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50ish gal who views the world with a bit of cynicism. Our world is full of hilarity at every turn, and I feel the need to express my views on it. Others may think it, I say it.

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Friday, June 17, 2011

Bad television?

Television programming these days is horrible at best. Most of it is reality (?), although who's reality I don't know. Thank goodness for PBS and on demand.

Having a ten year old boy and monitoring what he wants to watch is sometimes tricky. He's a smart little guy and he enjoys anything that has to do with science, building, animals, etc. The other night, we stumbled upon a new network called RTV, Retro Televison Network. You are never going to believe what was on, and worse, what we watched.

Remember 1980's TV? Stupid sitcoms and even stupider action shows. The nightly lineup on RTV is The Incredible Hulk, Knightrider and The A Team. Ethan was all over it. I remember my little brother loving these shows. Every Friday night, the TV was his to watch all the action. In those days, there was not a TV in every room, so you watched it or you watched nothing.

Let's start with The Incredible Hulk. A very realisitic premise for life right?
First of all, how did Eddie's father get to this? Just think how scary it would be to be in a grocery store and have a man get pissed because they don't have his favorite beer. Before you know it, he turns green, bulks up and ruins yet another set of clothes. He must be JC Penney's best customer. Also, how does he become Lou Ferrigno? And, if this did happen, don't you think you'd read about it in the paper? Even Ethan could see that this was WAY over the top and we only watched it one time.

Not true about the Knightrider. Yes, the car had some very cool technology for the time, and most of it is commonplace these days. In those days, I don't think GPS was something many people knew about.
A lone man fighting for law and justice with his Pontiac Trans Am by his side. Where can I meet a guy like this? I wonder why he never gets a speeding ticket since he's always in a hurry to get to the next adventure. KITT has such a great personality for a car too. I wonder if there are that many international criminals roaming the streets. There must be or Michael and KITT would have nothing to do.

That brings us to The A Team. Four Vietnam vets framed for a crime the didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military. Really? Their adventures are full of explosions and gunfire. Everyone is a bad shot because no one ever gets shot. In every episode, the military is one step behind them. Low and behold, as they are helping the innocent, they manage to get way. What a stressful job!
Remember when Mr T was all the rage? Who wants a mohawk?

Ethan loves these shows and his little face lights up when he watches all the action. I remember my brother being the same way. It just goes to show you that little boys are little boys no matter what and when. It's endearing. Everyday when I pick him up, he's excited about tonight's episodes. So, tonight at seven sharp we will be watching.