HBOring

I would like to discuss my problem with modern television shows, mainly my problems with Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. Game of Thrones being a massive offender in what i will be discussing.

Is Game of Thrones bad? Slightly, its not great barely scratching good and there is a lot of problems that plague the show and plague television in general and the big this is...

Content more specifically nudity, now don't get me wrong, nudity can be done well but its few and far between and i feel does not really belong on television shows or at least in the way Game of Thrones depicts it. The way that GOT uses nudity comes across as childish, a cheap way to get people to watch every week. The nudity that is portrayed really doesn't add anything to the story and some could argue that it just helps flesh out the setting but i feel it detracts from what is otherwise a decent fantasy political story.

So how does it distract? you may ask, well for one having a scene open with two people having sex then the scene begins does not convey good television to me, now if the story naturally progresses to it then its fine but when its blatantly used to be "edgy" it comes across as poor and in bad taste. Lets take Twin Peaks, now imagine when we cut from a scene to another that it starts with two people having sex, and tell me that it doesn't take away from the scene overall. It would be far more effective if they used the nudity sparingly and then only use it when it really does add to a scene rather than it be there so that the 14 year old kid feels like he is older than he really is.

Game of Thrones is not the only offender to this crime, nearly all HBO shows have it. Banshee opens with sex, and i could not get past the first ten minutes of that show because it came across as juvenile, it did not add anything to the story or setting. The Sopranos has it as well, but used it sparingly and it actually worked, The Sopranos is a very good show, that had character to support it rather than just boobs.

Then there is Breaking Bad that belongs on the other end of the spectrum. Lets start by saying that Breaking Bad is not as good as everyone thinks it is, yes Bryan Cranston is very good in the show and yes it is an interesting premise, but yet again the problem is pacing, there are so many long stretches of nothingness that is supposed to be character building but just waste our time. So instead of getting invested in a pretty decent story we have to watch Walter eat breakfast. I understand that television as a format allows for a slower pace, but there is a difference between having a slow build or even having quieter character moments and just long stretches of nothing.

Overall modern "drama" needs to stop with the unnecessary baggage and just make a good show, with characters people like and a plot that can last a few seasons. Even good shows have bad episodes, but those shows don't have long stretches. Cut the crap.

Written By
Ashley Harvey