Ok, I know everyone has moved on from this but hear me out... There IS lot you can learn from watching classic TV, this guy was just a dick about it. Now DON’T YELL AT ME UNTIL YOU FINISH READING MY THREAD!!! (1/9)

Because most classic tv is multicam and only has 1 or 2 locations, it’s easy to pay attention to the writing. Logically, I know a tv show needs an interesting cast of characters that you can watch every week, but I didn’t really get what that meant until I saw the Cheers pilot.

Cheers does a great job setting up all these characters, showing their different personalities and how they interact with each other, and revealing their motivations and what they want. It holds up! Making a pilot that holds up is not as easy at it looks! (3/9)

I once caught an episode of All in the Family where they discuss the Vietnam war. I‘m not a super fan of this show, but I was amazed by how well the episode set up the conflict, escalated the tension and found balance between drama and comedy.

Another example: My director/buddy on Ducktales @TannerTrue told me to watch episodes of Sherlock Hound for storyboard inspiration. This show doesn’t have a huge feature budget but was still able to create these beautiful, cinematic moments.

Obviously, there’s plenty of modern tv that does all this and more. But personally, I don’t think about any of this when I watch modern TV. (Unless it’s bad modern TV.) Watching old school tv and movies makes me feel like I’m in a classroom.

Watching stuff that’s outside of your comfort zone is really beneficial. You might be surprised by what you learn from an episode of I Love Lucy. It’s fine if it’s not your thing, but don’t stick your nose up at THE Lucille Ball just because a twitter thread annoyed you!

This goes for writers too, especially if you’re a writer for animation! I sometimes get frustrated watching certain animated shows, because it’s clear the writers don’t watch any animation outside of The Simpsons.

If you want to write for animation, shouldn’t you watch a few episodes of Cowboy Bebop? Avatar: The Last Airbender?! Spongebob?!? HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN FEED THE KITTY?!?!?

This guys’ thread was frustrating and gatekeeping is always shitty and counterproductive. (Unless you write for animation and you’ve never seen Feed the Kitty then you deserve to be shamed.) Still, the takeaway shouldn’t be “whatever, fuck I Love Lucy.”

I think everyone can benefit from watching things outside of their comfort zone, even if they don’t ultimately become die hard fans of The Jeffersons. (Which, by the way, is worth a watch!)

I STOPPED BOTHERING WITH NUMBERING MY THREAD BUT THIS IS THE END OF THE RANT I PROMISE