TV's a feast compared to the famine of the past

Snob. Such a brilliant word. Rolls off the tongue so easily. Subtract the first letter and everyone still knows you're talking about that special group who ooze pretentiousness and drip with conceit and don't think but know they're a cut above the rest of us.

Takes one to know one, of course. Coffee. Art. Music. Wine. Food. Literature. There's a touch of the snob in all of us. Don't appreciate the superiority of vinyl records over digitised music? Clueless philistine. Unaware that Pepsi Max is better than Coke Zero? Ignorant bogan.

Elitism may be an inescapable part of the human condition. But it still comes as a surprise so early in 2024 to have our first nomination for Snob of the Year.

David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, the award-winning series about a crime family hailed by television critics as the small screen equivalent of a Rembrandt, claimed this week that the "Golden Age" of TV was over. Audiences - we, the great unwashed - could no longer concentrate, he sniffed. Worst of all, geniuses like himself were being told to "dumb it down".

"As the human race goes on, we are more into multitasking," Chase wailed. "Your phone is just one symptom, but who can really focus? Your mother could be dying and you are by her hospital bed taking calls.

"We seem to be confused and audiences can't keep their minds on things, so we can't make anything that makes too much sense, takes our attention and requires...focus."

We've heard this claptrap before, haven't we? While Chase is peeved because a new show he'd been pitching was rejected, critics have been decrying television ever since its invention, deploring it as a "cultural wasteland" appealing to the lowest common denominator. Quite often they were right.

But now?

Anyone capable of operating a remote control can only conclude Chase has somehow mistaken the 21st century for the 1970s. Must be all the mullets and moustaches. If YouTube and other social platforms continue serving up endless short videos about cats doing dumb things, modern television has never been better.

Clever storytelling, sophisticated character development and a cinematic flair once the province of the cinema, is flourishing. Crime and nature documentaries have become art forms in their own right. Not bad for a world where all of us supposedly suffer various degrees of attention deficit disorder.

Still, just to be sure, I went back this week and sampled episodes of once-loved TV shows that were hailed as groundbreaking when I was growing up.

The experience was like glancing through an old family photo album and cringing at the fashions and hairstyles.

M*A*S*H, the acclaimed comedy/drama series set in the Korean War, felt lame, contrived and far too worthy.

Hawaii 5-0 had more wooden actors than the cast of a Pinocchio movie (although the intro music has never been beaten).

Happy Days, the feel-good sitcom that was little more than an Archie comic with real-life actors - a show that left a generation mimicking the Fonz - was so treacly and predictable it was unwatchable.

Modern television - we're talking streaming services here because free to air TV continues its downward death spiral - is a banquet compared to the thin gruel of yesteryear. If popular cinema is stuck in a rut, belching out soulless Marvel superhero flicks and reheated rom-coms, the biggest complaint you make about the box these days is that there is too much of it.

In the past 12 months, thanks largely to the fortunate use of streaming service passwords shared among friends and family, I've found it hard turning off our television. I was riveted by 1883 and another Yellowstone spin-off, 1923. Despite the incoherent mumbling of its actors, millions of us were transfixed by Succession. And if you want to laugh and never fail to be shocked by black comedy drama, it's hard to go past Barry and The Boys.

Streaming providers like Netflix may well be tightening their budgets after years of orgiastic spending on content.

But those writers and directors who turned modern television into such an attractive evening destination - and that includes grumpy David Chase - deserve our appreciation.

In 1670 the Flemish painter Abraham Breughel dismissed Rembrandt as an artist whose failure to paint nudes meant he didn't know how to draw the human figure. "Only an uneducated person tries to clothe his figure...in such a way that we cannot make head nor tail of them," complained Breughel.

Insufferable snobs getting it wrong. Now there's a show we'd all watch.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Is modern TV superior to any other era? What shows from decades ago do you miss? What are you glued to now? Or have you given up on streaming services because of the rising subscription costs? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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THEY SAID IT: "Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home." - David Frost

YOU SAID IT: Peter Dutton's call to boycott Woolworths because it no longer stocks Australia Day merchandise looked like a bid to reignite a culture war. Most - but not all -of your comments suggest it didn't work.

Judith writes: "Peter Dutton will make any claim, not matter how specious or downright ridiculous, in an effort to derail a Labor government. Do we really want a future PM like that?? And what is 'woke' for heaven's sake? Getting more like a bad send-up of kindergarten politics. Enough! Stop playing us for fools, Peter. You're making yourself ridiculous. Have some dignity!"

"When talking to our granddaughter who has a part-time job at Woolworths," writes Sally, "when we asked about the fact that Woolworths wasn't selling items for Australia Day, one of her comments related to a customer who spoke to an older staff member complaining about the situation, the older staff member replied, 'Tell someone who cares.'"

Josh writes: "Peter Dutton was spot on. Woolworths, please sell what you like but don't use your market monopoly to tell me how I should feel about our national day. And how generous of Woolworths to kindly give their support teams the day off as a public holiday."

"Thanks for your exposure of the LNP's anti-woke distraction game," writes Nicholas. "Borrowed from the right of the Republican US. Sadly our lesser educated elements in the Australian population have taken this bait hook, line and sinker. The recent graffiti at the Queensland Woolworths store a sad example. The old divide and conquer act to convince working class voters to vote against their interests for the LNP."

Barney writes: "Dutton is compelled by something in his makeup, or perhaps the extreme right-wingers who have taken over the Liberal Party, to adopt a position of extreme right-wing negativity on any given issue. I don't think Dutton has a valid point about Woolies not stocking Australia Day merch. It's not up to him, or us, to comment on commercial decisions except when those decisions rip us off. The company says the stuff wasn't selling. I'm more concerned about the prices the big grocers charge us for food."

"I have never felt more anger towards a business as I do right now with Woolworths and yes, Aldi too, and anyone else who wants to lessen the importance of our national day," writes Virginia. "What next? Although I would prefer not to change the date for Australia Day that is a small price to pay for us to pay in making a concession for our Indigenous brothers and sisters it is the least we can do for them after the loss of the Voice vote."

Laurie writes: "Obviously, many of us don't give a rat's - and count me in that group. What matters is that January 26 remains a holiday and a new holiday is proclaimed in July for the original day Australia Day was held."

"Lay off Dutton," implores Christopher. "He may be clutching at culture war straws - whatever they are - but give the chip a break. He's got to have something to clutch in the absence of EQ or IQ."

Brad writes: "You are right on the money. Never have bought the jingoistic merch. In the last week of January every two years I replace my Australian flag on my actual flagpole with one from an Australian manufacturer. (They actually export flags to overseas suppliers - win/win.) I think it's time we blew this whole issue away for good. Australia's 'day' is January 1 (thanks, bureaucrats). I'm leaning towards May 15 as the establishment of national parliament and maybe the cynical choice of May 8 - 'maaate'. Anything to get us off this grinding fake merry-go-round."