The Next Generation
Over the years, we have seen the evolution of American ‘primetime’ television. We have lived through the all phases of the standard format programs. We’ve traveled in space and the old west. Solved crimes with doctors, scientist and detectives, both private and the police. Fought criminals with superheroes. Laughed at the antics in comedies of both sitcoms and variety shows. Walked with angels and seen the mishaps of aliens living in this world. We have even seen romance in exotic places and wishes fulfilled. Traveled in the underworld of crime and spies. Lived the grind in everything from a hospital to a taxi driver. Tagged along with combat troops in war. Matched wits with contestants on ‘game’ shows. We have gone to out-of-the way places to view ‘reality’ programs. We have ‘lived’ history and seen a future both positive and negative in nature. So where do we go from here?
Just what will the next generation of television programming give us. What can the purveyors of entertainment come up with to peak our interest? Haven’t we seen it all?
I remember the days when all the new programs started in September, just after Labor Day and continued until the end of May, around Memorial Day. The only interruption was when there was a national event or at the holidays. Within an hour program, we had about twelve minutes of commercials, just enough time to go to the bathroom or get a snack. Oh, how times have changed!
I remember when a four letter word on television was ‘love’, ‘hate’, ‘work’ or ‘dang’ and the very extreme ‘damn’. Oh, how times have changed! But then you didn’t hear much more on the streets, in public. We can’t say that now.
Do you remember the ‘three second’ kiss? Or when married couples always slept in separate twin beds? When you could see more bare skin in a ‘National Geographic’ than on the television screen? Oh how times and society have changed.
Those were the days of an ‘innocent’ nation. A time when the public pretended not to know the other side of life. Look back at the shows of the 1950’s and 1960’s, to many, they seem corny and out of touch. They seem surreal and out of place by today’s standards. The programming didn’t hold the grit and realism of today’s shows. Was this what the public wanted or what the government forced upon us? That is a debate yet unresolved.
The programming of today, is it what the public wants or what Hollywood thinks we want? That is a question, as yet, unanswered and barely asked. So, what will the next generation of television bring us?
We have seen the ‘game’ show evolve into the ‘reality’ shows where eating something grotesque is the mainstay. The crime drama where the heroes almost always solve the crime, too bad that’s not the way it really is. We have seen the airways covered by ‘news magazines’, now slowly going by the wayside. So too, will be the ‘reality’ shows. The comedy shows have evolved into an insipid myriad of not funny pranks and jokes. They too shall fade away. The variety shows once covered every network, only to fall into disfavor and say ‘good night and good bye’. Will we see a return? Only time will tell.
The American public can be fickled. We seem to want something new and inventive, yet crave realism and fantasy. All at the same time. We want laughter, drama and escapism. That is a tall order to fill. We are a diverse nation and everyone wants something different, yet we all want entertained.
Here are a couple ideas Hollywood may want to look at. One: Bring back a new and improved variety show. Find an ‘MC’ who can relate to the public with personality and comedy, yet have a serious side. Have the show include comedy skits, stand up jokes and routines, and showcase new singing talent. Throw in dance and interviews with sports and entertainment celebrities and maybe a political figure on occasions. Add to it a look it history as it was and how it could have been. Touch on new inventions that could change our daily lives. Talk just a little about events in the world over the past week or things coming up. Roll all this into one show and see what the public thinks. This could be a variety show people would watch, they could even call it something like “The All American entertainment show”.
Next, have a show set in a city, which is exotic to most, say New Orleans. I can’t thing of a show set there, on television now. Have it deal with not only the ‘lead’ characters but also the lives of everyone they deal with. This could include the hospital, police, EMS, fire department, private detectives, etc. Take an event, a crime if you will, and follow the leads to the end. Show how the system really works, step by step. Not just in a murder, but deal with crime in general. Show the first responders, the leads they get and where it takes them, on and on until the resolution. The trick would be to keep it real and not be able to solve every crime. The grit in the show could fulfill the public needs, yet give them an escape from their daily lives with the color and flavor of someplace different. It could be called “The Big Easy, Hard”.
With the right mix of comedy and reality, these two shows could reach the public in ways no other show is doing today. Add to it, a full schedule from September to May and the public would be hooked. Also, limit the commercial breaks back to around twelve minutes to give more storyline. I know a way they can still get the advertisers to support the show without the ads interfering. It is a trick used in the past and even now. There has been talk of adding consumer products into the show and including them in the program. If it is done with taste and subtle, the public would not be offended and the story not interfered with. In addition, with a cast revolving in and out, there would not be the high salary problems programmers’ deal with today.
The next generation of television programming could be an evolution to look forward to and not just tolerate. Now all we have to do, is get the programmers to come around and give us something new. Will they listen?
