Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
|
Post by Quiara on Nov 23, 2018 13:44:02 GMT -8
And realistically I think people are tired of that general genre. I don't think there's been a truly critically acclaimed show in that mold since Mad Men ended. . (Which is actually one of my favorite shows this decade, go figure.) Anyway, my point is, if you're wondering why we don't have any consensus all-time Best Shows Ever coming out of the streaming services, the same factors that weighed into what shows are allowed into that conversation still apply. Netflix and Amazon excel at shows that are usually funnier and more off-kilter than a consensus Best Show Ever is allowed to be. My guess as to why streaming services aren't producing that much really good television is pretty simple: Netflix gets your money no matter whether you watch OitNB or just endless Adam Sandler specials. AMC and FX and HBO can't compete with Netflix when it comes to comfort food TV - they can't even compete with the rest of cable. If you're not watching their good original content, you're not watching them period. |
|
|
|
Post by Zarnium on Nov 23, 2018 14:24:32 GMT -8
Yeah I think that's a different discussion entirely, Zarnium. It's a question of "is Netflix, etc putting money into something and thus taking partial responsibility for its creation, or just rebroadcasting?" Streaming networks don't get any credit for rebroadcasting things that are already well received. You're right that it's not quite the same thing, but it's not the same as a simple rebroadcast of something already popular, either. A lot of shows are now "simulcast" by their American distributors, meaning they are released in the U.S. at the exact same time as they are released in Japan. The English dubs created by the American distributors for viewing on their streaming platforms are often released concurrently with the native Japanese release, as well. If you wanted to strictly categorize it, I guess you could say that the pure Japanese original is "traditional," but the English dub is "streaming" because it's a product created by a streaming service that isn't shown anywhere else, with the exception of blu-ray sales. I mention this mostly to point out that the definition of what counts as "streaming" vs. "traditional" TV is kind of chopped and screwed so much at this point that there's a fair amount of hybrid material that doesn't have a black and white classification. |
|
|
|
Post by Incandescence 112 on Nov 23, 2018 16:57:09 GMT -8
Oh, The Simpsons is still my personal pick for "Best Show Ever." Been that way since I first joined CT. I don't talk about it as much as some other shows because it's a different type of show, but it's still #1 in my ranking. That's kind of where this idea originated from, watching the first couple episodes and wondering why HBO could co-produce a show that good seemingly in their sleep where the streaming networks have all their biggest, most advertised stuff top out as "good." That combined with seeing Sepinwall's article and trying to come up with my own top 5 for streaming shows and being pretty underwhelmed. It's tricky, but not impossible. My Top 10 streaming shows (for the moment; this will likely be different in a few months) would be: 1. Bojack Horseman2 . Master of None3 . American Vandal4 . One Day at a Time5 . Orange is the New Black6 . The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel7 . Jessica Jones
8. A Series of Unfortunate Events9. One Mississippi10. The CrownNone of these, with the exception of Bojack and maybe Master of None, are in the "truly great" category. But then again, none of them even existed six years ago, so I don't necessarily expect them to be. I agree with your place of Bojack-in my opinion it's easily the best show on television right now, and probably my favorite of the decade so far. It's certainly the best tragicomedy ever made-simultaneously providing some of the most hilarious and devastating moments you'll ever witness on tv. And yes, it is very stereotypical as far as prestige dramas go, but at least it skewered itself in Season 5. If it keeps up its quality and ends in a satisfying way, I can easily see it being mentioned as one of the all-time greats. None of the others on the list (that I've seen) can really come close for me. There's just something about Bojack that resonates with me-it feels like it was tailor-made for my taste in humor and drama. Can't say I agree about The Simpsons, though. If you were to judge a tv show merely by how good it was at its best, the competition would be a lot fiercer. You might even consider Lost a truly great series. But they should be judged overall. As great as it was (and at its best, it was probably the most well-crafted comedy of all time next to Seinfeld), it hasn't been that way for a long, long time (insert Angel reference?). |
|
Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
|
Post by Quiara on Nov 23, 2018 17:56:31 GMT -8
Right, this is the other factor in streaming networks vs prestige cable: Netflix doesn't have any incentive to set an expiration date on their original content, which means that their shows tend to spoil after they exhaust their original premise (American Vandal being the most recent example of this) in a way that's not quite as common on HBO or whatever.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy on Nov 24, 2018 15:37:49 GMT -8
The Americans. (Which is actually one of my favorite shows this decade, go figure.) Anyway, my point is, if you're wondering why we don't have any consensus all-time Best Shows Ever coming out of the streaming services, the same factors that weighed into what shows are allowed into that conversation still apply. Netflix and Amazon excel at shows that are usually funnier and more off-kilter than a consensus Best Show Ever is allowed to be. , even when it was on the air, was considered by most critics to be a hanger-on of the antihero genre. It's mostly an exception to the rule, along with Better Call Saul (which had built-in recognition from the day it debuted, anyhow). Most antihero-style shows that have debuted in the last five years have subverted the genre on some level ( Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Sinner, Patriot, Mr. Inbetween). Why? Because as evidenced by the likes of Ozark and Bloodline, critics have gotten bored with the standard version. As I say, the definition of what constitutes "great TV" has shifted radically in the past decade. A show like Atlanta or Master of None wouldn't have even gotten made ten years ago - they break too many rules and conventions. Antihero dramas opened the door to TV's new Golden Age, but now other genres are entering the BSE ring. As evidenced by the recent string of Netflix cancellations, this is just untrue. They might have more flexibility in terms of program renewals than your average cable network, but plenty of their shows (and Amazon's) have had their lines cut. And let's not pretend that HBO isn't also guilty of needlessly drawing out their more popular shows ( The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, etc). Can't say I agree about The Simpsons, though. If you were to judge a tv show merely by how good it was at its best, the competition would be a lot fiercer. You might even consider Lost a truly great series. But they should be judged overall. As great as it was (and at its best, it was probably the most well-crafted comedy of all time next to Seinfeld), it hasn't been that way for a long, long time (insert Angel reference?) Even judging The Simpsons overall, I wouldn't hesitate to call it the best TV show ever. First, the later seasons don't "negate" the excellent quality of the early years (whereas I'd say the last season of Lost, given its influence on the scope of the show as a whole, does hurt the overall quality). Second, the show still produces plenty of good and at least one great episode every season, which is impressive, given its longevity. And third, the show's influence, and incredible streak from its third to eighth seasons, have granted it a sort of qualitative immortality. (If such a thing exists.) |
|
