Reality TV is Expended

The recent transgression in television media has come full circle. The creator of the popular modern television series Crime Scene Investigation was being interviewed for his response to Jay Leno’s hiring by NBC for prime time. Instead of trying to develop a new show involving the complex processes of the Fine Arts, NBC chose simply to harvest a tried and true formula founded by Jack Benny and Johnny Carson. “We’ll just move Jay to prime time instead of losing an iconic comic to Conan O’Brien.” The more prudent question is whether Conan really was the right choice for the Tonight Show host. With Johnny Carson’s recent death, like the rest of television programming, a huge non-conceptual black hole of self-gratification could be created. The commentator asked Anthony Zuiker why it was so expensive to produce a “scripted” television program. For anyone with a faint understanding of the Fine Arts could there be a more inane question? Watching a PBS special on the inception of television partially could provide answers. Television came AFTER motion pictures, therefore the concept of scripting a program came from the movies. Movies, as America knows, are not cheap. When television became a reality the notion of it being seen “live” was groundbreaking. While the crew had a script, rehearsal time, and experience from which to draw there was a visceral aspect of being seen live in millions of television viewer’s home that was drug-like. Television’s recent mutation to Reality TV could have satisfied two different requirements. First it brought back that element of live drama to America’s living rooms. Second and probably more important it circumvented the need for expensive production. With the disposable age of America fully engaged, why spend money on moot points? The answer is for advertisers to spend money on airtime there had better be a quality platform upon which to sell their soap. Does a Reality TV show have that integrity? With the recent propagation of web-based entertainment television has become desperate. To solve their problems, just as America needs, a convergence with their past is crucial. As any Fine Artist astutely understands, without a firm understanding of ones history no definable future is possible. Television is shooting in the dark, and anyone over the age of thirty can attest to that truism. Can CSI really be compared with iconic television shows such as Dallas, Miami Vice, Baywatch, and Seinfeld? CSI does not hold a candle to such productions, and it probably is all about the money. Slick artistic design goes a long way in holding an audiences’ visual attention, but any purveyor of the dramatic arts knows that human content is the key. While murders relating to human existence may be commanding on the surface, the human entity offers a much wider stage of exploration. I like to call them the holy trinity of the human being. It could be the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost had something to do with it. We as human beings have three discreet realms with which to deal. First to be explored by the newborn baby is the human body. There are sensory sensations created by the great human pleasure machine. Quickly as a baby finds out through exploration, pain is equally as accessible if one is not careful. Second to be discovered are the human emotions. As one begins to interact with society more, seeming undeniable “reactions” are created in the soul demanding attention by the third element, the brain. The brain is the cognitive processor in the human that is capable of controlling both of the previously mentioned aspect of the human trinity. Each day we get out of bed in modern society we are faced with the task of understanding and guiding each of these three roles. The ultimate set of “Checks and Balances” balances precariously within the human entity. When times were simpler it was not so difficult to govern the human mechanism. Because man has crossed spiritual boundaries formerly reserved for the human psyche, conflict has been created. Electronic energy now exists in the atmosphere confusing the electrical processes of the human brain and emotional system. The most youthful generation of America complains of the FINE syndrome, “Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.” Certainly with America’s financial system on the brink of melt down, the human being’s system is being overtaxed. In such a delicate environment it seems disposable living is not a prudent option. Stability is what American’s seek, and they are not going to reap that through Reality TV. Watching freak shows on daytime television does nothing to instill any sense of logic or accomplishment in Americans. When America was on the cusp of financial dominance, then the freak show could be merited as harmless diversion from the grind of life. With America’s infrastructure breaking down anything television can do to shore up our ailing self-worth will be a boon. “Fess it up TV. Show me the money, hire some real actors, composers, and technicians and put America back to work.” The age of “Free TV” is over.