Nerve Endings Firing Away

All this would be nothing but thrilling — the tale of a decade when TV grew a spine and a brain — if it weren’t for the possibility that it could come to an end. The network model has crumbled in ways presaged a decade ago, then intensified by the bad economy. Product integration infests even the best series. But it might be a mistake to get too apocalyptic: This decade began, after all, with critics warning that reality shows would destroy TV altogether (rather than, say, revive the art of ballroom dancing). And who knows what the future will bring?”

[Source: Emily Nussbaum on When TV Became Art] A fantastic read on why television in the past decade rose to an art form in spite of mind-numbing reality shows and intense competition from that series of tubes. A perfect read given my current in-progress series on reviewing shows that I’ve loved to watch on DVD. Rightfully, the piece pays homage to the biggest two shows that earned TV numerous accolades – The Sopranos and The Wire. The paragraph on the latter best encapsulates why the series was so good.

Even the sitcoms, How I Met Your Mother is so much better than Seinfeld or Friends could ever hope to be not only in the humor but also in the style of narration. And don’t forget the short-lived Arrested Development; hopefully Community will live on. Enough reading my rambling, go click on the link at the top.