TV killed the movie star (not)...

I am a movie fan. I love watching films. On the other hand, I loath watching the telly. I have a serious hate-hate relationship with everything that is on. I don't know if this is because I'm sick and tired of what local channels present or if it's truly bad broadcasting. I love English TV but whenever I mention that to anyone from the UK, they have a hearty laugh and tell me to get a life. So, I guess it's not just a local thing. Everyone must feel that the quality of television shows in their country is poor. Especially if they mainly watch MTV.

Global trash...

When I was growing up, I remember there used to be some really ace TV shows on, like The Dukes of Hazard and Knight Rider. The A-Team and Married with Children. And Macgyver... OK, so having just mentioned those, I reckon that with the exception of Married with Children, maybe they weren't all that "ace". Not that they were bad shows. Some of them were even considered extremely groundbreaking and ahead of their time. And they were. But in retrospect, they did lack all of the good quality acting, special effects and lustre that went into, let's say, movies.

Epic...

As of late though, things are starting to change. TV networks started investing more money in creating better shows, actors decided that television is not such a bad medium after all and writers decided to put some heart into it. In my opinion, the shift began quite a few years ago, when a small yet ambitious show cast two not too well-known actors and set off to conquer the unknown. And they did. Agents Mulder and Scully and their X-Flies made network bosses, producers and writers realise that it was time to go bigger and better.

Apparently the truth is out there...

Two years after The X-Files went off air Lost came out. And Prison Break the year after that. As did Supernatural. And actors, who up until then were considered TV actors, were "promoted" and cast in movies. And there was commotion and things started to flow the other way. And all of a sudden you had Kiefer Sutherland starring in 24. Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock. Martin Sheen in The West Wing. Glenn Close in The Shield. Robin Williams in The Crazy Ones. Kevin Spacey in House Of Cards. A gazillion actors in Game of Thrones. All of a sudden film actors started starring in TV series. Everyone saw it as a bad thing. A downsizing of sorts for the actors. But that is a specious claim.

To name but a few...

There are many articles out there where people complain that film actors should return to the big screen and stop doing TV. I could not disagree more. It seems that this new fad, for lack of a better word, is really working. The success of some of these shows is immense. Downton Abbey was made. Homeland was made. But most importantly, True Detective was made. And we were all left in awe. Because not only did we have Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey gracing our screens with their major acting chops but the show is better than good. It is excellent. The script is brilliant. The acting is impeccable. The directing is top notch. Everything about this show yells quality. The best TV show I have seen in my life. By far. And I have watched the entire three and a half seasons of Game of Thrones. That should say a lot. 

All my dreams have come true...

I don't know why this shift has proven to be so successful. I have never given it much thought. I just know that it works. It is mind numbing to think how many TV shows are on at the moment. How many successful TV shows. And with the power of the internet, we have access to all of them. I have made the mistake of asking people which show I should watch next. Big mistake. Everyone has a favourite. The Walking Dead, Criminal Minds, Sherlock, The Big Bang Theory. And all of them are good. Truly good. And more are coming. A couple of shows I will be looking forward to are Gotham and Constantine. But it still makes me wonder. Is this another one of those bubbles that will eventually pop? Maybe.