TV Pet Peeves

Or wrapping a sheet around themselves afterwards.

The lack of music shows*, variety shows, family sitcoms, anthology series**, and various other genres that aren't produced in the 21st century. 

*No, those stupid "talent" shows don't count
**No, a bunch of mini-series aired under the same title don't count

No weather. I was watching The Brady Bunch the other day and it hit me how their weather is always the same.

Unnaturalness:

Men, women, rich, medium income, power people: they don't talk or interact like normal human beings. Yes, I know that one could criticize the shows from my childhood and youth (Fifties-Seventies) much the same way, but they didn't try to be like real life; they created their own worlds (or "aesthetics", if you will) that were consistent and got the job done, whether it was Jack Webb, Lassie or Danny Thomas.

There was a place for suspension of disbelief, especially in westerns. Yet dang! It worked. Everything on prime time now, whenever I tune in, which I seldom do, feels strained, as if actors, directors and writers are trying too damn hard and fall short. They're striving, and striving mightily, to create a millennial zeitgeist, but it just ain't there.

Killing off characters because the actor wants to leave the show or because the show is ending and the showrunners think an audience wants a big body count.

Love triangles and people acting like they've been in a six year long relationship after knowing each other for only a few hours.

 It's set in Southern California, Sherman Oaks to be exact. It IS like that everyday.

Speaking of SoCal, it bugs me that TV shows filmed in on sets in LA try and "fool" the audience that they are in NYC or Chicago, etc when you can see trees and mountains that are indigenous to SoCal. The natural lighting is different too, much harsher. One show that comes to mind is King Of Queens when they were supposedly on vacation in upstate NY but hiking through desert brush.

There’s a thing that’s both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ with TV shows nowadays, and that’s the writers of shows listening to fans. I realise there are probably very few shows that actually make adjustments to their shows based on fan comments, but I do think that it does happen on occasion.

I know that there have been shows I’ve watched where lots of people voiced their dislike for a certain character or plot line, but their discontent was ignored. Sometimes they're listened to and alterations made actually improve things. However, I’ve also seen things go horribly wrong for some shows when the audience had too much input on what happened with plot lines or characters in them.

I’ve seen side characters who’ve become SO popular that they’ve almost swallowed the shows they’re in, taking away from the actual leads. Even worse, I’ve seen villain characters who were kept around well past their time/when they should’ve been killed off or written out. So sometimes listening to a show’s audience can be of benefit, but other times it can be a detriment to the show.

TV having to have that annoying teenage boy/girl who is misunderstood and has hair all over his face. (Walking Dead, (also Darryl even though he's not a teenage, his hair is),Fear the Walking Dead, The Strain).