Does anyone work at these studios over the age of 40? (1 Viewer)

[Carlos Garcia]

How about if they created cable TV networks named "The 50s Network", "The 60s Network", "The 70s Network", "The 80s Network" and "The 90s Network". This way those interested in programming from that era can watch those channels that interest them, and not watch those that don't. TVLand is like Nick At Nite, they USED to have great programming for those of us who like the oldies, but now they cater to the younger crowd, with programming from the 70s and 80s. That's fine, but I guess the message is that if you are interested in oldies, you have been phased out. Sorry. Oh well, that's ok, if that's the route they want to take, but at least release some of these shows on DVD so we can finally buy them all up and get rid of the cable once and for all...That is, unless someone DOES come up with those wishful channels I've mentioned above.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

I would love that. Maybe even more genre stations like the Sci-Fi channel. A good comedy channel would be nice also since Comedy Central sucks.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, I'm very proud to be 42 in 2004, and wouldn't have it any other way (well, except maybe to be about ten years older today -- which would mean that I've lived through even more of those great old times ).

The most satisfying thing about being one of those "older guys who acts like he's sitting on a porch whining about how the good ol' days used to be" is that I know you'll get there, too. And just about the time you're done reading this thread, it's that quick. I have little doubt your memories and views will go this way, too.

But a couple of things I wanted to ask Jonathan regarding THE HONEYMOONERS -- I'm curious how much of the show you've seen, because for one thing, Alice never lets Ralph get away with anything (as you pretty much said). She was the first "modern woman," so to speak. No nonsense about her, and she told her husband off.

And I'm curious about your reference to Ed Norton as an "idiotic neighbor". I don't want to trash SEINFELD because I think it's the best thing to come out of sitcom television in the last couple of decades -- but what, then, would you think of the equally "idiotic" Kramer? He's basically spawned from the Art Carney character, routinely walking into the apartment and acting like a dolt.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

I certainly hope not, otherwise I'll be a hypocrite. Honestly, I doubt this will happen because of the way my entertainment taste have already changed over the past 10 years. Stuff I could watch and love in high school I can't enjoy at all now and vice versa with stuff I enjoy now. There is definantly some overlap, but there are still some glaring disparity. At 26 years old, I'm still finding stuff I like and starting to dislike stuff I liked even a short time ago. If I do end up being a crotchety old man though I'll be sure to come back to these forums and apologize to everyone I offended with my brash, youthful, inexperienced comments and opinions.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Just for the record, I was quite different at 26 (about two minutes ago, it seems ) than I am at 42. So you never know!

As for THE HONEYMOONERS -- I don't agree with you but then again, I don't really need to say much more; the show really requires no defending.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

This is not really very surprising though, considering that most newer movies and television shows (along with the tolerance of younger audiences today) is pretty much good for the moment and that's about it. It's like a tasty hamburger -- good while eaten, and then quickly discarded and forgotten.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

What I actually meant was that my tastes are constantly changing. I think there are a lot of movies that do and will hold up over time with no problem. The 80's however was a trainwreck when it comes to here today gone tomorrow style movies and tv shows. I'm not looking for anyone to defend their favorite shows. But when people say stuff I watch is crap compared to what they like, if only because it was made in the past 20 years it seems, I'm kind of forced to defend mine.

 

[TheLongshot]

Well, I will.

I never got the appeal of the show. A bunch of shallow, vain people acting stupid isn't exactly my idea of a good time. I liked sitcoms better when I actually liked and identified with the characters...

Jason

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Seinfeld was the last good comedy to hit television. The reason it was so great was because it was NOT a sitcom. Every episode had so many different scenes taking place in different places, you had no time to get bored. Can't say that about any of today's shows. The characters were basically cartoons. Those who didn't get that, of course they didn't like it. They should stick to the normal format of a sitcom, like Frasier or Friends.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

No, I'm 23 and own TV shows from the 60's 70's 80's 90's and 2000's on DVD.

The thing about nick is that they can only broadcast shows for a certain time, which is why sometimes they'll bring in a series and only air it for a few months, before it either is taken off the schedule completely or sent to TV land. So that is one contributing factor for why it is now airing more recent shows like Rosann and so on. Perhaps in 10 years it will be airing Married with Children who knows, but the point is that what is or isn't on Nick really shouldn't be considered in the discussion.

 

[Mark To]

Unfortunately DVD is going to be the last possible outlet for many of the shows from the 50s and 60s. You can already see where the television landscape is heading. Its similar to oldies radio where 50s and 60s music is already being squeezed out for 70s and 80s. Just like there will always be a small group of songs that get played from that era, as time goes on more and more of them are getting eliminated from playlists. The same goes for television. 50s shows are almost completely gone from the airwaves and little by little, 60s shows are diminishing. The only national cable network even trying for this audience anymore is Good Life and they can't get on any of the dish services and they are in only about 12 million cable homes. All of the others that aired the more obscure stuff are either gone (CBN, HA) or have abandoned those programs (SciFi, Nick, TV Land). That is why those of us on this board who enjoy this stuff are so passionate in our posts. Granted, DVD is the most desirable method to see any television show, but for us it has become the only method we will ever see the shows we want to watch. I know that modern TV, with network logos, crawls, squeezed credits, etc., is annoying as hell but if you can get past that, you can watch your Buffy and Alias and Angel and Felicity and Gilmore Girls to your hearts content. We don't have that option if we want to watch the shows we like. And I know everyone keeps saying wait and be patient, these shows will come. But as a previous poster stated, when you're 25 tomorrow is a long ways off. Well, like he said, 25 seems like last week and now I'm 46. Once you're out of school, a year goes by in what seems like a week. I'd like to enjoy these things now, while I can still watch an hour show without 3 trips to the john.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Went back, and wanted to make a few more points.

I don't know this for sure, but I believe one of the conditions for Image to get the rights to release the Dick Van Dyke show was that they had to release all 5 seasons no matter what. That's why you saw seasons 1 and 2 on the same day, and some of us knew release dates for the other three seasons before the end of 2003.

Second, you are crazy if you don't think that Friends and The Simpsons won't be remembered years from now. Friends is the most profitable property in sindication right now, or close to it with Seinfeld. There are words going in to the dictionary because of the Simpsons, and its still going. There is some desire among some of the staff to shoot for Gunsmokes record as longest running primetime show, and even after the Simpsons does finally hang it up...the Simpsons will still be around. Classes are tought on the Simpsons, studies are done on the way Friends has influenced the way people speak. Now with the advent of DVD and future technologies, it will be very easy for someone to sit their children down when the time is right and show them the Simpsons. I won't have to wonder or hope that my kids will get to see it in sindication, if I have kids I can show it to them myself.

I don't know how people will be in 50 years and if they'll mention the Simpsons and the Dick Van Dyke Show in the same breath, but I'm sure that they'll both be mentioned.

Oh and season 4 of Friends is IMO one of the funniest seasons of any TV show past or present. Hey even season 10's final episode and series finale drew 50 million viewers. No, that's not like M*A*S*H drawing over 100 million but there was considerably less stuff to choose from back then.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Yes they will be remembered, the same way The Honeymooners and The Flintstones are remembered today. The sad reality is that while your generation may be defending these shows today, in another 35 yrs, they will have become as obsolete as the other shows I've mentioned. Classics? Maybe for their generation they were, but 35 yrs from now you will get the young crowd badmouthing Friends and the Simpsons the same way we get to hear them bad mouthing the Honeymooners and the Flintstones today. Everything is in perspective. Are The Simpsons and Friends hot today? Certainly. Will they be nothing more than a sweet memory to older folks 35 yrs from now? As history has proven, that's a given.

 

[LizH]

I can't STAND "Seinfeld".

I fail to see anything amusing about listening to four whining, self-absorbed baby boomers. :rolleyes

 

[Jonathan Carter]

I find that to be doubtful for a couple of reasons that are probably going to piss some people off.

1. We will have a complete catalog of these shows on DVD so people can watch them whenever they want to regardless of whether or not they are TV.

2. They will probably still be on TV. The reason is, and I can't quite figure out why honestly, Friends and The Simpsons appeal to such a huge cross-section of the population it's unreal. That alone is a reason they will have staying power.

 

[Jeff_HR]

OK, how about giving us the viewing stats for every age group to prove the cross-section popularity.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

I don't know anyone, except for myself and a few other people who just don't like the show anymore, that doesn't watch Friends. That includes co-workers, parents, boss,... Yes it's not a accurate test, but look at the #'s it gets every week. No offence directed towards anyone, but you'd have to be a fool to think that it's only 18-30 year olds who watch it.

Here you go, I just found an articla that has the info in it... Here is the quote from the artical...

"Friends gets a premium because of its following among viewers age 18 to 49, a demographic coveted by advertisers. It was the most-watched show among that group for the week ending April 25. CSI was the eighth-most-watched program among that group that week."

And here is the link to the artical in it's entirety...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...8583367.htm?1c

 

[Jonathan Carter]

And here is another artical stating that the median viewing age for Friends is 38.7 years old. Here's the link to the artical...

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/new...3thursday.html

 

[Charles Ellis]

Hmmmm....I'm 38 years and 11 months old- just right for me! BTW, I do collect Friends on DVD, but as I have said before, I mostly go for the classics from the 50's through 70's. When Dynasty and Night Court come out, I can start on the 80's!

 

[Eric Paddon]

I'm 35, and my entire TV collection on DVD contains next to nothing later than "Battlestar Galactica" (78-79). Only the two "V" miniseries (I have no fondness for the series but will probably get it for completeness) and the "Moonlighting" pilot episode (if that comes out on DVD in Season sets, I'll just get 1, 2 and 3). For the most part, I quit watching first-run TV in 1989 because I no longer saw anything worthwhile to watch and that means ever since I have watched only older shows. I find that today's shows, no matter what their genre, are inevitably more interested in being crude, or pushing a social/political agenda with in your face blatancy that I despise (which is why "The West Wing" to cite the most obvious example will never be seen by me. Just imagine what the likelihood is of Hollywood doing a similar TV series in which Republicans are the leaders and main characters?)

I can watch older shows, even those that were ostensibly political to a degree from an earlier generation because I see much better quality of writing, and above all a desire to be more entertaining than preachy. And the more that comes out from that era, the happier I'll be since shows from the 90s are never going to occupy any space on my shelves from total lack of interest (never saw one episode of "Simpsons", "Seinfeld", "Friends" or "Frasier" and I don't feel deprived).