I mentioned in a previous post that ST:TNG was influencial as it paved the way for the sci-fi wave that followed.
ST:TNG was also influencial in another way:
Sales of TV shows are massive these days and ST:TNG was the series that started it all. ST:TNG, along with the original series, were the first long running series released on the market (in VHS format). Before this nobody bought TV programmes. The positive sales figures encouraged the studio's to release more shows, taking us to where we are today.
[pedant]Dr Who was being released on VHS before TNG started in 1987.[/pedant]
CSI as its a How Dunnit rather than a who dunnit like other shows, something which has followed since its massive success. It may not be the first, but it is the most influential.
Family Guy may not be here without the Simpsons, and now I think about it I take back Family guy and replace it with South Park (not something I personally like) but it paved the way for properly adult cartoons rather than cartoons which appealed to both Adults and Children.
Dawsons Creek may have been successful, but The OC spawned reality shows based on it, took over the world for a couple of years and was somewhat of a phenomenom (Short lived, yes but there are now a lot more Glossy teen dramas than there were before, or at least a lot more accessible)
Lost isn't a programme I like, I personally got annoyed after Season1 since nothing was actually answered, but it seems all shows now aim to be the next Lost (or Heroes but many think Heroes borrows somewhat from Lost which I can't comment on)
Columbo was doing that in the 1970s through to the 1990s.
Adult cartoons have been made long, long before cartoons like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park turned up.
You could even say that the original cartoons of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were made for adults.
I'd say Big Brother, as it started the new big thing in TV over the last 7 years, reality TV. And also kickstarted the current trend in society, of people wanting to be famous for the sake of it, not because of any talent, also help make magazines Heat successful, etc. (I didn't say it was a good thing ).
That's just not true. As I've said before reality TV existed long before Big Brother was even conceived.
It was actually becoming a staple of the television schedule before BB even turned up.
Also, there's no way that BB invented the wannabe. I wish people wouldn't keep falling for this myth that suddenly BB came along and created the wannabe, and also that people were so innocent back then.
The wannabe existed since the early days of Hollywood.
You could see wannabes desperate to get onto TV all the time especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The examples of these people are endless.
BB didn't create them, it just provided an opportunity for them to focus onto.
I think there's a difference between originality and influence though, isn't there?
As Columbo was a massive show I don't see how you can ignore it's influence if 24 have also gone for the 'howdunnit' approach, if that's what you're doing.
Just because 24 has been very popular recently it doesn't negate the previous success of Columbo earlier, and I don't really see how 24 has influenced many shows to also do the 'howdunnit' style. I can't even think of any other shows that do that.
As Columbo was a massive show I don't see how you can ignore it's influence, if that's what you're doing.
I'm not, Columbo was of course a massively important programme. However, it would be wrong to ignore that CSI's influence on modern police procedurals simply because Columbo popularised the "howdunnit" all those years ago.
despite columbo being awesome, it is not from the last 10 years.
can also distinguish as CSI reinvented the procedural drama from who dunnit to how dunnit. i don't think the premise of columbo was anything like that, as you were explicitly shown the how dunnit in the first 15 minutes.
if you are looking for influence of CSI, as well as spin off shows and rival broadcasters heavily copying the broader format, i remember reading recently that real life investigators are having a harder time gathering evidence as criminals are more educated due to the CSi series. now that is influence!!!!! (though not good obv.).
Reality shows have been around for decades before these shows you mention arrived.
There's just no way that either Big Brother or Shipwrecked are the first reality shows.
Certainly BB wasn't the first reality show. But wasn't BB the first of the phone-in-to-vote-one-off-each-week genre? I would say that would make it influential in the extreme
Certainly BB wasn't the first reality show. But wasn't BB the first of the phone-in-to-vote-one-off-each-week genre? I would say that would make it influential in the extreme
Certainly influential in that respect, yes.
If you notice earlier in the thread I said that Big Brother is easily the most influential show.....I was just saying that it wasn't the first reality show in order to respond to a poster that said it was.
That's the problem with limiting the net of the most influential programmes to just the last ten years, because some shows are getting credited for what came earlier and what actually influenced them.
