Television Has Never Been Better

Television has never been better. I say that thinking about a fair number of my friends and acquaintances who eshew the box, and don’t miss a chance to tell you that they don’t own a TV. But they’re missing so much!

There are a few moments in America when everyone is watching the same show like we’re all on the same page. It’s like the old days of Ed Sullivan, when there were only four channels anyway, so the water cooler would be abuzz with a familiar topic to all.

On Thursday Thanksgiving day, I had the same sense when so many people on Facebook were referring to the Macy’s Parade on NBC. What a great backdrop to the morning of making preparations for the big feed, everyone was watching and people connected over it. It provided a backdrop with familiar TV stars yet no one had to watch it constantly, just a backdrop, yet everyone looked at it from time to time, so it was familiar.

The new crop of challenge shows bring another great new flavor to television–I especially like ABC’s Shark Tank because of the imagination of the contestants. People are always making up insanely creative ways to solve problems or fill a new niche need. The banter though, sometimes becomes too harsh between the conceited ‘sharks’ each vying to prove that they are the most connected, smartest, richest and most experience person to invest in the company. Along the way they claw at each other like caged cats.

Tonight I watched a classmate, Thomas Gimbel, play the sax and guitar with Foreigner broadcast on Palladia. The other day we were channel surfing during an NFL game and watched a 1974 movie about the Grateful Dead.

All this and hundreds of other choices. All on the old TV, shunned by some, enjoyed by more.