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Reality TV overtakes, replaces make-believe TV
(May 26, 2008) -- The mid-season writers' strike aside, it seems to me that reality shows have successfully permeated the airwaves and have successfully bobbled to the top of the charts. Although reality shows, such as American Idol, have been slowly, yet methodically, chipping away at make-believe television since the turn of the century, I think they are here to stay.
What a travesty.
By that, you know I am not a reality show fan. No American Idol or Dancing With the Stars for me. No Paris Hilton stuff. No The Apprentice with Donald. No The Bachelor with all those good-looking honeys. No Hell's Kitchen. No Survivor (any version). No Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
I'm not going to say I never tuned in to any of the aforementioned shows. I have -- except for Hell's Kitchen. If I was going to be judgmental, then I thought I should at least channel surf through a show or two -- except Hell's Kitchen (I can only imagine what goes on, and I want to leave it to my imagination).
Why the swing from make-believe to reality? A good question. It is my opinion that the over-indulgence of "real" news programs (i.e., police chasing a speeding vehicle with overhead coverage from a TV helicopter; the brutality of war; hostage standoffs; the assassination of political figures; the fall of Baghdad; the Duke lacrosse team; the constant bickering of show hosts with so-called experts on inane subject matter; and so on) have become staples of on-air life.
TV viewers no longer need make-believe. Oh, some of us who are older than the new "Now Generation" of You-Tubers, et al, still enjoy fictionalized drama stories and/or comedies. Even some of the network TV shows have written scripts based upon "real life" happenings. Think Law and Order or Law and Order: Crimal Intent.
Comedy shows often go to extreme lengths to achieve a sexually-oriented double entendre to make the risque giggle with delight, if they figure it out before the commercial break. (Think Two and One-Half Men or David Spade's character in Rules of Engagement.
Years ago, I outlined a plot for a short story that involved my character who created his own "fantasy world." When he came home from his "real world" job and opened the front door to his domicile, he stepped into his "fantasy world," where there was no crime, no sorrow, no marital problems, no rude children, no distasteful televison. However, to earn his living, he still had to enter the "real world," where he survived a 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. rat race, pausing often to imagine himself in the comfortable confines of his "fantasy world" where he was safe. The outline still gathers dust in a file cabinet upstairs.
At some point down the road, there will no longer be any make-believe television. It will all be Reality TV. By then, I hope there are still some good authors out there writing good fiction for me to read.
THE NETWORK TV season is over. I am torn between the final episodes of CSI and NCIS. Both were excellent make-believe television.
CSI has been my No. 1 rated TV show over the years, but NCIS has risen to the top of my chart, supplanting CSI. Perhaps, the loss of Sara early in the season left a void that the writers could not fill. I miss Sara's compassion for her fellow human beings and her intellectual stimulus for an equally intellectual Grissom.
Just to put the season to rest, here's my Top Ten dramas: 1) NCIS; 2) CSI; 3) CSI: New York; 4) Monk; 5) Women's Murder Club; 6) Canterbury's Law; 7) Numb3rs; 8) CSI: Miami; 9) Criminal Minds; and, 10) Bones. I had to drop Law and Order: Criminal Intent because USA Network only showed about six episodes before parent company NBC picked it up and repeated and repeated and repeated the same programs that USA had already shown.
The good news is Law and Order: Criminal Intent will be back with original episodes in June, as is Burn Notice and promising newcomer In Plain Sight. And, I think Sci-fi has announced Eureka will retun in July. The bad news is we won't be seeing any more Women's Murder Club on ABC or Canterbury's Law on Fox.
As for comedy shows, Two and One-Half Men is the only show worth devoting 30 minutes of your valuable TV time.
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