I remember when summer television was nothing but re-runs, and nobody cared. It was accepted. It was summer.
To watch television on a summer night and miss out on the prolonged, resuscitative evening sunlight and sweet atmospheric coolness would be insanity. There were pools to swim in, bikes to ride, fireflies to catch, tents to pitch, playgrounds to roam, balls to throw, and air-conditioned malls and movie theatres in which to hide if the heat was unbearable.
I sound like an old fogey but I don’t care. There’s something genuinely wrong when people want to watch television during the summer, and the networks oblige by unleashing over 20 new series for people to suckle on.
And we wonder why the children of America are dumb and fat? Why we’re dumb and fat? This isn’t a case of networks and advertisers trying to foist must-see TV on an innocent public. Over the years, ratings during the summer have risen to the point where our proclivity for crap is making it worth the network’s time to compete for viewers.
Terrified that their kids will suffer from abduction! drive-by shooting! marijuana smoking! sex! freak accident! if they venture outside, parents all over the country would prefer their precious offspring watch 2 brainless sluts parody the good folk of this country in Fox’s Simple Life 2. They themselves will gladly escape from the drudgery of their 9-to-5s by immersing themselves in Fox’s The Casino, dreaming of a job that’s essentially also a vacation.
I guess I understand if you stay in to watch FOX… it looks so damn appealing. Better that you miss summer to watch sexy new stuff instead of a Malcolm in the Middle that you’ve seen twice before.
