You know you are getting old when:

[2jakes]

Away from that, the only "reality" shows we've ever watched have been on The History Channel - "Pawn Stars," "American Pickers" and "American Restoration -" as the non-reality stuff - the items they bought, found, restored - was usually interesting. But the "reality" stuff - the fake family drama, the fake deadlines or made-up risks to the business - was simply annoying and a turnoff.

American Pickers!
The boys are driving to a location which they have never been before.
Gabriela assures them that the guy has very interesting stuff but does not like visitors.
A cameraman follows the boys as they walk up to the front door and knock.
The owner opens the door and we see the boys outside greeting the owner
and explaining the purpose for their visit.
Eventually the owner gives in and are allowed to browse around the place, otherwise
there wouldn’t be a show.

Now, if this is the first time at this location for the boys and they are not sure if they
will be allowed to go in.
Who was doing the camera from the inside of the house?
Perhaps the owner has his personal cameraman that follows him around.

 

[GHT]

No kidding, especially since it usually works the same way for those of us who aren't so good looking.

Looks are not everything, just ask Christie's ex.

Now a country boy called Shorty
And a city boy named Dan
Had to prove who could run the fastest
To win miss Lucy's hand
Now Dan had all the money
And he also had the looks
But Shorty must have had something, boys
That can't be found in books
Well, a-cut across shorty, shorty cut across
That's what miss Lucy said
Cut across shorty, shorty cut across
It's you I want to wed

 

[Fading Fast]

American Pickers!
The boys are driving to a location which they have never been before.
Gabriela assures them that the guy has very interesting stuff but does not like visitors.
A cameraman follows the boys as they walk up to the front door and knock.
The owner opens the door and we see the boys outside greeting the owner
and explaining the purpose for their visit.
Eventually the owner gives in and are allowed to browse around the place, otherwise
there wouldn’t be a show.

Now, if this is the first time at this location for the boys and they are not sure if they
will be allowed to go in.
Who was doing the camera from the inside of the house?
Perhaps the owner has his personal cameraman that follows him around.

My point exactly - that's ⇧ all the stupid nonsense, but on some of those picks, they find some really neat Americana. I'm amazed the fake stuff works - it must or they wouldn't keep doing it. I'd be happier with a honest show just about the stuff they find.

 

[2jakes]

My point exactly - that's ⇧ all the stupid nonsense, but on some of those picks, they find some really neat Americana. I'm amazed the fake stuff works - it must or they wouldn't keep doing it. I'd be happier with a honest show just about the stuff they find.

I enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS.
Except for TCM, I hardly watch tee vee although for being a long-time cable
subscriber, I now get all the premium channels for a very low price.
But most of the films made today with
few exceptions, are not very
good with regards to story content or
plot.
Last Oscar show, most of the current actors, I did not recognize!

 

[Fading Fast]

I enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS.
Except for TCM, I hardly watch tee vee although for being a long-time cable
subscriber, I now get all the premium channels for a very low price.
But most of the films made today with
few exceptions, are not very
good with regards to story content or
plot.
Last Oscar show, most of the current actors, I did not recognize!

We really enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" as well. Basically, the History Channel's "reality" shows are just AR buried inside a bunch of reality nonsense.

 

[2jakes]

We really enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" as well. Basically, the History Channel's "reality" shows are just AR buried inside a bunch of reality nonsense.

I enjoyed PBS "History Detectives".
That's the first time I saw and heard
Elizabeth McCloud.

 

[Fading Fast]

I enjoyed PBS "History Detectives"
That's the first time I saw and heard
Elizabeth McCloud.

Outstanding show - seems like it's no longer on the air anymore though. Some of the "detectives" show up on "Antiques Roadshow" now and again.

 

[2jakes]

Outstanding show - seems like it's no longer on the air anymore though. Some of the "detectives" show up on "Antiques Roadshow" now and again.

That's a shame!
I would watch it just to see that bandana,
old Plodge and saddle shoes she wears!

 

[tonyb]

American Pickers!
The boys are driving to a location which they have never been before.
Gabriela assures them that the guy has very interesting stuff but does not like visitors.
A cameraman follows the boys as they walk up to the front door and knock.
The owner opens the door and we see the boys outside greeting the owner
and explaining the purpose for their visit.
Eventually the owner gives in and are allowed to browse around the place, otherwise
there wouldn’t be a show.

Now, if this is the first time at this location for the boys and they are not sure if they
will be allowed to go in.
Who was doing the camera from the inside of the house?
Perhaps the owner has his personal cameraman that follows him around.

