The Small Screen is a Bigger Canvas

So . . . I read an interesting column in yesterday's Globe, by TV writer John Doyle. He takes the position that television has overtaken movies in providing high-quality narratives, and I gotta say, I tend to agree with him.

Now don't get me wrong, I love movies and always have. I see a lot fewer of them now than I used to (combination of parenthood and no longer working for a film exhibitor), but give me the chance to go and I will. But I also watch a lot less TV than I used to (parenthood again), and I think that there is better stuff to be found on the small screen than the large.

Now, both media have taken great strides over the past few decades. For everyone who bemoans the lack of quality movies these days, I say to you that I think the average movie is better now than ever. The best movies of the past few years (in my opinion, these include The Prestige, Almost Famous, Inglourious Basterds, 40 Year Old Virgin, just to name a few, and I'm sure I'm leaving out some that I like even better than these) rank among the best of all time. There are no movies that surpass Singin' in the Rain or The Godfather, but there weren't any in many other decades, too.

Essentially what I'm saying is that the best movies of the past 10 years stand up to the best movies of any 10-year period, but at the same time the average movie has improved. There are still clunkers (Transformers), but they're no worse than the worst movies of times gone by (Computer Beach Party, Manos: The Hands of Fate).

Television, however, has made huge strides forward. There are shows that I used to love (Knight Rider, Frasier, L.A. Law), that were considered quality shows once upon a time (well, maybe not Knight Rider), that are now unwatchable. Thanks to the myriad "oldies" TV stations, we can see just how excrutiating some of these shows were. The Cosby Show was an enormous hit; I was never a huge fan, but trying to watch it now is painful. Even Seinfeld seems stale.

And while current TV is not always stellar, it is of generally high quality. The sitcom is going through some extremely long death throes (the most popular and most critically acclaimed series, Two and a Half Men and Modern Family, are both horrible as far as I'm concerned); even so, we have The Office, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Glee (inconsistent, but still innovative, even if they did steal the concept from Cop Rock).

The TV drama seems to be where its at. The Wire is the best thing I have ever played on my DVD player. Ever. Mad Men is outstanding. Lost, despite its flaws, was unlike anything ever seen on TV before. Even formulaic network shows (The Good Wife, Law & Order SVU) are really good formulaic network shows. I'm excited to see shows I haven't seen before that have been well-received (e.g. Dexter, Deadwood, Weeds) the way I used to be excited to see movies that were coming soon.

Maybe it's just that I'm watching more TV than I'm seeing movies. Maybe it's because I'm no longer living in the downtown of a city, where innovative films are easier to find (though I never liked overly artsy stuff). Maybe I'm just older and would like the commercial Hollywood crap more if I were ten years younger. And maybe it's because the biggest televisions are rivalling the smaller movie theaters in terms of screen size.

But maybe, just maybe, TV is better.