I have watched more TV in the past three days than I have in the last several months, and I can now declare with great authority: television is teh sucks.
My god. I can’t believe how horrible daytime TV is, and the crap the news networks show to fill their 24 hours is just plain stupid.
However, I did find two things that brightened my day just a bit. Yesterday, SciFi channel ran several episodes of The Twilight Zone, and I just watched an hour of The Battle of the Network Stars on Trio. I think it was from 1977. The hazy quality of the tape, Howard Cosell interviewing Patrick Duffy (credited as “The Man From Atlantis”) and the general weirdness my fever (moving between normal and 101 today — currently it’s at 99) casts upon everything made for a very surreal experience. I remember watching that show when I was very young, in the den at my mom and dad’s house. I remember how cool I thought that show was, and how much I wanted to be on it one day. (Everyone was on that show. Look at this cast list I found!) I thought that obstacle course they all had to do was just the coolest thing ever.
I also suffered through two episodes of The Newlyweds on eMpTyVee. That’s right: two. Holy Mother Jesus Balls. Is Jessica Simpson really that stupid? She’s 23, I think, and doesn’t know how to cook? Are rich and famous people really that lame? Why in the world is that show so popular? I just don’t get it. It’s actually more painful than that stupid Anna Nicole show.
I wonder if any sociologists have studied a correlation between the staggering stupidity of so many people and the explosion of these “reality” shows. I wonder if art imitates life, or the other way around?
Okay. Enough of my cantankerous ranting. I’ll end today on a positive note: Since I got sick, I have watched the entire extended cut, and all the appendicies on my The Two Towers DVD. It’s awesome. It’s very clear that TTT was an extremely difficult film to make, even more than Fellowship of the Ring . . . I mean, they spent three months of night shoots to film the battle of Helm’s Deep! Three months of night shoots! I once did three weeks of nights on a movie, and I was ready to lose my mind. I can’t imagine three months, in the rain, doing complex battle sequences.
The esprit de corps that the cast and crew had really comes through, and it reminded me of all the different shows I’ve worked on where the cast and crew became family. I miss that. If I get a chance to work as an actor again, I hope I get to experience that again.
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Wil, tng is still the best thing since sliced bread, and why did they cut you out of nemisis??? anyway, the point about art mimicing life or life mimicking art makes an interesting point about the progression of art in an era of habitually socializing the youth to be generally uncultured. i wonder, with you, if jessica simpson isn’t the most stupid person on the planet. so if art depicts life we are all that stupid, but if life depicts art then only the select few pathetically blond, b-list bubble gum pop, rediculously overpaid, perverters of society are that stupid. i perfer the latter. but we still must wonder.
Smitty
You’re right, TV _does_ suck. The only channel I watch anymroe is Cartoon Network (sad, I know), and sometimes SpikeTV to get my TNG and WWE fixes.
You know, maybe being sick and watching hour after hour of horrible TV is a blessing in disguise. Perhaps it will inspire you to pen a premise for a TV show that _doesn’t_ suck. Maybe one about how TV these days sucks?
Merry Christmas to you, Anne, the boys, and even the pets! You’ll survive the holiday family invasion, I’m sure…
Jessica Simpson is hella hot baby! However, I have doorstops with more intellect and the booby err beauty bit don’t last. Nick’s in it for the body because it’s obvious that even he gets annoyed as hell with her.
TV? it is what it is and has sucked the big one for as long as I can recall. There are bright spots sure but for the most part it’s crap, crap and more crap. Ahhh but people keep watching and so the crap keeps on a coming,
Merry merry and all the best in ’04 good people and to Wil (get better soon). 🙂
mate, try uk tv.
it sucks /all/ the time….
good channels, sky one (and plus) (lots of trek and buffy and stargate), sci fi channel for dodgy b-movies, hallmark for quality series and older repeats- diagnosis murder, quincy and dr quinn for examples…
um… and then the history channel occasionally…
Yep, Network TV channels (and most cable networks as well) have terrible programming. All of those new retarded Reality Based TV shows take the cake though. I watch movies most of the time and if I do watch TV it is one of the Discovery Network Channels. I watched 2 really good films recently, LOTR: ROTK which was a great ending to the trilogy and 21 Grams, which I thought was a very good movie.
