I WAS YOUR TYPICAL AFTER SCHOOL TV JUNKIE. IT WAS MY OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH ALL THE OLD BLACK & WHITE SHOWS IN RERUNS. THROUGHOUT THOSE YEARS A LOT OF STUDIOS WERE CONVERTING SOME SHOWS INTO COLOR. I NEVER HAD AN OPINION ABOUT THAT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. AS I STARTED GETTING OLDER MY FEELINGS BEGAN TO CHANGE. THE COLOR SEEM TO TAKE AWAY THE AURA THAT BLACK & WHITE HAD BEEN BUILT INSIDE ME. I STILL LOVE TO WATCH AN OLD BLACK & WHITE SITCOM SUCH AS: LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, OZZIE AND HARRIET, THE PATTY DUKE SHOW, THE MUNSTERS OR GILLIGANS ISLAND. THE GILLIGAN'S ISLAND SHOW HAS CONVERTED ALMOST ALL OF THEIR EPISODES INTO COLOR. I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN TV LAND FIRST STARTED ADVERTISING THEIR NEW STATION. IT CONSISTED OF ALL THE OLD SHOWS FROM THE 50'S AND I WAS IN HEAVEN.
TV LAND JUST IS NOT THE SAME ANYMORE SOME DAYS THEY RUN THE ANDY GRIFFIN SHOW FOR HOURS AND HOURS. THE ONE BRIGHT SPOT IS HOT IN CLEVELAND. THIS IS A REFRESHING NEW SITCOM WITH AN ADORABLE CAST. THEY SEEM BLEND WELL AND HAVE CAPTURED AN AUDIENCE. JANUARY CAN NOT COME FAST ENOUGH AND I HOPE EVERYBODY FEELS THE SAME WAY. BETTY WHITE CAN NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG THESE DAYS. HER CHOICES HAVE BEEN EXEMPLARY THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. SHE WROTE ABOUT HER WORK ETHIC IN HERE WE GO AGAIN: MY LIFE IN TELEVISION. STILL GOING STRONG WITH THE TELEVISION SHOW, THE COMMERCIALS AND THE TALK SHOW PROMOTION CIRCUIT OBVIOUSLY RETIREMENT IS NOT IN THE CARDS FOR THE LOVELY BETTY WHITE.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THE NETWORKS HAVE BEEN SO FLIGHTY ABOUT THE NEW DRAMA SHOWS. UNLIKE CABLE THE NETWORKS WILL PULL THE PLUG ON A SHOW AFTER JUST A COUPLE EPISODES WITHOUT LEAVING ROOM FOR GROWTH. SOME SHOWS ARE GREAT RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE SUCH AS LIFE. THE SHOW HAD GREAT TALENT IN THEIR CAST AND THE STORY WAS BUILDING. WE WENT ON THEIR WEB SITE EVERY WEEK TO GET THE LATEST EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORYLINE. THEN WHEN THEY BEGAN TO HIT THEIR STRIDE THE NETWORK PULLED THE PLUG. HERE ARE SOME OF MY PICKS FOR BEST DRAMA: THE GOOD WIFE, TERRIERS AND BONES.
HERE ARE SOME SITCOMS THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT THE AIRWAVES: COMMITTED, RODNEY, GARY UNMARRIED AND THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE. THE SITCOM GENRE HAS HAD A DIFFICULT TIME OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. SINCE THE NETWORKS HAVE BEEN MORE COMMITTED TO SOLID COMEDY NIGHTS AGAIN AND THE VIEWERSHIP HAS BEGUN TO RISE. ALTHOUGH IT IS TOO LATE TO SAVE THESE SHOWS, HOPEFULLY THE NETWORKS WILL NOT BE SO WISHY-WASHY AND STICK TO A GOOD THING WHEN THEY HAVE IT. MIKE & MOLLY, THE BIG BANG THEORY, COUGAR TOWN, THE MIDDLE AND SHIT MY DAD SAYS ARE MY TOP THREE CHOICES FOR THE SOLID SITCOM GENRE.
THE REALITY SHOW GENRE IS JUST A SATURATED PIECE OF SOGGY BREAD. STILL THEIR ARE A FEW THAT NEED TO BE ACKNOWLEDGE: SURVIVOR (EVEN THOUGH THESE PEOPLE JUST GO TO PROVE HOW SELFISH, STUPID AND BRUTAL AMERICANS ARE & HOW A HOST CAN HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE GAME), GHOST HUNTERS (INTERNATIONAL AND ACADEMY), FAMILY JEWELS, HARRY LOVES LISA AND THE WORLD OF JENKS. I MUST SAY AT FIRST I DID NOT EVEN WANT TO WATCH "JENKS" BUT AFTER WATCHING THE FIRST EPISODE I CANT GET ENOUGH. I POSTED ON "JENKS" FACEBOOK PAGE BUT IT PUSHED IT TO THE OTHER SECTION, WHATEVER THAT IS.
