I guess TV watchers have changed.

How many shows are endless soap operas now?
I used to hate it when my favorite show was a TWO parter continued next week.
Now it seems every show is just one long soap opera.
I really dislike this trend.

Barry Margolin...

Yes, TV watchers have changed. They've gotten more sophisticated, and

Stick Waver...

Right. Hence, the onslaught of reality TV and humiliation shows like
American Idol. Voyeurism and maliciousness is what most viewers are
about these days. Only a small minority is sophisticated.

many enjoy shows that require them to track ongoing plot arcs and
consider the long-term consequences of characters' actions.

Steven L....

I disagree.

Prime-time serials tend to run in cycles, much like everything else on
network TV.

In the 1960's, there was Peyton Place.

In the 1980's, we had serials like Dallas (remember "Who Shot JR?"),
Dynasty, etc.

In the 1990's, we had Twin Peaks, Melrose Place, etc.

Each time, eventually the audience became jaded and networks moved on to
something else.

Now we're in maybe the fourth wave of prime-time serials.

The only genuinely new genre to come along in the last 15 years has been
reality shows.

Kate...

There's a difference?

Obveeus...

Sophisticated is different than sapphoisticated. ;-)

There's a good discussion of this in the chapter on TV in the book
"Everything Bad is Good for You".