Television, what are you doing to me?

The name of this blog? "Do you know what honks me off?" Well, this blog is about something that honks me off so much, I might need to write another blog. In this economy, people are struggling. We all know that. All people want to do is relax when they get home and watch tv. Now people, including yours truly, have wanted and pleaded to the networks to bring back classic tv. Obviously, we will never have another "I Love Lucy" or a "Dick Van Dyke Show" but theres nothing to say we cant relieve some of those classics, among others. Now, your saying, "Jack, they do have classic shows on. Look at ME-TV, Antenna TV, The Hub, RTV." Yes, they do. They have a plethra of classic shows. The problem I have with The Hub, MTV2, Hallmark Channel etc. is that they do a bad job of showing those shows. Look at what they do. MTV2 has Saved by The Bell and Boy Meets World on. Both shows air the episodes out of order. They cut out scenes and have about 3 commerical breaks, 2 more than there needs to be. 3 commerical breaks in a 30 minute show? I dont think so.

I was watching I Love Lucy on The Hallmark Channel and as soon as the episode came on the air, an ad for one of there movies came on and took 1/3 of the screen!! What the hell is that??!! Thats all they do, same goes for The Hub, ABC, NBC, FOX and all the other channels. If there not plugging there shows all over the screens, the crunch the end credits to the shows. That bothers me to no end. Im trying to see the end credits or see who was the show and they cut it up and end crunch it. And for what?? For some shows that I have heard about and advertised during the show I was watching!! I mean its getting absurd. I watch The Simpsons locally on the CW affilate here in Connecticut. Now, The Simpsons are on for an hour and I hear and see the same commericals, once every 15 to 30 minutes in one hour. So you figure, I watch The Simpsons 5 days a week for one hour a week, so thats 10 episodes a week, 5 hrs. a week. If I see the same commericals once every 30 mins., we'll say,  that means in one week I see the same commericals 10 times. I mean thats just overkill. 

I know, cut the cable and buy DVDs. True and valid point but DVDs are expensive and they do edit jobs too. They dub over music on almost all shows and lets face it DVDs don't come on the cheap. Some of the best parts of shows is the music. How about The Wonder Years theme? What about Married with Children's theme? Hell, even Dawson's Creek theme is iconic in a way. You delete that or over dub the music, its not the same. If any of you are wrestling fans, they do that with DVDs as well as they over dub entrance music etc. and its just not the same. But if you bite the bullet and buy DVDs, that's an expense and in this economy, who has that kind of money?

Finally, I think Television networks and the television shows screwed themselves. I mean they show endless marathons of shows all the time. I mean how many times can you watch Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Mash, etc.? There on all the time. Syndication and tv networks. And we are not talking one or two episodes. We are talking marathon blocks of these shows. I think when they do that they burn out the shows and people won't watch them and who can blame them? I mean I shudder to think about the shows that air on the broadcast networks now that are already in syndication. By the time the series ends on the broadcast network, you become pretty sick of it in syndication. I think I would. Look at a show like "Two and a Half Men" or "How I Met Your Mother"? The series have not even ended on CBS, yet its in syndication. So by the time the series ends on CBS, I think you'll be sick of it in syndication.

I don't know if there will ever be an end point to this. What is going to happen in a year? What about 5 years? What is the TV landscape going to look like? Will we even recognize it?  Would you WANT to recognize it?