The Video Game Critic

The '90s were the best because they had the best show, Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Now, easily. With modern televisions being able to access Netflix and other streaming services, plus the amount of quality cable content, there's literally so much good that you can't hope to watch it all.

With that said.

Commercials on the channels that still carry them are so thick that you could confuse them for the actual programming, and the content for the bathroom break. But these commercials often prefer to annoy or pander rather than entertain - I mean, people used to actually enjoy commercial jingles - remember those?

The news tries to panic the public, and reports on who lied better, rather than providing context.

Our cartoons even make a joke of genuine sexual assault trauma.

The truth is that we no longer have a culture to share. The actual programming may be better than ever, especially since we're no longer slaves to the clock, but in terms of its overall effect, there's a lot to miss from previous decades.

For "serious" TV, I'd say my favorite era is probably the 1970s. TV got a lot more conservative and "safe" in the 1980s, substituting empty violence for genuine engagement with controversial issues and depiction of three-dimensional, morally complex characters.

For humor, it's easily the 1990s. Almost all the comedies that make me laugh out loud date from those years -- and that's coming from someone who doesn't particularly like Seinfeld! The number of brilliant animated shows through that decade was astonishing, and there were quite a few strong live-action comedy shows as well, both in the US and UK.

I really don't like the slick, calculated aesthetics of most shows nowadays, nor do I find that they live up to the praise they people heap upon them. I'd rather watch overt camp like Law & Order: SVU, which at least seems to realize how ridiculous it is.

I talked to an uncle of mine this Easter and he told me about this list - the Writer's Guild of America made a list of the 101 best written TV series. I haven't gone through the entire list yet myself, but I though it might be of interest to those following the topic:

http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-bes ... eries/list

I have to say the 90s, that was really when I grew up too, same with the late 80s so it's fitting. I really think things took a deep dive downhill, at least with network/cable television, with the coming of so-called reality TV. Netflix and other streaming services, especially with their own original content, are working hard to save us from that garbage but there's still a lot of crap on TV and most all of it is reality TV.