New TV programmes

[teamcool]

I know there is the running 'debate' that reality tv has run its course but what do ab members think? What types of new television programmes would you like to see on tv?

[rja211077]

I'd love to see a British drama that is as good as the Sopranos. We must be capable of making such a thing?

[jam4u]

i would like to see documentaries, something that will teach us about the cultures and history, like the tribe which was on last night and micheal palin's himalaya, those were fantastic documentaries. all these reality tv shows are gettin abit too much now, they are ridiculous and boring, some good comedy dramas would be very welcome as well.

[LeMarchand]

Whilst my favourite shows tend to be SF (and related genres) and US dramas, they're not everyone's cup of tea.

What I would like to see is a greater range of well-made quality shows, rather than everyone jumping on the bandwagon of whatever new genre is "in".

[andy hughes]

I agreee with the general thread of responses - people appreciate 'quality' TV of various genres. 'Reality' TV is cheap to make, and brings in massive revenues, the equivalent of the Shakespearean actor who does panto to fund his 'serious' career. Home-grown comedy and drama should be better than they are - we get far too much dross to wade through to find the occasional nugget - American shows which are ruthlessly ratings based tend to get it right more often.

Maybe the answer is some proper quality control, instead of the apparent 'Let's run it up the flag pole and see if the bear licks it up in the woods ....' attitude - dramas and comedy should be of a decent standard before they are unleashed on the public.

[Shipstabber]

I would like to see a reality show in which a person is filmed 24 hours a day for a month, going about their normal business - work, pub, home, etc., whilst handcuffed to a monkey.

It would be called. 'Hey!  I'm Handcuffed to a Monkey!'

[kempie]

Why not focus on the monkey and call it

'Hey!  I'm Handcuffed to a Human!'

[natalie_1982]

What's SF?

I'd like to see more Blue Planet type documentaries, live music concerts, classic films and more comedy shows.  Also, a decent game show - when I was little I used to love Saturday nights at my nan's house watchig TJ Hooker, The A Team, Catchphrase and Blind Date - how about some modern equivalents?

[natalie_1982]

Oooh and You Bet!

[hopalong]

I would like to see new faces instead of Bruce Forsyth and Cilla Black.  I object to these people being paid hundred of thousands every year when a new face could do it gladly for far less and the money saved could go on to make better programmes.

[LeMarchand]

natalie_1982: SF is Science Fiction. Sci-Fi is the more commonly used term, I guess, but has slightly derogatory connotations. That said, (unfortunately) most TV that falls near the genre is Sci-Fi rather than SF!

[Loosehead]

SF is Science fiction.

[galltin]

What was You Bet?

[natalie_1982]

You Bet! was a game show hosted by Matthew Kelly where you had to bet on whether the contestant would complete the task or not.  The tasks were pretty random I remember one person blindfolded being able to tell every different type of apple by smell alone and another being able to tell you exactly which Madonna song was being played by the movement of a candle flame in front of a speaker.

[Loosehead]

You bet was a show where people said they could do things that where very difficult and the audience and some celebs would bet on whether they really could do it. It was originally fronted by Bruce Forsyth and later by Mathew Kelly. As usual with this kind of show it started off  very entertaining, some of the challanges where really good fun to watch and you could marvel in the skill of the protagonists. For example there was a couple of guys who reckoned they could change the wheel of a car without stopping the car, and they did it, brilliant! But later on the challenges became more and more futile and incomprehensible. You can see repeats on Challenge TV. The early ones are worth a look, some fantastic stunts and feats of memory etc.

[Loosehead]

Sorry Natalie, posted at the same time!

[natalie_1982]

Well you didn't actually bet but you guessed!

Loosehead, think your answer was a bit more in depth than mine and I didn't know Bruce Forsyth used to do it!

[bernardo]

A series of Big Brother in which the gorgeous handsome one wins instead of coming third (BB3 and BB4) or fifth (BB5).

[johngammon]

I feel very frustrated that there are so few interesting programmes on TV, and that TV companies are trying to fill the schedules with hour-long documentaries (cf Body Shock: Orgasmatron) that years ago would have been short items in magazine programmes. "Reality TV" is quite obviously the exact opposite of its name, and there are far too many programmes being all pious yet voyeuristic over sex.  ("Nine O' Clock, and Jack's wife swapping party is now starting to get into its swing..."  Yawn)  British drama in particular seems very dull and conservative, as though Dennis Potter, The Wednesday Play and Play for Today had never happened.  (Incidentally, why don't classic programmes get shown on the main channels.  Is it because the TV bosses are afraid of them?)

Added to the problem is that several British TV critics are young, groovy but unknowledgeable, and therefore some programmes (such as Shameless or Dangerous Housewives) become wildly overrated.  Comedy, however, seems very healthy, although Peep Show seems to be the only top-quality sitcom at present.  I've been watching TV since the late-1950s, and am finding only a handful of US programmes such as The Shield or The Sopranos or Six Feet Under or Monk to offer anything challenging and fresh to me.  Today, there is nothing for me to watch but The Simpsons' re-run.  I often wonder if I'm the only one of my generation who is spending vastly more time in front of the computer than the other box.