That's just not true. As I've said before reality TV existed long before Big Brother was even conceived.
It was actually becoming a staple of the television schedule before BB even turned up.
Also, there's no way that BB invented the wannabe. I wish people wouldn't keep falling for this myth that suddenly BB came along and created the wannabe, and also that people were so innocent back then.
The wannabe existed since the early days of Hollywood.
You could see wannabes desperate to get onto TV all the time especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The examples of these people are endless.
BB didn't create them, it just provided an opportunity for them to focus onto.
Well yes, there's always been wannabes. You could probably find plenty in ancient Rome, so what I'm saying isn't the absolute truth. But I feel Big Brother turbo powered wannabe culture, from it being a minority sport, to now, when if you survey school kids as to what they want to become, the majority reply "I want to be famous."
Big Brother and reality TV turned wannabeism into the culture of the masses.
Columbo was doing that in the 1970s through to the 1990s.
Adult cartoons have been made long, long before cartoons like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park turned up.
You could even say that the original cartoons of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were made for adults.
Columbo was a detective who used interviews with suspects to solve crimes, and we had already seen what had actually happened.
CSI shows a victim, shows the end result and misses out the actual crime in most cases. Then we see the evidence collected and they try to work it out through the evidence, Interviews aren't nearly as important in CSI. CSI has spawned spin-offs, Documentaries and rival shows on other networks, and as someone earlier said, has actually helped criminals in some cases lol, not a good influence, but massive influence none-the-less.
Can't agree with the cartoon bit either, Simpsons opened up Cartoons to prime time more than any other show in the past, but it was a family show. South Park really kick started the late night cartoon show leading to the ones that have followed in recent years
CSI as its a How Dunnit rather than a who dunnit like other shows, something which has followed since its massive success. It may not be the first, but it is the most influential.
what do you think the most influential show of the past 10 years is and why?
i would suggest pop idol, millionaire, 24, Big Brother and Friends.
The Soprano's, (the first small screen drama to be consistently better than anything the big screen could offer) South Park (took what the Simpson's gave the world and turned it up a notch - and if you've ever seen "Adult Swim" cartoons you'll know how influential it's been), The Office (changed the nature of Brit-com), 24 (a genuine original and we wouldn't have Lost or Prison break without it) Big Brother (do I need to say more?), Weakest Link (well it's influenced a whole new generation of dominatrix) My family (if only for the tonnes of other sh*te it's influenced) A History of Britain (made history sexy again and maybe we wouldn't have got ROME or THE TUDORS without it?) and Spongebob squarepants.
My tuppence worth (and not indicative of me particularly liking them!)
Ally mcBeal - central female lead, leading to lots of shows which are ostensibly aimed at women, combined with the quirky surreal moments which have since been used in many show - and a running long term drama, told episodically but with plots running through the whole series
ER - bringing back hospital drama, with incredibly high production standards
Friends - for defining a cultural (and aspirational) life style within the form of a sitcom - and for changing the way English was spoken
The X Files for catching the zeitgeist of the conspiracy paranioa
Roseanne for taking sitcom out of the middle classes and dumping it ferociously in the realm of the blue collar world (this would have been Married with Children but that was the eighties - and wasn't as worldwide successful as Roseanne)
The Fast Show for reinventing the sketch show and making the idea of a known punchline / catchphrase the whole basis of the comedy
I forgot about a lot of the above - though I'm not sure the Fast show, Roseanne and ER started on Brit Tv less than 10 years ago, but they all broke new ground in their day. I also forgot about Malcolm in the Middle - without which, we wouldn't also be blessed with Scrubs.
I agree.
When something is influential it's about what measure of influence it's had, which is stating the obvious, but that's how I see something as being influential or not.
So out of all those programmes mentioned I have to say Big Brother because it's influenced so many future programmes and created an obsession in society for being famous for being famous. That existed before, but BB made it appear as a more realistic possibility and was/is aspirational TV to the public.
There's just a glut of TV programming based around the genre of reality TV.
