What happened to all of the educational channels?

[mrs.b]

Our cable and internet provider just came up with an "enhancement" to our contract that made us realize we watch very little actual television because most of it is junk. They're charging for bandwidth over 250gig and we realized we blow that out of the water every month because we stream nearly everything we watch. For the handful of shows we do like, it's so much nicer to watch them back-to-back on our own schedule rather than planning our evening around a network, or waiting a week to see what happens next.

It has us pricing out the front-end cost of pulling the trigger to dump cable entirely and moving to straight internet so we can pick and choose what's worthwhile without needing to channel-surf past the rest. It saves money out of our pockets and doesn't put money in the hands of channels that put out such classics as Toddlers in Tiaras, last night's Miley Cyrus trainwreck, and so many others that deserve our pity, not our attention span.

[Jonathan Whatley]

I heard that Duck Dynasty was the #1 show on television or at least the #1 show on cable television. I haven't watched it. The trend in reality shows seems to be exploiting southern stereotypes.

I'm afraid my people deserve a big share of blame for reality TV today.

In this era of downloading, streaming and TV-on-demand, reality shows have become appointment television, and Toronto is cashing in. Nearly 100 of them were made here last year […]

Toronto’s home reno shows, which are broadcast all over the world, are among the worst fakery offenders. On Love It or List It, the W Network [in Canada, HGTV in the U.S.] series recently touted by Hillary Clinton as her favourite show, homeowners decide whether to keep or flip their houses following hijinks-filled renovations. Several accounts confirm that the producers film two endings—in one, the owners love it, and in the other, they list it—and then air whichever makes for better television. […]

With so many shows being made here every year, casting has become a challenge—there just aren’t enough teenage brides or bat exterminators (yes, they have their own show) willing to make a spectacle of themselves. Producers post casting calls online, looking for splashy personalities. I saw ads for a Toronto show called Cougar Baiting, offering virile young men the opportunity to date older women and earn $5,000.

Attention Maniac.

Another ad simply read, “Got a scar?”

The Real World: how Toronto is cashing in on the reality TV boom (Emily Landau, Toronto Life, August 22, 2013)

[cookderosa]

I know what happened..
It's not really a mystery why the US is last in just about every aspect of education.
They would rather watch Honey Boo Boo and other train wrecks than educational programs, so they feel better about themselves.
And strangely the TLC (The LEARNING channel), is the one broadcasting the aforementioned show because it provides revenues through ratings.

But PBS still runs NOVA, and the new series of Making Stuff with David Pogue has been pretty good so far.
My long time favorites are Mythbusters and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

I bet there's a few Americans who could pass a CLEP about Honey Boo Boo.

[sanantone]

I bet there's a few Americans who could pass a CLEP about Honey Boo Boo.

Maybe more schools should start offering degrees in pop culture.

[cookderosa]

Maybe more schools should start offering degrees in pop culture.

If there is a demand, you can bet they will. It's all about demand. Never mind if the degree has any utility.

[Maniac Craniac]

Attention Maniac.

I could see myself having fun on a reality TV show, I would totally ham it up a la Jim Carrey in The Mask. Alas, while I am fun loving and maniacally cranial, I hold myself and my associates to too high of a moral and intellectual standard to allow myself to be put into such a situation for a lengthy stay. (Proverbs 13:20)

[koenigtv]

Unfortunately the increase in the number of "reality TV shows" is partially due to the dumbing down of America and partially due to the television networks. In 1998 during the WGA writer's strike all scripted television production (sitcoms, dramas, serials, documentaries, even some movie production) came to a halt. The networks were left exposed with nothing to fill their schedules. Fast forward about 5 years and due to the success and popularity of programs like COPS and The Real World, the networks started developing reality TV shows because they didn't want to be vulnerable to another writer's strike. By creating "unscripted programming" (reality TV, game shows, etc) they got around the writer's contracts and we were stuck watching the best of Temptation Island, Paris Hilton's My New BFF, Jersey Shore, Flavor of Love and all the Housewives of Everywhere. By 2003 the networks had over 40 unscripted reality shows ready to unleash on us. They were cheaper to make and easy to replace if they failed.

Another way to get around a potential writer's strike and save money on programming, the networks also developed dozens of games shows, because again, by definition, these shows are "unscripted". Does anyone remember how many games shows were on TV after the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Can you remember Joe Millionaire, Weakest Link, The Mole, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Supermarket Sweep?

In the mean time our viewing choices became more and more limited and the quality of programming suffered horribly. To your original point about educational channels - TLC, Bravo and A&E are really putting anything on the air to get a little attention and a few ratings points to boost their advertising revenues. And little by little they get further away from their brand and mission. I love Discovery Channel but they too have gotten away from true documentaries and more into the unscripted reality-docu-drama. Its becoming so boring, uninteresting and leaves nothing worth discovering.

I think I ranted a little too much. Sorry.

When I want to watch something educational or informative I just go to youtube, type in documentary, and put my search filter on "video over 20 minutes" and you will get thousands of great documentaries from National Geographic, Discovery, BBC, PBS, IFC, History Channel, Nova, Frontline, ITV and from other film makers from around the world. You can pick and choose your interest or subject and watch anytime you want. Take the best the networks have to offer and turn the rest of it off.

[Jonathan Whatley]

[video=youtube;OQRG8YaXDK8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQRG8YaXDK8[/video]
From Thirteen/WNET, New York Public Television.

[sanantone]

^^That was funny.

[mrs.b]

^^That was funny.

Now that we're thoroughly trashing reality TV shows and the mouth-breathing audiences that watch them, I'm going to admit to a guilty pleasure: I watch and love Deadliest Catch. I think it is partially to blame for opening the door to "working culture" shows, but I still watch every season. There. I said it.

The rest of it can go away, though, and I'm not sure I'd notice.