It's sad.

The postive I see in this, Buffy/Angel got in their seasons earlier before reality tv craze happened.

If Buffy started out on Fox and canceled after a few episodes, or if WB passed on the opportunity to pick the series if it was starting out now, you know, there would be no Buffy/Angel, were lucky in that Joss got these shows out in time, maybe if he did Buffy 2 years earlier, Angel would have gone 7 seasons etc etc.

But current state of tv is terrible and that's sad.

SeanValen | June 17, 23:52 CET

Not news for us Whedon fans. I, for one, am just disgusted by what's on tv nowadays, scripted or reality. I feel like I'm not part of the clique that's being pandered to with these crappy shows. It makes me feel like a tv snob that I'm not salivating at the theme music of American Idol or heatedly discussing with my colleagues who will get voted off the island. I hate that I KNOW these terms! I hate that they have wormed their way into popular culture and that I will forever be of this generation and time when tv was so popular yet so crappy. I hate OTH, Smallville, The OC, Method and Red(WTF?!), Marry a Millionaire, etc, etc, etc infinity.

And I hate that they made my Joss leave....... :(

Rogue Slayer | June 17, 23:57 CET

But another positive way for me to cope is, if I just needed
one television to rewatch again and again, I'll get my angel dvd boxsets, beer, apartment, and just re-watch them with somone who hasn't seen them, I always enjoy someone else seeing something I like for the first time, reminds me of myself when I first watched them, thats the great thing about good shows, they don't fade away, always someone interested at some point. We've reached a peak, and if Angel/Buffy, X files, Millenium are the last great shows in my opinion, genre tv has gone out on a high.

R.I.P Genre tv

Alias/24 few remaining shows I support.



Then hopefully after some time, there's either Joss Wheadon/Chris Carter returning to tv with great new ideas, or some new person injecting something as groundbreaking as Chris Carter's X files in the 90s, which got alot of sci-fi thing going, very succeful mainsteam, and critically high.

[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-06-17 22:05 ]

[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-06-17 22:06 ]

SeanValen | June 18, 00:03 CET

I hate that I KNOW these terms! I hate that they have wormed their way into popular culture

Oh, I so agree! But, on the positive side, I do think the pendulum will swing back -- or the way we get to select shows to watch will change -- so that these terms will have no more lasting impact on culture than any of the other fads whose names find themselves the answers to Trivial Pursuit-type games. It's just a shame that we have to live through this drought of quality shows now.

palehorse | June 18, 00:25 CET

I feel like I'm not part of the clique that's being pandered to with these crappy shows.

A clique is a selective group; maybe unfairly selective, but selective. The people "reality" TV panders to are not a clique. They're the great unwashed. They're the mob, the crowd, the people calling for "bread and circuses," pouring into the colosseum. You are not a snob, RogueSlayer.

But "reality" TV is driving all kinds of scripted television down, not just the really good stuff. Scoff at Smallville and The OC if you will, but compared to The Swan, they're still art.

Maeve | June 18, 00:54 CET

Sorry to be pedantic but isn't the fact that all his shows went off air and he was given the chance to make a movie out of one of them what caused him to leave television or do they mean that comment in a more general manner as regards viewership figures

garda39 | June 18, 01:02 CET

I actually really like The O.C. It's considerably well written and the acting is good (unlike, for me, Smallville). It isn't the same as Angel, Alias, or 24, but that's just because it's a different genre. I would blame it more on The O.C. copycats. Those shows are horrible. But as far as quality television writting goes, in my opinion, The O.C. is one of the best.

toxiceuphoria | June 18, 01:02 CET

Sorry to be pedantic but isn't the fact that all his shows went off air and he was given the chance to make a movie out of one of them what caused him to leave television or do they mean that comment in a more general manner as regards viewership figures

Well, Angel more or less went off the air because of the crap that they want to replace it with. The crap that they see the crowds are eating up on other networks. The WB wanted to get in on that, and let some of it's 'aging' shows 'retire'. And it's sad that a show of 5 seasons is considered aging. X-Files and Friends must have been geriatric. And while I do think those two shows went on a bit too long, 5 years wasn't enough for the stories Joss could tell. Hell, after 20 years, I would still be interested in what Joss could tell, because he's an artist and a craftsman of writing. So what happens to craftsmen when people prefer cheap knock-offs of even cheaper crap? The craftsmen leave and go make movies that knock your socks off. Which is good, but I want my must-see tv back!!!

Rogue Slayer | June 18, 02:28 CET

this reminds me of Star Trek--no seriously it does! In ST they claimed that people eventually got bored with television, and a few years ago I didn't see why, but now I do and it makes me sad.

redtenko | June 18, 03:32 CET

Not to get nitpicky, but Hanson doesn't actually say that Reality TV chased Joss away. That's a bit of paraphrasing which may have been added by the reporter...

mchan | June 18, 05:09 CET

I agree with toxiceuphoria that The O.C. is currently one of the best shows on television, along with Alias and Gilmore Girls. As wonderful as the Jossverse is, those weren't the only great shows on the tube. The best, definitely, but there's still a few well-written shows still kicking out there that we should do our best to support. Can't underestimate quality writing.

MindPieces | June 18, 06:15 CET

They're nothing like Angel, but I really like Cold Case, Without a Trace, and Law & Order: SVU. Don't like the reality shows (got through about 15 seconds of The Swan), but I admit I watched The Simple LIfe 2 last night...!

Gaudior | June 18, 12:24 CET

You said it, Rogue Slayer. It’s not being a “TV snob” to crave exceptional writing and storytelling. Unfortunately, Joss Whedon shows have raised my standards and expectations to such a level that I just don’t care about anything else. There are a few shows I watch with regularity, but they could end tomorrow with barely a shrug of the shoulders from me.
I resist the urge to put down any lame-ass sitcoms, derivative jet set dramas or procedural shows because I haven’t seen most of them and at least writers and actors are writing and acting. You’d think in such a celebrity obsessed society, audiences would want more stars instead of yet another batch of disposable, forgettable reality show morons. Shameless idiots with no talent and nothing to say. If that’s entertainment, these are sad times for pop culture.
There are dwindling alternatives for viewers with tastes that don’t follow the rest of the sheep. Why should I be made to feel like an outsider or that I don’t matter simply because I can think for myself and I don’t want the stuff advertisers are selling? Don’t make me pout!

bloodflowers | June 18, 17:18 CET

OT, I was interested to note that Hanson left Joan of Arcadia after the first 13 episodes.

IMO, the quality of Joan tanked after those episodes. Connection?

bookrats | June 18, 19:31 CET