Is Evil Necessary on TV?

I came across a very interesting blog post recently while looking for information on reality TV.

In a blog called Reality Blurred, Andy Dehnart posted about a recent interview with Jeff Probst, the SURVIVOR host and executive producer, during which he claimed that only "evil" and "immoral" people are fun to watch on TV.

The post explained Mr. Probst's opinion that it is only the villainous characters that we like seeing on TV. While, in real life, we want to be friends with the good guys and have them around us, it is different when it comes to our entertainment. He brought up the example of shows like WEEDS, THE SHIELD and DEXTER  to support his argument.

The blogger then went on to explain how he could definitely see Mr. Probst's point of view, with which I agree. It is true that a very large part of our entertainment consists of villains and characters with a lot of grey shades and they have most definitely proven to be ratings-grabbers. In fact, if we take a look at some of the most popular shows of our time (and, in general) we see that characters you love-to-hate were extremely prominent in airtime and storylines, if not outright the stars.

In reality, we do want the nice people around us. The people who are kind, considerate, thoughtful. But that can equate to some very boring TV if that's all that there is offered. A "nice" character can be very appealing and interesting (if well-played and written) but there always needs to be an antagonist, who moves the plot along and creates the drama that we are expecting to see.

That's not to say that a show that consists of nice, everyday people cannot be appealing (which is also a point Dehnart makes). He brings up shows like MODERN FAMILY and THE COSBY SHOW as examples. There is a point to be made about TV that showcases situations and realities closer to what we experience, as long as the characters are rich enough to support that.

Still, there is no denying that a great villain can really be the centerpiece of a show. Characters like J.R. Ewing, Amanda Woodward and Jack Bauer proved how popular such characters can be and how they can really drive the story in ways that would be unimaginable if they did not exist. I think, in the end, that it is very important to just remember that both "nice" and "evil" characters can be of great service to shows and that you can achieve great entertainment with either side, but especially with both.

How To Get Through So Much TV

It's often said... so many options, not so much time.

In a vast television landscape, with so many options, it can become quite a challenge for the average TV-viewer to watch everything that has caught their fancy. And, while it is true that a lot of sub-par entertainment is offered, good TV is available everywhere; if one is willing to seek it out.

So how does one go about making the choice? Especially in the September and January months, which is typically when a myriad new shows debut, one can feel at a loss with all the new options. Scheduling conflicts between shows, busy social schedule, kids--a plethora of reasons can get in the way. So, there's a few easy suggestions that can help out:

1. Choose the two or three shows that interest you the most. 
The truth is, most of us do not have the time to watch as much as we may be interested to. So take a look at the options and select based on personal preference and availability. Also, look into various reviews in an attempt to get an idea of how the show is being received. Naturally, critics often have very different opinions than the general public, so it could be helpful to find a critic or two that you usually agree with. Also, good word of mouth may be a great help in deciding.

2. Take advantage of the free screenings online
Not everyone can afford a DVR or a TiVo so a good way to catch up and not have to worry about being in front of the TV at a certain time would be to go online and catch up like that. It's free, it takes less time (because of shorter commercial time) and is easy. It also helps with the show's ratings, which can definitely be a plus when one likes a show.

3. DVDs
A lot of people tend to not watch a show for the whole season but wait until the season is released on DVD. Once they have it, they devote 1-2 days in order to watch the whole thing at once, thus catching up and not having to worry for another year. While marathon viewing can be tiring (and, not to mention, time-consuming),   it is a viable solution to keep one up to date.

Reality Sham

It dropped like a bomb just a few days ago: Kim Kardashian is getting divorced from her husband Kris Humphries after only 72 days of marriage. It was surprising, though I'm not quite sure why. Celebrity weddings have never been the most solid unions, and there was absolutely no reason to believe that Kim and Kris's marriage would be any different.

The news that it was all a scam--a publicity ploy--was a bit more shocking. It was just too much to think that someone would go to such lengths to achieve attention and earn money. Granted, $17 million is not an amount to be scorned, but it is still reprehensible that this would happen.

It was very interesting to read Victor Solis' blog post about this topic, Kardashian Kover Up.... While I definitely didn't have any illusions that reality TV was a real and honest representation of life, it was quite different to read concrete examples of how things are faked by someone who worked in the business. It can be very eye-opening to move on from generalities to examples that clearly show what everyone has been talking about.

As is described in the blog post, Kardashian's camp would plant paid extras in order to make it look like she had hordes of fans, and Kardashian herself would make sure that her fans were aware of the locations she would go to, thus ensuring that she would get an audience wherever she went. While this is (almost) expected from reality shows, the lengths she went in regards to her marriage were definitely a step too far.

There has been a lot of talk in regards to the sanctity of marriage and how disrespectful it was of Kim Kardashian to marry someone for the sake of money and publicity. While I am not a fan of her brand to begin with, to read about this just infuriates me further. I don't count myself as a conservative person in any measure, but I do agree that this was taken too far and completely deplore her actions. The saddest thing is that this publicity stunt probably worked and will bring more attention to her, and her reality show, whose second season debuts in November. 