I saw that teh suX0rs Shattner was on the show,
I therefore boycott on principle.
TV does suck! I think I am the only 24 year old female in my town that REFUSES to watch The Newlyweds. It just makes my gut wretch to watch that kind of stupidity and sheer laziness.
Well, on a completely unrelated note, I hope that you are feeling better soon! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
We’ve had good luck in our house pulling the plug on the TV. A year or so back, I dropped cable. To get my kids on board with that, I used some of the monthly savings to raise their allowance. Where I live, if you don’t have cable, you get nothing, nada. Not having cable has worked out well. We still watch videos, renting some, and buying those that we really like, but our watching is now much more of a planned thing involving some forethought. None of us watches TV anymore by default, and that’s been good for us.
Sadly, I’ve witnessed a few episodes of Newlyweds. In my personal opinion, we of the “huddled masses” find this show hypnotic to prove once and for all that fame and fortune, usually something we’re envious of, does not make someone who has it better than us. Watching Jessica Simpson act as a shallow, insecure, and dimwitted woman seems payment enough to most of us who will never have her money and “status.” Whether it’s all a shrewd PR engineered ploy or her true character, it reinforces to me that my path in life is significantly more fulfilling and worthwhile. I think it makes watching all the “beautiful people” easier to take as they rake in all our hard earnings. Hey, she’s rich and beautiful…but at least I’m not that stupid.
I don’t know why exactly, but Newlyweds is the one celebrity “reality” show that really kind of sucked me in. Well, that and The Surreal Life.
Mostly, I avoid that stuff. I think part of it is that her husband seems like a pretty decent guy. He seems like the kind of guy who would show up and help you move to a new apartment if you were friends. He’s not the kind of guy you’d sit in a cafe and discuss Michael Manley’s attempts to implement democratic socialism in Jamaica with, but hell, there aren’t many of us around. 🙂
And really, I can kind of sympathize with the notion of being in my early 20s, meeting some incredibly hot chick, and then finding out that the only way she’d sleep with you is if you’ll marry her. I guess the difference between us is that I have friends who would have prevented me from going through with it.
Well, that was a kind of scary revelation, wasn’ it?
Sorry to hear that you are sick–I have been the same way for over a week now and it sucks. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been sick for so long.
Funny, I’ve also spent a lot of time bonding lately with the extended versions of LOTR. Will hopefully get to see ROTK after Christmas…
I stumbled across a *marathon* of “Battle of the Network Stars” a couple of months ago…boy, that brought back memories! I used to love those specials when I was younger, especially when Larry Wilcox (the blonde from CHiPs….) showed up! I always rooted for ABC, funny how things have changed!
Glad to hear that you’re feeling better, Wil, hope you and Anne and the boys have a wonderful Christmas!
Interestingly enough, there are many smart people who cannot, in fact, cook. I, community-college English major, love to cook and am very good at it (if I do say so); but my husband, major university Math MS, soon to be computer science MS, philosophy MS, and math PhD, does not know how. Ability or inability to cook should not be an indicator of intelligence.
However, I agree that Jessica Simpson seems to be on Homer Simpson’s level where intelligence is concerned. Obviously, we know that not all lofty and talented TV/movie personalities are as inept. Look at Wil, for instance.
Yes, Wil, you slam those shows but do they care what you think? They’re laughing all the way to the bank. It’s not terrible if it works and they’re getting what you can only hope for:exposure. Huge god awful exposure. I personally don’t think there’s a problem with these shows just with the people who watch them.
Newlyweds is one of my guilty pleasures, only to ponder if Jessica is truely that stupid. I’m hardly home to watch daytime tv but when I am, it does suck…but is redeemed when HBO has some good movies on, as I sit watching Stand By Me 🙂 while I type this.
