With the emergence of online streaming, popular entertainment has shifted genres. Drama has taken over the world of television, knocking the previous ruler, Sitcom off the podium. It seems that nowadays, people's thirst for suspense proves way stronger than their need for a laugh. Would you go so far as to say that comedy is a lost art?
Not entirely.
Comedy I think has found a better place as part of an ensemble rather than as the chief aspect. Stand-up comedy is still quite strong these days. Animated cartoons are more dramatic but their humor goes a long way. The biggest place where comedy fails is and has almost always been in movies. So I wouldn't say the art of comedy is gone, so much as I would simply say that the interest in seeing straight, non-dramatic sitcoms has gone away, because there's a bigger emotional reward binge watching something like "Better Call Saul" or "NCIS" than there is binge watching "3rd Rock From the Sun" or "Frasier:" even if all four of these shows are strong, well-written, entertaining programs in their own right. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
Though I am not a fan of numerous comedies on television, I have to say that comedy is not dead, and in fact, has recently experienced a rebirth. For example: "The Big Bang Theory," number one sitcom on television, "Two Broke Girls," "Blackish," "Modern Family," "Last Man Standing," "Off the Boat," "New Girl," "The Goldbergs,"....the list it endless. And in regards to streaming,if you look at what's trending on Netflix, or most popular, you will find numerous comedies.
I like your questioning of the programs on television, and I would suggest your possibly exploring the most popular television shows and looking at the aspects that stand out. Comedy is very much alive and has recently undergone a resurgence. – danielle5779 years ago
as two other guys have mentioned. I think sitcoms are alive. "The Big Bang Theory" is really great but I think most of them are imitations from "Friends" why? the producers of these genre can not be creative? for instance, compare "Friends" , "How I Met Your Mother", and "The Big Bang Theory" the locations, characters, situations, subjects look like each other. these sitcoms are really good but I think producers especially screen writers should be a little creative. – Elahe Almasi9 years ago
I would have to say that sitcoms are still popular. As there are some from the 21st century such as "Modern Family", the youth of the world still find the older sitcoms like "Friends" hilarious. TV sitcoms may start to be slowly disappearing it may be because they have not found one that attracts both generations! – fmorrison9 years ago
I've seen a lot of sitcoms on TV right now, but I think there hasn't truly been one in a long time that pulls people in. For example, Friends. It was big back when it aired and it is still big now, thanks to Netflix. It does seem like people like a good drama show much better because of the suspense, where as sitcoms are light and funny. – diehlsam9 years ago
I think this is a great question to ask. While the typical sitcom setup is outdated because of online streaming, there are many comedies that are short, sweet, and in the style of quick TV nowadays. "Portlandia" and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" are two examples I think of that keep up with modern day watching without the laugh tracks and weekly waiting (except now shows like "The Mindy Project" are being put out weekly on a streaming basis). – cwinegargarrett9 years ago
There's a huge difference between single camera and multi camera sitcoms, the former tends to be much better and more poignant (Scrubs, Modern Family, Community) but there are great examples of the latter (Friends, Seinfeld, HIMYM). Whoever writes this topic should explore this in relation to the current state of the sitcom. – jprgplusme9 years ago
TV series have presented bold storytelling and characters within the last two decades. The advent of Netflix, Amazon, and other web-based streaming networks have further taken "TV programming" to new heights of artistic expression and creative topics. Even though Reality Shows dominate many stations, fictional series continue to capture audiences' imaginations.
While TV is experiencing a renaissance, the film industry is suffering from an obsession for reboots, adaptations, and re-imaginings. What are the factors that are contributing to this shift, given how film critics and audiences viewed film as the higher art form during much of the 20th century? Possible shows to discuss: Netflix's "House of Cards" (since it is an adaptation).
In fact, many popular 70s shows were adaptations from British TV ("Three's Company," "Sanford & Son," "All in the Family). Are there really more innovative shows today? "Orange Is the New Black," "Game of Thrones," "Forever," "Transparent," "Comedy Bang! Bang!" "Time and Eric" could be useful shows to discuss. Modern TV certainly has its share of adaptations and reboots: "Flash," "Once Upon a Time," and "Game of Thrones," being three, yet critics and audiences are viewing them as innovative, while the live-action Disney productions, for example, are not as well-regarded. With R-rated movies becoming a novelty rather than a regularity, film has lost its edge over TV for many reasons.
You should definitely think about talking about the way in which the style of how we watch TV shows has changed. This is a huge contributing factor why tv shows have increased.
Talk about...
The main corporations that control the broadcasting stations or networks and how they first introduced marathons that would broadcast back to back epsidoes of a show. Then the rise of Netflix and how we watch shows alone now compared to the time where we gathered around the TV as a family to watch a good movie. There are many scholarly articles on this if you wanted to look some up. – Meaganryelle9 years ago
You should definitely think about talking about the way in which the style of how we watch TV shows has changed. This is a huge contributing factor why tv shows have increased.
Talk about...