REVENGE Has Never Been Sweeter

It started off doubtfully. Before REVENGE premiered, there was a heavy promotional push behind the show. Billboards and magazine ads of the upcoming show could be found everywhere, and TV spots were repeated ad nauseum. It definitely got some buzz for the show. On top of all this, ABC and Amazon's Kindle offered the pilot script for free as well as gave Kindle users the chance to watch the first episode before it was shown on TV. 

When the show debuted on September 21, 2011, it was described as essentially unconvincing and also quite likable. However, it debuted to an audience of over 10 million people and some very positive reaction from the people who watched it.

REVENGE was quite the ride; Emily Van Camp transformed completely, playing against type, into a vengeful, hurt young woman out to avenge her father. Her main enemy, Victoria Grayson, the Queen Bee of the Hamptons socialite scene (portrayed brilliantly by Madeleine Stowe), was equally bitchy and scheming. The concept was intriguing, but also seemed limited; how much could be milked out of this?

Turns out, a lot. Despite some initial hesitation, critics started to slowly come around in regards to the show. The same could be said of the TV audience. After a few weeks of slowly declining ratings, the show managed to turn it around and starting posted bigger and bigger numbers. Indeed, the show found its footing pretty fast and, with solid and entertaining writing, started to win back its viewers and to actually grow, which is definitely  not a common occurrence in today's TV climate.

The final, victorious piece of news came when ABC renewed REVENGE for a full 22 episodes. It seems like Emily will keep on getting revenge after all.

How Gay Friendly Is TV?

In an ever-changing, ever-evolving society, we have started to see signs (and, in certain cases, more than signs) that the gay community is becoming more accepted. Art usually exhibits social change before it actually fully integrates itself in our everyday lives, so I thought it would be interesting to examine the representation of gay life on TV and how accurately (or not) it has evolved to include this newly accepted aspect of life.

One of the first gay characters on TV was Billy Crystal's Jodie Dallas, on ABC's popular sitcom, SOAP. An openly gay man on TV in the late 1970s was not an easily accepted thing and the show created a lot of controversy in regards to its portrayal of a homosexual man (amongst other things).

While it was certainly a refreshing thing to see someone like Jodie on TV as far back as the 1970s, the show did receive a lot of criticism for the handling of some aspects of the character, which verged on stereotyping. For example, Jodie had the desire to have a sex change operation, and had story which claimed he wanted to change his sexual orientation. However, as seen on the video above, the show did have a lot of fun with the society's attitude in regards to homosexuals and often satirized the ignorance abounding all around us.

When the 80s hit, primetime got another gay character, this time in the form of Steven Carrington (played by Al Corley and, later, Jack Coleman) on the extremely popular primetime soap DYNASTY. Originally, Steven was a tortured young man, whose dreams and desires clashed with the expectations laid upon him, especially from his homophobic father. A particularly painful moment between Steven and Blake had the billionaire oil tycoon call his son a "fagott."

It was hard to take, honest family drama, and the show was devoted in its first season to telling Steven's story with as much commitment as possible. Through the course of the season, we saw the return of Steven's lover, Ted, and their slow road to reunion. Granted, the times being what they were, Steven and Ted barely had any physical contact and a hug between them was enough to spark Blake's fury, leading to an argument which ended up costing Ted's life.

The 80s melodrama is quite foreign to the more realistic style of today, but it is still gripping stuff. In later seasons, due to immense pressure by the broadcasting channel, DYNASTY was forced to water down Steven, initially portraying him as a confused bisexual man, who marries a woman and fathers a child, and later (when replaced by Jack Coleman) as a full-out straight man. Blake's homophobia was completely pushed aside and homogenized, while Steven's homosexuality was later revisited but dealt with in the most abstract, stereotypical, sometimes even demented way.

The 90s saw a slight increase in popular gay characters, on shows like MELROSE PLACE (a large cult hit) and, of course, WILL & GRACE.

Matt Fielding went through the usual barrage of drama and was well featured on the show; however, while his sexual orientation was never changed or miraculously healed, there were also never any scenes where he kissed his partner and certainly no love-making scenes. Emotion and love was expressed through rather sexless hugs.

Naturally, the late 90s saw the debut of something that, even now, is considered quite the surprise: A sitcom about two roommates; one straight female and one gay male. WILL & GRACE. The show also featured a second gay man, Jack.

The series was a resounding success (lasting for 8 seasons) and it garnered at least one Emmy for each of its four leads. However, its success did not come without fair amount of criticism, especially in regards to the often stereotypical handling of homosexual men and women. These concerns were definitely solid; after all, there was rarely an episode were some kind of stereotypical joke wasn't made. On the other hand, the sitcom was fairly slapstick and did not have much concern for heterosexual relationships either.

The 00s were the era were we saw a marked rise in gay characters and a much more relaxed and truthful representation of those characters' lives.

The clip above is from the show BROTHERS & SISTERS and the difference between this and the previous decades is quite clear. While no-one can claim that homosexuality is treated as freely, openly and honestly as heterosexuality, there is a considerable difference. Shows like GLEE, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS have exhibited gay couples and stories, slowly progressing towards a TV landscape with better representation.