NationStates Jolt Archive

What has been the most influential show of all time?

You can answer according to a variety of criteria. Such as impact on society, technology, your personal life, social trends, marking a new generation of TV shows, etc.

I'm going with the Star Trek franchise. Whether or not you consider yourself a Spock ear wearing Trekkie or you hate the show, your life has been affected by the series.

How many of you have a cell phone? The odds are 90+% of you have one. Star Trek is responsible for this invention. Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola stated that Star Trek communicators were his inspiration when he invented cell phones. The current voice recognition dialing technology in cell phones is also rooted in Star Trek. If you have a flip phone, take a guess where that is from? Yep, once again the communicator. If you're as nerdy as I am, you have even made your phone make the distinctive chirp when it is flipped opened.

The home computer you are using to look at this thread also has its roots in the show. The first home computer ever, the Altair 8800, was created by Ed Roberts after being inspired by the show. This led to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak creating the Apple I. The rest is history.

Another tool most of us have today is an MP3 player. Steve Perlman, formerly of Apple Computer, invented Quicktime after watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. This allowed the creation of MP3 players. Another social/technology impact from Star Trek.

I can continue forever with the non-invasive medical technology inspired by Star Trek and other technologies. Let's face it, our lives have all been affected by a show created by Gene Roddenberry over 40 years ago.

Wheel of Fortune.

If you can understand Pat Sajak's coded psychokenetic messages, that is.

What has been the most influential show of all time?
To add to your Star Trek theme... you got the Space Shuttle, as well as the "Tricorder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricorder)"

to me...

Sesame Street
School House Rocks
Connections

all three of them inspire people to read, to take an interest in learning. without which, we would not have the wonderful toys we have now.

While I will admit that Star Trek influenced the look and feel and shape of a lot of things, I would stop short of crediting the show wholesale for the inventions themselves.

For influential show I'll go with I Love Lucy. Desi Arnez knew his shit and innovated a lot of the way television is done. He was the one who innovated the three camera studio set up for filming sitcoms and the live studio audience (and unfortunately by extension the laugh track). While The Honeymooners might have defined the sitcom, I Love Lucy perfected it to a formula that only now is being toyed with.

What has been the most influential show of all time?

Sadly...I will say Survivor.

It ushered in the era of "Reality" television we endure today. The networks learned that we will indeed watch anything...so long as we can speak of it around the water cooler the next day.

*supresses longer rant*

ohh... just thought of another one...


THE NEWS! it affects our thinking, our outlook on businesses, Government, other countries, and even life.

ohh... just thought of another one...


THE NEWS! it affects our thinking, our outlook on businesses, Government, other countries, and even life.

That's ridiculous. No one watches the news.

Larry King Live.

That's ridiculous. No one watches the news.
Actually, the evolution of the TV News (especially in the area of 24-hour stations) has had a profound effect on not only the people who watch, but on the nature of how all forms of US news-coverage are handled.
Newspapers, for instance, began their move toward human interest and soft topics when their editors realized that it was impossible to stay ahead of CNN and company as purveyors of current events. Newspaper subscriptions began a substantial die off when people had "free" sources of information that were easier to ingest than the standard printed fare.

ohh... just thought of another one...


THE NEWS! it affects our thinking, our outlook on businesses, Government, other countries, and even life.
But then you'd have to say which news program. Morrow? Cronkite? 60 Minutes? Nightline? Etc.

South Park.

Quatermass

Though it would take either a true SF junkie or a Brit of a certain age to remember this hugely influential 1950s science fiction TV serial.

Sadly...I will say Survivor.

It ushered in the era of "Reality" television we endure today. The networks learned that we will indeed watch anything...so long as we can speak of it around the water cooler the next day.

*supresses longer rant*

Expedition Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_Robinson) in Sweden, which was then copied by Treasure Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island_%28show%29) in New Zealand pre-dates Survivor.

Expedition Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_Robinson) in Sweden, which was then copied by Treasure Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island_%28show%29) in New Zealand pre-dates Survivor.

We learned it from watching you, okay!?!


Ah, old anti drug humor...

But then you'd have to say which news program. Morrow? Cronkite? 60 Minutes? Nightline? Etc.

I'd go with 60 Minutes (which will probably get Remote Observer or Myrmidonisia claiming that it's because of my love for its liberal bias or something equally stupid) in part because it's just been on so long, and because it has broken so many huge stories over the years that have affected foreign policy, the environment, legislation and the like. It did what the evening news couldn't do--went after a story and after people who thought they were beyond accountability. Nightine, etc. just followed in 60 Minutes's footsteps.

See It Now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_It_Now), hosted by Edward R. Murrow. Contributed to the political downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy. More cojones than the entire news media today.

I'd go with 60 Minutes (which will probably get Remote Observer or Myrmidonisia claiming that it's because of my love for its liberal bias or something equally stupid) in part because it's just been on so long, and because it has broken so many huge stories over the years that have affected foreign policy, the environment, legislation and the like. It did what the evening news couldn't do--went after a story and after people who thought they were beyond accountability. Nightine, etc. just followed in 60 Minutes's footsteps.

That's a pretty sound argument. I was trying to think of a magazine style news show that preceded it but even then, it didn't set the precident that 60 Minutes did.

That's a pretty sound argument. I was trying to think of a magazine style news show that preceded it but even then, it didn't set the precident that 60 Minutes did.
I remember, as a kid, the power of the 60 Minutes correspondents. You could see people shit their pants when Mike Wallace walked in the door with his camera, and they'd generally bail as quickly as they could. That's influence--captains of industry running like geeks from a bully.

As much as I hate to say it, The Simpsons is definately an influence on people today. I can't go a single day without hearing someone say something about that show.

What has been the most influential show of all time?

You can answer according to a variety of criteria. Such as impact on society, technology, your personal life, social trends, marking a new generation of TV shows, etc.

I'm going with the Star Trek franchise. Whether or not you consider yourself a Spock ear wearing Trekkie or you hate the show, your life has been affected by the series.

How many of you have a cell phone? The odds are 90+% of you have one. Star Trek is responsible for this invention. Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola stated that Star Trek communicators were his inspiration when he invented cell phones. The current voice recognition dialing technology in cell phones is also rooted in Star Trek. If you have a flip phone, take a guess where that is from? Yep, once again the communicator. If you're as nerdy as I am, you have even made your phone make the distinctive chirp when it is flipped opened.

The home computer you are using to look at this thread also has its roots in the show. The first home computer ever, the Altair 8800, was created by Ed Roberts after being inspired by the show. This led to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak creating the Apple I. The rest is history.

Another tool most of us have today is an MP3 player. Steve Perlman, formerly of Apple Computer, invented Quicktime after watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. This allowed the creation of MP3 players. Another social/technology impact from Star Trek.

I can continue forever with the non-invasive medical technology inspired by Star Trek and other technologies. Let's face it, our lives have all been affected by a show created by Gene Roddenberry over 40 years ago.

i agree :)

there's a great programme called "How William Shatner Changed The World" about just that... its great!

the most nefariously influential televised mass propiganda of all times are the evening corporate controled infotainment, variously called the six o clock, or whatever begining of prime time they are called, so called news. this is why the corporatocracy, which has become indistinguishable from both government and organized crime, has essentialy usurped the one, and for all practical purposes made serious inroads, if not taken over, the other. why, as well, has long since persued and aquired control of it.

=^^=
.../\...

The World at War,Z Cars, The Sweeney and The Sky at Night