| Cattivo wrote: |
I think I saw one or two eps of it. Seemed pretty funny, if a bit silly. Reminded me a little of Chris Elliot's show, Get a Life.
They really need to give shows a chance to take off instead of killing them if they don't immediately deliver. In this climate, Seinfeld wouldn't have lasted past its first season or two. Although, it certainly seems that after sixty years of sitcoms, all possible stories have been used up. |
I'm telling you, all of the problems with television today can be traced back to two shows. The Real World and The Dating Game. Though its hard to blame The Dating Game as the only real thing to compare it to during its run is Love Connection. Even Singled Out wasn't awful, even if you don't like that sort of thing. I'm not exactly sure which show to blame for MTV's obsession with these dating shows. But I'm still gonna point to the roots of the genre, and that's The Dating Game.
Real World is the biggest cancer to ever hit televesion. I'll admit, I watched it in its early seasons. David Edwards, Puck, I watched all of that. And at the time, it seemed harmless. But not only was it the begining of the end of what
used to be Music Television and VH1. But it also paved the way for the reality shows that litter my tv today.
And for all of you who think I may be unfair to reality tv, or maybe even like it yourself, consider this. If television worked the same in the 80's and 90's as it does now, we may never have had Knight Rider, Miami Vice, Magnum PI, The A-Team, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, or even Dallas, Dynasty, or Falcon Crest, or etc. Even if the popular shows of the time did make it on the air, not all of them would last because everyone would be too busy watching reality shows and primetime gameshows (what happened to the good days of Scrabble, Press Your Luck, Password, and Pyramid during the daytime?).
Now there are a plethora of sitcoms, and it shouldn't be too hard for anyone to find one on they like at any given time, especially in the evening. But we also have a lot more channels now than when I was groing up. So reality would be cutting into our sitcoms as well. Shows like Cheers, Family Ties, Newhart, Mama's Family, Cosby Show, Night Court, Who's the Boss?, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, Perfect Strangers, ALF, Married with Children, Roseanne, Full House, Coach, Family Matters, Fresh Prince, Wings, etc (I think you get the point), wouldn't all be here because thee simply wouldn't be enough room for them all.
I blame the premature cancellations of great shows on reality tv. It makes me sick. And I'll admit, at times, it can be entertaining, sometimes because of competitive nature of shows like Dancing With the Stars or American Idol, or because its like watching a trainwreck, like Flavor of Love or Celebrity Rehab. But when we watch these shows, it is at the expense of quality shows that get the axe because people would rather watch garbage.
And while I'm on another tirade, I'll just throw in the fact that commercials suck today too. Why are they advertising perscription meds on tv? "Ask your doctor about..." My doctor should be telling me what to take, not the other way around. I never did mind when Nolan Ryan or Joe Namath or some other retired athlete would tell me to take their prefered flavor of pain reliever. But I don't need some jerkoff telling me to ask my doctor about Zoloft when I probably don't even need it.
