rotten bananas

So, NBC canceled the Black Donnellys. If you haven’t seen it, it’s an excellent show about the Irish mob in (I believe) New York City. There are very few shows on television that I find worth watching. The majority of Reality shows are completely lame (and often stripped of any actual ‘reality’ elements). The new wave of no-skill-involved game shows are a complete bore. Lost had me for one season, then it became repetitive and uninteresting. I still like Heroes and 24, but I feel the enthusiasm fading with both of them.

The point is that I don’t see where the industry is going. Every once in a while, a new idea comes about, and if it’s mildly successful, everyone jumps on it until it’s beaten into the ground. I assume these shows are getting ratings, or they certainly wouldn’t be kept around, but I often wonder if it’s because they’re really superb shows, or if there’s just not much of an alternative option - either way, I’m hardly impressed.

Good shows just don’t last. The Black Donnellys had great characters and an interesting storyline. I looked forward to it. Arrested Development was one of the funniest shows on television, along with Family Guy, which I know is back, but only after the public stir post-cancellation.

I guess as long as people are still tuning in, stations will continue spewing out crap. Are people really enjoying what’s on television, or are we just generally too lazy to read a book? I’m not going for a superiority thing here, I watch some television, but I find myself preferring syndicated Seinfeld reruns to most shows with new episodes. Something needs to revolutionize the industry. Each show is just a cookie cutter copy of the previous. A change should come along. or eventually television will be replaced just like the radio before it.