Why can't TV be like this anymore?
Why can't
life
be like this any more?
Not sour grapes, but for me the golden years closely approximated TZ's original run. The late 50s to the mid-60s. Before the revolution (which of course produced its own classic TV, politics and music) things were more black and white - like most of our TVs.
We played outside, maybe not kick the can, but cowboys and Indians, we wrestled in the back yard, played Hide'n'Seek, ran in the sprinkler, Mom would make a tent with sheets hung on the clothesline, Kool-Aid, Pez, Bosco, home-delivered milk in bottles whose cream would freeze at the top in winter, those ads on the back of comic books for kid-sized rocket ships that you could crawl inside and pretend to space travel, revolving paperback racks full of Ray Bradbury, Poul Anderson, John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, etc., with their garish, beckoning covers,
Galaxy Magazine
,
Famous Monsters of Filmland
,
FATE Magazine
, Saturday afternoon showings of old movies, especially sci-fi movies, and comic books, movie-tie-in comic books, the
Classic Comics
series, Hula Hoops, Frisbees, the Twist,
Sky King
,
Jet Jackson
,
The Flintstones
,
Supercar
, Warner Brothers cartoons early Saturday mornings, Kellogs and Post Cereal boxes with little plastic molded dinosaurs inside, or baking soda-powered navy frogmen, going to school Monday talking about last Friday's
Twilight Zone
, and anticipating the upcoming Friday's episode
Days lost in history but living still in memory, as long as memory lasts.

The problem with stories that lean heavily on fantasy, irony, coincidence, etc is that they usually offer little of substance.
I beg to differ. Much of that fantasy, irony, and coincidence made us stop and THINK.
It still does
Sorry, but by the standards of good storytelling, The Twilight Zone leaves a lot to be desired. It is too-often obvious and lame.
I guess that is still why we talk about it after all of these years.
Too obvious and lame? To each their own
"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night"

This message has been deleted.

I couldn't disagree more, grizzledgeezer. TZ offered
more
substance than most TV shows, then & now. Its true stage was the human psyche or, if you prefer, the human heart. And on that stage the fears, hopes, dreams, terrors, sorrows, wonders of being human in a troubled, uncertain age were played out brilliantly. Which is why the stories still resonate so powerfully with viewers today.

Well, everything back then can't be as good as
Kendra On Top.
Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.
Yogi Berra

The problem with stories that lean heavily on fantasy, irony, coincidence,
etc
is that they usually offer little of substance.
If you've been watching TV over the past 25 years or so, you might have noticed that programs which were traditionally simply actioners (such as
Xena, Worrier Pancreas
), moved strongly in the direction of real drama. The characters have plausible motivations and interactions, and conflicts are often resolved without violence.
Sorry, but by the standards of good storytelling,
The Twilight Zone
leaves a lot to be desired. It is too-often obvious and lame.

Mentioning
The Big Bang Theory
on a
Twilight Zone
thread is nothing short of pure blasphemy! I can't think of two shows with LESS in common - am I missing your pointor (w.a.d.r.) did you not make one?
Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot - than to open it and remove all doubt!

It's hard to figure out how to get the Kardasians to read for a Twilight Zone type script without sounding slutty
You may have a point about the not sounding slutty part but an episode of the Kardashians is a trip through THE TWILIGHT ZONE! For that matter, you really have to ask yourself why they are on the air and why people watch them..
Maybe we are all living in The Twilight Zone if it comes to that!
Seriously, it's just a matter of taste and personal opinion. As someone above said, we really have loads of choices that we didn't have back in the "Good Ole Days". We can stream shows as well. We can watch whatever we feel at any hour of the day or night.
Don't care for TZ? There is always another option!
"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night"

None of them would even get a call-back anyway. (The raccoon in "The Hunt" had more talent.)

It's hard to figure out how to get the Kardasians to read for a Twilight Zone type script without sounding slutty.
Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.
Yogi Berra

I've seen them, and I hate them all, especially The Big Bang Theory, that program makes me sick.

There are plenty of amazing TV shows out there. You must not be researching hard enough because there is so much more out there besides just drama shows. They do make TV shows that are great just like Twilight Zone was. It's a masterpiece and is a groundwork of how a TV show should be, but it's not the end all-be all.

I'm 68, an ex-engineer/technical writer. I've also taken formal training in screenwriting. The latter obliges one to think about how stories are told. (Note that Robert McKee's standard work on screenwriting is titled
Story
.) Stories I might have found acceptable a half-century ago now seem shallow, unimaginative, filled with logical and dramatic errors,
etc
. (I actually had the chutzpah to rewrite
The City on the Edge of Forever
to correct its many problems. If you're interested, contact me.)
Last night I watched "The Trade-Ins". This is exactly the kind of story TZ
should
have been telling, but rarely did. A somewhat fantastic premise is treated as legitimate drama, with an ending not dependent on surprise, twists, or irony.
Which brings me to "Eye of the Beholder". One of the IMDb reviewers dismisses it, remarking that it's a little too obvious. Though I consider it one of the very best episodes, he has a point. For example Why not have one of the nurses say "I'm glad they keep this part of the hospital so dark. I can't stand looking at such horribly deformed people."

We had phones! But not mobile ones.
We had movie theaters. Live theater also.
Oh, and books, lots of books, libraries full of 'em.
And radio too, and radio dramas. (Serling wrote for radio before TZ)
Point is
With all the competition for our time, then and now (TV related or not), the competition is significantly greater today.
We had theatres, live theatres, books, libraries and radio. We still do!!
Not sure why anyone would pay for radio programming but, today, people actually do. There's actually "free" Internet radio. One of my favorite stations features all Beatles and former Beatles songs (with limited commercial interruption).

We had phones! But not mobile ones.
You know what I mean

As for non-TV we have phones, Internet, etc.
We didn't have these options in the '60s.
We had phones! But not mobile ones.
We had movie theaters. Live theater also.
Oh, and books, lots of books, libraries full of 'em.
And radio too, and radio dramas. (Serling wrote for radio before TZ)

Why have things gone downhill so much? How did it get this bad?
Too many options!
Back when there were only three networks, you took what they gave. Today, we have too many choices. We'll never get ratings like that again.
AND There was some murder and crime in Twilight Zone episodes.
In addition to all of the variety on TV, we have PPV, On-Demand, DVR, etc.
As for non-TV issues, we have competition for our free time which include phones, Internet, etc. We didn't have these options in the '60s. If you missed a show, you just missed it! Wait for the rerun.

Yes, SVU is brutal. Also, you can see that the writers frequently use a sexual attack to segue in to a different topic entirely.
On the topic of Mariska Hargitay, I agree that she is getting to loook more like her mother. this is a video of Jayne Mansfield on a talk show with 4 of her 5 children:

Never say never

I think youre right. The extended character development provides at least
some
relief from the horrendous storylines. (Pick any random episode of SVU and it just might make the
Twilight Zone
episode Young Mans Fancy look like a cakewalk.)
Have you ever noticed that the older she gets, the more Mariska Hargitay looks like her mother?
I wouldn't be at all surprised to know that the "lifespan" of an SVU investigator is very short as compared to other units. It would only make sense in a way.

I agree that SVU is very disturbing. I think that is one of the reasons there is much more character development of the leads. It connects you more to the show.
I heard a really interesting factoid once: that the average amount of time a real life detective will spend in the SVU is about 2 years. It is just so depressing, they don't want to stay.

Never say never

The only Law & Order series I cannot stomach is SVU. The actors are fine and whatnot, but the steady diet of sexually-based offenses in terms of plots is where I have to draw the line.

It's funny, when the L&O series began in the early 1990's, it wasn't getting very high ratings, but it was a really good show and the network wanted to keep it. So they started to add some recurring female characters leading to the decision that all female ADA's must be ravishingly beautiful women.
I find that the L&O series is totally addictive and I have watched it since it started. Whenever a marathon is on like on some channel any day, I just sit and watch it. The stories are so well told. And I agree that Criminal Intent is not as watchable, but I still watch it.

Never say never

Hey,
Jennie

• just came across this thread tonight. regarding your
  Law & Order
  commentI've watched that show since it's premiere air date in Sept 1990 and I've seen every episode of the original show, and L&O/SVU (I saw 1 ep of "Criminal Intent" and hated Vincent D'Onofrio's guts within the first 10 minutes!!).I watch SVU these days out of my fondness for Mariska Hargitay, but I don't think I'll ever forgive Dick Wolf (like he caresHA HA!HA!!) for the hateful storyline that led to the exit/death of ADA Claire Kincaid - while truly one of the best "shocking season ending moment" of any show I've ever seen, all the other "cliffhangers" had the gd common courtesy in the following season premiere to EXPLAIN/JUSTIFY/AT LEAST FREAKIN' COMMENT on such a huge moment from 6 months before..but NOT. ONE. WORD. WAS. EVER. SAID. ABOUT. CLAIRE - EVER.
  (what's that? hold a grudge? MOI? nah..just a long memory, and Jill Hennessy's a compatriot, lol!)
  Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot - than to open it and remove all doubt!

Interestingly, GUNSMOKE and LAW & ORDER are tied for longest-running, live action, Americian, primetime, scripted TV series at 20 seasons. (You have to say "live action" now that THE SIMPSONS has been on for 27 years).
LBJ's mistress on JFK: