I am guessing that one of the reasons why these guys initially appeared a bit tense is the subconscious knowledge that their every action is going to be reviewed by a small audience of partially informed spectators (us), and large audience of completely uniformed spectators; the media and their customers.
It didn't happen like that in the old days and I feel airline managements have not addressed the issue of the intense scrutiny placed on any crew in this situation and the subtle pressure it places on them.
Watching the A330 last year that had a hydraulic system failure and landing live on the 6.00 news, I realised that any incident is sensationalist fodder. The captain on that flight was a close friend and although I knew a safe landing was a formality, he would have been aware of the TV choppers following him and there must have been a lot of pressure on him that wasn't there in the past. Food for thought.