re: #388 Gus

AITF was one of two hallmark shows of that era, the other being M*A*S*H.

Today… I don’t keep up with broadcast network television (probably for the same reason I don’t have a TV.) If there is something I want to watch I can see it through the internet, but that is dominated by documentaries (and no, not Ancient Aliens) and the occasional reality TV show (DWTS, etc.)

I gather that today’s broadcast shows are mostly fluffy sitcoms (rather than the biting social commentary of AITF), reality TV, or fantasy/escape serials. In between sports broadcasts, that is.

Is this any worse than 40 years ago? There was some pretty bad TV 40 years ago too. I remember liking the Carol Burnett Show, but she and her cast were very special. Laugh In was funny at times.

Lots of music shows of that time had the big names but were the shows really that special? Dean Martin, Glenn Campbell… heck, even Hee Haw had the big c&m stars (not to mention the suggestively clad young women.) But I can’t remember any episodes or performances from anything I watched, unlike a few (fading but still present) memories of moments from AITF or M*A*S*H.

The Westerns were mostly escapism… spinning tales of a mythic American past even if they did occasionally pick up morality tales and re-type them.

So, I’m not sure that today’s TV shows are on the whole any less memorable than the past, but there might be some holes which truly great shows could possibly fill but which the networks refuse to invest the money or take the risk.