Recently, Oprah Winfrey threatened to leave her popular talk
show unless the other talk shows cleaned up their act. Some have
charged that she is doing this because her ratings are lower than
Jerry Springer's. After all, it's hard to beat a lineup of
transsexual hookers and mothers who date their daughters'
boyfriends. Oprah, however, will only be doing what thousands of
Americans have done according to the latest surveys.
This data shows that the network television audience has declined
considerably in the past few years. I, myself, a certified couch
potato, now limit my network TV viewing to ``THE SIMPSONS,'' ``
X-FILES'' and `` MILLENIUM.''
Ms. Winfrey predicts that the quality of TV fare has deteriorated
so much that networks are headed for live sex shows or murder
committed for a bloodthirsty audience.
But anyone who has seen the Jerry Springer Show has already
witnessed live sex acts disguised as interpersonal relationship
problems. Strategically placing fuzzy spots over certain body
parts hardly qualifies as adequate censorship.
As for murderous entertainment, that venerable old lady of
broadcasting, CBS, had no problem airing Dr. Kervorkian's
oh-so-tasteful lethal injection that killed his patient and
garnered huge ratings.
When I read an interview with former Staten Islander Rick
Schroeder about his new part on ABC's ``NYPD Blue'' I learned
that he had to sign a nudity required clause in his contract. Why
is nudity required in a crime show? When ``NYPD Blue'' first
aired, its claim to fame was that adult content would be shown
for the first time on network television. We were supposed to be
drawn to the show to watch Dennis Franz's hairy rear end and to
listen to sophisticated blue language. Once the show was
established I had hoped that this ratings tactic would no longer
be necessary but the obligatory nude scene kept butting in
(pardon the pun) and eventually I lost interest in the show.
My son asked me if I was aware of how sick the Ricky Lake show
had become. Its format consists of an endless parade of
dysfunctional sexual predators and victims. You stole my
girlfriend and now I sleep with your father who was my football
coach, etc. Veteran talk show hostess Sally Jessy Raphael has
also succumbed to the same ratings gimmick and showcasing
primarily `outrageous, shocking couples' has shattered her former
credibility.
Cable TV has always allowed adult entertainment but it is
dismaying to watch a potentially outstanding program like HBO's
`` The Sopranos'' resort to interjecting unnecessary soft-core
sex into every episode.
I am not a prude nor do I advocate censorship in many cases but I
simply cannot understand the mindset of people who enjoy watching
talk show programs depicting humans at their very worst. What is
most upsetting is that there are a disproportionate number of
minorities among the audience and the guests. These people don't
seem to realize or care that they are holding themselves and
their race up to ridicule and scorn.
In the heartland of America where the population of minorities is
significantly lower than in the urban areas, these talk shows may
leave the impression that most people of color are sexually
promiscuous, deviant and amoral. Why aren't our minority leaders
up in arms about this slur on our communities?
These shows are cheap to produce and garner huge ratings and I
don't expect their producers to develop a sense of integrity and
tone down the content of their programs. What I can do, however,
is to avoid their programs and support more uplifting material.
I have at times found refuge in Pax TV on Channel 31, the new
network that only broadcasts reruns of non-offensive programs
such as Dr. Quinn and Highway to Heaven. I have discovered
``Diagnosis Murder'' and ``Father Dowling Mysteries'', two
delightful programs that I never watched in prime time but now
enjoy every weeknight.
I am not a senior citizen but my viewing choices may imply that I
have joined the ranks of those who prefer more uplifting
programs. Actually the seniors and I share similar taste in
entertainment not because we are puritanical but we can recognize
the difference between true erotica and smut.
The movie industry like television has succumbed to the easy lure
of hard core over substance. True eroticism occurs in the
imagination and the movie studios today are sorely lacking in
creative ingenuity when it comes to sexual material.
One of the most erotic scenes I ever viewed was in a 1933 Marlene
Dietrich film entitled, ``Song of Songs.'' Marlene plays this
innocent peasant girl who poses nude for a young handsome
sculptor. The camera only shows her face and shoulders but the
sculptor's hands seductively mold the clay of the nude statue.
Now filmmakers leave nothing to the imagination and films are the
worse for this lack of creativity.
We can afford to dismiss movies but television is a medium inside
our homes and we need to be aware of what messages filter through
to our children. One of this season's teen hits is a show called
``Felicity.'' I watched an episode a few weeks ago, which
centered on the titled character trying to lose her virginity
just to get rid of it.
Apparently virginity is so burdensome, ``90210'''s resident
virgin Donna has relinquished her title and has joined the ranks
of the with-it crowd. If there is a teenager in the cast of any
prime time TV show then we can expect them to sleep around sooner
or later because that's' how things are in real life, right? Yet
WB's ``Seventh Heaven'' advocates chastity and guess what? Its
ratings are outdistancing the other major networks. I doubt that
the networks will make the connection and alter their
programming.
I don't expect television, the school system or the government to
provide morality lessons to my children. That's my job. But if
the networks are going to constantly throw my values back in my
face then they should expect me to seek quality viewing
elsewhere.
That's why on March 3rd while the nation is salivating over Ms.
Walters' interview with Monica, I'll be watching Dr. Mark Sloan
solve a murder. Join me.