NationStates Jolt Archive

Feel free to skip this first part. :p

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What has happened to public television? Was it ever actually good, or is my mind playing tricks when it remembers it as being much better than it is now? Like many of you out there, I depend on public t.v. to infotain me to sleep on occasion. But lately, it's become so bad that I'm actually *relieved* to see that a six-hour block of Classic Arts Showcase is coming on - that's how bad the rest of it is! :mad:

Now, I'll admit that the "classics" of public t.v. probably look better in retrospect than they did at the time. But, as it stands now, I can't imagine *anyone* ever looking back fondly on the garbage that's polluting (yes, polluting!) the taxpayer-funded airwaves today. A marathon of "Glass With Vicki Payne?" Really? Who green-lights this garbage? (Wow, she's assembling a prefab glass cat. Super.) It's getting bad. Even if you actually do learn something about glass, you'll wish you hadn't. And it only gets worse.

Now, ordinarily, I'd store this rant someplace in the back of my mind (that little spot right beside the cingulate gyrus - you know the place) for another time, or until I forget about it, but I can't help but be reminded in this case, when, nearly every day at work, I see people checking out the aforementioned "classics" of public t.v., who tend to agree with me that, yes, it is that bad nowadays. So I say: public t.v. should not be allowed to coast by on the merits of Sesame Street as it seems to have been doing for so many years - it's time to demand a bit more for our tax dollar.

---End Rant---

Now, for an actual topic: ;)

Do you enjoy public t.v.? Do you agree with me that its quality had been on the decline, or is it as good as ever? What are/were your favorite segments?

Just for fun, I'll contribute a few of mine, which unsurprisingly (if you read the rant above) come mainly from the 'classics.' :)

1. Frederick Noad's Guitar Show: http://www.noad.com/Biog.htm
When was the last time public t.v. actually *accomplished* something? The Noad show is credited with creating 100,000 new guitarists. I scan one of his DVDs at least once a week, every week, at work (a public library). Plus, he was hilariously British (RIP, Fred).

2. Public t.v. painters. Kind of obligatory, I know, but these guys really were great in their own way. Rather than link to clips, I'll link to this comedian's bit about two of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ovpLXHMSqI At least you could actually *say* something about those shows, whether you liked them or not. I can't even remember the name of that one painter they put on today. Meh.

3. The Ken Burns franchise. It's modern and not terrible: the exception to the rule.

Okay then, enough from me. Poll on the way. :p

Nova is the only PT I watch.

Nova is the only PT I watch.

Ah, that's a good one, now that you mention it. :) Some of the topics, at least.

Also, before I forget: this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBb2p8GHlnE

I don't know if I like him or hate him, and he may only be on t.v. in California, but he's distinctive at least, and hilariously Southern (well, Tennessean). Hah. :p

I don't watch TV anymore, but I think it's clear that Swedish public TV has only gotten worse. I hate to see the license money I don't pay go towards cheap entertainment such as game and reality shows. I guess they still make some quality TV, it's just that they make more and more of, well, shit TV as well.

I sincerely hope that the propaganda of our superior public TV that we Swedes are fed with is all lies, because if it isn't, public TV in most other countries must be completely worthless.

Public tv is actually just supposed to broadcast things in the 'public interest' and to avoid commercialization, which is why they tend to do lots of in-depth news, politics and documentaries.

Public tv is actually just supposed to broadcast things in the 'public interest' and to avoid commercialization, which is why they tend to do lots of in-depth news, politics and documentaries.

That happens; here, however, most of the programming schedule is either documentary or arts/arts&crafts. McLaughlin Group and Charlie Rose are sort of in the vein you're talking about, but that's a smaller fraction of the airtime.

Possibly, maybe... I don't really watch much on TV besides the news and films (a have a more limited choice and therefore don't have to agonise about what to watch).

As for things like documentaries I've never really liked the BBC's Panorama. I just don't like its style. I tend to prefer Channel 4 documentaries, but then I haven't watched those in a while and so they could have gone down hill too. Plus I probably have an inbuilt bias as my dad used to be editor for quite a few of them. Meh.

I love public TV simply because it provides me with credible news. However, this is referring to German channels.

