TV

I love radio. TV not so much. It takes a lot to grab my interest in TV shows. Almost all of them are bad. I know a lot of people won’t agree. When I hear people talk about TV shows I zone out because I’ve either never heard of it or watched an episode and hated it. Some that come to mind are The Simpsons and  Show, Family Guy. 

Comedy is so hard. The raunchiness of most of todays TV comedies prove that. I grew up with The Dick Van Dyke, I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners. These shows had to conform to strict standards so even married couples were shown to sleep in separate bed. But, they were really funny. The writers had to really work hard for every laugh they got.

Reality TV is bad for the most part. So much of it is contrived that I don’t believe half of what I see. Sort of like the main stream news programs. Shows I just can’t stand are things like Jon & Kate Plus 8, Teen Mom, and Sister Wives. I don’t like any of the USA talent shows either. Britain’s Got Talent is so much better. In fact BBC TV is for the most part 100% better than America TV. I know, now your thinking “But Monty Python was pretty raw.” And I’d agree but it carried a level of sophistication missing in shows like The Office.

Just my take on things. I’m a hard customer where TV is concerned. So what do I watch today? I like Hawaii Five-O, NCIS and I really like Person of Interest. Some recent shows that are no longer being made are Torchwood, The X-Files, and the mini series Kingdom Hospital.

Now my favorite TV shows of all time include, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. I even got to meet the cast and I still have my fan club card! That show starred David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin. McCallum who now plays “Ducky” on NCIS. I loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

One of my all time favorites is the perennial Doctor Who. Doctor Who first aired in 1963 and I loved it but I am a sci-fi nut. Doctor Who lasted until 1969 and went up to the 8th Doctor. (Click HERE if you are confused.) He returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the

Doctor for the 1st year. Then David Tennant took over at the end of the 2005 season and played The Doctor until 2010. He was the best I think. Currently Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor and I can’t wait until the 12th comes along.

So why Doctor Who? It’s sophisticated, funny, scary, and carries real moral questions we all need to think about. The Doctor is an archetype. He’s interesting. That’s it, the old TV shows were interesting and 99% of todays shows are predictable (boring). I know it’s all about money but I do wish good TV would make a comeback. Well enough rambling for a Monday morning…