So as far as being influential I don't see how any of the other programmes mentioned come anywhere near close to it even if they have been influential in their own ways.
I think BB has easily been the most influential due to the knock on effect it has had on TV programming, AND on society itself.
.....but I agree, influential for mostly negative reasons.
I've just had a thought. I know it's older than 10 years, but didn't "The Real World" influence BB?
Agree with that, The Day Today was the best but unfortunately all the comedies influenced by it have been way inferior. Well I think so anyway....
I assume the last of A Bit of Fry and Laurie was more than 10 years ago? It would have to be right up there - groundbreaking comedy alright.
Does anyone remember Jam by Chris Morris? It was so uniquely bad taste that it's direct influences "Nighty-night" & "Monkey Dust" couldn't really match it's standard, but it was groundbreaking.
Shows that really influenced some of the ones on this page, but few remember - all epoch-making!
Timecode (ok, a movie),
Beavis & butthead (peaktime and profanity-ish),
La femme nikita (so much, Alias, 24 et al),
People like us (ricky gervais might not have a career otherwise),
Trigger happy tv (punk'd, jackass, etc.)
A shame that the real innovators are often forgotten (and yes, even some of these people had predecessors,) but all are geniuses.
This is what I said about 24 on the IMDB review page:
"This show can best be described as the most innovative, ground-breaking television show of the past 50 years. The reason this show is so ground breaking is the fact that it has used split screen cameras, and a real time format to create the element of a quality made show."
Maybe I exaggerated a bit, but it is definatly a grounbreaking show, that did redefine and give the drama thriller genre the adrenaline shot it needed, and the kick up the ass it needed.
The Soprano's, (the first small screen drama to be consistently better than anything the big screen could offer) South Park (took what the Simpson's gave the world and turned it up a notch - and if you've ever seen "Adult Swim" cartoons you'll know how influential it's been), The Office (changed the nature of Brit-com), 24 (a genuine original and we wouldn't have Lost or Prison break without it) Big Brother (do I need to say more?), Weakest Link (well it's influenced a whole new generation of dominatrix) My family (if only for the tonnes of other sh*te it's influenced) A History of Britain (made history sexy again and maybe we wouldn't have got ROME or THE TUDORS without it?) and Spongebob squarepants.
spongebob is great, but wouldn't exist without Ren and Stimpy!!
I forgot about a lot of the above - though I'm not sure the Fast show, Roseanne and ER started on Brit Tv less than 10 years ago, but they all broke new ground in their day. I also forgot about Malcolm in the Middle - without which, we wouldn't also be blessed with Scrubs.
Roseanne started in the end of the 80s and ended exactly 10 years ago, and the idea of ER was written in 1972, which could explain the dramatics and the boom it had.
Comments
[pedant]Dr Who was being released on VHS before TNG started in 1987.[/pedant]
Columbo was doing that in the 1970s through to the 1990s.
Adult cartoons have been made long, long before cartoons like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park turned up.
You could even say that the original cartoons of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were made for adults.
I think there's a difference between originality and influence though, isn't there?
That's just not true. As I've said before reality TV existed long before Big Brother was even conceived.
It was actually becoming a staple of the television schedule before BB even turned up.
Also, there's no way that BB invented the wannabe. I wish people wouldn't keep falling for this myth that suddenly BB came along and created the wannabe, and also that people were so innocent back then.
The wannabe existed since the early days of Hollywood.
You could see wannabes desperate to get onto TV all the time especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The examples of these people are endless.
BB didn't create them, it just provided an opportunity for them to focus onto.
As Columbo was a massive show I don't see how you can ignore it's influence if 24 have also gone for the 'howdunnit' approach, if that's what you're doing.
Just because 24 has been very popular recently it doesn't negate the previous success of Columbo earlier, and I don't really see how 24 has influenced many shows to also do the 'howdunnit' style. I can't even think of any other shows that do that.
