Job Discussion Forums

[seklarwia]

Guess they had to tone down the sexism a little on the regular channels, but I don't know about things avaliable on satellite/cable/subscription channels.

Haven't seen much in the way of female semi-nudity, but I did see a wierd show a couple of nights ago where some of the "douchebags" were sat around a table in a plain room and every so often something strange would happen. I looked up just in time to see one of the douches getting his nipples tweaked and sucked by a relatively normal looking older gentleman,
who then stood up, said thank you and left the room... I didn't have a clue why it happened, nor did I sit around watching tryin to.

[bluetortilla]

That's funny! In that weird and wacky special Japanese way.
I love it in Itami's Tampopo when the guy tickles the girl by sticking an upside down glass with a big live thrashing shrimp in it on her belly. Cruel to the shrimp I know but I'm sure the crew ate it after the scene.

[mrbbkk]

I love miniskirt police

Seriously American television costs way more for programming

They are selling to a much larger market and the best shows can go into world wide syndication so they can spend much more for an hour of prime time programmings

Costs and budgets constrain programming quality as do actors that are paid much less

The budgets for show like Dynasty or Dallas or Columbo or Miami Vice are huge for a one hour show and many of those actors make 100K a week or more

You can't compare Japanese TV to American TV. It isn't fair.

[bluetortilla]

doesn't change the fact that TV around the world is at best frozen dinners. Movies are the only serious medium in my opinion. Sure, a TV show can be enjoyable, but it's always got that 'fluff' quality about it.
Also, no matter what the budget is, if there isn't a solid script and primo acting behind it to match, it ain't gonna float.
Having said all that, there really funny comedies on Japanese TV I think.

[mrbbkk]

you may not like any TV shows but some people think Colombo or 60 minutes or other shows are high quality programming

[Imseriouslylost]

Obviously you people have not watched Korean TV.

[wintersweet]

I think I've said this before here, but I actually appreciate the fact that Japanese dramas are written with a beginning, middle, and end, and then aired in their entirety (usually). After years of watching American shows, where good shows are either a) canceled forever mid-story, often mid-cliffhanger, never to return, or b) victims of their own success, spun out on and on and on until they lose all semblance of their original coolness in order to milk ratings and get more advertising dollars, I appreciate this. I also appreciate the fact that a single set of writers does the scripts, unlike the weird practice of having different writers on different episodes of US shows (resulting in an unevenness of tone, dialogue, and even character).

Of course, 90% of the shows are crap, but that's true everywhere. I wish both Japanese and American shows could crosspollinate genres with each other, but oh well, not going to happen. (I want to see Japanese Buffy or BSG, basically. )

I quit watching American shows as they air several years ago because I was so sick of being jerked around this way. On the rare occasion a show is actually completed and released on DVD, I watch it; otherwise I stick with Japanese (and British) shows.

Variety and "daytime"-type TV is a wasteland everywhere, with rare bright or insane-but-entertaining spots.

[ghostrider]

Day time TV is absolute crap, but this is true in the US as well. In the US you have trashy talk shows that exploit those who have problems or worse plus the endless, boring soap operas. I think sometimes the night time dramas can be quite good, and I like that the series is planned as a whole story, rather in the US the tendency is to be episodic because they don't know when the series will end. They have a few good night time educational shows as well, like one about difficult Kanji, among other things, and of course the programs that explore smaller villages that I'd likely not see myself.

I've come to think most day time TV is made for older women, afternoon after 3pm for kids and young teenagers, early evening a little of all age groups, and late night for men. This reflects the typical schedule of the family in Japan. Women still tend to be house wives here, children go to school all day, and fathers can be out working until 7pm or later, then take their time coming home. The US family is more varied, so TV networks are trying to hit more varied demographics throughout the day, though the tendency for some types of programs reflects the largest audience at home at the time.

Also, I like that Japan doesn't rely on US entertainment, as it is in Canada, Australia, and some European countries. Some people can take an interest in it by choice, but it isn't a regular part of a major network TV schedule (excluding 90's family sit coms on NHK, like Alf, which I sometimes watch for nostalgic reasons, ha).

One of the negative aspects of TV here is the over-reliance on a handful of celebrities. Their job is to be on TV all day basically, on a variety of shows. I think this is for budget reasons and perhaps they don't think people at home want to see average folk on TV. There are a few exceptions, but very few. Same for the pop music industry. It's even more tight and controlled than the US.

Overall though, I'm actually thankful I'm less interested in Japanese TV as I have more time for other things. In the US, I'd get hooked on a few programs, and often planned around these. Shows I like in the US, very few I've realized, I just download now.

[ghostrider]

[ghostrider]

[ssjup81]

[ghostrider]

Sorry, late 80's to early 90's. Essentially, the peak of the American family sit-com period. I kind of miss those types of shows. Family sit coms now are geared either to older parents (prime time on the major networks) or tweens (Disney, Nickelodeon).