TV's New Golden Age

By: Eric R. Williams, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Eric R. Williams

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's summary

Television has gone through many transformations since the first TV sets arrived in the living rooms of the mid-20th century. While the quality of televised entertainment is difficult to measure objectively, most critics agree that the period beginning in 1999 and continuing for the next two decades was a "golden age" of television. It was not the first period marked by exceptional productions - in fact, it was the third in a series of golden ages in TV. What made so many of the television programs produced at this millennial turning point so notable?

In the 10 lessons of TV's New Golden Age, Professor Eric R. Williams will take you on a tour of this high watermark period in television history, sometimes known as the "Third Golden Age of Television", or G3. Along the way, you will consider some of the best and the worst that television has to offer, not just in G3, but throughout the history of the medium. With this invaluable perspective, you will be able to form a more complete picture of the amazing innovations and paradigm shifts that shaped so many of the shows that define this 20-year period of creative television excellence.

From crime dramas and fantasy epics to sitcoms and soap operas, you will examine shows of various genres and styles, all through the lens of the conditions and complexities that have shaped them. You will consider the shows themselves, as well as the creative minds behind them, and the changing nature of the television audience across the decades. As you trace the history of television past and present, you will see how it has moved beyond disposable entertainment to become an art form that both reflects and shapes the world we live in.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Different Tastes

I feel like I watch too much tv, yet I'd only watched a few of the shows mentioned. Which is fine, gives me ideas for other shows to watch, but few of the ones mentioned were shows I hadn't heard of and they tended to use the same shows over and over as examples. If it is truely a golden age of tv, shouldn't there be more than 10 excellent shows?

TV Viewers Must Binge this!!!

Eric Williams discusses the history and complexity of television throughout the decades and explores how changing technology and a changing society impacted the three golden ages of television.

Williams is clearly passionate and educated on the subject matter going into the creation of hit shows from the past, to the 2010s. This audiobook may be listed as a Great Course, but it is an Amazing Listen as well!

I would highly recommend this as someone who watches TV everyday, and is fascinated by the industry. If you binged a series of any show in the past week, take one week (or less) to marathon this!!!

Engaging

Informative series of lectures about the one activity most of us have done for many hours over the course of the last year. 😐

Enjoyable

Interesting look at the history of TV. The author has the theory that there have been three noncontiguous golden ages of television - and notably, that the third golden age snapped shut when release of "The Mandalorian" signalled hyperexclusivity that hurts consumers and may choke the industry. He also feels that with these independent streaming sites (HBO, Netflix, Disney+, etc.) each pouring billions of dollars a year into creating original series, that they are starving for content and ripe for new creatives to make their mark.
Apart from that he discusses his ideas on what makes TV shows interesting and different approaches to categorization, often referring to specific TV shows. It's an interesting way to look at TV and think more about the shows we watch. He's entertaining and doesn't take himself too seriously.

Intriguing Perspective on Television

The book was an interesting listen as it talks about the peak era of television and the declining matter of media due to the changing times involving streaming services.

My only gripe was that there were some inconsistencies and weird opinions throughout the book that made it seem like a Medium piece, then a thoughtful read.

Overall, it was a good listen for what it's worth.

mile wide, inch deep

I would rate this higher if it were titled "TV 101", I was hoping for a deep dive into the shows that defined the 2000-2019 era: shows that dominate greatest-TV-of-all-time lists like The Wire, Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones. This audiobook barely mentions shows that I recognize.

The thesis of the book is that 1980s were the 2nd golden age of television, and 2020-2019 is the 3rd, implying that 1990s TV was deficient in some sense. I don't know if that's true; I watched little TV in the 1990s, partly due to a perception that 90s TV quality was low. In any event, the audiobook spends much of its time discussing 1990s staples as Friends, ER, Law and Order and Twin Peaks. And this is merely to explain the basics of TV; there is no argument that these 90s shows are either deficient or introduced the ideas that would make later TV great.

Thanks to the audiobook, I will add shows discussed in the book to my long list of TV to watch someday: Scandal (Hulu), Top of the lake (Netflix), Show me a hero (HBO), and Queen sono (Netflix). But even if I had watched them, I wouldn't have learned much from the audiobook - it really is a mile wide and an inch deep.

The authors conclusion is that the 3rd Golden age of TV ended with the launch of Disney +. The author argues that TV talent will be siloed into each ecosystem, making it harder to put together a great team. He also argues that, with customers locked into streaming services, providers will have less incentives to avoid bad quality because locked-in subscribers have no viewing alternatives. I'm not sure I buy his argument. Streaming services are easy enough for consumers to add and cancel so competitive pressure to produce quality content seems as strong as ever.

Fun Listen

This is an interesting listen about the major shifts in television from network channels, paid cable TV, streaming, and now to exclusive subscriptions (like Disney+). The lecturer also talks about the styles and elements of different genres. It is fun to reminisce on some of our favorite shows and see how they introduced big changes in the industry (like "Friends" with an ensemble cast -- no single leading star or like "Twin Peaks" with big-name talents going from films to TV ).

Great Overview

Great overview, with nice specifics, of an interesting topic. must listen for any fan of television.

Excellent Course

Speed up the playback and the mere excitement of Williams will get you inspired into action. And thanks for the validation for writing my 3 shifter interactive series with twists away from genre. I feel as if I did something important now.

Insightful look at prestige TV

This series names and categorizes the TV phenomena we have been witnessing the past twenty years. I have made similar observations over the years like the rise of the anti-hero character and others, but now I feel smart because Williams confirmed it. It is a fascinating and concise analysis of a handful of excellent shows and the art form on the whole. He also offers interesting questions to where it will go next.