There’s nothing on television
In a typical week I’m flicking television channels trying to find something half decent to watch. Usually the commercial stations present two clear options: a reality TV show or a crime series.
I decided to do a quick audit of this week’s TV guide to prove my point. And here’s what I found ─ no less that eight crime shows running simultaneously! This week, the following went to air:
1. CSI Miami
2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
3. Law & Order: Criminal Intent
4. Law & Order: SVU
5. Criminal Minds
6. Cold Case
7. NCIS
8. City Homicide
It’s a real shame crime shows aren’t my thing. So what about reality TV? Surely there’s enough variety here to find something worth watching? Oh, that’s if you don’t count Gordon Ramsay…
Now I like him and find him entertaining, but all his shows are variations of the same theme ─ him swearing his head off at hapless amateurs. And perhaps four or so programs on this theme is a bit much.
And what’s more, they all go to air at more or less the same time. Over the past few months all of the following have been broadcast:
1. Boiling Point
2. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
3. Hell’s Kitchen
4. The F-Word
And when these shows aren’t back to back, they are typically interspersed with crime shows and other reality TV programs, like:
1. Border Patrol
2. Border Security – Australia’s Front Line
3. Missing Person’s Unit
4. The Force – Behind the Line
5. The Farmer Wants a Wife
6. Bondi Rescue
Now to me, this is just getting a bit boring. And what foxes me is where the saturation point is. Surely we have long-since past it? I know I have.
I can only conclude that there is so many reality shows because they are cheap to make and buy, and are therefore profitable to the stations through the advertising revenue they can generate.
But if the stations are making a good profit on them, then why not give the television buyers a bit more budget for some decent programs? After all, quality television means viewers (think Underbelly) and this drives up advertising demand, and costs, and means a more lucrative deal for the stations.
In the meantime, thank goodness for the Olympics, finally there will be something decent on the box.
