Why are TV shows rated higher than movies?

I guess I’d say producers should probably have a bit more breathing room to be original, and that shows aren't (mostly) just built on special effects. It makes sense, though, since major studios tend to play it safe and shy away from being unique, and movie theaters are really only a safe bet if they offer an experience you just can't get at home. For anyone looking for engaging, complex plots, deep characters, and something a little provocative—series seem like a better pick than today's movies. That said, plenty of shows are definitely overrated. I've heard so much hype about certain series, but when I finally sat down to watch them, my reaction was kind of like, "oh boy, this is silly."

Karen Smith9 said:It’s not that I’m dismissing the whole medium—it's just that I don't see any real reason to sit through a series, regardless of what it is. I much prefer documentaries. 😁
And yeah, they are an inexhaustible source of originality. There is just so much out there to discover...

Character development, snappy dialogue, actual storytelling... honestly, a series just gives you so much more breathing room to actually get all that in than a movie ever could. Don't get me wrong, I usually lean toward movies over series, but when something truly top-tier comes along—I'm talking stuff like True Detective or Fargo—well, why on earth wouldn't I sit down and watch it?

Jessica Morris6 said:Then you have those conceptual series that only run for a few episodes. And if you're really a cinephile at heart, you could always dive into anthologies instead.
Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Ray Bradbury Theater, Tales from the Darkside...

Oh, absolutely. Twilight Zone is an all-time classic, and none of those others I mentioned are half bad either. But they aren't those shows that drag one single, tedious story out forever. Honestly, whenever I flip on the TV and see "to be continued" at the end of some crime drama, I break out in hives. Sequels, spin-offs, endless continuations of the same plot... ugh... it’s exhausting. Everyone has their own particular brand of trash—mine used to be that mess, The Mentalist... but once I realized after a few episodes that Red John was the whole point... damn, even that was garbage... there, I admitted it! 😁 Anyway, I still have all those old Twilight Zone episodes... pure classics. 😁

Sandra Brown10 said:Character development, snappy dialogue, actual storytelling... honestly, a series just gives you so much more breathing room to actually get all that in than a movie ever could. Don't get me wrong, I usually lean toward movies over series, but when something truly top-tier comes along—I'm talking stuff like True Detective or Fargo—well, why on earth wouldn't I sit down and watch it?

You know, there are certain movies out there—just ninety minutes long—that manage to say more than nine entire seasons of television ever could. Honestly, looking back, the absolute best series I’ve ever encountered have to be Dekalog and Berlin Alexanderplatz. It’s pretty clear why, too.

Karen Smith9 said:You know, there are certain movies out there—just ninety minutes long—that manage to say more than nine entire seasons of television ever could. Honestly, looking back, the absolute best series I’ve ever encountered have to be Dekalog and Berlin Alexanderplatz. It’s pretty clear why, too.

A movie is always "forced" to convey just as much, if not more, than a series within a fraction of the runtime. So, let’s be real: if a nine-season series achieves less than a ninety-minute film, then you’re probably looking at a low-quality show. Honestly, what is the point of judging movies or series based on their absolute worst examples? It makes zero sense.

Jessica Morris6 said:Then you have those conceptual series that only run for a few episodes. And if you're really a cinephile at heart, you could always dive into anthologies instead.
Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Ray Bradbury Theater, Tales from the Darkside...

Just saying (I can't help myself 😁) that Twilight Zone—the original series, obviously—is a MASTERPIECE that I honestly don't think any other show could ever touch. At least, not in my book.

That is to say, personally, alongside The X-Files, it’s easily my all-time favorite. Though, I can't really compare the two directly since I approach them in completely different ways, but they are my top two. Still, I have to reiterate... people, Twilight Zone is just unparalleled.

I used to measure a person's intellect based on whether they liked Twilight Zone or not. 🤣 Okay, I'm joking—I didn't actually judge people's intelligence that way, but hey, just a little bit of fun. 🙂

wiredraven82 said:Just saying (I can't help myself 😁) that Twilight Zone—the original series, obviously—is a MASTERPIECE that I honestly don't think any other show could ever touch. At least, not in my book.

That is to say, personally, alongside The X-Files, it’s easily my all-time favorite. Though, I can't really compare the two directly since I approach them in completely different ways, but they are my top two. Still, I have to reiterate... people, Twilight Zone is just unparalleled.

