TV in 1980 vs TV in 2020

I now have an index page for "Modern TV."  There are a lot of shows.  I do one or two per week, sometimes after watching a single episode, sometimes after watching all 8.  Which leads me to ruminate on the vast difference between the tv I grew up with and what passes for tv on streaming services today.

TV in 1980:
1. TV programs had titles that identified the theme: Archie Bunker's Place, BJ and the Bear, Little House on the Prairie.  Often with a pun or catchphrase:One Day at a Time, Too Close for Comfort, Hart to Hart, The Facts of Life

2.  Situations and characters rarely changed.  When they did, it was usually a last-ditch effort to stop declining viewrship in the show's old age, as when Laverne and Shirley moved from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, or when a new kid was  added to Family Ties.

3. You knew what you were getting into when you started watching.  A sitcom would have humor, with angst only on occasional "very special episodes."  A drama would have drama, with an occasional wisecrack but no humor.

4. Episode plots were self-contained, with no references to anything in the past.  The Golden Girls were passionately interested in gardening in one episode, and bowling in the next.  Blanche's visiting brother was never mentioned before, and would never be mentioned again.

5. Most programs aired for 4 years, or more. Only flops lasted for a year or two.

6. There were about 25 episodes per season, so well over 100 altogether (100 episodes were necessary to ensure syndication sales).

7. Episodes aired once a week, from September through May, with reruns in the summer, usually on the same day at the same time. Only struggling, unpopular shows moved from time slot to time slot.

8.  As a result, the tv program became part of your life, returned to regularly week after week for 100 or more weeks over a period of years..  30 years later, you still remember the theme song, the situation, the plotline and even individual episodes.  The characters are  like old friends.

TV in 2020

1.Mostly nondescript one or two word titles that could refer to anything: The Club, The Crown, The Stranger, The Greenhouse, The Unlisted.

2. Characters come and go.  Even protagonists  die with impunity.

3.  Genres merge with impunity.  Characters die agonizing deaths in comedies, and dramas are imbued with wackiness.

4, Episodes build on each other to form a season-long story arc.  You have to watch in order.  Skip an episode, and you are lost.

5. Most programs last only one season.  A program that lasts four seasons is criticized for "airing past its prime."

6. There are typically eight episodes per season.

7. All eight episodes are dropped at the same time.  Typically you watch them all in a few days, so if they drop on Sunday, you've finished the series by Tuesday.   Some people even "binge watch" them all in a single day.

8. As a result, you forget them quickly.  Six months later, you don't recall the plots or characters, and you may have only a vague recollection about the plot arc.  A year later, you don't even remember that you devoted three nights of your life to finding out what happened on The I-Land.