I think the only tv show I watch right now is “24.” But I wait until the seasons end, then buy the dvd’s, to avoid having to sit through tedious commercials.
Also, I hope you watched Gollum/Andy Serkis’ acceptance speech for the MTV awards as a part of the Two Towers bonus materials. I laughed until I peed. Er. Well, it was very funny. (I’ll just try and save my dignity here…)
I really don’t get why this so-called reality tv has become popular. I watched five minutes of the first Survivor and thought it was stupid. I tend to avoid them at all costs. Although, speaking of stupid rich and famous people, I suffered through the first episode of “The Simple Life”. I just hope the parents of those two and Jessica Simpson are ashamed that they raised such incompetent children.
I liked the LotR: The Two Towers the best of the trilogy. It was my favorite of the books too. I watched the movie, the cast commentary and all the appendicies in a weekend. I can’t even imagine working with that kind of schedule and injuries. Andy, who did Gollum, was fabulous!
On a side note, I saw “Stand By Me” has been released on DVD. You were so cute! 🙂
I love to watch stupid shows like that. It’s nostalgic. Looking back and saying “I actually used to watch that crap?” It makes you realize how much you change. Man, I would sign a petition to help get you INTO a movie. But you shouldn’t worry about IF you get to do those sort of things, you’re young, your chance to help define you as a leading actor has yet to come. Hope you feel better soon. And I hope your fever doesn’t affect your Christmas. Merry Christmas.
“Merry Christmas Wil and all the Monkey’s!” Click the link for a holiday card. http://www.oddtodd.com/index7000.html
I grew up without a television (and thus without TNG and so on). I think that television is evil, but I also know that growing up without it has made it difficult for me to talk to normal people. It is amazing how much small talk is based on discussion of television. I noted this especially when I was in middle school and high school. Now that I’m in grad school, it has lessened somewhat, but still, it is amazing how much time people spend talking about reality television, and the suchlike. I guess I shouldn’t be completely hatin’ on tv to someone whose career is at least partially based on the industry, but the intelligent shows are greatly in the minority.
It sounds like you’re feeling a little better. I hope that by the time it hits Christmas, your fever will have abated and you can enjoy the holiday.
And, since I leave comments here about twice a year, I have to add a note of congratulations on your book deal. You rock.
Heh! I was in bed for a while too recently with a bad back. I just had to lay there on my back *all* day… and watch TV. Crap – flick – crap – flick – crap… But then, at 3pm EST, on Spike… ahhhhh, you know. Thank you, Spike! Also, the Space Channel, had a ST:TOS episode too a 3… Mmmmm, I chose ST:TNG.
My theory – it’s a corporate conspiracy! Daytime TV is deliberately bad so that if you feel like playing hookey from your job, and stay home and watch TV, you feel so shitty / bored / depressed / suicidal by the end of the day, that you *want* to return to work. 🙂
Hope you feel better, Wil. Drink TONS of water, man. And have a great holiday.
Who needs cable or a TV anyway! when you have all TNG episodes on dvd and can watch them on your comp and play Spider Solitaire at the same time you’ve got it made.
This comment has absolutley nothing to do with the entry (although you shouldn’t really complain about daytime TV until you’ve seen what crap we have to put with over here in England).
Just wanted to wish you all a merry christmas while I’m still sober enough to do so 🙂
‘Here comes santa claus, here comes santa claus, right down…’
Merry Christmas Wil and all you Wil fans.
I hope you feel better and enjoy your holiday.
As for TV… it is soul-sucking, isn’t it?
I agree I don’t watch any of the “Reality Shows” Please the ones on the four Networks are SCRIPTED!!! Yes evendually Jessica is that stupid. I do like Law and Order, Jag I did catch what you did on unscrewed last night it was Extreamlly funny. You and Drew are crazy Kool. But then Reality is stranges Heck look at Wacko Jacko, and Scott Peterson too.
