Cutting Edge TV

​The phrase, “cutting edge TV,” may seem like an oxy moron to many. Let’s pretend though for the sake of argument that there have been and continue to be television shows that push the limits and make you appreciate talent, entertainment, plots, dialogue, angles of shots, tension, humor, enlightenment, technology, ideas, action.
 
You can choose the positives. What encompasses “cutting edge TV?” And what shows would you put in that category?  That’s going to be the fun part of this exercise.
 
I go back a long way, so my timeframe will be different from most people reading this. I think, in short, cutting edge TV includes shows that broke boundaries in a specific way. They were different. They grew the audience and got people to watch the show who otherwise might not have. They expanded TV’s reach.
 
Oldies to newbies:

• The Ed Sullivan Show – not sure how this show is categorized (a variety show, perhaps?), but he brought the Beatles to the U.S., so it has to be cutting edge.
• The Twilight Zone – terror and weirdness rises to a new level. Try sleeping after you watch it. Not gonna happen, the bed sweats take over along with paranoia.
• The Dick Van Dyke Show – wow, what acting and writing. Though if you watch it today, there are outdated roles and stereotypes, the pure acting is fantastic and Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke shine.
• Soul Train – I remember watching this in high school for the funkiness, dancing and new rhythms I would otherwise never have been exposed to.
• All in the Family – could this show be produced today? Probably not.
• 60 Minutes – though I feel it is but a shell of what it once was, the early years of the show brought a new depth to spotlighting lengthy coverage on the screen of an issue not otherwise covered.
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show – our mother’s favorite, this has to be included as part of the women’s movement, heading out on your own, the unique challenges faced with grace, humor and creativity. MTM shines in this one too. Brilliance.
• Star Trek – medical devices the scan and heal you; beaming objects and humans to new locations; a man’s head kept alive by a machine; WHOA, that’s some serious sh….t.
• Saturday Night Live – still around after all these years. Live comedy rules.
• The Simpson’s – my older brother consistently calls this show “genius” and though I don’t go that far, we’ll give him the nod.
• “24” – the entire show taking place over 24 hours gave this an unmatched intensity.
• Survivor – still on the air after all these years. They keep adapting and people keep watching. The ultimate in reality shows, bar none.
• Lost – though it devolved into another time warp zone when they didn’t know what to do with the plot, I would argue the first two seasons were absolute domination when it comes to weirdness and speculation. “What the heck happened here?” Then you wanted to find out.
• The Office – captures workplace humor on TV like Dilbert in the comics. Great stuff.
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – a new way of reporting, digging through the news clips and using humor to get the audience to think, laugh and question. Can humor make us smarter?
• Breaking Bad – it took people telling me to watch the show for three or four years before I finally did, then the addiction kicked in. Couldn’t turn it off. “My Baby Blue” closing out the last episode is a classic.
• Ted Lasso – sorry folks, but I’ve never watched it, so I rely on everyone else’s opinions to include it. I’m confident they are right, and someday I will get around to checking it out.
• Dr. Pimple Popper – what can I say, I’m hooked. When I first watched this show, I was intrigued. The more I watched, the more it sucked me into the stories, the redemption, how people’s lives were changed by their treatment, and how badly the medical community treated the individuals seeking treatment for highly unusual skin conditions.

 
Add your own. What are they?

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