Tuesday, February 24, 2009
If the ancient Mayans are to be believed, the world will end in 46 months. My knowledge on the matter is limited to a short trailer for the upcoming film “2012.” So, as I understand it, the Himalayas will be flooded, monks will ring very large bells, and the world’s governments will not be able to do anything about either.
This all seems like a very unfortunate possibility. But it may be preferable to the grim future ahead in the wide world of television. Let me explain.
Last Friday night, Conan O’Brien said farewell to the “Late Night” job and New York City. He’ll take over “The Tonight Show” starting June 1. This would ordinarily be great news: Conan is hilarious and will be replacing the tragically mediocre Jay Leno. In reality, however, it’s bittersweet.
Rather than retire to his 100-car garage, Jay Leno will return to NBC with a nightly talk show that will air at 9 p.m.
There are two reasons this is being inflicted upon society: One, NBC was worried Leno would take his sizable and easy-to-please fan base with him to another network, and two, it’s just cheaper and easier to have five hours of Jay Leno in prime time rather than a bunch of scripted dramas and comedies.
Therein lies the dangerous trend. The conventional wisdom these days is that networks will forgo the expensive and arduous task of trying to create quality television in favor of thrifty lineups filled with nothing but intelligence-insulting reality shows, intelligence-insulting game shows and intelligence-insulting Jay Leno shows.
It’s not a pleasant outlook for those of us who enjoy well-written and thoughtful television. (Yes, such a thing does exist. You just have to look for it.)
Mediocre is just too easy to sell. It’s less threatening than the exploitative reality trash of the past and less difficult than the scripted shows of today.
That’s why I’m going to pitch to you, the reader, some of my ideas for shows. They’re the wave of the future!
“The Real Office”: Get a peek into the thrilling day-to-day travails of a real-life office. Be entertained as the boss is fired and sued after an out-of-character off-color remark to a female employee!
“Howie Get By”: Another hilariously punny series hosted by Howie Mandel puts our hero in a homeless person’s shoes (or lack thereof) and watches as he panhandles on American street corners. Will he scrounge enough change for a pack of cigarettes? Tune in to find out!
“Extreme Makeover: Dancing with the Stars Edition”: It’s “Extreme Makeover” meets “Dancing With The Stars”! (Just watch it, OK.)
“The Search for America’s Next Reality Star”: Finally, a talent search without the annoying pretense of a search for talent!
“The Search for America’s Next Reality Star Update Show”: Missed this week’s episodes of TSFANRS? Watch the two-hour update show every Thursday night to catch up on the latest developments!
“Cats Doing Things”: It’s half an hour of cats doing things.
— Nichols is an Overland Park sophomore in creative writing.
Nichols: I'm with "CoCo"
An easy choice in taking sides in the late-night TV battle.
Brown: Writers Guild strike has real consequences
Your favorite shows may be in danger
Professor weighs in on writers’ strike
Kevin Willmott, professor in the department of theater and film, says the ...
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
Bad words are only as bad as we make them out to ...
Nichols: Doubling Down may be ticket to ...
KFC's new "Double Down" sandwich may contribute to a new wave of ...
Q & A: Glozell Green
Because we have questions. Celebrities have answers.
Brown: Television has an upside
Believe it or not, there is some actual solid content on television ...
Nichols: Just when I thought I’d never ...
Nichols: Few of us actually gain knowledge ...
Studies show that less than half of college students have actually become ...
Adventure and exploration at the Lied Center
The program “First Person: Stories From the Edge of the World” features ...
Nichols: Figuring out what the hell is ...
Comedian Sutherland comes to campus
Midwest-based comedian Jeff “Buzz” Sutherland has no desire to pursue a career ...
Cohen: What will late-night hosts talk about ...
Durbin: There’s not much reality in reality ...
Television is a bastion of filth, greed and misinformation.
Lysen: Smart television shows can be a ...
Shows such as "Arrested Development" and "Community" are not guaranteed success, even ...
Nichols: Turkeys must be stopped before Thanksgiving ...
Pardoning turkeys is a bad move.
Eye spy
For many KU students, finding entertainment is as easy as looking around
Nichols: Embrace your soon-to-be old-fogey ways
There’s something freeing about aging to the point where it doesn’t matter ...
Jayplay says: Jump on the musical bandwagon
Like Simon Says. Only cooler.
Morning Brew: NBC fails to give gold ...
The network’s Olympic coverage is old news by primetime, thanks to the ...
Award-winning journalist featured speaker for Editors Day
Dotson tells the story of ordinary people with extraordinary experiences.
Brew: Friday Night Lights concludes 5-year run
Friday Night Lights series finale ends in full-circle style.
Nichols: Use that wishbone wisely
Nichols advocates sharing Thanksgiving wishbone luck with everyone this holiday season.
Blankenau: Why reality TV should never become ...
Review: Fool
‘Fool’ makes Shakepeare’s ‘King Lear’ an easy, funny read with subtle references ...
Boultinghouse: A little discomfort can be a ...
The media should show reality-- but use a little judgment.
Nichols: As economy recovers, knick-knacks a great ...
Invest wisely during economic downturn.
Nichols: How to avoid seeing Fergie
EA is making it hard to escape overused Hollywood faces.
Hartz: Turning people into products
When famous people become marketing ploys, something has gone wrong.
Duff Goldman's visit icing on the cake
Goldman, host of the Food Network show "Ace of Cakes," had the ...
Morning Brew: SEC full of strong recruits
Rivals.com rankings show fourteen five-star high school seniors in the Southeastern Conference
Film Face-Off
Sarah Palin makes for a fascinating, if ...
Since her elevation to the Republican ticket, the Alaskan governor has been ...
Montemayor: Once-proud network settles for lukewarm but ...
What does the 'M' in MTV stand for, again?
Welcome to the World of 'You'
Move over Facebook, step aside MySpace: a new online community called YouTube ...
Cruise at War
What’s wrong with saying ‘douchebag’?
Quote of the Day: March 6, 2007
Here is the Kansan's choice for quote of the day.
Movie Review: Friends With Money
Carmichael: Elect Donald Trump for president
If nothing else, President Trump would offer great impressions.
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Nichols: TV faces grim future
Ha, Ha, Ha, I love the Cats Doing Things, I just might tune in for that. I agree with you that television is getting pretty boring. I get something like two hundred channels on cable and sometimes I can't find anything to watch. I really like MSNBC and turn it on first thing as I am a news junkie. Next comes sports which is good reality TV, and then the sci-fi channel for the movies. I really love it when they do the marathon thing and you get a choice between, say, twenty-four hours of the vigilante movies, or I Love Lucy. Oh, come on!
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID