Centuries of Television

Televisions were first commercially available in 1938. Since then, there has been a slew of nonstop entertainment, education, and reality-based programming to air on said TVs. However, I have had an epiphany when it comes to television: in 200 years, TV will be unbearable to watch. Think about it. How many shows have you watched over the years where you think to yourself, “I have seen this before.” With the tired old storylines, redundant characters, and ridiculous plots every show eventually gets to, it has literally all been done before. It has reached a point where we prefer to watch actual people on “reality” television rather than sit down and try to watch a scripted show. Moreover, my point is driven further home by the fact that now there is a nonstop cavalcade of remakes like Quantum Leap, Walker, Macgyver, and Magnum P.I.; reboots like iCarly, Frasier, and The Wonder Years; and spinoffs like Young Sheldon, 1883, and the 80^th version of NCIS. The current trend making its way through Hollywood is taking an animated show like One Piece or Avatar: The Last Airbender and making it with live-action people, which personally takes some of the fun out of it for me. It is amazing to me. We are less than 100 years into commercial television and we are already this desperate to make watchable programming. Can you imagine what it will be like in 200 years? There will be no way to stomach the garbage that will be on our sets by then. With any luck, by then, there will also be another 200 years of books to read. Although with the knowledge that 50 Shades of Gray was originally a Twilight fanfiction, hope that the books will be a better form of entertainment is as much a mystery as who shot J.R. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.