Feel free to skip this first part. :p

---

What has happened to public television? Was it ever actually good, or is my mind playing tricks when it remembers it as being much better than it is now? Like many of you out there, I depend on public t.v. to infotain me to sleep on occasion. But lately, it's become so bad that I'm actually *relieved* to see that a six-hour block of Classic Arts Showcase is coming on - that's how bad the rest of it is! :mad:

Now, I'll admit that the "classics" of public t.v. probably look better in retrospect than they did at the time. But, as it stands now, I can't imagine *anyone* ever looking back fondly on the garbage that's polluting (yes, polluting!) the taxpayer-funded airwaves today. A marathon of "Glass With Vicki Payne?" Really? Who green-lights this garbage? (Wow, she's assembling a prefab glass cat. Super.) It's getting bad. Even if you actually do learn something about glass, you'll wish you hadn't. And it only gets worse.

Now, ordinarily, I'd store this rant someplace in the back of my mind (that little spot right beside the cingulate gyrus - you know the place) for another time, or until I forget about it, but I can't help but be reminded in this case, when, nearly every day at work, I see people checking out the aforementioned "classics" of public t.v., who tend to agree with me that, yes, it is that bad nowadays. So I say: public t.v. should not be allowed to coast by on the merits of Sesame Street as it seems to have been doing for so many years - it's time to demand a bit more for our tax dollar.

---End Rant---

Now, for an actual topic: ;)

Do you enjoy public t.v.? Do you agree with me that its quality had been on the decline, or is it as good as ever? What are/were your favorite segments?

Just for fun, I'll contribute a few of mine, which unsurprisingly (if you read the rant above) come mainly from the 'classics.' :)

1. Frederick Noad's Guitar Show: http://www.noad.com/Biog.htm
When was the last time public t.v. actually *accomplished* something? The Noad show is credited with creating 100,000 new guitarists. I scan one of his DVDs at least once a week, every week, at work (a public library). Plus, he was hilariously British (RIP, Fred).

2. Public t.v. painters. Kind of obligatory, I know, but these guys really were great in their own way. Rather than link to clips, I'll link to this comedian's bit about two of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ovpLXHMSqI At least you could actually *say* something about those shows, whether you liked them or not. I can't even remember the name of that one painter they put on today. Meh.

3. The Ken Burns franchise. It's modern and not terrible: the exception to the rule.

Okay then, enough from me. Poll on the way. :p

They're not as bad as Public Accessed Television. One time me and my dad were flipping through the channels in San Jose, California, and I kid you not, on the Public Accessed Channel, there was a woman who was teaching us how to make.........Scrap books! Ahh we just both laughed at that. Ahh that's funny.

Anyways, yea, to me Public Television always sucked. That's why commercial television rocks!

Anyways, yea, to me Public Television always sucked. That's why commercial television rocks!Where entertainment is concerned, usually, yes. However, commercial news channels lack the independence to air news.

Well, here in the US, or at least where I live, public television is a piece of shit. Half the time its not even in English (either Ethiopian or Vietnamese) to tailor to the large immigrant community and when it is, it gives mundane localized news and ads.

Anyways, yea, to me Public Television always sucked. That's why commercial television rocks!
Yeah maybe for Americans with bricks rammed into their craniums.

Speaking from a British point of view, I think that our BBC, to be fair, is excellent. There's a good mix of programming, from your Panoramas and Newsnights to your Little Britians and Doctor Whos. OK, so the latest blockbuster won't appear on your screens for about another 5 years and not every is into reality TV, but if the majority of the viewers weren't watching, the show would get pulled. Just because you might not like it, obviously someone else does. I don't know if it's the same in the USA or elsewhere, but the BBC generally has to justify its programming regularly.

I watch it at my grandma's... the TV's always running and most of the time it's public TV, all I can say is that it's horrible. There's nothing on but the same entertainment-dirt, I could see elsewhere if I bothered to turn on the TV.

European public television tends to be top notch. I do enjoy the BBC and SVT, and think they're among the best channels out there - much better than all commercial ones.

I especially like SVT's news broadcasting. (http://svt.se/urlfiles/rapport/rapport2130mandag.asx) No annoying tickers, no fluff stories about pointlessness...

