As TVNZ celebrates 50 years of television here I wondered if programmes used to be any better than they are now?
Local programming – eg The South Tonight and The Mainland Touch – gave us something that’s missing today.
Current affairs programmes screened at better times, and in memory – if not in fact – were focussed more on information than entertainment than they are now.
Fred Dagg and Gliding On were the benchmarks for local comedy for me and I can’t even name any current ones.
As for drama, it’s so long since I sat and watched any I can’t comment on that either.
Homepaddock 
In programming and production IMHO an overwhelming yes.
Those of us fortunate enough to have seen the medium in the earlier days were very fortunate in that most of the limited offering (as opposed to the 100 or so channels at present) exposed us to drama of high quality (The Plane makers, The Prisoner, Upstairs and Downstairs,The Classics from literature and so many more. Casts included the great personalities of British Theatre and gave such opportunity for newbys and lesserlights to work with those greats.
Comedies ( mainly British ) that ranged from the bawdy to the very clever but were believable (not cartoons) with lashings of satire and subtlety.
Current affairs with politicians and other establishment figures called to account (until the victims caught on to employing anyone who showed real talent, as media managers, thereby removing the threat).
News has been replaced with ‘infotainment’ using the soundbite and names to fill the screen and the speakers with rubbish. Crossing to a talking head ‘at the scene’ that could be from two days ago and asking us to believe it is the latest news.
We do have enhanced sports coverage with the seriously improved technology but with the high cost of production of drama, the dearth of quality among reporters and analysts coupled with the need to dumb down to the mass audience in response to the needs of the sponsor and the advertisers to finance the medium we are IMHO, enduring a much lower quality.
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GD.
You forgot to mention those Brilliant Montana Theatre delights..
Those were the days..
Try and find a Shakespearian offering today..
That is why i am looking at this medium :-))
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