A recent email discussion with friends regarding our collective bad TV habits got me to thinking about what bad TV is, or rather, what is bad about TV. Some of us are addicted to reality shows, the bigger the trainwreck the more we love to watch. Rock of Love, Tool Academy, Charm School, America’s Next Top Model, complete and utter bottom of the barrel human behavior and we lap it up. The rest of us, are hooked on Oprah, the Today Show, even the occasional daily soap. It’s not something we’re proud of, but when faced with reruns of the combined 13 variations of Law and Order, CSI and all the other crime related shows, they seem oddly refreshing. What I want to know, is why with so many truly good shows out there are we overrun with reality and trash TV?
Better off Ted is a fantastic show that nearly got cancelled last year and may still not make it. Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Eli Stone, In the Motherhood, and my adored and beloved Life all got the axe this year and they were well-written, interesting, quality shows. Why are people not watching them? Why do we prefer to waste our time on the TV equivalent of a night at Walmart and dinner at Golden Corral?
After careful consideration, a half bottle of wine and three hours watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, the rerun first episode of Glee, and Rescue Me I came to the conclusion that we’ve taken to watching televised crap because it limits our time commitment. It seems like every time I get invested in a good show, it then starts jumping around in the TV lineup making it hard to remember to watch, then it gets cancelled. A reality show generally has a shorter run and is condensed. You get the whole story from beginning to end without worrying that it’s not going to come back next season and you are left wondering who shot JR?
Reality TV is the closest thing we have to instant gratification and with the exception of a few select shows like the Amazing Race and Ellen, they are all really, really bad and embarrassing. I am not proud that I actually set my DVR to record All My Children. I didn’t mean to start watching, but I’m unemployed and it’s on at about the same time I roll out of bed and have breakfast/lunch. I actually prefer quality TV. You remember when we had that, right? They were well-written shows with good acting and thoughtful storylines. If I’m laughing, I want it to be because there is real humor in the writing and delivery, not because some chick pooped on the stairs on a crappy (pun totally intended) MTV or VH1 reality show.
Please people, I beg of you, save me from All My Children. Start watching good TV again so my shows will actually get an audience, make the network money and stay on the air. I don’t want to resort to watching Stargate SG-1 reruns next year when all original programming is cancelled save for a reality show based in a trailer park. I like TV, please don’t take that away from me. As a book snob, TV is the only real option I have for regular brain candy. I need it.
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