WHICH WAY? I hear many voices complaining that television is "not as good as it used to
be", but that suggests nostalgia in abundance and we all agree, I think, we can, a times, deceive ourselves about how much better yesterday's TV shows were... or seem to have been.
Most of us, in completely honest moments, often arrive at the same observation are the very same people who are watching, have been, are and will continue to watch too much TV! When we start comparing a thing with itself we are admitting we have lost guiding standards by which we are able to make such decisions. If you look in any barrel of rotting apples and compare one rotting apple with another rotting apple our will end up with a rather warped idea of just what a good apple ought to look like!
Remarkable changes have taken place in television in recent seasons. There can be little doubt about that. Some such changes have been good; others have been - well, not so welcome.
The reality of it all, some insist was brought to the forefront of the world of entertainment when the concept of "reality" became established in American production firms following a sudden success in Europe. One by one, the TV networks bee agency-addicted to showing "reality" at each and every turn of the dial. True reality exists primarily for the participants rather than onlookers who tend to witness it out of context and to judge such events as witless meanderings or as stupid excess without sufficient reason. When one such hastily prepared replacement failed other followed quickly and many suffered a like fate.
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Rather than attempting to put the blame on any one factor, it may be wise to look at a wide range of potential factors which could have influenced change.
There may well have been some stagnation in the old production of cliche sit-coms, personality detective shows, historical praise sequences, quiz shows and even the revelatory programs as "specials" became dull and actually revealed nothing new. News coverage, in particular, became personality cluttered. experimental, innovative broadcasting projects were given into the hands downright incompetents - many "trained" a college levels, rank charlatans, or well- financed dreamers eager to try favorite theories.
Television has seemingly forgotten the very basic fact that it is part of the entertainment segment of our national culture. It, too, must reflect the views of the public it serves. Once it see itself as being self-sustaining it quickly becomes an embarrassing hindrance to us.
Right now, TV in America is in urgent need of some simple but vital housecleaning chores.
Consider: "time". Time divides itself in to two pieces in the viewer's mind "commercial" time...and "program" time. Right now, and you can check this yourself in any area, program time suffers grater loss. Many half-hour shows include four "breaks" for commercials. Plus an opening message, a closing and in-and out of the half-way "local station" break. Count the "mentions" as being a mere 5-10 seconds each keep a count on the number of 10-30-60-second spots run off -back-to-back, in each of the four five minute breaks and it is plain to see that the commercial time far exceeds program time. I have counted as many as fourteen commercial spots within such breaks.
I have developed a "watch two shows" hobby. Change channels one to the other when commercial breaks occur; go back five minutes later and you will not have missed much of the show, in any. For a time you may enjoy watching two shows at one time; then you either forget to go back or decide to go with something else.
TV's shortcomings are small , but numerous. Our expectations, too, are grandiose. Need we count on one only remedy? Try reading a book; listening to some music or walking in the woods. I'll bet you can give me a long list of every thing that's wrong with any of them, too!
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-3-06 [c680wds]
