The Underutilized Promise Of Television

Television is one of the most demonized media of them all, but I personally think it gets somewhat of a bad rap. Some think of it as the "idiot box," the "boob tube," and a way to spend some empty hours, while poisoning or deadening your mind (especially if you happen to be a child). Nonetheless, television has a lot to offer at a relatively low price (basic cable, for instance, is relatively reasonable given all the channels you receive), as seen by educational programming, sports coverage, news, and various quality television shows.

This is not to say that television, especially with all the channels out there, meets its full potential. For instance, we have tons of copycat daytime "talk shows" that often have the basic goal of finding new societal rejects under rocks or wherever they find them. News programs, including the recent multiplication of newsmagazines do not offer that much more. Furthermore, even with a wide range of topics and themes to select from, television shows usually cover the same old stuff.

This seems to have reached a certain critical mass of late to the point that only a handful of shows are really worth my time (not that valuable, believe me). Oh, there are a lot of shows: lame comedies, seedy or shameless reality programs, tired veterans (sadly, West Wing seems to be entering this category), repetitive forensic programs, and a few worthwhile shows that aren't my cup of tea. Watching "trash" has its pleasures, but the situation really has just got worse. A look at the proposed 2004-5 season does not look too promising.

There are various ways of dealing with this problem. First, we can run with it, given there are so many more productive (or as productive) uses of the time. Second, there is the Internet, so we can stare at an even smaller screen. Next, there does remain various things to watch.* We also can just watch crap. Flip through all the channels, including lame movie options, and think, "come on, there must be something on!" Rent videos and DVDs, the latter often having special features to fill the time not spent watching television. And, finally, we can whine about it. So, nothing to get too upset about.

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* Gilmore Girls had a pretty good fourth season overall. The season finale ended with Rory no longer quite such a "good girl," and honestly, it's about time she did something "bad." I don't really like how her first time was done in such soap opera fashion. The show in fact has a bit of a problem on this front. Her friend/rival Paris had a "good" first time with a boy she liked, but later she publicly blurted out the information, leading to her embarrassment. Meanwhile, Rory was there to comfort her, while Lorelai was happy she had the "good" one. And, of course, the show itself is based on the results of a teenage pregnancy. The show did at times examine how Lorelai's relationship problems have deep roots, but the Paris episode is remains particularly troubling - the episode was a pretty nasty one.