If I may digress, tonight I will watch the end of yet another brilliantly-conceived, well-acted, smart, funny, entertaining television series. Life On Mars (US/ABC) was the one new television series this year that stuck with me. I loved everything about it, the back-story, the setting, the cast (what a marvelous cast!), the props, the story lines, even the soundtrack.
However, smart series are not able to compete with “reality” programming. Most US television viewers would rather feel superior to the trash typically on display in reality a series than watch a television series that requires active listening and the ability to follow a plot from week to week. A populace that is the result of homogenized public education may not have the ability to enjoy any entertainment that may require them to think and focus. A smart series does not have immediate gratification for the viewer.
Of course, this may explain why the U.S. was given such a poor choice of presidential candidates from which to choose last November. National elections have taken on the aura of a reality TV show on the Short Attention Span Network. Good looks and smooth talking are better than intelligence and experience. Little effort is used to discover what a candidate’s philosophy is, or even if he or she has a philosophy.
So tonight, I will watch the last episode of a television series set in the past. What was in many ways a more complex, more interesting, and certainly a more intelligent time than that in which we presently find ourselves.
Say goodnight, Gracie.
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