I know. I'm just surprised, and someone might mention it. For me, it was a very important show in the 90s, because it either overstepped the mark or broke the rules. Television would be very limited if it wasn't on, in the sense that there wouldn't be many murders or gay plots on TV.
Babylon 5 - hardly ever credited for it but it was pretty much the first US show to utilise the arc format. It paved the way for pretty much all the shows around today.
Agreed that Friends doesn't really count. I enjoyed it whilst it lasted (although not so much in its afterlife) but really it seemed like the last hurrah for the traditional sitcom format rather than anything inventive in its own right.
I'd also have to concede on the influence of Big Brother, doesn't mean I have to like it though.
i think as far as comedy goes, The Royle Family must be in with a good shout. If it wasn't for the subjects, the way in which it is shot, the style of humour and the loss of a studio audience or laughter track, then we may have not had such shows as Phoenix Nights or The Office, two of the most successful British comedies of all time.
what does everyone else think?
Yes, I was going to say "The Royle Family" too, because it completely ripped up the rulebook for sitcoms. Whether in a good or bad way though is another argument.
Victoria Wood said as much on TV recently (I think it was on one of those "50 Best" things on C4). She made a remark something along the lines that "The Royle Family" had made other comedies such as her own "dinnerladies" look and feel very old-fashioned.
So if Dame Vic feels this way, then we can only agree.
Though for non-comedies, I would suggest "Jerry Springer" or "Donahue" as they were the first real over the top shows of that type I can remember.
Yes, I was going to say "The Royle Family" too, because it completely ripped up the rulebook for sitcoms. Whether in a good or bad way though is another argument.
In the context of the last 10 years, then you may have a point.
Prior to that, though, the biggest influence on the changing face of the sitcom was The Young Ones, which blasted all the old concepts of sitcoms to shreds (memorably a great iconoclastic destruction of The Good Life.)
It can be argued that the "safe" family sitcom was dying at that time anyway but TYO marked a significant shift towards adult-oriented rather than family sitcoms. Only the very strongest traditional sitcoms, like Only Fools and Horses really managed to survive the alternative comedy boom of the 1980s.
I would say Driving School. This was the first reality tv show.
It was broadcast in spring 1997 and is therefore more than 10 years old. Makes you feel old doesn't it? (And lucky for it it was broadcast then, as it's unlikely the beeb would have been keen to find humour in dangerous driving after August 31st 1997.)
In the context of the last 10 years, then you may have a point.
Prior to that, though, the biggest influence on the changing face of the sitcom was The Young Ones, which blasted all the old concepts of sitcoms to shreds (memorably a great iconoclastic destruction of The Good Life.)
It can be argued that the "safe" family sitcom was dying at that time anyway but TYO marked a significant shift towards adult-oriented rather than family sitcoms. Only the very strongest traditional sitcoms, like Only Fools and Horses really managed to survive the alternative comedy boom of the 1980s.
That's a really good point and I agree totally. Sitcoms like "Terry & June" never seemed the same again !!
Babylon 5 - hardly ever credited for it but it was pretty much the first US show to utilise the arc format. It paved the way for pretty much all the shows around today.
Agreed that Friends doesn't really count. I enjoyed it whilst it lasted (although not so much in its afterlife) but really it seemed like the last hurrah for the traditional sitcom format rather than anything inventive in its own right.
I'd also have to concede on the influence of Big Brother, doesn't mean I have to like it though.
Yes but without the success of ST:TNG, B5 would never have been aproved.
I think we have to look at shows that actually made people change habits having an effect on how we live our lives, the afore mentioned reality shows BB et al and comedies/dramas have had some little change other than what we watch.
I would go with Delia Smith( To use a certain ingredient or a cooking implement and for that said item to then sell out immediately in shops within 24 hours is remarkable) and Nigella Lawson(for her no-nonsense attitude, her attraction and her de-mystifying of her class) and to a smaller degree Jamie Oliver(for the school issue and making cooking for younger people cool)
Likewise home improvement shows have been immensely influential, the already mentioned changing rooms, did get people off the sofas and do something, some successful some not, but what cant be denied is t made people aware of their surroundings..
it really is an interestng debate as i work in the industry and was asked this question recently and the range of answers is quite remarkable. And remember it is not the best TV but most influential (i.e what subsequent programmes would not have existed without them.)
WWTBAM: completely changed the face of game shows. Prior to this you had the chance of winning a car and washing machine. the idea that you could win a million (though people hardly ever do) was so ground breaking at the time. Also the focus was shifted from the result (winning or losing) to the journey, largely because of the skill of Tarrent and his now famous lines of "we don’t want to give you that” etc, etc. without this show would Weakest Link, Poker Face, Deal or No Deal, Smarter than a ten year old, or goldenballs exist?