I used to measure a person's intellect based on whether they liked Twilight Zone or not. 🤣 Okay, I'm joking—I didn't actually judge people's intelligence that way, but hey, just a little bit of fun. 🙂

The X-Files is basically a product of pure paranoia—it's a trip—but The Twilight Zone is the gold standard for that kind of stuff.😁

Karen Smith9 said:It’s not forced; the author just has a very specific intention... besides, multi-season shows are written by entire teams, not just that one person whose name pops up under "created by." Surely you get that.

Look, the author has to have a clear intent because you simply can't afford to treat a movie like it's a TV series. And honestly, aren't you just comparing a great film to a mediocre show again? A talented director can accomplish an incredible amount in ninety minutes, but it's the same logic for a good series—it shouldn't be stretched out over fifteen seasons just to say what could have been perfectly handled in ten episodes.

The X-Files and The Twilight Zone are absolute classics that I feel most modern shows will struggle to ever truly match, aren't they? They remain by far the most influential series ever made, though I suppose Star Trek is up there too, even if it lacks that specific, singular quality found in those two masterpieces.

And Karen Smith9 makes such an excellent point, doesn't she, when she mentions how The X-Files was this incredible byproduct of global paranoia and that "trust no one" mentality that defined the dark atmosphere of the 90s? It really was the perfect show arriving at the exact right moment in history.

As for The Twilight Zone, it just has so many twists, doesn't it? Every single episode feels like a complete turn of events, which makes me wonder why anyone would bother with those modern remakes that just don't seem to pay off.

Sandra Brown10 said:Look, the author has to have a clear intent because you simply can't afford to treat a movie like it's a TV series. And honestly, aren't you just comparing a great film to a mediocre show again? A talented director can accomplish an incredible amount in ninety minutes, but it's the same logic for a good series—it shouldn't be stretched out over fifteen seasons just to say what could have been perfectly handled in ten episodes.

Exactly... and which one is that? Berlin Alexanderplatz is a 13-episode series—Fassbinder's vision of Döblin's novel. It's a masterpiece with no real TV equivalent. And Dekalog was this massive screenwriting undertaking by two writers, Kieslowski and Piesieiwicz. Honestly, American TV is just laughable when you look at it through that lens. Even our local wild boar productions are better than The Wire.

Karen Smith9 said:The X-Files is basically a product of pure paranoia—it's a trip—but The Twilight Zone is the gold standard for that kind of stuff.😁

Look, we can agree on the Twilight Zone, but when it comes to The X-Files, we’re hitting a wall—for you, it's garbage, but for me, it's an absolute masterpiece. At the end of the day, you can't argue with taste. 🙂

It’s an absolute masterpiece when you consider everything—the atmosphere, the storytelling, the characters, and the acting. It perfectly captures that specific 90s vibe, reminding me of being a kid and constantly counting down the days until Thursday like I was wandering through a desert looking for water, haha. So, yeah... for me, The X-Files stands right at the top—alongside the original Twilight Zone—as the definitive peak. That’s just how it is. 🙂

When it comes to that specific brand of paranoia we lived through back in the 90s—honestly, I find myself missing it. There was a certain texture to the uncertainty back then, a raw, unpolished tension that felt much more visceral than the constant, digitized noise we deal with today. It wasn't just mindless scrolling; it was a genuine sense that something massive was shifting just out of sight. Now, everything is so curated and sanitized that even the conspiracies feel processed. I miss that edge. 🤣

Yeah, I have to admit—Thursday has become my favorite day of the week. It’s a bit of a leftover habit from back in the 90s, mostly because that was when we could finally sit down and dive into The X-Files.

cosmicsurfer50 said:The X-Files and The Twilight Zone are absolute classics that I feel most modern shows will struggle to ever truly match, aren't they? They remain by far the most influential series ever made, though I suppose Star Trek is up there too, even if it lacks that specific, singular quality found in those two masterpieces.

And Karen Smith9 makes such an excellent point, doesn't she, when she mentions how The X-Files was this incredible byproduct of global paranoia and that "trust no one" mentality that defined the dark atmosphere of the 90s? It really was the perfect show arriving at the exact right moment in history.

As for The Twilight Zone, it just has so many twists, doesn't it? Every single episode feels like a complete turn of events, which makes me wonder why anyone would bother with those modern remakes that just don't seem to pay off.

👍

Karen Smith9 said:Exactly... and which one is that? Berlin Alexanderplatz is a 13-episode series—Fassbinder's vision of Döblin's novel. It's a masterpiece with no real TV equivalent. And Dekalog was this massive screenwriting undertaking by two writers, Kieslowski and Piesieiwicz. Honestly, American TV is just laughable when you look at it through that lens. Even our local wild boar productions are better than The Wire.