DETECTIVE AND POLICE SHOWS DO NOT REALLY HAVE A SOLID FOUNDATION. THESE SHOWS ARE JUST STACKED WITH PART ONE, TWO AND THREE OF THE SAME SHOW WITH DIFFERENT CHARACTERS PUSHING AROUND THE EVIDENCE. REALLY THEY CANT BE CREATIVE AND DEVELOP A NEW SHOW THEY THINK THE VIEWERS ARE SO STUPID WE WILL JUST EAT LEFTOVERS 2 DAYS A WEEK, PLEASE. THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT NEED TO BE MENTIONED SUCH AS: THE CLOSER, HAWAII FIVE-O, JUSTIFIED AND CHASE.
THERE ARE TWO SHOWS I CAN NOT LEAVE OFF MY LIST BUT I CANT SEEM TO FIND A CATEGORY THAT FITS THEM WITHOUT FEELING THEY ARE GETTING ROBBED AS PART OF ANOTHER LIST. CHUCK AND CASTLE ARE INTELLIGENTLY WRITTEN AND ENCOMPASS HUMOR WITH THE DRAMATICS. THE WRITERS OF CASTLE WORK REAL HARD TO BRING A GOOD MYSTERY TO THE TABLE EACH WEEK. WHILE CHUCK KEEPS A RUNNING BACK STORY WITH A FRESH CONUNDRUM FOR THE CHARACTERS TO SOLVE WITH EVERY NEW EPISODE.
THE SCIENCE FICTION GENRE HAS GROWN SO MUCH OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS THAT ITS HARD TO NARROW IT DOWN SO I WILL LIST ALL THE ONES I WATCH. FRINGE, SUPERNATURAL, TRUE BLOOD, STARGATE UNIVERSE, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, MEDIUM, SANCTUARY, EUREKA AND V. BEING HUMAN IS ANOTHER SYFY CHANNEL ORIGINAL THAT I CANT WAIT UNTIL IT HITS THE AIRWAVES JANUARY 17, 2011.
PRIME TIME KIDS SHOWS ON NETWORK TELEVISION ARE A JOKE. THE NETWORKS HAVE WASHED THEIR HANDS OF PROPER PROGRAMING BETWEEN 8-9pm. JOAN OF ARCADIA WAS TRULY A FAMILY GATHER AROUND THE TELEVISION FRIDAY NIGHT SHOW. THIS SLOT WAS PERFECT BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE AFTER WORKING LONG DAYS ALL WEEK LIKE TO PLOP IN FRONT OF THE BOOB TUBE AND SLIP INTO ANOTHER WORLD. WITH JOAN OF ARCADIA YOU COULD INCLUDE CONVERSATION DURING COMMERCIALS ABOUT THE STORYLINE WHICH HELPED OPEN UP DIALOG BETWEEN KIDS/TEENAGERS AND THEIR PARENTS. THE PLUG WAS PULLED BY FOOLISH NETWORK EXECUTIVES WHO DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE A GRASP ON WHAT THE PUBLIC REALLY WANTS. MOST OF THE TELEVISION WATCHING FRIENDS I HAVE ALL LOVED THE SHOW AND FELT THAT IT WAS GOOD FAMILY PROGRAMMING THAT HAD MEANING.
SO THIS BRINGS ME TO THE NEW SHOW THAT SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN ITS PLACE WITH THE VIEWERS. NO ORDINARY FAMILY IS A PARENTS AND KIDS WORKING TOGETHER YET STILL FINDING IT HARD TO COMMUNICATE AND UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER TYPE OF SHOW. THE FRIDAY NIGHT TIME SLOT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR THE SHOW. THE NETWORK SHOULD CONSIDER REARRANGING ITS LINE UP AND GIVING NO ORDINARY FAMILY A CHANCE IN THE FRIDAY NIGHT LINE UP. MAYBE EVEN CREATE A SHOW THAT WOULD GO HAND IN HAND INTO THE NINE O'CLOCK SLOT. THE NETWORK USED TO HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY NIGHT KIDS SITCOM LINE UP. SO HOW ABOUT BRINGING BACK ANOTHER TERRIFIC KIDS NIGHT.
CARTOON NETWORK TRIED ITS HAND AT DEVELOPING A NEW SHOW OUTSIDE OF THE CARTOON GENRE CALLED UNNATURAL HISTORY. IT STARRED KEVIN G. SCHMIDT EX NOAH NEWMAN ON YOUNG & THE RESTLESS. THE SHOW HAD INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL BUT MAYBE THIS NETWORK WAS NOT A GOOD FIT.
MELISSA & JOEY AN ABC FAMILY HIT ON TUESDAY NIGHTS IS A FAVORITE. THE XEROX COPIED KIDS SHOWS BEING PUMPED OUT BY THE DISNEY CHANNEL NOW HAVE LEGITIMATE COMPETITION. THE STARS MELISSA JOAN HART AND JOEY LAWRENCE HAVE LONG BEEN FAVORITES ON CABLE AND NETWORK TELEVISION. SINCE THEY BOTH CAME UP IN TELEVISION AS CHILD STARS IT IS INEVITABLE THAT TOGETHER THEY COULD MAKE ANYTHING BUT SUCCESS HAPPEN FOR ABC FAMILY.