If I'm comparing apples to apples and using absolute best tv shows and absolute best movies, movies win handily. We're only having this argument because tv shows just recently started to catch up to the best movies in terms of overall quality.

The cream of modern Western television offerings is better than the cream of modern Western cinema offerings.

See, I disagree completely.

Because there's absolutely no point in comparing The Bachelor to even a movie as bad as The Help. If we included everything on TV then of course we wouldn't be having this discussion because even the worst movie is better than watching Fox News or a Marlins game. Who would even argue that? I thought it would be self-evident that we're talking about dramatic television vs. dramatic movies. If you're going to include all of television then you'd have to include all of film--like yoga DVDs--but of course we're not going to do that.

Is this about absolute bests? I'm not even sure we can make that argument. It'd be like claiming that a short story is better than a novel--you might like it better, but they're really different entities that deserve to be valued on their own terms. I thought this was relative bests--as in, there are more quality TV shows relative to the whole of dramatic television than there are quality movies relative to the whole of feature films.

bart's gotta upgrade his 25" tube tv.

in that case, films obliterate TV without question.

So now that we've removed reality Tv, it's definitely movies? Explain

The fact that you said this tells me you have no idea how awful (and how excellent) some movies are these days.

And only drama applies? That leaves out what I consider probably the highest quality tv show of all time--Arrested Development.

Also the person to mention the most shows mentioned what, eight? Of those I might agree with half. I sure as shit saw at least eight very good/great movies from this year.

Yeah I haven't seen anyone do this since I was a little kid.

Dramatic TV =!= dramas only...

And the fact that you said this tells me you have no idea how awful a Marlins game is.

So you'd rather watch Jack & Jill than a Marlins game? Doubt it. And thanks for clarifying the "dramatic" designation, I just wasn't totally sure.

Anyway, the more I think about this argument the more ridiculous it is. Like I said, this is only being argued because TV has just now started putting out the quality of content that we've been getting from good movies for the last fifty or so years (and you could go even further than that). There are some great TV shows out nowadays but the movies are still just as good, and this is coming from someone that is an avid viewer of both.

Fair point. Welp.

the argument in favour of movies takes a serious hit once you factor in the movie theatre experience which is, at least where i live, such a miserable one that i rarely find myself there more than once or twice a year. that's probably not fair to the medium but honestly i see so few movies these days and the ones i do (either in the theatre or at home) are rarely as compelling as the best tv shows. tv wins hands down.

I've probably seen 8-10 great movies over the last year or so.

I've watch dozens and dozens of great TV episodes...i.e. multiple, shining episodes of Mad Men, Shameless, Parks and Rec, Game of Thrones, Nurse Jackie, The Killing, Sons of Anarchy, - I could go on and on. Modern TV for the win.

You should come check out a movie in NYC sometime. It's obnoxious. And it's like I'm the only one who cares!

I certainly agree with this. It's relative.

And I'm not ready to say one is better than the other, but I tend to watch more TV these days. Which is absurd to me, because I used to hate television. Maybe I'm just not seeing the right movies, but the cinema holds such little interest for me these days. And when I do see a movie, I tend to see it at home.

But, obviously, there are some great movies out there. I think The Artist and Midnight In Paris (just two examples from last year) are just as good or better than my favorite episodes of any TV show from last season.

TV is just finally starting to figure out how to be the best medium it can be. Once Network TV decides to trust their audience and commit (if they ever do) this discussion will shift overwhelmingly toward TV, I think.

But we're still a ways away from that, I think. The bets shows on network TV have struggled and they've been hard to duplicate. Now that Friday Night Lights is over, I'm not sure there's anything really above average happening in the drama category on network TV. Comedies are still doing just fine, though.

What are these 8-10 really great movies everyone has seen in the past year? I must not be watching the right stuff.

There are a lot of fantastic TV shows on the air right now - Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, VEEP, Eastbound & Down, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Modern Family, Cougar Town, FRINGE, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Transformers Prime, The League, etc. Man, I watch a lot of TV and this isn't even 1/2 of it I'm sure...

Just silly.