As has been often observed, any adult without a significant intellectual deficit would know these setups are entirely fictional. It annoys me, too, seeing how I'm more interested in the old stuff the characters are allegedly in search of than in these transparently phony narratives.

But I accept that I'm likely in the minority in this regard. The people who write these shows assume their audience is predisposed to suspend disbelief. By most indications, that assumption is well placed.

 

[GHT]

I enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS.

Antiques Roadshow has been on our TV for almost 40 years. I'm guessing that your's must be an American version. The basis for The British show is that antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom, and occasionally to other countries, to appraise antiques brought in by local people. Is that how The American show is presented?

As has been often observed, any adult without a significant intellectual deficit would know these setups are entirely fictional.

Lowest Common Denominator TV. How it flourishes.

 

[tonyb]

Antiques Roadshow has been on our TV for almost 40 years. I'm guessing that your's must be an American version. The basis for The British show is that antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom, and occasionally to other countries, to appraise antiques brought in by local people. Is that how The American show is presented?

...

A person wishing to quickly gain insight into the differences between British, Canadian, and American cultures could do much worse than taking in those countries' versions of the Antiques Roadshow. I've seen all three numerous times (wonders of cable). It's no surprise that the basic format travels well.

 

[2jakes]

Antiques Roadshow has been on our TV for almost 40 years. I'm guessing that your's must be an American version. The basis for The British show is that antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom, and occasionally to other countries, to appraise antiques brought in by local people. Is that how The American show is presented?

I haven’t seen Antiques Roadshow in a while. I remember at times the appraisers having a British accent.
Not sure if this was UK or US version I was watching.
I must say, I enjoy listening very much to anyone with a British accent.
Also in my opinion, the announcers to the Wimbledon matches at one time were presented by HBO
with local announcers from England.
That without a doubt has to be the finest announcing as far as tennis on the telly is concerned.
As far as accents...second would be “New Englanders” and anyone with a Noo Yak accent!
I could sit and listen for hours.
Of course...on summer evenings there’s nothing quite like a southern drawl
from Ms. Scarlett.
Although very aware that Ms. Leigh was
from the other side of the ocean.

 

[GHT]

80
View attachment 110786
Mama mia!

Sophia is certainly wearing well, so too is Honor Blackman, not bad for 92.

I haven’t seen Antiques Roadshow in a while. I remember at times the appraisers having a British accent.
Not sure if this was UK or US version I was watching.
I must say, I enjoy listening very much to anyone with a British accent.
Also in my opinion, the announcers to the Wimbledon matches at one time were presented by HBO
with local announcers from England.

That would have been Dan Maskell, a former professional tennis player, turned broadcaster. He was much loved by British audiences simply because he instinctively knew when to shut up and let the tennis entertain. His catchphrase, oh I say, caught on over here. He used to utter it when a seemingly impossible return would just land in court and a roar of approval went up from the Wimbledon audience. John Barrett wrote an autobiography of Maskell called, what else but: Oh I Say!

That without a doubt has to be the finest announcing as far as tennis on the telly is concerned.
As far as accents...second would be “New Englanders” and third would be anyone with a Noo Yak accent!
I could sit and listen for hours.
Of course...on summer evenings there’s nothing quite like a southern drawl
from a Scarlett or Peggy Sue.

Telly 2Jakes? Careful, your Anglophile credentials are slipping. My missus and I always go off the beaten track when we visit The US, the attention are English accents get never fails to amuse. Handy though when you want to catch the eye of the waiter. A gentle tease is always good for establishing a rapport. A waiter somewhere in Alabama, I can't remember where exactly, it was a good number of years ago, produced the wine menu and said: "Wine?" Actually he said wiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnneeeeeee? I said, "Hurry up, we're hungry," he got the gist, when he brought our meals he placed his hand on my head. I looked quizzically at him. "Just checking to see if Sir is wearing a dodgy syrup," he said. "Where did you here that?" I asked laughing. "On a British TV channel," he replied. He admitted that the expression had foxed him, but, and this was pre-internet days, he had managed to decipher the phrase.
For the uninitiated, cockney rhyming slang for a hairpiece is a syrup, meaning syrup of fig/wig. A dodgy syrup is usually a toupee that is so ill fitting that it looks comical.

 

[Fading Fast]

I appeared twice on the PBS "History Detectives" series, and both times there were irritating bits of staging that I resisted going along with as much as I could. In one of these we were filming at a recording studio on Long Island which they wanted me to pretend was mine -- but I drew the line at that, because I respected the guy who they borrowed the studio from, and I didn't like that they weren't letting him appear on camera. I got into a bit of an argument with the director about this, but he finally saw it my way and agreed to make it clear that we were "meeting at" this guy's studio and at least mentioned his name.

