Black Cat Bone

toomanyhatz wrote:

beenieman wrote:

Davey Avon FatBoy wrote:I don't mind putting it together if nobody else is interested (if they are, I am happy to let them) - but how do you all see this working? Lists of 50 shows each - similar to the film poll? Can anyone think of a better structure?

This poll's format worked really well. We each vote for 50 & 100 emerge. I think it'll be fun.

It should be clear you are voting for a show at its best, in your view. That is if you vote for, say, MASH you are voting for the years you like. Your vote is for MASH but you are not excluding it because you didn't like all 11 years. And some may be voting for different eras which will come out in the discussion.

Actuslly that wasn't all that clear was it

I'd say we should treat it just like we'd treat a "favorite musical artists" thread- in other words, up to the perception of the lister. If I wanted to rank M*A*S*H* lower than "the Simpsons," for example, because I thought while it had higher highs, it wasn't consistent enough, that would be my decision.

As for the national divide, I agree it's bigger than it would be for films, but again there's a musical comparison- if we went by UK votes, the Smiths would finish higher than X or the Replacements, whereas a US vote might be the opposite. It's more a matter of some things not translating than lack of access as it is with TV shows, but it's not totally avoidable in any field. Might as well go with it and see what translates best/is universal.

I agree that 50's a bit much, though. I vote we make it 25.

kath wrote:

Goat Boy wrote:Do we include documentaries?

and what about toons? as in jonny quest or something? (it's just an example, people.)

bouncebouncebounce. this sounds great.

kath wrote:i do think, ghost, that yer kinda *tv moments* thing might be a problem. unless yer gonna tie it to, say, a running news-based series or multi-parted doc, ya know? otherwise, we're gonna be TOOO wide open, methinks.

Ghost of Harry Smith wrote:

kath wrote:i do think, ghost, that yer kinda *tv moments* thing might be a problem. unless yer gonna tie it to, say, a running news-based series or multi-parted doc, ya know? otherwise, we're gonna be TOOO wide open, methinks.

Yeah, I hear you, you're probably right. Otherwise it'll just be a list of Man Walks On Moon/Berlin Wall Comes Down/ Tiananmen Square etc etc which isn't really the point.

geoffcowgill wrote:I think we should limit it to shows that were originally developed as an ongoing series (regardless of how many seasons or portions of a season they lasted). If we open it up to TV movies or mini-series, it gets too much. Are we limiting it to scripted TV, too? Do we want to consider talk shows and 'reality' shows?

geoffcowgill wrote:I think we should limit it to shows that were originally developed as an ongoing series (regardless of how many seasons or portions of a season they lasted). If we open it up to TV movies or mini-series, it gets too much. Are we limiting it to scripted TV, too? Do we want to consider talk shows and 'reality' shows?

Copehead wrote:

geoffcowgill wrote:I think we should limit it to shows that were originally developed as an ongoing series (regardless of how many seasons or portions of a season they lasted). If we open it up to TV movies or mini-series, it gets too much. Are we limiting it to scripted TV, too? Do we want to consider talk shows and 'reality' shows?

I've already chose Blue Peter, Flog It and Master Chef in my 50, I'm not going to lie about what I look(ed) forward to.

Do we want to consider talk shows and 'reality' shows?

algroth wrote:

geoffcowgill wrote:I think we should limit it to shows that were originally developed as an ongoing series (regardless of how many seasons or portions of a season they lasted). If we open it up to TV movies or mini-series, it gets too much. Are we limiting it to scripted TV, too? Do we want to consider talk shows and 'reality' shows?

What of series that were meant to last only one season? Say, for example, Dekalog, or Berlin Alexanderplatz.

geoffcowgill wrote:
Any number of classics of New German Cinema (and I'm not lumping the Kieslowski in there) were released as television initially because of the state of cinema in the 60s and 70s, but to me they were films. I just think the line blurs too much when we consider any film that first aired on TV. To me, and maybe this isn't a factually accurate distinction, something like Berlin Alexanderplatz is a TV show in terms of distribution, not form/medium.

the masked man wrote:

geoffcowgill wrote:
Any number of classics of New German Cinema (and I'm not lumping the Kieslowski in there) were released as television initially because of the state of cinema in the 60s and 70s, but to me they were films. I just think the line blurs too much when we consider any film that first aired on TV. To me, and maybe this isn't a factually accurate distinction, something like Berlin Alexanderplatz is a TV show in terms of distribution, not form/medium.

You think so? Fassbinder generally had no problem getting his films released cinematically, and Berlin Alexanderplatz is over 900 minutes long. Not even Jacques Rivette makes films which are that long....

This was definitely conceived as a television series; it's too long even to be a mini-series. Of course, it's shot with a cinematic eye, but its natural home is TV.

meetthesonics wrote:What about infomercials?

the masked man wrote: However, I'm uneasy with rules that excludes both programmes and other one-season classics like The Prisoner or The Singing Detective.