Ideas are everywhere, the problem with programming is direction and scripts. Find new directors with an inventive eye, add to it writers not stuck in the pit of standards set today and wonders can happen. Talented actors abound, with a changing cast, more could be put in the lime light, if only a short time. This would open up the field on the ‘big screen’ as well.
‘Cable’ channels are pushing the envelope on new shows, leaving the networks in their dust. Can we let the ‘old’ industrial standby, the networks, go by the wayside? Unless something is done, it could well happen.
Ed Williams
©
Just what will the next generation of television programming give us. What can the purveyors of entertainment come up with to peak our interest? Haven’t we seen it all?
I remember the days when all the new programs started in September, just after Labor Day and continued until the end of May, around Memorial Day. The only interruption was when there was a national event or at the holidays. Within an hour program, we had about twelve minutes of commercials, just enough time to go to the bathroom or get a snack. Oh, how times have changed!
I remember when a four letter word on television was ‘love’, ‘hate’, ‘work’ or ‘dang’ and the very extreme ‘damn’. Oh, how times have changed! But then you didn’t hear much more on the streets, in public. We can’t say that now.
Do you remember the ‘three second’ kiss? Or when married couples always slept in separate twin beds? When you could see more bare skin in a ‘National Geographic’ than on the television screen? Oh how times and society have changed.
Those were the days of an ‘innocent’ nation. A time when the public pretended not to know the other side of life. Look back at the shows of the 1950’s and 1960’s, to many, they seem corny and out of touch. They seem surreal and out of place by today’s standards. The programming didn’t hold the grit and realism of today’s shows. Was this what the public wanted or what the government forced upon us? That is a debate yet unresolved.
The programming of today, is it what the public wants or what Hollywood thinks we want? That is a question, as yet, unanswered and barely asked. So, what will the next generation of television bring us?
We have seen the ‘game’ show evolve into the ‘reality’ shows where eating something grotesque is the mainstay. The crime drama where the heroes almost always solve the crime, too bad that’s not the way it really is. We have seen the airways covered by ‘news magazines’, now slowly going by the wayside. So too, will be the ‘reality’ shows. The comedy shows have evolved into an insipid myriad of not funny pranks and jokes. They too shall fade away. The variety shows once covered every network, only to fall into disfavor and say ‘good night and good bye’. Will we see a return? Only time will tell.
The American public can be fickled. We seem to want something new and inventive, yet crave realism and fantasy. All at the same time. We want laughter, drama and escapism. That is a tall order to fill. We are a diverse nation and everyone wants something different, yet we all want entertained.
Here are a couple ideas Hollywood may want to look at. One: Bring back a new and improved variety show. Find an ‘MC’ who can relate to the public with personality and comedy, yet have a serious side. Have the show include comedy skits, stand up jokes and routines, and showcase new singing talent. Throw in dance and interviews with sports and entertainment celebrities and maybe a political figure on occasions. Add to it a look it history as it was and how it could have been. Touch on new inventions that could change our daily lives. Talk just a little about events in the world over the past week or things coming up. Roll all this into one show and see what the public thinks. This could be a variety show people would watch, they could even call it something like “The All American entertainment show”.
Next, have a show set in a city, which is exotic to most, say New Orleans. I can’t thing of a show set there, on television now. Have it deal with not only the ‘lead’ characters but also the lives of everyone they deal with. This could include the hospital, police, EMS, fire department, private detectives, etc. Take an event, a crime if you will, and follow the leads to the end. Show how the system really works, step by step. Not just in a murder, but deal with crime in general. Show the first responders, the leads they get and where it takes them, on and on until the resolution. The trick would be to keep it real and not be able to solve every crime. The grit in the show could fulfill the public needs, yet give them an escape from their daily lives with the color and flavor of someplace different. It could be called “The Big Easy, Hard”.
With the right mix of comedy and reality, these two shows could reach the public in ways no other show is doing today. Add to it, a full schedule from September to May and the public would be hooked. Also, limit the commercial breaks back to around twelve minutes to give more storyline. I know a way they can still get the advertisers to support the show without the ads interfering. It is a trick used in the past and even now. There has been talk of adding consumer products into the show and including them in the program. If it is done with taste and subtle, the public would not be offended and the story not interfered with. In addition, with a cast revolving in and out, there would not be the high salary problems programmers’ deal with today.
The next generation of television programming could be an evolution to look forward to and not just tolerate. Now all we have to do, is get the programmers to come around and give us something new. Will they listen?
Ideas are everywhere, the problem with programming is direction and scripts. Find new directors with an inventive eye, add to it writers not stuck in the pit of standards set today and wonders can happen. Talented actors abound, with a changing cast, more could be put in the lime light, if only a short time. This would open up the field on the ‘big screen’ as well.
‘Cable’ channels are pushing the envelope on new shows, leaving the networks in their dust. Can we let the ‘old’ industrial standby, the networks, go by the wayside? Unless something is done, it could well happen.
Ed Williams
©
posted by Ed | 23:42
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