Take Fargo, for instance; it has a complete, self-contained plot wrapped up in 10 episodes. True Detective does the same in 8. Even if both shows eventually get second seasons, they’ll likely pivot to entirely different stories and characters.

I'll get to Alexanderplatz as soon as I can. ^^

Karen Smith9 said:Exactly... and which one is that? Berlin Alexanderplatz is a 13-episode series—Fassbinder's vision of Döblin's novel. It's a masterpiece with no real TV equivalent. And Dekalog was this massive screenwriting undertaking by two writers, Kieslowski and Piesieiwicz. Honestly, American TV is just laughable when you look at it through that lens. Even our local wild boar productions are better than The Wire.

🤣

I’ve actually struggled to get through The Wire several times; it felt like such a chore even though the quality is clearly there. On the other hand, The Sopranos just clicked for me instantly.

That Berlin Alexanderplatz sounds absolutely fascinating 👍

Jessica Gonzalez said:I guess I’d say producers should probably have a bit more breathing room to be original, and that shows aren't (mostly) just built on special effects. It makes sense, though, since major studios tend to play it safe and shy away from being unique, and movie theaters are really only a safe bet if they offer an experience you just can't get at home. For anyone looking for engaging, complex plots, deep characters, and something a little provocative—series seem like a better pick than today's movies. That said, plenty of shows are definitely overrated. I've heard so much hype about certain series, but when I finally sat down to watch them, my reaction was kind of like, "oh boy, this is silly."

I'm with you there—it's the same for me. I'll read all these glowing reviews and then BOOM, nothing. Though, if I’m being honest, I can usually tell just by the premise whether I'll like a show or not. If the subject matter is right but the acting is absolutely revolting, I can't bring myself to watch it. If the theme hits and the acting is decent, I'm in—not to mention if the acting is actually great, meaning the characters and everything else land perfectly.

The themes I gravitate toward are either crime dramas (though when it comes to crime, I only truly care for The Sopranos 🤣, which sits in my Top 3), sci-fi, mysticism, or history (like ancient eras)...

For me personally, these are my absolute favorites (where both the concept and the characters/acting are perfect—again, strictly my own opinion):

1. The X-Files
2. Twilight Zone (the original)
3. The Sopranos
4. Twin Peaks
5. Star Trek: The Next Generation
6. Stargate SG-1
7. HBO Rome
8. HBO Battlestar Galactica (the remake, obviously, not the original)
9. Twilight Zone (the 80s version)
10. The Lost

That's the list.

P.S. I've been intending to start watching Under the Dome for a while now (I absolutely love Stephen King), but I just haven't gotten around to it. I watched the pilot episode, and while I don't see it ever breaking into my Top 10, I do like the concept.

^Under the Dome is okay, I guess. It’s just your average series, nothing special... honestly, it feels like a story meant for just one season and then done.
I haven't seen everything on that list, but some of them look solid. Twin Peaks is good, sure, but it didn't quite click for me... there was just too much atmosphere for my taste.

Sandra Brown10 said:Take Fargo, for instance; it has a complete, self-contained plot wrapped up in 10 episodes. True Detective does the same in 8. Even if both shows eventually get second seasons, they’ll likely pivot to entirely different stories and characters.

I'll get to Alexanderplatz as soon as I can. ^^

That's what you call an anthology.

Jessica Morris6 said:^Under the Dome is okay, I guess. It’s just your average series, nothing special... honestly, it feels like a story meant for just one season and then done.
I haven't seen everything on that list, but some of them look solid. Twin Peaks is good, sure, but it didn't quite click for me... there was just too much atmosphere for my taste.

That's what you call an anthology.

Honestly, I completely get why people wouldn't vibe with Twin Peaks. The show is just straight-up WEIRD—it’s like Opera; you either love it or you hate it, there is no middle ground. For me, that atmosphere in Twin Peaks is totally unique, but man, you have to admit that (and this is just one of countless bizarre situations or scenes where you don't even know what to say, you just sit there watching, haha) this is hilarious, yet great:

“Twin Peaks - (give Cooper Tibetan Lecture)

Just look at how Dale Cooper always comments when the coffee is perfect: DAMN GOOD COFFEE haha...

I think I actually started drinking coffee as a teenager just because I watched him do it as a kid in that show haha.

