12/05/2006 Add a comment

The dialectic is running its course. First the thesis of the sitcom (1950-1999, roughly Leave it to Beaver up to Seinfeld), which ran its course when the show about nothing destroyed every other formulaic sitcom out there (though according to the Nielsens, human beings watch According to Jim and Everybody Loves Raymond).

Then the antithesis of the reality t.v. program (2000-2006), which is now running to a standstill in Holland, the front line of the reality t.v. movement. People are being turned off by how "real" their reality t.v. has gotten. Shows too extreme for US tv, about graphic sexual acts, picking sperm donors, and watching colonic cleansings (though the latter happened on Jackass) are being yanked from the air or getting lower than anticipated ratings.

So the question becomes, what's the synthesis? What's next? I still like my idea of picking random people to act in a sitcom setting. Get your average squad of reality show bimbos, man-whores, racists, bigots, homosexuals and minorities, to write, direct, and act in an 80s style family sitcom. Have Gary Coleman be the host and Alan Thicke can be the acting coach, the law firm of Malcolm, Jamal, and Warner can be the writing coach, and UBU3 can be the mascot.

I don't think I'm stealing this idea from somewhere, but correct me if I'm wrong. It's got millions written all over it. ben

Comments

  1. Anonymous Anonymous: I keep thinking you write that the dielectric has run its course, at which point the nerd in me feels for whatever capacitor is about to flame. 12/08/2006