If you’re like me, you like movies and television. Movies definitely rock, they are finite pieces of art that have a beginning and an end and you typically leave the theater with a sense of closure from the story. However, in the last 5 years the industry has seen a decline in theater attendance. In fact, it’s reported that attendance is at a 25 year low, this could certainly be because of television’s huge advance.
Television has become such a wonderful medium for great story. AMC has definitely upped their game in the last 5 and FX is right behind them. Both channels deliver original, well written, and well produced shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Wilfred, and Sons of Anarchy. Channels like Showtime and HBO have been in the high quality T.V. game for awhile, turning out shows like Dexter, Weeds and Boardwalk Empire to name a few. People are soaking it up like the last bit of BBQ sauce on a summer afternoon.
Television is tangible, it’s right there, right in the other room. All it takes is a couple of footsteps, a sitting motion, and the pressure of a finger and you are immersed in a quality story with beautiful production value that closely rivals, if not trumps a feature film. You can get a feature film without piling the family into the car, paying the premium price for tickets, buying the snacks and sitting in a cold dark room on gum stuck seats with 100+ of your most distant friends and sometimes you aren't even satisfied with the money you spent because the movie sucked. Who would do that when you can crack open a cold beer and watch Walter White make some high grade meth every Sunday?
The industry is definitely shifting and I think it is in a good way. T.V. has learned what it takes to rival film and they are doing a great job at executing and we are benefiting. Almost every household has a television and almost every household at least has basic cable meaning that you have access to some great shows; ABC boasts a pretty excellent comedy lineup with Modern Family leading the charge. NBC still has some good material despite the decline of The Office.
What I’m saying is that you can have everything a movie gives you, in the comfort of your own home every day of the week. Netflix has done a stellar job boosting the amount of television shows they have on their instant streaming service. You can watch an entire series of a show all instant, all at home without having to wait for the discs to arrive at your house. The age of television is upon us, celebrate, partake, discover. There is so much good out there to watch! Settle down and take it all in.
