Television Isn’t Worthy of One Eye

Broadcast television just isn't what it used to be.

Remember when you turned on the tube, sat down, and within seconds you were enjoying something interesting?

Even with the over 500 channel digital television universe, most things “aired” by broadcasters aren't worthy of one eye, let alone both. They hit below the belt – way below – for content these days.

Just ask Matt Lauer.

The television personality that has the honour of co-hosting NBC’s flagship morning show 'Today' was making his own news – if you can call it that – by doing a bit on how one of his colleagues slapped him on the butt behind the scenes.

They did a whole “bit” on how inappropriate it was, trying to make us laugh. Instead, if you have half a brain cell left after watching fellow co-hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb drink themselves silly before most of us even have had a cup of coffee, were left wondering – WTF?

Gifford and Kotb both deny being alcoholics, yet they drink wine every morning. It’s just their thing – to drink first thing in the morning, at work, on TV.

If a high school teacher was doing the same thing at work in front of a class of kids, that teacher would be fired and sent to AA.

NBC isn't the only major American network producing brain numbing content, leaving us wondering what the hell?

Most American and Canadian networks produce crap these days – it’s a sad reality in this era of tasteless reality shows.

The Learning Channel – TLC – doesn't teach us much anymore. Unless you enjoy learning about someone crazy’s addiction to eating her dead husband’s ashes, in their show ‘My Strange Addiction.’

There are still some great shows on television. Showtime’s ‘Californication’ and HBO Canada’s ’Call Me Fitz’ are really amazing shows. They are well written, shot and directed.

'Californication' follows the wild life of novelist Hank Moody played by the undervalued David Duchovny, while 'Call Me Fitz' stars Canadian Jason Priestley as 'Fitz' -- an egomaniac used car salesman constantly battling his conscious.

The writers are both those shows is a thing even Shakespeare would give a nod too.

And that’s the real problem with most television these days – it’s not well written.

Writers are always undervalued – I was one – once. It doesn't matter whether it’s television, radio, print or even the web – they are still underpaid, overworked and treated like second-class citizens.

Which is why the shows are so poorly structured – you’d produce crap if you were treated like a slave.

So we get poorly written shows, with talent-less drunken hosts on major broadcast networks talking about butt-slaps, as our brain cells melt away in the miserable million channel universe.

Where’s my remote control? I can’t take it anymore.