Know what I think?
I think that the same problems afflicting the auto industry also affect the major TV networks. Think about this. They had a monopoly, which, for decades, they rammed down our throats, and then, when genuine competition reared its ugly head, they were clueless as to how to respond. Now, their demographic is dwindling, and all they can do is offer little more than fecal matter rolled up in a veggie wrap. Unlike Detroit, however, the networks have the money to spend on quality programming; they're just cheap. Hey, roll out that next moronic, infantile, third rate reality show.
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Well, not all of it's bad. We're also in the 'Franchise' era, if you've noticed.
Some of the better 'Franchise' offerings come from Jerry Bruckheimer. They seem to be aimed at anyone a little bit more sophisiticated than the usual turnip sitting in front of his boob tube. Some of the more workaday ones come from Dick Wolf. You know, 'Law and Order' Dick Wolf. He's given us 'Law and Order', as well as 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent', and 'Law and Order: SVU' (a REAL crapshoot- some great episodes, some tawdry, and even ludicrous ones as well). He's not done giving us 'Law and Order', gang. By 2015, he'll have two thirds of the network scheduling earmarked for some derivative of the 'Law and Order' franchise, for instance- 'Law and Order: Garment District', in which Liev Schreiber and Eric Bogosian go undercover as 7th Avenue rag men trying to stop heroin trafficking among the guys wheeling clothing racks down the street. There's also 'Law and Order: Medicine Hat', in which Wilfred Brimley plays a Canadian prairie Nero Wolfe-type police chief, who solves crimes in between huge courses at the local lunch counter. There will also be a San Francisco office of the franchise, in which Jet Li goes undercover with Richard Belzer's John Munch character to stop heroin trafficking in Hunan-style Chinese restaurants. 'Law and an Order of Shrimp Toast'.
It seems to me that this 'franchising' merely reinforces the impression that we're merely a bunch of dolts (as if the daily machinations of Rupert Murdoch didn't), folks who have a fear of trying anything new, that we're more comfortable with yet another David E. Kelley ham acting review, another Steven Bochco melodramatic mush job, or another of what is quickly becoming Dick Wolf's 'Law and Boredom'. Hey, if you have an imagination, or a more discriminating taste, where ya gonna go?
I'll tell you where you're gonna go. But, before you do, I suggest 'Burn Notice' on USA. This is indeed fun.
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Like I said, the networks are just feeding us fecal matter rolled up in a veggie wrap. Have you seen the uh...sitcoms lately? My God, when you see a rerun of 'Mad About You' or 'Seinfeld' or 'Roseanne', do YOU find it hard to believe that these shows came from the same planet? Who are the morons doing the comedy writing nowadays? Why is it that trying to get your tawdry, second rate scatology past Standards and Practices is more important than making the show funny? If you make the show genuinely funny, then people stand around water coolers, talking about how great it is, and they get other people to tune in. Trust me, the only reason people would watch a complete turd like 'How I Met Your Mother' are doing so because they've been programmed to do so; that they have an innate fear of tuning in 'The Office', or anything else that might be outside the box, so to speak. Well, there aren't many sitcoms on the air anymore. Gee, I wonder why. I heard that many have gotten jobs writing for the so-called teencoms on Disney and Nickolodeon- shows that couldn't even make teenagers laugh if Cole and Dylan Sprouse came out of the screen and tickled them. If there were funnier sitcoms on TV, then more people would tune in. But then, hey, it's Reality Bachelorette Romance Shows they want. And then they wonder why they go looking for shows like 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'.
It's gotten bad enough that NBC's asking Leno to pull their chestnuts from the fire, with a nightly show at the tail end of prime time. You never know, it might be very good. Thing is- must we put all aspirations on Jay Leno's shoulders?
Me? I'm finding myself watching public television more and more. That about says it all.
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