'60's generation "club members" understand what I mean. We've seen the evolution of everyday good things from simple and fulfilling to complex and empty. Examples are all around us…like television.
Growing up in the West Virginia shadows of Pittsburgh, Pa, I can remember the thrill of my family's first early 1950's television set…a DuMont bought from a local car dealer that sold them on the side in his showroom. It was a big deal for Mom and Dad. It was an even bigger deal for me. It made me popular with the other kids in the neighborhood…simply because I was the path to the first TV in the neighborhood. Everyone liked me. In fact, even "boxing match" acquaintances lined up to convince me that they were my newest "oldest" friend. All were trying to be among the chosen to watch the latest offerings on the DuMont Television Network from the lonely station in Pittsburgh.
Captain Video and the Video Rangers, Saturday morning cowboy movies (the ones where the horses were in hyperspeed!),Friday night fights, Jack Benny, and a whole bunch of parent approved others became community entertainment events. Our house became the gathering spot. Someone would bring popcorn. Someone would bring those little bottles of Coke Cola. Someone would bring potato chips. It was special. You get the picture.
And, speaking of pictures it was a joy to actually get one. Most of the time we fiddled with the horizontal hold knob, the contrast, the "snow" adjustment etc just to make out what really was going on behind the audio. In fact, arguments sometimes lasted for days about what we had all actually "seen" behind the rolling lines and grainy images on the small 14 inch screen.
But it was a treat…like a double matinee at the theater…an ice cream cone with an extra scoop…or watching my Pittsburgh Pirates play for the first time.
Television was our great social focal point. It brought us together. It allowed us to see beyond the streets, river and railroad tracks that defined our corner of the world. It was freedom in a box, and each show, newscast and sporting event we watched was special.
More stations came on line of course, and soon we had two, then three channels to choose from...manageable choices. So were the offerings. Take sports for example. It was the era of the "Game of the Week" where we would debate which big baseball or football game would be on next week, while we were still watching the current week's offering. I even remember watching Notre Dame football games on a replay basis…edited to (get this)… one hour to fit neatly into programming. We didn't care. It was still a good thing.
The 1960s increased the choices even more, and by then nearly everyone in the 'hood had a television set (not, however, one in every room including the kitchen and the bathroom!) Television had lost most of the group social dynamic, but it was still a good thing…free entertainment packaged and delivered through an easy to get your head around number of channels.
But a heavy wind of change was kickin' up. We had begun to grumble that "there just isn't anything good on TV anymore." Marketers and advertisers caught the direction, and force, of that wind.
They gave us what we said we wanted… more of the good thing! You know what I mean. One channel was good. Three was better. Four was better yet. Why not ten! We needed more!
And we certainly got what we asked for! A quick check shows Time Warner cable offering "275" channels with the addition of pay for view events and movies, pay for view sports, and a whole bunch of things I can't figure out.
Dish TV and Direct TV offer similar gluttony.
It's gotten so over the top that ESPN recently had the same football game on ten different ESPN outlets including one that gave you a simultaneous view of both head coaches, the sidelines, player close-ups, and of course, the game. They said it was a full circle view. It gave me a headache.
There's a network for nearly everything and everyone now, with new ones in the pipeline. And, it's about to get worse as direct to telephone broadcasting moves mainstream, and affordable, huge memory, hard drive media centers open up routine direct broadcasting to your computer screen…or wrist watch (hey, it's in Japan today!)
Throw DVRs into the mix, and your "television" viewing options will be nearly endless.
But, watching television won't be special anymore. And we certainly won't have a sense of community to fall back on. After all, Dad will be watching the golf channel. Mom will be watching the animal channel. Sister will be watching a cartoon network. And brother will be groovin' to MTV…all in their own rooms on their own "television delivery systems."
At least given all this choice we can say that today everyone gets what they want from television.
Whoops! Just remembered. Last night I sat in my TV viewing recliner and flipped through all my viewing options one by one…reading each description in the handy onscreen narrative only to proclaim, "There's nothing on tonight!"
Sounds like too much of a good thing to me.
