If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
No limit to how far back you go, but it does need to be a time when you actually watched TV and had full authority on deciding what to watch. Instead of calendar years, we'll go by broadcast years (fall–spring).
I'll go with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%9399_United_States_network_television_schedule">Fall 1998–Spring 1999</a>. <B>Seinfeld</b> and <b>New York Undercover</b> ended. <b>The Simpsons</b> came off the last season of their Golden Age (airing “In Marge We Trust” aka the Mr. Sparkle episode <i>and</i> “Lisa the Skeptic”) and began their decline. There weren't too many other good shows on the air. A few here and there, and outside of <b>Futurama</b> no debuts to write home about. We started to recover next year with <b>Freaks & Geeks</b> and <b>The Sopranos</b>. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Runner up: 2002–2003 aka the year <b>Joe Millionaire</b> aired and people ignored <b>Firefly</b>.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
What was the year of the writer's strike, when the already burgeoning reality tv era seemed to fully take over and seasons were truncated and overall terrible (it was year 2 of Friday Night Lights and Heroes, both of which were absolutely terrible coming off of great first seasons; scrubs was going to end but moved networks instead, the office had a short season, Pushing Daisies was sent out to push daisies, multiple shows took a huge dip in quality).
Wait, I looked it up, I guess that was year 1 of Breaking Bad so automatically disqualified. Also the rumor is that they were going to kill a major character at the end of season 1 and had a completely different plan for season 2, and the writer's strike actually prevented that from happening. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
^^ I believe that was the 2007-08 TV season.
Lots of shows had their seasons cut short and lots of junk aired that season. Once the strike ended in the Spring, they had to rush to crank out episodes to make air before May sweeps. It was not a quality year for TV for the most part. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
That writer's strike year was awful for television. It crippled existing shows and put a hamper on development for a good two years.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by The Bus
(Post 13286484)
Runner up: 2002–2003 aka the year <b>Joe Millionaire</b> aired and people ignored <b>Firefly</b>.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
For me the peak was mid 1960s, although right now is the best tv has been since then. The best year for tv ever was the 1966-67 season.
BATMAN, GREEN HORNET, LOST IN SPACE, TIME TUNNEL, VOYAGE TO BOTTOM OF SEA, STAR TREK, THE INVADERS, RAT PATROL, WILD WILD WEST, LAREDO, FBI, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, MAN FROM UNCLE, GIRL FROM UNCLE, GET SMART, HOGAN'S HEROES, COMBAT, THE FUGITIVE, TARZAN. The trough would be any year from mid 70s to late 90s when there were only 2 or 3 shows at any given time I felt like watching. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Shows from the 80s were fun but many were aimed at younger kids and void of any narrative that didn't see the protagonist always winning the day. That's probably why I preferred shows like Miami Vice where you never knew what would happen.
The 90s were the low point for me, as I was not into Star Trek yet and most of the other shows at the time just didn't interest me. I was a teen. I just started watching X-Files last summer lol. I don't think I watched any scripted TV on a weekly basis until Lost and The Shield came on. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
I've been aware that TV as a whole should be taken with a grain of salt when I was a young teenager watching the version of America's Funniest Videos with Dave Coulet as host, and they had Tag Team doing a live performance of "Whoomp, There It Is" in the studio, with the performers going around the audience while performing.
Something literally clicked in my brain at that moment, searing it into my memory forever and I always knew to hold TV at arm's length since then. I'm not afraid to enjoy something good, but I can't stand the very existence of filler sitcom and reality crap. And Seinfeld is the most overrated show ever made. There are flashes of brilliance surrounded by hours of drudgery. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by DthRdrX
(Post 13286605)
The 90s were the low point for me, as I was not into Star Trek yet and most of the other shows at the time just didn't interest me. I was a teen. I just started watching X-Files last summer lol.
More generally, the late-1980s through to the mid-2000s was my "lost era" when it comes to television. For long time period segments, I didn't have a tv at home or didn't have easy access to one. The only thing I really watched, were mostly Star Trek TOS reruns. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
1990's I barely watched any weekly TV. I was in college and tried to have a social life, worked and tried to finish school.
I don't think I really got into TV until circa 2000-01 when CSI premiered on CBS. It was a glitzy, movie-like production as a weekly TV show and got me into watching weekly TV. Once Tivo came into existence and allowed people, especially me, to record stuff and watch at their convenience was when I think we reached Peak TV. People were trying to watch more than they could realistically watch in a given week for live TV. Streaming and cable producing original shows really just accelerated peak TV and is now overwhelming viewers. The 1990s I think was not really a peak decade for quality TV. There were a few hit shows, but nothing like we've seen in the 2000s and 2010s. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
I'm not sure I'd agree that now is peak TV.
I'd nominate 2004, You had a perfect mix of huge 90's shows winding down and new shows coming in hot, and HBO originals taking off. 24 Alias Carnivale Charmed CSI CSI: Miami CSI: New York Cold Case Curb Your Enthusiasm Deadwood Desparate Housewives Entourage ER Everybody Loves Raymond Family Guy Frasier Friends Futurama George Lopez House King of Queens King of the Hill Law & Order Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: SVU Lost Monk Mythbusters My Wife and Kids NCIS NYPD: Blue Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Reno 911 Rescue Me Scrubs Sex and the City Shameless Simpsons Six Feet Under Smallville Sopranos South Park Star Trek: Enterprise Stargate: Atlantis Stargate: SG-1 That 70's Show The Bernie Mac Show The Dead Zone The Drew Carey Show The OC The Office The Shield The West Wing The Wire Two and a Half Men Veronica Mars Will & Grace Without a Trace Wonderfalls That's also ignoring reality shows which is a whole other giant list. That's a ridiculous list of shows. If you weren't burning up your DVR you were missing out on some great shows. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
I always did well finding shows to watch. There are so many shows on that look good with no way to watch them all. On another note, I know someone that is already thinking, most shows are bad, most books are bad, movies etc.... they are already getting stuck in another time and they are not even forty yet. They never expand on anything, music, tv, books etc... they just think everything they try is bad. Not even sure what they want from anything.
They even say I have no taste because I like everything. I'm just not picky and it makes life more enjoyable. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by milo bloom
(Post 13286726)
And Seinfeld is the most overrated show ever made. There are flashes of brilliance surrounded by hours of drudgery.
Seinfeld is one of the few shows I can't turn away from whenever I stumble upon it on TV now, even though I've seen every episode multiple times. It's brilliant. It has affected our social interaction in so many ways that you don't even notice it anymore (not that there's anything wrong with that). |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
(Post 13286825)
I'm not sure I'd agree that now is peak TV.
I'd nominate 2004, You had a perfect mix of huge 90's shows winding down and new shows coming in hot, and HBO originals taking off. 24 Alias Carnivale Charmed CSI CSI: Miami CSI: New York Cold Case Curb Your Enthusiasm Deadwood Desparate Housewives Entourage ER Everybody Loves Raymond Family Guy Frasier Friends Futurama George Lopez House King of Queens King of the Hill Law & Order Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: SVU Lost Monk Mythbusters My Wife and Kids NCIS NYPD: Blue Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Reno 911 Rescue Me Scrubs Sex and the City Shameless Simpsons Six Feet Under Smallville Sopranos South Park Star Trek: Enterprise Stargate: Atlantis Stargate: SG-1 That 70's Show The Bernie Mac Show The Dead Zone The Drew Carey Show The OC The Office The Shield The West Wing The Wire Two and a Half Men Veronica Mars Will & Grace Without a Trace Wonderfalls That's also ignoring reality shows which is a whole other giant list. That's a ridiculous list of shows. If you weren't burning up your DVR you were missing out on some great shows. Wow. I think we have a winner. I didn't know all those shows overlapped at the same time. Even if I never watched them/didn't like them they are still pretty significant in TV history. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
No Buffy, no sale.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by rw2516
(Post 13286599)
For me the peak was mid 1960s, although right now is the best tv has been since then. The best year for tv ever was the 1966-67 season.
BATMAN, GREEN HORNET, LOST IN SPACE, TIME TUNNEL, VOYAGE TO BOTTOM OF SEA, STAR TREK, THE INVADERS, RAT PATROL, WILD WILD WEST, LAREDO, FBI, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, MAN FROM UNCLE, GIRL FROM UNCLE, GET SMART, HOGAN'S HEROES, COMBAT, THE FUGITIVE, TARZAN. The trough would be any year from mid 70s to late 90s when there were only 2 or 3 shows at any given time I felt like watching. And if you go back & forward just a couple of years (say, 1964-1968), you can add iconic shows such as Twilight Zone, Rawhide, Wagon Train and kick in Munsters, Addams Family, High Chaparral, Laugh-In, Sonny & Cher, Perry Mason, Cimarron Strip, Dr. Kildare, Green Acres, Secret Agent, Jackie Gleason, and numerous other memorable programs. Even the movies of the week often offered compelling dramas such as Spielberg's "Duel." All pretty amazing when you realize that there were only 3 channels. Worst era was late probably 1978-1983. Pretty much overlapped with disco era, synthesizer muzak, programmed drums, big hair. Shows just looked cheap and seemed churned out to formula with a few rare exceptions. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
The OP mentioning in between the Seinfeld finale and the Sopranos pilot is strong, but how about 5/1981 to 9/1982, in between the Muppet Show finale and the Cheers pilot. The best show on TV might have been Dukes of Hazzard.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by cleaver
(Post 13287254)
but how about 5/1981 to 9/1982, in between the Muppet Show finale and the Cheers pilot. The best show on TV might have been Dukes of Hazzard.
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by cleaver
(Post 13287254)
The OP mentioning in between the Seinfeld finale and the Sopranos pilot is strong, but how about 5/1981 to 9/1982, in between the Muppet Show finale and the Cheers pilot. The best show on TV might have been Dukes of Hazzard.
Just a quick google for 1981 shows you had these start-ups/still fresh: Magnum PI Hill Street Blues Fall Guy CHiPS Fall Guy Trapper John The Jeffersons Different Strokes Dallas Dynasty Knots Landing Cagney & Lacey Dukes of Hazard The Love Boat And 70's classics nearing the end of their runs: M*A*S*H Maverick Fantasy Island Three's Company Happy Days Love Boat Laverne & Shirley The Waltons Little House on the Prairie One Day at a Time Maybe not the strongest year, but that's still a solid lineup of television. I guess you could look at it as the 70's shows were past their prime and the newer shows hadn't hit their stride yet. I think 1999 (between Seinfeld and Sopranos) has it beat still. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by Bandoman
(Post 13286890)
Wha...?
Seinfeld is one of the few shows I can't turn away from whenever I stumble upon it on TV now, even though I've seen every episode multiple times. It's brilliant. It has affected our social interaction in so many ways that you don't even notice it anymore (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Originally Posted by creekdipper
(Post 13286910)
Worst era was late probably 1978-1983. Pretty much overlapped with disco era, synthesizer muzak, programmed drums, big hair. Shows just looked cheap and seemed churned out to formula with a few rare exceptions. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
The late 1980s may be a good pick for worst era. That is before Seinfeld, The Simpsons, or X-Files hit the air. Which year did Cheers and Night Court end?
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Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Is this the first time anyone ever called anything trough TV?
I’m not really sure what it means. |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by whotony
(Post 13288008)
Is this the first time anyone ever called anything trough TV?
I’m not really sure what it means. Hmmm, or is it more like a pig trough, full of slop for the lowest common denominator to consume? |
Re: If we're at Peak TV, when was Trough TV (for you)?
Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
(Post 13287818)
The late 1980s may be a good pick for worst era. That is before Seinfeld, The Simpsons, or X-Files hit the air. Which year did Cheers and Night Court end?
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