Try a book.
Did you see Celebrity Poker on Bravo yet? That’s quality TV entertainment. You should really get on that show.
Hiya Wil-
I hope you’re feeling somewhat better- the flu sucks. Just wanted to say I totally agree with you about LotR- it’s just the best thing I’ve ever seen, and I wish I could have been part of it. I hope it gets you through your flu… anyway, Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙂
-Alicia
http://www.thewagband.com
Wil,
I never compare tv to feature films because, as you know, they are two different monsters. Most tv shows do not have the amount of creative time that movies enjoy.
The Lord Of The Rings movies are great. I can not compare any tv show to them because it just is not fair.
Everyone have a great holiday.
FG
I came to the conclusion last night that the reason why TV is so bad is because of survey participants such as the Nielson Ratings, etc. Since a Nielson family is only paid 6.00 per day, the only people who would be interested in being paid that little are probably the same people who think being on Ricky Lake is a great vacation idea.. after all, they do pay the expences. To them, 6.oo a day is a big deal, so we are seeing TV shows that are a result of their choices..
(My theory made more sense last night while drinking a Guiness)
I remember the Battle of the Network stars! That show rocked! Circus of the Stars was big at that time too. It is a shame they don’t have anything on TV like that anymore. It appears the stars put a lot of work into both shows.
Judy Landers talked about Circus briefly when I recently interviewed her:
Tell us about Battle of the Network Stars and Circus of the Stars.
Circus of the Stars that was a major part of my life. I loved that!
What were you doing on that?
One year I did flying Trapeze. In fact I’m starting to do it again now because I love it. I trained for 3 months and then I ended up two different tricks. One of them I flew through a hoop of fire on a flying Trapeze. The next year I did an act called the “High Roller” act. It was 42 feet up in the air on a 6 foot round table. I did aerial stunts on roller-skates.
1. I can agree with you, 100%, about the quality of daytime TV or even evening TV for that matter it’s a veritable “BOOBYTRAP” of entertainment. Your comments have a strange sense of “JUSTICE” in them. Sometimes, “OUR FIRST DUTY”, is to just turn the ‘darned’ thing off, but I empathize with you and your illness, and while it is a “TRAVELER’S” destiny to meet a “JOURNEY’S END” with it, I’ll bid you a better new year and a more profitable season to come, and for “THE CHILD” in us all . . . Merry Christmas.
The only good show on SciFi was Farscape, now you have to rent the DVDs. On the bright side I hear its going back into production.
On the first DVD of LOTR TTT, on the last page of scene selections and at the very bottom of the page is a gold ring. Clck it.
TV really does blow really horrifying chunks of…..stuff… thats really bad. The only television shows that are actually intelligent are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joan of Arcadia and Alias. Try those shows and you won’t be dissapointed.
That’s a scary comment, “IF I get the chance to work as an actor again.”
As an actor whose biggest claim to fame is hosting a national (Canadian) cable show on Channel 72, the cable company’s propaganda channel, I always had a perception that once you’ve been in a major series and done some major films that you could always work if you wanted to.
Star Trek and Stand By Me are, as I see it, major works that everyone you could audition for has to have seen. And I saw you in “Flubber,” and so I thought “Cool, he must be really busy with other stuff and did this cameo to keep his hand in the acting pot.”
Are you saying it might actually be difficult for you to get work? That shocks me a little; I mean, you’re a name people can recognize. Surely it’s WHEN you act again, not IF?
Naturally my perceptions are going to be naive compared to someone who has actually been in major productions; but wow.
If it helps, I certainly believe you could act again whenever you wanted to. At least, that’s my perception– and doesn’t the perception of an actor count for a lot?
Food for thought, anyway. Pardon me while I go chew. 🙂
Michael (Agent M)
It’s official. You’re the only other person on the planet, besides myself, that has used the word “cantankerous” in a sentence.
CANTANKEROUS… god, I love that word!
I could say it all day.
M-