC until it's massive hit; Breaking Bad (plus a bunch of other really good shows too). Now FX and AMC can compete with HBO!! That's only 2 examples I quickly thought of. I don't think anyone would argue the fact that shows like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, Sopranos, The Wire, etc could ever have been nearly as successful on network channels.

Anyways, I still keep giving new series that sound interesting to me a chance regardless whether they'll be on network or cable but if I'm honest I'm always a lot more enthusiastic and hopeful for it if it will be on a good cable channel. I still remember the announcement that Game of Thrones was going to be made into a show and when I learned it would be on HBO I was so excited (just like I am now with Westworld!)...and look at it now!!

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Black holes are where God divided by 0 

[–] tomkofof 8 years ago

No you got it...I read mine again. It's been awhile,..typos galore..sorry...I must have forgot to check.

I see that there are as usual a bunch of new series beginning. And they are all the same...police,medical and now some political. But they go for 20plus eps..that is hard to do. The one thing I use to like was that after a few months they returned so I didn't forget what I watched...lol
I forget a lot of the last year with some. But I'm watching more than ever. I got a clot in my leg that took out the vein and caused a lot of trouble.,so I'm home more...and TV is a distraction.

I saw some good stuff,but it was all cable. I never watched tv before. A few favorites,but not as a rule. I noticed a big difference between cable and network. And the networks own the cable stations. So it is on purpose and with knowledge of what goes where.

I was wondering why people would tune in for another NCIS,this or that.. ( I think they follow a sit com kinda format in that they are tongue in cheek and often not too serious). In fact Micheal Whetherly sp.,,said so in an interview. We are very much like a sit com. Lots of humor and not too serious for too long...etc...People,I think want something simple after a busy day and they know and like the actors.

One new series is focusing on a really important issue ...innocent people getting convicted. But they aren't going to delve into the real problems with police,the justiciary and the social problems... privatization of prisons etc.. they are afraid of angering too many people.

So instead it will focus on a bad cop or a misinformed witness,or a criminal getting away with a set up,, the real issues that drive the main one are left,not just unanswered,but ignored.
There are a lot of peopl who just are not interested in too much thought. They don't want to think too much. They want simple predictable,usually happy ending with stars that come back.

When I switched to British series,which I lkme,the first thing I noticed was that the actors,even the stars were not safe. Frequently getting killed!

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

That's why they make chocolate and vanilla (and sometimes strawberry), Tom.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] jimmyberluti1 8 years ago

I don't like shows like law & order and ncis. The last good newtwork show was Lost.
The Shield, Breaking Bad and Dexter...shows with a growing story line where the actual charcters change.
Law and Order 1996 vs 2016 its the same show.