Back in November, I sent a message to former TV personality Joe Bob Briggs, regarding my views on the state of modern television.  Here's what I had to say:
 

 

Hello Joe,

I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you, particularly in regards to the state of television in this day and age.

I feel that the biggest problem...is that there is way too much of it. You turn on your set, and you've got multiple versions of HBO, Showtime, ESPN, Nickelodeon, etc. and yet there is nothing really GOOD on them. Why are people paying money for all of these channels if there's nothing to watch?

Another major problem on the air is that a number of channels are straying from their original purpose. Take the Channel-Formerly-Known-As-Sci-

Fi (I'm sorry, I just cannot use the current name) for instance...why in God's name is there WRESTLING on this channel? And what the hell is up with all of those "original" monster-of-the-week flicks? Wasn't Sci-Fi supposed to be about promoting REAL science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and all of that good stuff? I have to laugh when I hear the channel's tagline, "Imagine Greater". Yes, I imagine greater...I imagine that they could be a helluva lot greater than they are now!

And please don't get me started on children's cartoons. What we had back in the latter half of the twentieth century was WAY better than what's on today.

I think what's really needed for television...is "De-Proliferation." If you want to make television watchable again, I think some thinning of the herd is in order. The people running the board now have got to realize that (a) you don't need multiple variations on one thing, and (b) if a channel has a set goal and purpose, then it needs to stick to it.

Sorry if I seem like I'm rambling here...I'm just really frustrated with the way television is being handled these days.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it.

Peace,
Chris McAvey

This January, I heard back from Joe.  Here was his response:
 

 

Dear Chris,

    Yes, I totally agree with you. In the corporate television world it's called "re-branding," and in every case it's an attempt to GET RID OF THE BRAND. In other words, if your original purpose was to broadcast science fiction, then you want to come up with a new name so that you can pretend to be broadcasting sci-fi but actually be able to broadcast whatever the hell you want. The most ridiculous one in my opinion is Animal Planet, which now goes by the tagline "Surprisingly Human." And then you have CMT, which stands for Country Music Television but has virtually no country music on it! In fact, most nights all they have are COPS re-runs.

    Anyway, thanks for sharing. Send me your postal mailing address so I can keep you in the loop.

Hang in there,

Joe Bob

 Nice to know that someone feels the same way I do about TV today.

 

 

I agree. I actually quit watching dish, direct tv, and cable. My main issue is that I hate commercials and yes, all there is to watch is reality tv and news. There is never any thing good on at all. If there is a show that I like, I wait for it to come out on dvd just to get around the annoying ads and commercials. I'm really anal about that. 

Edited February 18, 201511 yr by Jupiter Knight