Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 12, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 12, 2004

Television

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – May 12, 2004 – I’m not a television addict – but I enjoy certain programs and try to catch them when I’m at home. When I was a kid our first television was a second hand floor model Admiral with rabbit ears, that never quite pointed in the right direction. It reminds me of a Mr. Bean episode when he had an absolutely hilarious half hour fight with a television.

At our home one of us ended up holding up the rabbit ears and peering around from the back of the set trying to catch the action on the screen. I was enthralled with Howdy Doody and his cast of zany characters and I couldn’t wait to get home from school to watch them. Razzle Dazzle with Michelle Finney and Howard the Turtle was next on my “must watch” list, and Ed Sullivan and Bonanza were definite viewing (what wasn’t to like about Little Joe?) on Sunday night. As a teenager I didn’t watch much television. I was usually out and about with friends, but Ben Casey and Dr. Kildaire were always worth a watch.

I bought a used television when I had my first apartment and it was nice to sit and watch an hour of mindless programming at the end of the day. I usually watched the news if I was at home. It wasn’t until Dallas and Dynasty that I got hooked into watching a weekly series. I was amazed how quickly I came to care about some of the characters and how much I disliked others.

The cat fights between Joan Collins and Linda Evans on Dynasty were classic, only outdone by the shenanigans of the characters on Knot’s Landing. Abby was the best character and I always figured that Gary and Val deserved her wrath. Over the years Cheers, N.Y.P.D. Blue, L.A. Law and Family Ties became favourites.

News and current events programs were always interesting and spectacular world events drew millions of viewers from around the globe. As a family we watched every hour of the aftermath of JFK’s assassination. Not only did we remember where we were when he died, we watched his funeral procession and mourned his passing as if we’d known him. Princess Di’s wedding and funeral came beaming into our homes, along with the constant images of the aftermath of 911. At times these events were too much to take in and became almost surreal.

The power of television to mould opinion and seduce viewers is monumental. Advertising executives must have thought they’d died and gone to heaven when they realized the power of television to carry a message and sell a product. Today we’re so inundated with media messages, I sometimes wonder how anyone is able to make a decision about anything.

Big business owns the networks, polls tell us who is going to win most elections, reality television has gone totally over the top, Judge Judy throws the book at hapless malcontents and Jerry Springer will do anything. Thank goodness Oprah manages to raise the bar on some days. With the exception of channels like Discovery and The History Channel a lot of television programming has become mindless.

However, I’m still a fan. I do watch the news and I have to admit to a certain predilection for watching Kiefer Sutherland in “24”. My, but President Palmer is in a lot of hot water these days! (Sort of like Dubya). My other front runners are C.S.I. (I was an early fan) and Without A Trace. Other than that my television is usually dark.

The only exception to the rule is when I’m sick and then it’s a welcome companion. Most days I like to think that books, movies, a visit to the museum or the art gallery and good conversations with friends, supplant most of the mindless blather that passes for programming today. If you want to see if you’re addicted try going for a week without turning on the black box and you’ll soon find out. Now there’s a challenge for a spring day!