I'm not, Columbo was of course a massively important programme. However, it would be wrong to ignore that CSI's influence on modern police procedurals simply because Columbo popularised the "howdunnit" all those years ago.
can also distinguish as CSI reinvented the procedural drama from who dunnit to how dunnit. i don't think the premise of columbo was anything like that, as you were explicitly shown the how dunnit in the first 15 minutes.
if you are looking for influence of CSI, as well as spin off shows and rival broadcasters heavily copying the broader format, i remember reading recently that real life investigators are having a harder time gathering evidence as criminals are more educated due to the CSi series. now that is influence!!!!! (though not good obv.).
Certainly BB wasn't the first reality show. But wasn't BB the first of the phone-in-to-vote-one-off-each-week genre? I would say that would make it influential in the extreme
Certainly influential in that respect, yes.
If you notice earlier in the thread I said that Big Brother is easily the most influential show.....I was just saying that it wasn't the first reality show in order to respond to a poster that said it was.
That's the problem with limiting the net of the most influential programmes to just the last ten years, because some shows are getting credited for what came earlier and what actually influenced them.
Well yes, there's always been wannabes. You could probably find plenty in ancient Rome, so what I'm saying isn't the absolute truth. But I feel Big Brother turbo powered wannabe culture, from it being a minority sport, to now, when if you survey school kids as to what they want to become, the majority reply "I want to be famous."
Big Brother and reality TV turned wannabeism into the culture of the masses.
Columbo was a detective who used interviews with suspects to solve crimes, and we had already seen what had actually happened.
CSI shows a victim, shows the end result and misses out the actual crime in most cases. Then we see the evidence collected and they try to work it out through the evidence, Interviews aren't nearly as important in CSI. CSI has spawned spin-offs, Documentaries and rival shows on other networks, and as someone earlier said, has actually helped criminals in some cases lol, not a good influence, but massive influence none-the-less.
Can't agree with the cartoon bit either, Simpsons opened up Cartoons to prime time more than any other show in the past, but it was a family show. South Park really kick started the late night cartoon show leading to the ones that have followed in recent years
Didn't Quincy do this aswell.....
The Soprano's, (the first small screen drama to be consistently better than anything the big screen could offer) South Park (took what the Simpson's gave the world and turned it up a notch - and if you've ever seen "Adult Swim" cartoons you'll know how influential it's been), The Office (changed the nature of Brit-com), 24 (a genuine original and we wouldn't have Lost or Prison break without it) Big Brother (do I need to say more?), Weakest Link (well it's influenced a whole new generation of dominatrix) My family (if only for the tonnes of other sh*te it's influenced) A History of Britain (made history sexy again and maybe we wouldn't have got ROME or THE TUDORS without it?) and Spongebob squarepants.
I forgot about a lot of the above - though I'm not sure the Fast show, Roseanne and ER started on Brit Tv less than 10 years ago, but they all broke new ground in their day. I also forgot about Malcolm in the Middle - without which, we wouldn't also be blessed with Scrubs.
Spot on.
I've just had a thought. I know it's older than 10 years, but didn't "The Real World" influence BB?
Does anyone remember Jam by Chris Morris? It was so uniquely bad taste that it's direct influences "Nighty-night" & "Monkey Dust" couldn't really match it's standard, but it was groundbreaking.
Timecode (ok, a movie),
Beavis & butthead (peaktime and profanity-ish),
La femme nikita (so much, Alias, 24 et al),
People like us (ricky gervais might not have a career otherwise),
Trigger happy tv (punk'd, jackass, etc.)
A shame that the real innovators are often forgotten (and yes, even some of these people had predecessors,) but all are geniuses.
Yours kindly,
MN
"This show can best be described as the most innovative, ground-breaking television show of the past 50 years. The reason this show is so ground breaking is the fact that it has used split screen cameras, and a real time format to create the element of a quality made show."
Maybe I exaggerated a bit, but it is definatly a grounbreaking show, that did redefine and give the drama thriller genre the adrenaline shot it needed, and the kick up the ass it needed.
spongebob is great, but wouldn't exist without Ren and Stimpy!!
Roseanne started in the end of the 80s and ended exactly 10 years ago, and the idea of ER was written in 1972, which could explain the dramatics and the boom it had.
But......Mastermind ???
Posh-quiz