Thursday, May 9, 2002
Sentimental ratings seekers - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- What’s old is new again on television. So it is in fashion too, I gathered in a newspaper a while back. Seems fashionably speaking, the ‘80s are for the first decade of the 2000s, as the ‘70s were to the 1990s. Anyways, this isn’t a fashion column, so back to television. Late last November CBS aired an hour clip fest celebrating the old Carol Burnett Show. It aired on an obscure Monday night after a rerun of Becker, and much to the surprise of CBS and the entire television industry it scored the best ratings of the sweeps period. Yes, even higher than the Emmy’s, Britney Spears in Las Vegas, and that much hyped Michael Jackson reunion show. Carol and company’s bloopers won out and that’s why this May you are seeing a plethora of television reunions. The television biz is infamous for their copycat style. After Millionaire’s success came Twenty-One and the other copycats. After ER came Chicago Hope and other imitators. Well, with nostalgia it’s no different.
Even Carol Burnett was lured back after her daughter Carrie Hamilton’s death, to host CBS’ 50th anniversary bun toss celebrating their Television City in Hollywood. I Love Lucy had its 50th anniversary last November, and this past week The Honeymooners did their 50th on CBS. The Cheers gang came back on Frasier last week, whilst Jay Leno celebrated his 10th anniversary a month earlier. NBC had their big 75th anniversary show last Sunday, clocking in well past its 3 hour booking. Even Laverne and Shirley got into the act, dragged for their own Entertainment Tonight sponsored deal. LA Law is coming back, and of course there’s The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion this Monday.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion is the most suspect. It’s funny, because nostalgia is in, whereas it was ABC that did the first real Mary Tyler Moore reunion two seasons ago. It was a ratings flop and a critical failure, but now that kitsch is in CBS swallows its pride and allows itself to air its own tribute to the legendary series that aired on CBS in the ‘70s.
I like seeing shows like this, but now that we’re being bombarded with them in the name of getting ratings, it insults the intelligence of television fans. To many people television is not only entertainment but a real part of people’s lives. Who wasn’t moved by characters dying on television, or a birth to your favourite characters? Reunions make us remember all that’s happened in the time before, and why it was hard to believe how Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern turned out in that painful ABC flick, Mary and Rhoda.
I hear M*A*S*H and Three’s Company are planning reunions, so let’s see how long this one lasts. What’ll be next? A Night Court reunion? How about a Nanny deal? Or maybe a Seinfeld thing, where we find out what happened after their year in the clink? Or maybe the Television Academy or the Museum of Television and Radio could do like the American Film Institute and have an ‘official’ sort of salute to television’s greatest. Oh wait, TV Guide is doing that one next week.
After September 11th, people just want an escape to the way things were. Harken back to the Brady Bunch era when all kids worried about were pimples and braces, not AIDS or an accidental pregnancy. Going back to an age when Kojak or McGarrett would actually get the bad guy is ideal, rather than today’s villains who hide out in caves. It is kinda nice to see all the old faces again. To see all the old characters we grew to love and loved to hate, makes us realise how bad today’s television has become. What bites is how television’s newfound sentimentality has to come at a price.
- 30 -
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .