Yesterday, the kids and I watched a 20/20 Barbara Walters Special featuring the best TV shows of all time. There were a couple things that seemed to stick out to us and Sierra said it best, "This shows that people do not necessarily like the shows that are put out today and Hollywood should go back to what it used to have."
They came up with the top shows based on viewers ratings via a couple magazines like People. It truly was fascinating what Americans said were the best of all time in all the categories!
Best Comedies were: #5 - All in the Family, #4 - The Cosby Show, #3 - Mash, #2 - Seinfeld, and #1 - I Love Lucy.
This told me a lot. Except for the occasional episode of Seinfeld, these were all good family comedies. At their worst they were no where near as bad as comedies today. I admit to being surprised that I Love Lucy was #1, though with my daughter's new obsession with the show, it was great to see.
One category was for variety shows with a #2 spot going to The Carol Burnett Show (remember that one). I had tears in my eyes as they played some of those iconic moments (Tim Conway was a GENIUS) and Sierra instantly said she wanted to see the show. The top moms for TV included June Cleaver, Carol Brady, Marion Cunningham and the #1 mom going to Claire Huxtable. Later in the show, they counted down the Best Shows of All Time. This list included many of the above shows and was topped off with, as the #1 show of all time....I Love Lucy.
They came up with the top shows based on viewers ratings via a couple magazines like People. It truly was fascinating what Americans said were the best of all time in all the categories!
Best Comedies were: #5 - All in the Family, #4 - The Cosby Show, #3 - Mash, #2 - Seinfeld, and #1 - I Love Lucy.
This told me a lot. Except for the occasional episode of Seinfeld, these were all good family comedies. At their worst they were no where near as bad as comedies today. I admit to being surprised that I Love Lucy was #1, though with my daughter's new obsession with the show, it was great to see.
One category was for variety shows with a #2 spot going to The Carol Burnett Show (remember that one). I had tears in my eyes as they played some of those iconic moments (Tim Conway was a GENIUS) and Sierra instantly said she wanted to see the show. The top moms for TV included June Cleaver, Carol Brady, Marion Cunningham and the #1 mom going to Claire Huxtable. Later in the show, they counted down the Best Shows of All Time. This list included many of the above shows and was topped off with, as the #1 show of all time....I Love Lucy.
I think this speaks volumes. Wouldn't it be great if there were shows like these today? Why do we need to add in all the junk? When presenting the top dramas, #4 or #3 was Madmen. I was pretty disappointed in that because I have seen the show and it is just full of sex. The creator of the show said it plainly...he wanted to create a show that was like Seinfeld....a show about nothing.....a show full of sex. Other than this one category, all the other ones were so much about good, clean fun. I could not help but grieve as I saw the shows that were voted in the top and think of the shows that air today.
Now, I am not bashing Hollywood for making these shows. They make shows that sell. If we weren't watching them, they wouldn't be making them. It seems to me that we like the idea of watching these classic shows, but lack the control at opting not to watch the bad shows that are currently on air.
One way we (as a family) have controlled ourselves from the temptation is discontinuing cable. If we can't watch it...than it won't get watched. We further control ourselves by dvring shows and not watching anything live. This allows us to instantly, upon watching a show with low morality, cancel the recording of the series. Now, we do ROKU with Netflix Instant Watch and Amazon Instant Video (which certainly has a LOT of bad shows on it), but we can queue up those shows and movies that we find appropriate and hopefully ignore those that do not.
I am not getting on a moral high ground here...it was an interesting observation and was one made by my 13-year old daughter. She LOVES I Love Lucy and craves more shows like this. I have introduced my kids to The Brady Bunch in the last couple weeks and we just smile and shake our heads at the end of each episode where everything works out in the end and say "Those crazy Bradys!" There is just not much out now that you can do that with.
And before you shake your finger at me, yes, we watch "The Walking Dead". It is a highly fictional, albeit violent, show that has it's moments of over sexuality (the fast forward button works wonders). I view this much like watching a science fiction show like Star Trek. Will we ever be over taken by walking dead people who want to eat us?? No. That is one of the many things that makes the show enjoyable. I do not think we all need to transport back to the 50s to get good television...I just think it would be nice to have more options in entertainment.
Now, I am not bashing Hollywood for making these shows. They make shows that sell. If we weren't watching them, they wouldn't be making them. It seems to me that we like the idea of watching these classic shows, but lack the control at opting not to watch the bad shows that are currently on air.
One way we (as a family) have controlled ourselves from the temptation is discontinuing cable. If we can't watch it...than it won't get watched. We further control ourselves by dvring shows and not watching anything live. This allows us to instantly, upon watching a show with low morality, cancel the recording of the series. Now, we do ROKU with Netflix Instant Watch and Amazon Instant Video (which certainly has a LOT of bad shows on it), but we can queue up those shows and movies that we find appropriate and hopefully ignore those that do not.
I am not getting on a moral high ground here...it was an interesting observation and was one made by my 13-year old daughter. She LOVES I Love Lucy and craves more shows like this. I have introduced my kids to The Brady Bunch in the last couple weeks and we just smile and shake our heads at the end of each episode where everything works out in the end and say "Those crazy Bradys!" There is just not much out now that you can do that with.
And before you shake your finger at me, yes, we watch "The Walking Dead". It is a highly fictional, albeit violent, show that has it's moments of over sexuality (the fast forward button works wonders). I view this much like watching a science fiction show like Star Trek. Will we ever be over taken by walking dead people who want to eat us?? No. That is one of the many things that makes the show enjoyable. I do not think we all need to transport back to the 50s to get good television...I just think it would be nice to have more options in entertainment.
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