European public television tends to be top notch. I do enjoy the BBC and SVT, and think they're among the best channels out there - much better than all commercial ones.

I especially like SVT's news broadcasting. (http://svt.se/urlfiles/rapport/rapport2130mandag.asx) No annoying tickers, no fluff stories about pointlessness...
I think the German stations leave too much important things out of their news...

I don't watch any kind of television.

I don't watch any kind of television.

Not even online?

I think the German stations leave too much important things out of their news...

One of the reasons I like SVT's news - they have a 24 hour news channel (SVT 24) for the continually updating news, on the regular channels they have one news show for regular news summaries (Rapport), and they also have another news show for in depth coverage of the most important news stories of the day (Aktuellt). The latter one is in fact really good - they can spend for instance 15 minutes on one story and give a much more multifaceted analysis than they can when they might have 1 or 2 minutes in the more traditional broadcast.

Really, it does seem as though European public service broadcasting is light years ahead of USA public service, but that's to be expected seeing as how neglected and woefully underfunded the USA PBS really is.

I really couldn't imagine a world without the BBC, apart from channel 4 what ele am I going to watch? MTV?!

I think Public TV is better than it used to be, if only because it has less of the old propaganda methods of teaching children to behave etc etc.
But there's so much rubbish out there you have to trawl through most of the "and now for the greatest 100 films" or "and now another interview with some celebrity who doesn't know how to read".
i also hate big brother (as it's not true to real life) and it's full of idiots (and in another one a contestant committed suicide after they left i forget which country it was).
So it's better than it was but not by much.

They're not as bad as Public Accessed Television. One time me and my dad were flipping through the channels in San Jose, California, and I kid you not, on the Public Accessed Channel, there was a woman who was teaching us how to make.........Scrap books! Ahh we just both laughed at that. Ahh that's funny.

Anyways, yea, to me Public Television always sucked. That's why commercial television rocks!

At around 3:00 in the morning I once came across an S&M How-to on Public Access...complete with small amounts of clothes, made entirely out of leather or vinyl or something.

i watch the BBC way more than the commercial channels, so i guess i watch public TV.


my favourite (non-BBC) channel is now the curiously titled, Dave :)

my favourite (non-BBC) channel is now the curiously titled, Dave :)

Might as well just use youtube.

Nova, Frontline, Now, Bill Moyers, Ken Burns, Science Now, American Masters, and back in the day, Monty Python, Cosmos (Carl Sagan), The Body Human, National Geographic, and all kinds of kid-friendly programming I used to dig when I was a kid (I'm told they still do this...I haven't watched since Carmen Sandiego and have no kids, so I don't know anymore).

We have like 4 Public Television stations on our digital TV, it keeps me from wanting cable so bad, we have the regular PBS affiliate, which has awesomeness like Nova, the Red Green show, Everyday Food, and a quilting show that comes on Saturdays, then we have a state public tv station that has interesting shows about things going on in our area, a gardening show, and local independent films, we also have a channel called "Create" which is like HGTV and the Food Network mixed, a Kids network which is like Cartoon Network and Disney mixed but the shows are better quality, and we have a network that is entirely educational/college documentaries/telecourses, which also, is awesome, it's like having the Discovery channel again, only it's not all pop-sci bullshit.


Oh, and on some nights our local affiliate has "Behind the Lens" which has had some awesome films......and late Saturday night is Saturday night movie club, where wonderful movies are shown!


I love public TV and I will give them more money this year than ever before.

EDIT: I totally almost forgot Antiques Roadshow! fun for everyone!

yes, we are a family of nerds.

Nova is good. I don't watch any other public television.

Might as well just use youtube.

Yeah, if you wanted to watch it blurred beyound recognition.

Anyway. BBC roxx0rs. No other channel comes close with their comedy!

It went downhill when they stopped airing Transformers.

Anyway. BBC roxx0rs. No other channel comes close with their comedy!

I can't think of a good BBC sitcom in the past few years other than The Office and Extras.

I can't think of a good BBC sitcom in the past few years other than The Office and Extras.

not going out was awesome if only for the sheer retardedness as was Smoking room

Yeah maybe for Americans with bricks rammed into their craniums.

Oh so that's why I'm having a headache....Thanks for that! :p