P.S. I noticed you have The Outer Limits in your signature; I've seen that one, it's really good, but... no offense intended, but it feels like a blatant copy of the Twilight Zone 😁 although The Outer Limits definitely has its own specific style and fingerprint, if you catch my drift. 🙂

The Outer Limits... I've mostly been sticking to the newer stuff lately, though I might sprinkle in some of the classics once in a while if they happen to be on the schedule. But yeah, of course... Twilight Zone... It had an influence on... The Outer Limits...Yeah, the concept and the themes are pretty much the same... It’s just that... Zone S. It’s entering a total horror zone... The Outer Limits... there's just something about that specific kind of dread, isn't there? It’s not like the flashy, high-budget jumpscares you see in modern blockbusters, but rather that creeping, existential unease that settles deep in your bones. It captures a certain type of cosmic isolation that most shows today seem too afraid to touch... it lingers. I’m leaning much more toward science fiction lately... honestly, I don't see the point in playing judge and deciding which one reigns supreme when both are perfectly good shows in their own right. It's enough for me just knowing they're both worth the watch...
A Twin Peaks... I'm thinking about giving it another shot sometime... last time I tried, I actually ended up calling it quits right after the first episode of season two.

Jessica Morris6 said:Then you have those conceptual series that only run for a few episodes. And if you're really a cinephile at heart, you could always dive into anthologies instead.
Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Ray Bradbury Theater, Tales from the Darkside...

The Outer Limits is my absolute favorite. 😍

I should also mention American Horror Story as one of the more recent successes in that department.

Jessica Morris6 said:The Outer Limits... I've mostly been sticking to the newer stuff lately, though I might sprinkle in some of the classics once in a while if they happen to be on the schedule. But yeah, of course... Twilight Zone... It had an influence on... The Outer Limits...Yeah, the concept and the themes are pretty much the same... It’s just that... Zone S. It’s entering a total horror zone... The Outer Limits... there's just something about that specific kind of dread, isn't there? It’s not like the flashy, high-budget jumpscares you see in modern blockbusters, but rather that creeping, existential unease that settles deep in your bones. It captures a certain type of cosmic isolation that most shows today seem too afraid to touch... it lingers. I’m leaning much more toward science fiction lately... honestly, I don't see the point in playing judge and deciding which one reigns supreme when both are perfectly good shows in their own right. It's enough for me just knowing they're both worth the watch...
A Twin Peaks... I'm thinking about giving it another shot sometime... last time I tried, I actually ended up calling it quits right after the first episode of season two.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time diving into The Outer Limits—both the original run and the revival—and I have to say, it’s a genuinely top-tier series. Even though people often lump it in with the Twilight Zone because they share a similar premise, I think there are fundamental conceptual differences between the two that most viewers overlook. You actually touched on one of these points earlier, though I wouldn't say it's the deciding factor when comparing it to Zone S., but in my view, these two shows are vastly different in their DNA—much more than anyone would realize at first glance:

The Twilight Zone doesn't care whether you classify it as horror or sci-fi—it’s simply interested in being the Twilight Zone. It’s about those moments where something happens that you wouldn't even dream of in your wildest fantasies; something that defies the logic of our dimension (which, for the record, could be set in the past, the present, or the future). It’s all about that final twist that brings everything home. While the endings in The Outer Limits are ALMOST ALWAYS negative—I’d say about 99% of the time they leave a grim outlook for the individual or humanity as a whole—the Twilight Zone often offers outcomes that are actually positive for the characters. Sometimes they aren't even good or bad; they’re just... uniquely Twilight Zone. 😁 I'm honestly not sure how else I could put this.

Generally speaking, episodes of The Twilight Zone tend to be shorter—which, if you ask me, makes them much more enjoyable. I’ve always found that a tighter, punchier runtime suits the format better; it keeps things sweet without dragging on.

To build on that first point—The Outer Limits leans heavily into pure science fiction. It’s designed to construct these entirely different worlds, giving us a glimpse into what things might look like if a specific scenario actually became our reality. On the other hand, most episodes of The Twilight Zone keep the setting firmly planted in our own world, but they shift the perspective so that, for one specific group or individual, everything becomes completely untethered from this dimension by the time you hit that final twist.

To wrap this up, I honestly find *The Twilight Zone* to be such a singular phenomenon that I’d probably invent an entirely new genre just to house it—let's call it "Twilight Zone-esque." It’s simply because what they were doing there defies being pigeonholed by the standard labels of "horror" or "sci-fi." Those terms feel far too narrow to capture the essence of what makes those stories work. 🙂

It’s because shows on cable networks like HBO and AMC aren't held back by those PG-13 ratings that seem to plague like 90% of movies these days.