TV is in
much better shape than film. In terms of serious dramas, here are those I’ve watched recently, all excellent (though not always family appropriate) and all from the twenty-first century:
LOST - superb beyond my ability to do justice to
Battlestar Galactica - astonishingly well-crafted drama with fascinating characters and impressive themes. It’s science fiction, obviously.
Breaking Bad - I think we’ve all heard of this one. Disillusioned high school chemistry teacher, who is an unsung genius, learns he has lung cancer (though he has never smoked a day in his life) and turns to manufacturing and selling crystal methamphetamine to provide for his family. Then his soul just goes waaaay downhill from there. I’m not finished with this one yet; I’m on the last season. Definitely not kid appropriate but a powerful and grueling drama well worth anyone’s attention.
Isn’t it interesting how we all have different standards for what is a “good” show?
Haha yes; I agree!
I find The Big Bang Theory horribly offensive and not funny at all. I hate the stereotypes of intelligent people, especially the character on the show who is so very effeminate (the actor is militantly homosexual in real life). My husband and I grew up as the “class brains,” and it was nothing like this show, and I despise any art piece that makes “brains” out to be weirdoes. We suffered enough from people who made fun ofus; my husband even had food thrown at him. He used to lie about his grades and report cards so that the other kids wouldn’t make fun of him.
Damn, I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, this really does illustrate what you said above: I’m definitely a nerd, and I enjoy that show. I’m not a genius like those characters or anything, but I always got good grades, I love learning, science fiction, role-playing, computer games, etc.
You’re definitely not alone in feeling that way, but for some reason I’ve never felt attacked or mocked by the series. It really does seem to me to be crafted with love for nerds everywhere!
Earlier someone mentioned Everyone Loves Raymond as a decent show? Decent? Since when is it decent for a woman to castigate her husband and make him look like a fool? So many comedies (and tv commercials) have a plot in which the woman is obviously much smarter than her dumb-bunny husband, who manages to make a mess out of everything he does and always gets rescued by his well-organized, brilliant wife/girlfriend/mother. I HATE shows and commercials that do this to men!
Yet another example. I don’t really enjoy that show, but only because it seems kind of formulaic and uninteresting to me. I don’t mind the bumbling husband character archetype, though. And I’m a man myself.
Finally, I find any of the “violent” shows utterly unacceptable for me. I can’t understand why anyone would want to watch the CSI shows that delve into all kinds of grisly “death methods.” This would eat into my soul and make me gloomy and despairing, as well as terrified that a murderer is waiting for me.
I hear you there. I’m watching
Breaking Bad now anyway, even though it’s
so horrific in many ways. It’s just too well-crafted and beautifully executed to pass up, but it is definitely hard to watch.
All this being said, I think that we need to be careful not to be so high and mighty that we routinely do a blanket condemnation of “EVERYTHING” on TV and in the films. There are a lot of good shows and films, and even the shows that I personally don’t find acceptable, others find much good in, and I’ll go along with that!
Aye!
This is a joke, right? I have tried to watch Big Bang Theory but it is very rotten. Maybe it’s true that all men try their hardest to get women into bed using every trick they can think of… but is that the right way to live? I find it makes too much of a mockery of the gift of sex and is not suitable for young adults, old adults or children. It is hiding the mockery in humor … Don’t fall for society’s idea of human relationships. We have to keep telling our children that God wants more from them. Watching shows like this just undermines God’s plan for us… MHO
Look more carefully. You have to exercise more nuance than that in your interpretation, because those male characters constantly look ridiculous (at best) or humiliate themselves and seem terrible (at worst) when they behave that way.
Each character, as the series has progressed, has moved steadily away from that behavior pattern and into greater maturity. Howard, once the most shameless womanizer in the bunch, has been happily married for several seasons now.
