Are Good TV Shows better than Movies?

I'm working my way through Game of Thrones series 3 but last night I decided to watch The Hobbit 2 (DoS), and all I could think of was for it to end so I could get back to watch Game of Thrones. As we went from one highly implausible CGI sequence to the next I just thought how dull, I would much rather watch and interesting non action scene between Tywin and Tyrion Lannister.


So it led me to the question, do I enjoy top quality TV boxsets more than I do quality movies (Hobbit isn't exactly top quality)? When I'm hooked into a rewatch of The Sopranos or Sherlock, or the Shield etc I have no interest in watching a movie.


So which do you prefer?

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I've been with TV for years now. It usually gives me more of what I want and its episodic nature caters for my depression. That said, they're different mediums looking to achieve different things. The main difference, IMO, being that the majority of "quality" English language films, by that I take it you mean H'wood blockbuster/mainstream films, are aimed at a far younger audience than its equivalent TV output. Also, TV is, usually, aimed at the home audience, while many blockbusters are designed to also appeal to a worldwide/non-English speaking audience.

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My good TV show for me : Breaking Bad , Supernatural , Dexter and Walking Dead

I like to watch either but I prefer movie ...

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Twin Peaks is better than everything, so yes

But seriously I think some TV shows are consistent in quality enough to match up with my favourite films: Twin Peaks, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, True Detective etc. and nowadays there's more miniseries, anthologies etc. being produced with high production values and movie like qualities and acting (True Detective, Boardwalk Empire etc.)

I happened to hear some novelist or short story writer on the radio a while back and he thought some TV shows of the day had some of the best writing around.

It's a personal preference. My personal preference is films, though some days it's tv shows.

I value good characters above all so great TV is where its at for me. Unfortunately there is not that much "great" TV. There is far more great film at this point so I probably prefer that medium. If we are playing the desert island game and I can only take one thing with me to watch it would be The Sopranos. I would also probably choose to take The Shield and Mad Men with me before I get to a movie.

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Letterboxd

I have started to watch more TV recently so that I won't feel like a social pariah, but cinema will always be the superior art form to me. One thing that sucks about most series though is that they have too many seasons/episodes and they just take way too much of your time. Basically the more series you watch, the less movies you watch.

For example because of True Detective and Twin Peaks, I haven't seen a film in about 10 days now. I really need to sort this out soon.

Breaking Bad (or other masculine anti-hero centric show) >>>> Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Buster Keaton, Bela Tarr, Carl Dreyer, DW Griffith

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Mubi

I admit I am a bigger fan of movies then TV overall. I do not have cable nor will I be getting cable TV anytime soon. If I want to follow a TV show I have Hulu or I can get a Netflix account for way cheaper then cable. But this is a financial choice more then a quality choice. I admit that I am always way behind on the hot new TV shows.

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I don't know that there really is an answer to this question.

In general, I prefer movies to television (and almost never actually watch TV), but sometimes I get in the mood to watch particular shows and am much more likely to have a season long (or even series long) TV show watching all-day marathon than I am to watch more than two movies in a day.

That said, I'd rather watch an episode or two of ANY TV show than The Hobbit 2.

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I like both. Quality's quality, regardless of the format it's in.

This is a great question. I think the last decade has seen TV shift into a higher gear with an abundance of top quality writing and production values. Shows like Breaking Bad and True Detective have made me re-evaluate my 'cinema is king' stance. Technological improvements have played a part in this; the growth of quality digital film-making and an audience with ever larger widescreen TVs has blurred the distinction between TV and cinema. I think this is great for everyone, not only is TV getting better but there's still an abundance of great movies too.

Personally I enjoy making the journey to a cinema to watch a film. I love the big screen, great sound and the sense of occasion. It's an act of appreciation, of giving something my full and undivided attention. Less so with TV.

TV is like fast food; it's easy to scoff it down and keep going back for more. It can be a little too addictive, but not always satisfying. Endless seasons are a TV programmer's wet dream. They are designed purely to keep people watching over and over again. Yes there is good work in there, but I've noticed that even great TV is repetitive and can contain too much 'filler'. The time I'm willing to spend on TV is a factor here.

Ultimately it all depends on the kind of stories we like and how we prefer our stories to be told. I was once advised that to experience the very best that English literature has given to the world, read as much poetry as you can but go easy on the novels. Novels are way too long and time is short.

I sort of feel the same about Films vs. TV box-sets; do I want to experience the diversity of the medium or absorb more of the same thing? The occasional box-set is fine, but films take priority.

To me each serves an entirely different purpose so it's hard saying which I prefer, but if I could only have one, I'll take movies. When I watch a movie, my focus is entirely on the movie and I am completely engrossed in it. Television I consider more light entertainment or even company sometimes. I almost never watch tv without also drawing, doing sudokus or working on something. I guess my point is that I am more serious about movies. Also I found doing my tv list that I only have about 12 tv shows that I really can say that I love. The list for movies is a whole lot longer than that.

I stopped reading there.

One point I forgot to bring up. The one big advantage that television has over movies is that you get to stay with characters that you love for an extended period of time.

I guess I live in the past, so most all my favorite shows are old - All in the Family, The Andy Griffith Show, The Smothers Brothers, Sanford and Son, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Get Smart, Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, etc. I still watch The Simpsons which has been quite terrific lately and sometimes Jeopardy!, but you mostly know I'm watching movies 24/7 even if they're doggie doo. But from what I can tell, the better recent TV shows attract the best writers and vice versa, so basically those shows are better written than most movies. I probably should watch more newer TV like my daughter Sarah does, but I have this desire to watch more movies than any other human, so I probably won't get to it unless she does it with me. My wife Brenda has her own desire - to read the most novels of any human.

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That's the perfect union right there buddy. Watch what you want and she gets to do what she loves. Lucky man.

This is exactly how I feel.

I will always prefer cinema to TV shows, although I do love me a great show like Breaking Bad or Mad Men. I do get the feeling that If I watch a long show, I'd be missing out on seeing a large number of films. Thats why I stick to a few shows I really love, and simply watch those.

My honest opinion, no.At least, a good show isn't better than a good movie. I love shows like Doctor Who and if you want to get into animated shows, ducktales, FOP and the like, but I'd rather watch Star Trek or Star wars for my sci-fi fill and I can think of slew of animated films I prefer over my favorite TV shows.