The main corporations that control the broadcasting stations or networks and how they first introduced marathons that would broadcast back to back epsidoes of a show. Then the rise of Netflix and how we watch shows alone now compared to the time where we gathered around the TV as a family to watch a good movie. There are many scholarly articles on this if you wanted to look some up. – Meaganryelle9 years ago
Analyze the appeal of reality television and why people consistently obsess over the lives of others. Television itself is is meant to describe the human experience but reality television extends to show its audience what "true human experience" is, which leads lots of viewers to question its authenticity.
You might also want to include that some viewers try to fit their own life to the lives of people on the reality television shows. If any information can be found on people trying to fit the fake reality, that would make the article really interesting to have both sides.
– amandajarrell9 years ago
You can also do a comparison of white reality television vs. black reality television and how it is portrayed in the media and their perspective communities. – Sheridan C. Watkins9 years ago
ESPN just announced yesterday that they will be providing a weekly 7 minute recap on Tuesdays of WWE's flagship show Monday Night Raw. This is groundbreaking as now the entertainment world is crossing over into the world of sports. As a wrestling fan I am all for more exposure, espcially on a major network like ESPN. How do you feel about the move by ESPN? Will this help or hurt either side?
What you have suggested for this topic is a good start. Though I think it would be best to explore previous attempts (if any) of WWE merging with another network for promotional purposes, was it a success or failure? Either way, what can be expected to happen? – Ryan Errington9 years ago
Analyze why our society is infatuated with reality television. Is it strictly an American thing? Is one group of people or one region more likely to be interested in reality television than another, based on social, political, financial, etc. traits? Is reality television really that appealing? What does reality television have to offer its viewers?
I like this topic, it's short but simple and down to the point of where you want it to go. I often think about this, there's people all the time that ask if I watch reality television and honestly I haven't watched it since Laguna Beach haha, but there's just something about reality television that people love. I would love to see how this articles comes about. – scoleman9 years ago
I appreciate your enthusiasm on tackling this topic. However, I do believe that you might want to re-think it because reality TV has such a vast and broad range. For example, you have anywhere between Keeping Up with the Kardashians to Million Dollar Listings to Pimp My Ride. All of these are extremely scripted, but if you look at them more closely, they all appeal to different types of audiences. Other than that I think it is a good topic that raises questions, interests and concerns about our society and the views of reality TV. – ryanreeve9 years ago
I believe that reality TV intrigues the audience. People like to imagine what there life could potentially be like if they had money or lived a certain way. This creates hope – semelejansen9 years ago
I think this is an interesting topic since some reality Tv shows have more seasons than a sitcom.It is interesting that for example a reality show like " The Real Housewives" has countless spinoffs as a result of the success from the original. – amini9 years ago
Analyze and explain the reasons for dislike of black female characters, in TV shows, that get negative backlash from viewers. For example, the CW show, The Flash, has a black Iris West, an Iconic love interest and reporter in the DC comics. When the actress was cast, instead of a white female, comic book fans were outraged. Now that she has been on the show for one season, the negative opinions of the character still continue. Another example, FOX's Sleepy Hollow, has a black female lead opposite a white male lead, she aslo gets backlash from some viewers. Just recently, Lera Vega, from Fox's Minority Report.
This is even true in Doctor Who I've found. Martha doesn't appear to be a favourite companion character to the Doctor by many people compared to all his white female companions. – Slaidey9 years ago
Focus on the commitment to a long running story in syndicated television. This predates many shows since most that came before were generally episodic.
Analyze the upcoming success with Netflix and it's creation of TV shows. Is this a good move for 2015 and the generation at hand? Or is it a bad move and it's causing us to watch and be distracted by TV even more because we get these shows in the palm of our hand. We also can binge watch them and watch them over and over, which can be the plus side of this. Mainly want to talk about the millennials and how this is going in their favor or the opposite of it. The 21st century is important and it's talked about a lot, as far as other generations, so eventually I know Netflix and Hulu are going to be a HUGE thing and it's something to talk about. Even Amazon has a streaming service, Apple as well and it's something to just talk about all of these online streaming devices and how they are in favor or against us as a generation. Shows such as: Daredevil, could that be a show you see on regular TV, such as CW or was it better on Netflix. Bojack Horseman as well, it's raunchy and grim, something that wouldn't have been allowed on TV (I don't think), but in circumstances that it would be, can you see that on something like Adult Swim?
Online streaming is definitely gaining a lot of momentum in terms of how we access our favorite media, but I think an interesting way to look at it would be to assess what types of programs are making the transition to online streaming, and what's being left behind. For example, what happens to genres such as game shows, news reports, and live sporting events? Different types of media that were classically exclusively available on TV will react to this migration to online services in different ways, and that could be something worth looking at. – crpreble9 years ago
I believe after the second season of Legend of Korra it became a strictly online viewed show because it was cheaper and had more popularity there? This could say a lot to how things are changing. – Slaidey9 years ago
You can compare the two viewing platforms, television and online. Take shows from tv and compare the ratings and reviews with the ratings and reviews of those of online streaming. I do agree that online streaming has become more prominent that television, especially Netflix. – ADenkyirah9 years ago
The appreciation of TV shows has declined recently due to the influxuation of live streaming on programs like Netflix. Waiting for tv shows isn't something looked forward to since they are all easily accessible on live streaming networks. It's definitely an obsession of this generation since our expectations on quick access to things has become a necessity. – cwhittred9 years ago
