Remember when...?

daddyjt
daddyjt Posts: 2,305
edited November 2019 in Music & Movies
Anyone else remember watching channels like The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and The History Channel back in the late 80’s/early 90’s? And endless lineup of interesting, informative and intelligent programming. Shows about science, geography, anatomy, the universe and actual interesting history...

What happened?? Now the channels run a constant stream of shows like My 600 lb life, Street Outlaws, Alaskan Bush People, Pawn Stars, Ancient Aliens, 90 day fiancé, Long Island Medium, and on and on. A seemingly endless parade of pure drivel. Granted, buried in some of these shows are some interesting elements, but they seem to always be overwhelmed by staged and forced drama - endless drama. And every time I see a new show advertised and I think “holy heII - it can’t possibly get any more ridiculous than THAT”, here comes TLC - hold my beer - we’re doing a NEW show - teen lesbi@n pregnant obese little people that flip houses that are haunted by alien spirits...

Exhausting.

End of rant.
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow


“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Comments

  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,862
    when does that new TLC show start ;)
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,230
    When people say that, "They do not make things like they used too"? They were not kidding. I personally blame MTV when they ruined their own channel by introducing the world to "reality" shows. It's been downhill in my book ever since.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    I’m seeing more of those on Netflix now.

    On Strange Rock
    Planet Earth
    Lots of war documentaries, etc

    It’s out there just a LOT harder to find as it’s spread across a bunch of diff apps.

    Speaking of, National Geographic is part of the new Disney+ and I’m looking forward to diving into that channel tonight!
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,862
    To the OP, why do you think we cut the cord 9 yrs ago and have not looked back once. Bruce said it" 57 channels and nothing on"
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    “Reality type” shows are cheap to make. No plot, bad dialogue, and people who can’t spell acting. All forgiven because people actually think these shows are actually non fiction. Guess that would be the best phrase.
  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    Hell, I remeber when Ranch Dressing was invented and this country wasn't overrun with morons.
  • decal
    decal Posts: 3,205
    edited November 2019
    afterburnt wrote: »
    ... and this country wasn't overrun with morons.

    When might have that been?
    If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited November 2019
    Fortunately, Ranch dressing didn't predate the invention of ranches.

    Otherwise, I'd be quite doubtful of @afterburnt's whole premise.

    :|

    Mrs. H and I largely gave up on TV well before we moved up here -- driven partly by the switch from analog to digital broadcasting, which cost us probably half of the (OTA) channels that we could (previously) watch in the deep suburbs of Boston. We were in the Digital Gulch.

    I guess in some circles it was considered progress.
    Not in mine.