Monday letter2
Two things this weekend highlighted the future for TV and showed why that future is so bleak for the traditional channels.
An ad on the local channel stated, ‘The best characters on TV are on Survivor’. Does this mean the great characters will never return to our TV screens? Characters like Homer Simpson, Spock, The Fonz, Sheldon or even Buffy may not be seen on the public channels. The streaming services have however brought us Tony Soprano, Walter White, Frank Underwood and many Game of Thrones characters. Interestingly all of the characters that first come to mind are rather nasty, unpleasant people.
The other event was watching the film ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood’ telling the story of Mr Rogers and his simple, positive approach to children’s TV. This was the type of TV that any child could watch, and TV was meant to be both positive and educational.
The so-called ‘Reality Shows’ seem to present the worst of people’s nature with bullying, deception and dangerous stunts and this is what the producers actually want. Why doesn’t free to air TV try to make a positive contribution to entertainment?
It’s no wonder streaming services are so popular or just turning off the TV and reading a book.
- Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia
