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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Network TV vs. Paid For TV

Has anyone else noticed that when it comes to comparing network television or free TV to it's paid for counterpart there appears to be a quality division. In terms of innovative ideas and relevant content the cable channels have got it made. That's not to say cable has cornered the market on innovation and relevance, with nonsensical shows like John From Cincinnati. In which, the ranting of a would-be profit permeates a storyline that takes place within an unlikely circle of morally eclectic people. Other than that it does appear television has a quality differential that starts and begins at your cable companies' premium subscription.

    Also, it seems that the most interesting of the dramas almost always involve someone with an addiction of sorts. This is no accident. The consumers of North America are addicted to things ranging from abstract obsessions with fear to the delectably tangible Big Mac hamburger. Of course this obsessive behavior would peak the interest of some of the more observant writers for HBO and SHOWTIME. Shows like Californication, Rescue Me, and even John Form Cincinnati tackle the pangs of addiction and the loss of one's self control. The maintaining and control of these negative qualities of people seem to draw a raw and sometimes disturbing picture of our current state of being. Some people are firm believers in the idea that our day-to-day life is reflected (in an exaggerated way) by the artistic expressions produced in it's time. By this token we have lost our interest in the mundane and ordinary and can only be remotely entertained by the most outrageous.

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