MovieChat Forums > 20/20 (1978) Discussion > what the hell happened to this show?

what the hell happened to this show?

posted 10 years ago by simsimma16
7 replies | jump to latest

i hadn't caught a new episode of 20/20 in awhile, but i always regarded it as a respectable, hard-hitting, hell at least topical investigative news show. i recently put my dvr to good use and recorded two of the latest episodes.

it reminds me of Hard Copy or something now! Dare i say Entertainment Tonight, even. The cheap camera shots, the sensational-sounding narrator/journalists, the stupid stories! with everything going on right now, they decide to dedicate 2/3 of an episode to lifeguards behaving badly(uh, probably been happening since the beginning of lifeguard times..) and some fluff about a handsome bank robber? are they TRYING to dumb down America? no wonder the American people are so clueless as to what's going on in the nation, let alone the world. I am so disappointed in this show i once highly respected and held very dear to my heart. a story on that young woman stripping her way through college, something and someone that won't matter in a week, tops.

you need to overhaul and get it together, 20/20

[–] NovaRobotics 10 years ago

This is how it's been for a while now. Not everyone will watch the Super Serious "Baba Wawa"-esque interviews, so the show gradually moved to lighter/sensationalism stuff.

and Speaking of the "Tattletale Life Guard" Episode, if you looked in your tv guide juuuust before 20/20 started, you'd see it's filler spin-off: "What would you do?"

[–] lilkunta3 10 years ago

simsimma
hmmm how did you pick your name ?

they changed the style to what ppl desire to watch.
the old format wasnt getting viewers.

lifeguards not focused and the handsome criminal is what are popular topics so why not report on it/

[–] Huge_Ack_Man 9 years ago

It's gone (as someone else has said) "retarted".

Seriously, the goofy music and the putting up of words to match the dialogue is infuriating. Especially when it's the British guy doing the segment.

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do...you are misinformed---Mark Twain

[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/17556377-hot-mess-abc-anchor-elizabeth-vargas-went-to-rehab-four-times

I've been watching 20/20 since the early 90's. Once John Stossel left a few years ago and she replaced him the show went downhill. Now it's just a boring, same old, same old rehashing of murders and unsolved murder mysteries. The person in her position should have an exceptionally high level of creativity, which she does not have. Maybe that is contributing to her drinking problem because she isn't suited to the job, which btw, most people who have done what she has done would have already lost their job by now.

—Unsatisfied TV Viewer

reply 15 2 hours ago

[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/17553440

I'm so sick if of this boozing bitch. Go away. Vargas torpedoes 20/20, with her *beep* stories and direction of the show. When she's away (rehab) the show, with David Muir at the helm, actually gets interesting and entertaining. When Boozilla is away, Matt Gutman gets to stay. Please?

—Anonymous in Kansas City

reply 2 Last Wednesday at 7:04 AM

[–] Fully_Loaded 7 years ago

it has become very tabloidy lately
I still tape it every week but I usually watch 1 out of 10 shows and delete the rest

[–] bgirlmagic 7 years ago

I do the exact same thing. I much prefer 48hours and sometimes Dateline