Network Television
Recently, I have been watching so much TV it's scary. I watched the Daily Show on Comedy Central on Monday night. Smallville on the WB on Tuesday night, followed by the Shield on FX, and then The Daily Show on Comedy Central. Last night I switched back and forth between the Lakers-Rockets game on ESPN and Comedy Central, which had South Park followed by Chappelle's Show and then The Daily Show. From time to time I switched to CNN to check on the war. Tonight I plan to watch more episodes of HBO's Six Feet Under before following it up with a healthy dose of The Daily Show, maybe even a little bit of Collin Quinn if I'm in the mood for some asshole-watching.
What's wrong with this picture here? With the exception of Smallville, which is a surprisingly good show despite sharing a schedule with the likes of Dawson's Creek, I don't watch anything on the major networks. There is almost no show on ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox that really interests me nowadays. Sure, occasionally I switch to Fox for a quality show like The Simpsons. In the mornings I watch Good Morning New York on the local Fox affilliate for weather and news while I eat breakfast. I even watch CBS for the NCAA tourney. Other than that, I can't really think of any currently running show on the networks that I watch consistently. Why? Because I have absolutely no interest in the current crop of reality shows like American Idol, Survivor, and Are You Hot or Not. There is no network sitcom or drama that I find particularly interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking, or capable of challenging my beliefs. NOTHING. Just bland, family-friendly, lame crap some producers cooked up to get ratings and advertising money.
What is going on here? Why aren't there more quality shows on the networks? Are they too afraid to bring out harsh, grim dramas like The Shield because they are worried about offending viewers and losing advertisers? Do they think we are too stupid to understand and appreciate ground-breaking shows like Six Feet Under? Are they only interested in duplicating surprising hit shows and milking the current fad for all its worth? How much more can they suck?
Recently, I have been watching so much TV it's scary. I watched the Daily Show on Comedy Central on Monday night. Smallville on the WB on Tuesday night, followed by the Shield on FX, and then The Daily Show on Comedy Central. Last night I switched back and forth between the Lakers-Rockets game on ESPN and Comedy Central, which had South Park followed by Chappelle's Show and then The Daily Show. From time to time I switched to CNN to check on the war. Tonight I plan to watch more episodes of HBO's Six Feet Under before following it up with a healthy dose of The Daily Show, maybe even a little bit of Collin Quinn if I'm in the mood for some asshole-watching.
What's wrong with this picture here? With the exception of Smallville, which is a surprisingly good show despite sharing a schedule with the likes of Dawson's Creek, I don't watch anything on the major networks. There is almost no show on ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox that really interests me nowadays. Sure, occasionally I switch to Fox for a quality show like The Simpsons. In the mornings I watch Good Morning New York on the local Fox affilliate for weather and news while I eat breakfast. I even watch CBS for the NCAA tourney. Other than that, I can't really think of any currently running show on the networks that I watch consistently. Why? Because I have absolutely no interest in the current crop of reality shows like American Idol, Survivor, and Are You Hot or Not. There is no network sitcom or drama that I find particularly interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking, or capable of challenging my beliefs. NOTHING. Just bland, family-friendly, lame crap some producers cooked up to get ratings and advertising money.
What is going on here? Why aren't there more quality shows on the networks? Are they too afraid to bring out harsh, grim dramas like The Shield because they are worried about offending viewers and losing advertisers? Do they think we are too stupid to understand and appreciate ground-breaking shows like Six Feet Under? Are they only interested in duplicating surprising hit shows and milking the current fad for all its worth? How much more can they suck?
posted by Gary at
1:20 PM
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