What's Happening To Television?

EDITORIAL - One Bloggers Opinion

Recently we had the Emmys and I didn't watch it - neither did millions of others as they have lost their glow and interest. I checked the paper the next day and not ONE of the shows or the actors/actresses of those shows had I seen! This is a big departure from TV shows of the 50s, 60s, and even the 70s.

I can remember watching live shows in the 50s that were very entertaining and you didn't want to miss one week of those shows. We didn't have videotape or TIVO/DVR then so if you were out and missed it, you'd have to wait until the summer for the rerun. Did you know that shows had 39 new programs a year? Did you know that they were sponsored by ONE company which you related the product to the show/star? Remember Dinah Shore and "See the USA in your Chevrolet"? TV breaks didn't have 10-12 commercials each time which made it difficult to attach the product to the program or stars.

Another thing I noticed is that TV GUIDE pushes the shows that I don't watch or care anything about. It is becoming a Celebrity magazine with TV listings. I don't watch 90 percent of the shows they feature each week. That is why I am not renewing my subscription that I've had with them since the 1960s. I will write a letter to them returning their renewal form stating the reasons why we are parting company.

It seems to me that the writers of the shows now have to "push the envelope" on every moral issue trying to influence the general public to their way of thinking. Mostly in the gutter. Sex scenes are common place now. This is with anybody on the show - definitely not with a spouse. Nudity is being common place now. They are trying desperately to include foul language and make it acceptable as the normal talking that the average citizens do with each other. I guess I'm not average.

Every show now must have the token homosexual or lesbian and make it appear as "normal". Once I see that, I turn the channel and never look at that show again. This is why the shows that are popular today are not on my viewing list.

What do I watch? Golf and pro Lakers basketball. Some A&E channel shows like "The First 48 Hours" and "Dog, The Bounty Hunter". Some History channel shows like "Shockwave" and shows involving World War II stories. I love "Monk" and "Psych" on the USA channel. We watch "Little People, Big World" on the TLC channel. We enjoy "Dateline" and "48 Hours". I watch "The Unit" which is an exciting show. We enjoy "So You Think You Can Dance", "Dancing With the Stars", "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent". The only family type show we watch is "Everybody Hates Chris". I hope it stays as good as it is now but it is written by Chris Rock who is not known for this type of humor.

Television will not get better and you will have to be selective on what you watch on the main Network Channels like CBS, NBC, and ABC. A media watchdog called Parents Television Council is trying their best to improve quality of "Prime Time" shows but it is an uphill battle. We have been supporting them since they began soliciting support by a comedian named Steve Allen. Steve knew how to put humor in TV that was actually funny. He was disgusted with what was happening to his media and wanted to help make it better again.

I will be posting a story about my recollections of the early days of TV soon. Stay tuned.

Radio -- Television Without Pictures

Television came into being in the late 1940s but few people had sets to receive the programs. I'll write about that in another post as this one is concerning radio.

Our entertainment in the 1930s and 1940s came from a small box that sat on a table in the living or dining room. Some had large radios that were floor models and more powerful to pull in stations far away. I remember our family radio in the dining room which became the center of our evenings. We could play games and listen to our favorite radio show at the same time.

We had only AM stations as FM hadn't been invented yet. All sets and car radios were tube types which took a little time to warm up before you could hear anything. Tubes had to be replaced when they burned out.

The "stars" of radio then were Fibber McGee & Molly, Lum & Abner, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Milton Berle, Perry Como, many Big Bands, and others. You never lacked for anything to listen to and wouldn't be embarrassed by anything said on the air. Each radio program was sponsored by ONE (1) sponsor. You identified with the star and the sponsor. Lux, Kraft, Chesterfield, Jello, Texico, Chase & Sanborne, etc. Now on television we have 10 commercials at every break and you really don't know who is sponsoring the program. Stars salaries have risen so much that it takes a lot of companies to put on one program.

There were dramas and adventure shows. One of my favorite was "The Lone Ranger". I remember sending off 10 cents and a box top for a map of the area he worked his magic so you could follow him through this place and that -- like you'd see on TV.

The picture was in your head. They would describe something and you'd come up with the picture. Imagination! You lost a lot and gained a lot when television came out.

When I was in college at Pasadena Nazarene College in Pasadena, California, we went to Hollywood on weekends to see TV and Radio shows by being in the audience and putting laughs on the program. The last radio show I went to was "The Bob Hope Show" at NBC. He interacted with the audience after the show. One person mentioned that his friend Bing Crosby wore a hair piece and wondered if Bob did. Mr. Hope asked him to come up on stage and each would pull the hair of the other. Brought some laughs on that one. "Our Miss Brooks" was another radio show we attended and got a chuckle out of Eve Arden playing a single person prominently pregnant at the time.

Radio now is mostly music and you listen most of the time in your car. Lots of types of music to choose from - your pick. Those were the days, my friend. I thought they would never end. But everything does.

Forbidden Entertainment

In 1952 television was fairly new in Kansas City, Missouri. Having a set was a novelty. Most had small black and white round viewing tubes. During the summer when I was preparing to leave for college, I found an entertainment combination set which included a 7 inch B&W television, a 45 rpm record player, and an AM radio. It was about the size of a 21 inch table model today.

When I arrived at Pasadena Nazarene College in Pasadena, California, I found that TV was a no-no there. So I put the set in my closet and did my viewing quietly. Anyone coming into the room couldn't see the set and didn't know I had it.

One night about 15 of the guys were watching something on that 7 inch TV in my room and a knock came on the door. One of the guys opened it and there stood the dorm Pop who was in charge of the building. He saw the TV and told me I had to get rid of it. So ended my career as entertainment provider.