Pop Idol: world wide domintation!!!! Need you say more? Spawned the number one show in the US. Made millions of pounds in phone ins (hot topic!!!!) and voting etc. Every winner (including it’s heir the x factor has had a number 1 single) has been copied in one way or another by maria, fame academy, x factor, jason, graese got talent…, and to some degree come dancing.
Friends: Not everyones cup of tea but prior to this the american comedy series meant cock all the world over. How many viewers in how many countries? How many DVD sales? How many girls in 1997 with the Rachel Cut for gods sake? Cold Feet and Coupling (two of the best comedy shows in the UK) would never have been made without it.
Big Brother: yes, you had driving school and airline before? Yes it was dutch TV. But no, no one had an idea that it would become the behemoth of nearly 10 years of summer viewing. It was brilliant when it started, and unfortunately has become little more than a freak show. But really, it was a genius concept that deserves it’s place. regular people + doing **** all x 24 hours a day = 5 million viewers.
How could I have forgotten about "This Life" ... that show marked a generation ... and we're stuck with dodgy camera work for good now ... was very strange re-watching it when they did the re-runs, and 10th aniversary episode, the camera-work didn't seem to be alien at all, I just didn't notice it ... the first time around it was properly different from anything else on TV!
everyone says friends didn't made an influence but i think it did
alot of sitcoms have the same formula,6 peeps goinf through life getting upto all sorts of crap, i swear i've seen the chandler character in about 10 different things..
the same with the office,alot of bosses on tv act like david brent
Friends: Not everyones cup of tea but prior to this the american comedy series meant cock all the world over. How many viewers in how many countries? How many DVD sales? How many girls in 1997 with the Rachel Cut for gods sake?
Who cares???????????
US comedy DID NOT begin with Friends FGS! Ever heard of I Love Lucy, Bob Newhart, MASH, Roseanne, Diff'rent Strokes, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days, Frasier, SOAP, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Simpsons etc etc etc? Never mind how many viewers in how many countries/DVD sales Friends achieved; being hugely popular (largely with pre-pubescents / teenagers / young adults in a burgeoning internet age) doesn't mean other series "meant cock all the world over". :rolleyes:
Baywatch is probably one of the most watched TV programmes in the world ever, even without hairstyles to die for(!) Doesn't mean "cock all" in terms of quality or long-term influence though!
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
BB for taking reality TV to a level that no one ever envisioned (with the participant becoming (some sort) of celebrities - and for pioneering the interaction with the audience (and enabling the whole idea of a show making more money from that)
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)
Lost / Desperate Housewives / Prison Break - basically one of those long running dramas with one central conceit that somehow manages to be spun out over 22 / 44 / 66 ....weeks
The Fast Show for reinventing the sketch show and making the idea of a known punchline / catchphrase the whole basis of the comedy
Not the best shows and certainly not my favourites, but some that I think have had a big effective on what came after them.
A bit sad though to see how little effect the UK has had - our big thing seems to have been beating the crap out of the concept of reality TV and not much else!
Ooh! Lots mentioned that I'd forgotten.. BUT still think it made writers more creative.. so, as before, Six Feet Under, Queer As Folk, Life On Mars and also This Life, 24, CSI, Northern Exposure (spawned an entire new way of thinking) And also.. Cold Feet
But stiil, beyond pushing for skilled writing, Big Brother influenced and virtually created the monster that is reality TV
Comments
So Big Brother, 24 etc. are good suggestions. Whoever said Bargain Hunt is er...
I know. I'm just surprised, and someone might mention it. For me, it was a very important show in the 90s, because it either overstepped the mark or broke the rules. Television would be very limited if it wasn't on, in the sense that there wouldn't be many murders or gay plots on TV.
I would say Driving School. This was the first reality tv show.
Bargin hunt is influential:mad::mad:
Big Brother >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Driving School
Agreed that Friends doesn't really count. I enjoyed it whilst it lasted (although not so much in its afterlife) but really it seemed like the last hurrah for the traditional sitcom format rather than anything inventive in its own right.
I'd also have to concede on the influence of Big Brother, doesn't mean I have to like it though.
Yes, I was going to say "The Royle Family" too, because it completely ripped up the rulebook for sitcoms. Whether in a good or bad way though is another argument.
Victoria Wood said as much on TV recently (I think it was on one of those "50 Best" things on C4). She made a remark something along the lines that "The Royle Family" had made other comedies such as her own "dinnerladies" look and feel very old-fashioned.
So if Dame Vic feels this way, then we can only agree.
