Netflix reboots One Day at a Time

[All My Shadows]

I have to admit that overhype (or perceived overhype) has kept me from watching shows strictly because I tend to not care for the programs that are critical darlings. When I've given shows a chance in spite of this, such as OITNB and GoT, I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy them. On the other hand, whether or not we're in a golden age of television matters very little to me because I can watch an episode or two of Game of Thrones and flip over to the most formulaic episode of CHiPs without missing a beat. I think my main gripe with the current TV landscape is that for how wide and big it is, there's a huge lack of true variety in programming. We'll never see a fun, dumb, light-hearted, non-serialized action hour anytime soon, and it's frustrating because the audience exists, but so many are so busy trying to create the next big dark, moody hit that we end up with a glut of subpar attempts at that and a lack of other voices.

[quartermainefan]

I won't ever refuse to like a show because it is a critical darling.   The reason shows on cable and now streaming get better reviews is because they are better.    These networks had the chance to go for Game Of Thrones or Walking Dead, but they chose not to because of their network demand for dumb downed and sanitized entertainment.    Now ABC has announced they are making their own GoT based on the Bible, and just by virtue of the fact it is on ABC means the show can't be good.   I can't bother with a show where in anger they scream "Shoot!".  That's not well written dialogue.   That's just dumb nonsense better left in the 70s where all G rated dialogue aimed at adults belongs.   Battlestar Galactica got around this by say "we're truly frakked now!" as a replacement for the word they really wanted to use, but I don't see that happening on network TV.   The three networks are basically a wasteland where no quality reigns supreme.   The fact that they all passed on TWD and TWD went on to become the most popular show of all for the demo they covet, speaks to how brilliantly these networks choose shows.   It is a golden age of TV because now there are so many venues, the audience no longer has to abide by the networks stifling taste.   That's how you get shows like GoT or Sopranos or Mad Men or pick any prestige show of your choice.   Meanwhile, the networks are busy gearing up CSI: New Orleans or whatever dumb reality show they trot out next.

[DRW50]

That's really not far off a lot of GoT or TWD dialogue...

 

There are a lot of venues, yet most of the shows seem as generic as ever somehow. If they weren't then I'd probably be more invested. 

[MissLlanviewPA]

I'll admit I'm sad that the Coach reboot, even if Christine wouldn't have been there, didn't make it (LEAVE ME ALONE, VEE! :P), as I truly love that show and would have watched it, but at least it had a fairly good life in syndication, on DVD (up to season 4, anyway) and on Netflix (quite a few years until they got rid of it). Up until recently, One Day at a Time hadn't been seen in reruns in almost two decades, and only the first season is on DVD. I think putting the original show on Netflix would be a better bet, honestly. 

 

This.

 

Variety is sorely needed in modern TV. There will always be trends, of course, but I would be to see more variety in genres on TV.

 

BTW, I don't have Antenna. Are there any original ODAAT episodes on YouTube, besides minisodes? I've never seen the original show and have always wanted to. 

[Gray Bunny]

My first thoughts too. 

[quartermainefan]

But there is nothing original about the set up just described.   Single parent raising their kid alone, and the wacky mom is there to provide humor not associated with her age via wise comments and jarring hipness.  It is as derivative as it gets.   Without seeing it don't we know the mother is just going to be a golden girl with an accent?   And then when someone gets exasperated can't we predict they'll start muttering spanish gibberish accompanied by canned laughter that can't catch its breath at the hilarity of it all?    They can call it whatever they want, and the show will still suck.   

[Gray Bunny]

They could just as easily link it to Gimme A Break (the latter years when Nell was raising the Lawrence brothers and they moved to an apartment, and Rosie O'Donnell was a neighbor). Or The Hogan Family, and the super can be named Edie McClurg. The possibilities are endless in "rebooting" shows of the 70's/80's/90's with a few simple tweaks and cute nods to characters of the past. It'll still wind up as crap most of the time. 

[All My Shadows]

Oh, who gives a damn, though? If you dislike it, you won't watch it. There might or might not be an audience for it regardless of the things you predicted. Shows that aren't critically acclaimed can still be successful.

[Vee]

And in point of fact, we still have a ton of new, successful sitcoms, many of them on network, many of them following in the Lear tradition. Both Fresh Off the Boat and Black-ish are fun, and they're not the only ones. The worse sitcoms and procedurals or dramas, of course, remain popular and have run well past sell-by date. It's not like streaming or cable is choking out their market with too much sophistication to allow Castle or Bones or Two Broke Girls or Big Bang Theory to continue on to Season 33. I look at those shows and I just can't lump a silly multicultural update of ODAAT in as being part of the decline of a free society.

[sivad40]

Here's an interview that Les Moonves did that past September. He discussed the same topics that are in this thread.

http://www.vulture.com/2015/09/leslie-moonves-on-20-years-at-cbs.html#

[All My Shadows]

And then there's the fact that, when it's all said and done, the shows that you mentioned are the ones that follow the old school model of being big hits in broadcast syndication as well as on cable nets' daytime schedules. I don't think the people behind those shows have an interest in being a part of the "golden age"/"prestige" circle jerk -- they're doing successful shows the way successful shows have been done for decades. And then there are those who hope to go in a different direction, and those shows get to be successful, too. I'm like you; I'm not buying into the competition narrative because I don't really see anyone losing. I doubt the people behind Bones are looking for Emmy nominations.

[Gray Bunny]

Thanks for posting! Very interesting read.