Have television shows finally surpassed movies?

[Lady Day]

I used to love going to the theater and watching a film. It was an event, or at the very least, a treat for myself. Now, I'm bogged down by the glimpse of cellphones in my eyes as some knob-head takes a photo of the screen, people talking and $15+ ticket prices. All of that before I've even weighed in the quality of the film.

Now, tv shows on premium, basic cable, and even network are upping their stories and their production values. Not to mention streaming sites like Hulu and netflix that offer exclusive content an entire season at a time. Plus there are shows that do a serial format like American Horror story where one season is it's own story. I like this format because a good story can be broken down and paced for the hours of time it may require without having to worry about if its going to be renewed or canceled.

We even have mini series for network tv doing this. The upcoming (though looks awful) Rosemary's Baby is a 4 hour series.

I have no excitement for any of the big movies coming out this summer, but I can't wait for Penny Dreadful (the first episode is gewd), and the return of Sleepy Hollow, The Walking Dead and many other tv shows. For me, it's not about the huge special effects. As a culture we have become so jaded with those anyway. It's about the story, and how its treated. Often, movies don't do stories justice, no matter how long they make them.

So what say you, loungers. Are you noticing this trend? Are you a part of it? Do you prefer either medium to the other, or are they too different?

 

[RBH]

Yes, just check out Billy Bob Thornton on FX's Fargo.
Also James Spader on NBC's Blacklist.
TV is full of great shows and high class acting.

I also look forward to Penny Dreadful. I cant wait for to Sleepy Hollow to return.
Walking Dead is just classic!
Also check out Longmire and The Bridge.

 

[Worf]

In a word.... yes!!!!

Worf

 

[Touchofevil]

I do not know about surpassing, but in many cases they are getting closer if not there.

 

[Lady Day]

Also, what Im noticing about Tv v movies, is that there are an exhausting amount of reboots and remakes with movies, where as with TV you get more adapted works from source material and original stories. That is a HUGE draw for me, because Im sick of paying to see the same story reworked over and over again.

 

[Lady Day]

Yes, just check out Billy Bob Thornton on FX's Fargo.
Also James Spader on NBC's Blacklist.
TV is full of great shows and high class acting.

I also look forward to Penny Dreadful. I cant wait for to Sleepy Hollow to return.
Walking Dead is just classic!
Also check out Longmire and The Bridge.

James Spader is one of my all time favorite actors. He's done all types of projects. Love him.

Penny Dreadful is really good (the pilot is on Showtime's website) it has a VERY League of Extraordinary Gentlemen feel to it, though I can find no outright connection. I like the tone of it.

 

[Touchofevil]

Although The Big 3 networks seem be much slower to catch on then the cable networks, I think that they are getting there, somewhat. The cinematogrophy of show like True Detective, Vikings, Copper, and others bring that feeling of being at the movies in to your home. Just as importantly, quality actors, directors, and scripts are fortunately finding their way to television more and more frequently.

 

[DNO]

By and large, the movie industry has been creatively bankrupt for years (there are some exceptions, of course). The bulk of films are instantly forgettable. Television, on the other hand, has stepped up its game quite a bit. Shows and mini-series like Deadwood, Rome, Longmire, Walking Dead, Da Vinci's Inquest and, best of all, The Wire leave the film crowd in the creative dust.

 

[Touchofevil]

By and large, the movie industry has been creatively bankrupt for years (there are some exceptions, of course). The bulk of films are instantly forgettable. Television, on the other hand, has stepped up its game quite a bit. Shows and mini-series like Deadwood, Rome, Longmire, Walking Dead, Da Vinci's Inquest and, best of all, The Wire leave the film crowd in the creative dust.

Ahh, Deadwood. I never tire of that show. It was such a shame that it did not last longer let alone a proper ending.

 

[DNO]

Ahh, Deadwood. I never tire of that show. It was such a shame that it did not last longer let alone a proper ending.

Absolutely! I wish they hadn't killed off Wild Bill quite so quickly. I quite enjoyed the character, but as soon as he stepped into No. 10 saloon, you knew that Carradine's role was about done.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Gee, I hope not, or I'll be on relief.

Seriously though, there's two kinds of movies -- the dreck you see at the multiplex, the endless reboots of tired superhero franchises, and the meathead comedies, and the predictable dramas, and the interesting independent stuff. Some of it's a little too independent for my tastes, but I find that the same people who watch these cable shows that everybody's talking about are the same kind of people who'll come out to see a good independent film if it's playing in their town.

Support your local arthouse, or it won't be there anymore.

 

[Lady Day]

I get that re-boots are basic built in fan base cash cows and the risk in movie making (meaning its artistry) is all but gone. I will always see an independent film with a story that grabs me. But indie films are generally where a director or other artist hones their skills to do those trite reboots.I haven't watched a reboot/remake/sequel in about 5 years. My last one was Iron Man 2. Im so tired of them. I just can't stomach them anymore.

And you all forgot Southland, which was one of THE BEST shows I have seen in my lifetime.

And we mustn't forget Breaking Bad.

 

[Touchofevil]

And you all forgot Southland, which was one of THE BEST shows I have seen in my lifetime.

Yes, it was. And it ended way too soon.

 

[Edward]

Also, what Im noticing about Tv v movies, is that there are an exhausting amount of reboots and remakes with movies, where as with TV you get more adapted works from source material and original stories. That is a HUGE draw for me, because Im sick of paying to see the same story reworked over and over again.