I imagine that kind of stuff goes on at all these shows, and I suspect most participants go along with it without kicking just for the thrill of being on Tee Vee.

Great example of how business and government (and this shows on PBS which, I guess, is a not-for-profit; hence, they do it too) both make the same mistake - constantly - of making simple difficult, of making honesty shabby, of making integrity cheap.

The default setting should always be to tell the truth, be honest, do the right thing unless - and sometimes there is - a compelling reason not to and, then, try to minimize any obfuscation as much as possible.

Life becomes so much simpler and people trust you so much more. I've seen that clip of yours and there is nothing wrong with noting that you're in someone else's studio - it doesn't hurt the show at all and just reflect reality. Why mess with that? Why overthink it?

So much damage has been done to businesses' and governments' reputations by this insane need to micromanage away from the truth for some putative benefit. How has that lesson not been learned by now?

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Oldest story in the book. So old that it predates the book. Any human enterprise (not only "business and government") will reflect, for better or for worse, the ethics of the people involved in it.

Speaking of books ...

One title worth your time is "Lying: Moral Choice is Public and Private Life" by Sissela Bok. It's a mostly common sense, easy to read treatment of how and why people lie, when such deceptions are justifiable and when they aren't, and a formula of sorts for discerning the difference. Most readers, I suspect, get introduced to it in grad-level ethics courses. And that's a shame, in my view. High school age people are perfectly capable of understanding the concepts, and we would all be the better if they entered adult life having given these matters some serious thought,

 

[Zombie_61]

American Pickers...Now, if this is the first time at this location for the boys and they are not sure if they will be allowed to go in. Who was doing the camera from the inside of the house? Perhaps the owner has his personal cameraman that follows him around.

They're obviously counting on the fact that the majority of viewers don't know how these shows are produced, and really don't care as long as they're entertained.

It's the same reason "bonus" features on DVDs and Blu-Rays have become shorter and shallower. Sales reports showed that when given an option between a DVD/Blu-Ray set that contains one disc with a feature or two and a two-disc version with in-depth features, 9 out of 10 times people chose the one-disc version. It costs the studios quite a bit to produce these features, and they quickly decided such bonus features were a waste of their money and resources. I've always been interested in how movies and television shows are made, so initially I found this hard to believe. Then I thought about the number of conversations I've had with people who I thought were TV/movie fans, and realized when I mentioned bonus features almost all of them had the same response: "I don't watch that stuff; I just want to see the movie."

 

[tonyb]

They're obviously counting on the fact that the majority of viewers don't know how these shows are produced, and really don't care as long as they're entertained.

It's the same reason "bonus" features on DVDs and Blu-Rays have become shorter and shallower. Sales reports showed that when given an option between a DVD/Blu-Ray set that contains one disc with a feature or two and a two-disc version with in-depth features, 9 out of 10 times people chose the one-disc version. It costs the studios quite a bit to produce these features, and they quickly decided such bonus features were a waste of their money and resources. I've always been interested in how movies and television shows are made, so initially I found this hard to believe. Then I thought about the number of conversations I've had with people who I thought were TV/movie fans, and realized when I mentioned bonus features almost all of them had the same response: "I don't watch that stuff; I just want to see the movie."

That's about the size of it. It isn't that people are incapable of detecting the sleights of hand, it's that they would rather not. They wish to be entertained in ways that agree with a couple beers and a hit off the bong. It's a mental vacation.

 

[BobHufford]

... when they just announced that Peter Frampton will by playing the Ozark Empire Fair.

 

[tonyb]

... when they just announced that Peter Frampton will by playing the Ozark Empire Fair.

I recall saying decades ago that there were no popular entertainments I would stand in long lines to "enjoy," let alone in venues seating tens of thousands, where to actually see the performers you look at a Jumbotron. Nope, I said, anyone I care to see live will eventually play much smaller venues, provided they don't retire (or "get retired") first.

 

[scottyrocks]

I appeared twice on the PBS "History Detectives" series, and both times there were irritating bits of staging that I resisted going along with as much as I could. In one of these we were filming at a recording studio on Long Island which they wanted me to pretend was mine -- but I drew the line at that, because I respected the guy who they borrowed the studio from, and I didn't like that they weren't letting him appear on camera. I got into a bit of an argument with the director about this, but he finally saw it my way and agreed to make it clear that we were "meeting at" this guy's studio and at least mentioned his name.

I imagine that kind of stuff goes on at all these shows, and I suspect most participants go along with it without kicking just for the thrill of being on Tee Vee.

Link to this episode?