First published Wednesday, July 19, 2006
What ever happened to network television?
Tonight I finished pecking at the code (don’t ask) and sat down to see what was on the tube.
One network had some silly looking moron-man holding a lawn mower with vegetables being thrown at it.
Another network had a pathetic sounding singer.
Yet another network was telling me all about seals in cold water but I expected that from NPR.
And yet another network was showing a strange person jiggling the wrong things in what might be losely termed a ‘dance’.
Whatever happened to network television being where one could see name talent doing what name talent does?
Do you think when television started that Milton Beryl could have been replaced by Johnny balloon juggler and still had the playhouse present comedy and the network push foreign cross dressing cry babies fighting back with judges who themselves were but are no longer strong enough to carry their own show?
Whatever happened to network television?
The same thing that happened to radio.
The current return on stock investment is now more important than the longer term investment in product.
The result is no talent.
No ‘stars’.
No creative programming.
No breakthroughs.
Just pandering to the lowest common denominator for the least expense.
That used to be accomplished with game shows. But now it is accomplished by the near total replacement of talent with talent wannabes.
So what is on cable?
The all ad channel?
Not yet.