The View From Here By Craig Ruvere

(Nov. 19, 2009) — Comedian Fred Allen once said, “Television is called a medium because anything good on it is rare.” And lately, I can’t disagree.

Turn on the television today and there’s no disputing the evolution which has taken place over the last 50 years. In truth, even with the hundreds of channels I pay my cable provider for each and every month, it’s still challenging to find anything worth watching.

My wife has been a longtime fan of the television sitcom, “I Love Lucy,” which originally premiered Oct. 15, 1951. While I never had much interest in the show, over the years I’ve certainly grown to appreciate its humor, especially when compared with television today. Tune in to any network comedy currently airing and you’ll immediately notice their reliance on lewd comments and sexual innuendos to initiate a laugh from viewing audiences. But not so with Lucy and a surplus of other programming from that same era.

Whether you loved her or hated her, there’s no arguing that Lucille Ball was just plain old funny — relying on her comedic talents rather than over the top dialogue. Incredibly, the show still makes people laugh some 58 years later. I often wonder if a comedy such as “I Love Lucy” could be successful with today’s viewers who have come to find degrading conversations and inappropriate behavior funny.

It begs the question, is that really talent?

But not only has the landscape of television comedies changed drastically, so has daytime programming.

When I was young, morning television was dominated by something called “the game show.” Mark Goodson, Bob Stewart and Merv Griffin created some of the most beloved game shows in television history such as “The Price is Right,” “Password” and “Wheel of Fortune” to name a few. One of the things I looked forward to most during summer vacation was spending my mornings glued to the television set, where I’d tune in to all my favorites. They were quality, entertaining games that were executed beautifully — as noted by the high ratings they received during their tenure.

But as morning programming began to shift, something new surfaced — the talk show. Suddenly viewers weren’t interested in spinning the big wheel or solving the puzzle. Their interest was now focused on finding out all the juicy details of other peoples’ personal lives — no matter how fabricated the storylines may be. We went from playing along with everyday contestants to laughing at those airing their dirty laundry in public. “The Password is PATHETIC.”

And as networks continue to battle decreased ratings and a loss of revenue, the landscape of television seems to be changing once again.

NBC recently gave one hour of primetime programming, five nights a week, to Jay Leno’s new talk show rather than utilize the creative writers and producers of our time to recreate the glory days of television. In late September, CBS announced that after 72 years and 15,700 episodes, the soap opera “Guiding Light” would end its run. Once a popular favorite among daytime viewers, soap operas are now finding themselves in a similar situation as the game show. And who could forget reality television — which often paints a very disturbing picture of what some people consider “reality.” I’ve got my own problems which are far from entertaining — why do I want to spend an hour watching somebody else’s?

Television continues to push the envelope on programming in order to re-establish itself in a market overrun by technology. But in its attempt to do so, they are losing much of what attracted us to this medium in the first place. A time when true talent and incredible creativity prospered and the viewer actually had a good, hearty laugh from something as simple as “Lucy, you’ve got some splainin’ to do!”