Though for non-comedies, I would suggest "Jerry Springer" or "Donahue" as they were the first real over the top shows of that type I can remember.
In the context of the last 10 years, then you may have a point.
Prior to that, though, the biggest influence on the changing face of the sitcom was The Young Ones, which blasted all the old concepts of sitcoms to shreds (memorably a great iconoclastic destruction of The Good Life.)
It can be argued that the "safe" family sitcom was dying at that time anyway but TYO marked a significant shift towards adult-oriented rather than family sitcoms. Only the very strongest traditional sitcoms, like Only Fools and Horses really managed to survive the alternative comedy boom of the 1980s.
It was broadcast in spring 1997 and is therefore more than 10 years old. Makes you feel old doesn't it? (And lucky for it it was broadcast then, as it's unlikely the beeb would have been keen to find humour in dangerous driving after August 31st 1997.)
That's a really good point and I agree totally. Sitcoms like "Terry & June" never seemed the same again !!
Yes but without the success of ST:TNG, B5 would never have been aproved.
I'd say that the first reality show of the genre as it is today was Airport back in 96. You remember, the one with Jeremy Sprake & co?
I would go with Delia Smith( To use a certain ingredient or a cooking implement and for that said item to then sell out immediately in shops within 24 hours is remarkable) and Nigella Lawson(for her no-nonsense attitude, her attraction and her de-mystifying of her class) and to a smaller degree Jamie Oliver(for the school issue and making cooking for younger people cool)
Likewise home improvement shows have been immensely influential, the already mentioned changing rooms, did get people off the sofas and do something, some successful some not, but what cant be denied is t made people aware of their surroundings..
WWTBAM: completely changed the face of game shows. Prior to this you had the chance of winning a car and washing machine. the idea that you could win a million (though people hardly ever do) was so ground breaking at the time. Also the focus was shifted from the result (winning or losing) to the journey, largely because of the skill of Tarrent and his now famous lines of "we don’t want to give you that” etc, etc. without this show would Weakest Link, Poker Face, Deal or No Deal, Smarter than a ten year old, or goldenballs exist?
Pop Idol: world wide domintation!!!! Need you say more? Spawned the number one show in the US. Made millions of pounds in phone ins (hot topic!!!!) and voting etc. Every winner (including it’s heir the x factor has had a number 1 single) has been copied in one way or another by maria, fame academy, x factor, jason, graese got talent…, and to some degree come dancing.
Friends: Not everyones cup of tea but prior to this the american comedy series meant cock all the world over. How many viewers in how many countries? How many DVD sales? How many girls in 1997 with the Rachel Cut for gods sake? Cold Feet and Coupling (two of the best comedy shows in the UK) would never have been made without it.
Big Brother: yes, you had driving school and airline before? Yes it was dutch TV. But no, no one had an idea that it would become the behemoth of nearly 10 years of summer viewing. It was brilliant when it started, and unfortunately has become little more than a freak show. But really, it was a genius concept that deserves it’s place. regular people + doing **** all x 24 hours a day = 5 million viewers.
who would have funk it?????
alot of sitcoms have the same formula,6 peeps goinf through life getting upto all sorts of crap, i swear i've seen the chandler character in about 10 different things..
the same with the office,alot of bosses on tv act like david brent
US comedy DID NOT begin with Friends FGS! Ever heard of I Love Lucy, Bob Newhart, MASH, Roseanne, Diff'rent Strokes, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days, Frasier, SOAP, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Simpsons etc etc etc? Never mind how many viewers in how many countries/DVD sales Friends achieved; being hugely popular (largely with pre-pubescents / teenagers / young adults in a burgeoning internet age) doesn't mean other series "meant cock all the world over". :rolleyes:
Baywatch is probably one of the most watched TV programmes in the world ever, even without hairstyles to die for(!) Doesn't mean "cock all" in terms of quality or long-term influence though!
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
BB for taking reality TV to a level that no one ever envisioned (with the participant becoming (some sort) of celebrities - and for pioneering the interaction with the audience (and enabling the whole idea of a show making more money from that)
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)
Lost / Desperate Housewives / Prison Break - basically one of those long running dramas with one central conceit that somehow manages to be spun out over 22 / 44 / 66 ....weeks
The Fast Show for reinventing the sketch show and making the idea of a known punchline / catchphrase the whole basis of the comedy
Not the best shows and certainly not my favourites, but some that I think have had a big effective on what came after them.
A bit sad though to see how little effect the UK has had - our big thing seems to have been beating the crap out of the concept of reality TV and not much else!
But stiil, beyond pushing for skilled writing, Big Brother influenced and virtually created the monster that is reality TV