Face it, TV executives will go cheap if they can keep ratings up.
Most businesses will sacrifice the quality of their product for more profits. So if the head honchos at CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX can get away with more reality TV programmingthen they probably will.
Goodbye for now "30 Rock." Goodbye "Friday Night Lights."
So I ask you, what show are you going to miss most? Rather what are the five best shows on television?
5. "30 Rock": Alec Baldwin, as the obnoxious Irish executive, and Tine Fey, as the fix-it writer, are a classic combination that could be as good as any in the last 10 years on TV. Traci Morgan's character selling in info-mercials is worth youtubing.
4. "Friday Night Lights": Another NBC product. This show is hanging on by a thread despite critics clamor for greatness. Even ESPN, a sister company to ABC, sent out a manifesto to have readers watch the show keep it on the air.
3. "Lost": Plots and character development have improved each year--a sure sign of a well-made show. Though, not easy to jump aboard if you hadn't at the beginning, which is why I've rented DVDs.
2. "Heroes": It took me a while to catch up with this show as well, but I've fully embraced a super-hero world that can be made with real human drama. It's X-Men meats MTV. Fine, as long as the action stays interesting.
1. "The Office": I remember watching Dwight popping out of a cardboard box, after failing to spy on warehouse workers for information. At that moment, I was hooked.
(Honorable mention: "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Didn't make the list because of long gaps between seasons. Still the second funniest program on TV.)
I got to agree, Mike, the best show is by far the The Office. I haven't laughed that hard since Friends went off the air.
I haven't yet watched Heroes but that has come highly recommended.
Tell me about it. I was beginning to think that Wednesday and Friday night have turned into a reality-tv-athon.
I'm fed up with it. My kids, 11 and 12, like to watch tv with me--and they're smart enough to laugh at some of the jokes in "Earl" and Thursday night shows.
But frankly, we only watch movies and some re-runs. It's disapointing.
I definitely agree with "The Office!" It's just the little things that make the show so funny...like, Michael holding the pizza boy hostage because he won't pay him, or the look on Jim's face the first time he discovers that Dwight and Angela are together...
I generally don't have time to watch any five shows during a week. But I'm already missing the Daily Show. Jon Stewart is amazing and the rerun shows just aren't enough.
I just wanted to say that I loved three of your picks for the best TV shows on the air - The Office, Friday Night Lights and 30 Rock. All are great. I never got into Lost and I haven't watched Heroes. I've talked to Windy and I think it'll be a DVD show for me. Lost may be as well, because I feel I've missed the boat. Anyways, I think FNL may be the best sports-related TV show ever made. I am a big fan of the movie and it ranks No. 2 on my list of all-time sports movies, right behind Hoosiers. The only thing I take issue with is all the amazing comebacks the Panthers seemed to make in order to get to state the first season. I think the second season would've been infinitely better had Coach Taylor lost in the Mud Bowl and then had to contend with the pressure cooker of everyone second guessing him. Buddy Garrity is a better enemy than ally, but that's just my opinion as a writer.
I also think it's great that each of the three shows you mentioned - they all shut down for the WGA strike. In the case of the The Office and 30 Rock, several of the performers are also writers on the show. I think it's great that they're writers first and actors second. The same can be said for Conan, Dave, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - all of whom shut down their shows as well. However, it does suck for us TV fans out there because you're right - network execs will dumb it down. They've been doing it for years because it's cheaper and easier.
My top five would be:
NCIS, Criminal Minds, The Unit, Boston Legal and House. They're all tightly focused and highly entertaining even if Criminal Minds is a bit gory. Reality shows won't fill the void left by these shows but they're not new shows either and the new crop of shows this year has been so disapointing I think the programming execs have only themselves to blame. The biggest casualty will be in January with the loss of "24." There's no way the garbage reality shows can offer anything to attract big ratings.
I agree with you picks of Lost and Friday Night Lights. I would also add CSI(Vegas) and House. We also watch the Canadian show, Corner Gas. Small town humor we can certainly relate to. I too am tired of all of the "reality" shows and besides the few I mentioned, we watch reruns on TVLand or movies.
Criminal Minds is a favorite of mine as well as Psych and Burn Notice, but the last two are both cable shows. I also just recently got hooked on Reaper. I will miss that.
I used to be a fan of Lost and Heroes, but not anymore. Neither have the proverbial "it" factor going for them anymore, IMHO.
Unfortunately I stopped watching comedies when Seinfield was taken off the air. there will never be a show that is as funny as Seinfield, ever! As far as the dramas on TV right now, I really like Friday Night Lights and Greys Anatomy. But oh for the days of the 80's and NBC! The best shows EVER were Hill Street Blues followed by St. Elsewhere. What I wouldn't give to see those shows again, even in reruns!