I'm in two minds about remakes. I'm reluctant to write off the concept at the general level, as some of my favourites were remakes, or at least alternative takes on the same source material (see Bogie's run at The Maltese Falcon for the paradigm example). That said, even allowing for the fact that every generation will retell a story in a way as reflects itself (as memory serves, there ultimately only are twelve stories in human literature, or at least all fiction can be group into one of those tropes very easily), there's an awful lot of stuff churned out for the sake of it, almost. We're also seeing big brand franchises being rebooted with alarming alacrity. Tobey Maguire's Spiderman wasn't cold in his grave when they rebooted the webslinger most recently. (Couse, sometimes that sort of thing is necessary - the sooner the memory of Ang Lee's risible run at the Hulk was blotte out, the better...)

On television, I think it has certainly equalled cinema now. It's got the budget in it, and culturally it's not seen as lesser any longer. hat on top of the fact that it's getting ever cheaper to buy a great home cinema set-up, the cultural shift towards box sets, and the ever spiralling price of cinema tickets, and you can see the conditions were ripe for this. I still love gonig to the cinema, but whereas ten years ago it was maybe once a week, now it's something I do maybe once every four to six months. Partly I'm just not organised enough to go more often, partly that it's just gotten so expensive a night out (I know the economics of it and understand for why, but my bank balance is less forgiving!) that it's got to be something I really want to see on the big screen, now, as opposed to on DVD, in six month's time, for less than half the price (that's retail, not renting). I'd hate to see cinema die again the way it did in the Eighties here, but I certainly can't afford it as often as I used to be able to.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yes, TV is blasting movies out of the water.

Boardwalk Empire
True Detective
Mad Men
The Americans
Downton Abbey
Hell on Wheels
Orange in the New Black

And less so, but still very good

House of Cards
Orphan Black
Call the Midwife
Bomb Girls
Elementary
Vikings

We hardly see any movies now and, when we do, we are almost always disappointed. "Silver Linings Playbook" got a tone of press / hype and, yes, it was good, but no better than an average episode of some the above TV shows and not as good as the best episodes. To Lizzie's point, we do occasionally catch an indie that is very good, but I find them hard to find and hit or miss - whereas, the TV shows are easy to find, record, watch and - as noted - of high quality.

 

[herringbonekid]

i've noticed the production value thing for many years now. the last two period-set films i saw in a cinema - 'The Deep Blue Sea' by Terence Davies and 'A Dangerous Method' by David Cronenberg - both looked fine but not significantly better than most recent period-set TV series (e.g. Peaky Blinders or 20,000 Streets Under The Sky) and not as high as Boardwalk Empire, which basically has medium-budget film production values.

it raises the question of what exactly cinema can provide that TV can't, especially when - as LD pointed out - the extended time frame of a TV series provides richer narrative possibilities that are denied a 2 hour film.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It's very clear that in recent years TV has raised its game. The rise of HBO, Netflix etc. has forced through TV shows that reflect real life rather than the FCC-mandated faux-reality where noone ever swears or has sex, and couples still sleep in separate beds (OK, not quite that last one). Just think of how many real high quality, challenging, series you can name from the 80s and early 90s (most people's list will stop at Twin Peaks), and compare to the vast number of top shows you can name today.

My current favourite is Boss, which doesn't seem to have done very well over here, relegated to More4.

 

[Two Types]

TV certainly has put up a damn good show in the last few years. Just compare the brilliance of 'The Walking Dead' to the action-movie, over-the-top exercise in bog-standardness that was 'World War Z'. That's a case where TV was completely victorious.

I still go to the cinema quite a lot and, to be honest, i'm not that fussy. I just don't like Sci-Fi, superhero, fantasy or actions films. It doesn't leave me with much choice!

I don't watch a lot of TV, but recently Thursday nights have been splendid from 9 till 12: The Good Wife; Nashville; Southlands. (OK Nashville is nonsense, but it's exactly the type of nonsense that i enjoy. I'll keep that as my guilty pleasure)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Just think of how many real high quality, challenging, series you can name from the 80s and early 90s (most people's list will stop at Twin Peaks), and compare to the vast number of top shows you can name today.

China Beach, Deep Space Nine, and Homicide: Life On The Streets all stand out as shows of very high quality during those years. I thought Twin Peaks was incomprehensible, but I then think David Lynch has been putting people on his whole career.

I watched the first two seasons of Boardwalk Empire thanks to a friend who taped the episodes for me (I don't have any premium cable service) and I thought it was a show of great promise that pizzled itself right down the pipe. It's a pretty show to look at, but its female characters -- especially Margaret -- became absolutely ridiculous. I don't know if it's improved since I stopped watching, but it couldn't have gotten worse.

 

[Fading Fast]

China Beach, Deep Space Nine, and Homicide: Life On The Streets all stand out as shows of very high quality during those years. I thought Twin Peaks was incomprehensible, but I then think David Lynch has been putting people on his whole career.

I watched the first two seasons of Boardwalk Empire thanks to a friend who taped the episodes for me (I don't have any premium cable service) and I thought it was a show of great promise that pizzled itself right down the pipe. It's a pretty show to look at, but its female characters -- especially Margaret -- became absolutely ridiculous. I don't know if it's improved since I stopped watching, but it couldn't have gotten worse.

I can't remember which seasons exactly, but there were about two in the middle that were weak (probably where you said enough, but I stayed with it, in part, as you said, because it is so beautifully filmed), but it has come back strong the last two seasons. Also, I agree on Margaret - I came to despise her, her hypocrisy, her complaining and her sour demeanor (all the time). They have brought in some better, more well-rounded and likable female characters, but it is definitely a male-character-focused show.