TV: The Cultural Wasteland

                                         

A word or two about "The Odd Couple", and no, we are not talking about the 1970s series starring Klugman and Randall, and that in a nutshell is the big problem. Because: you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, and that first time around was the real winner.

The idea people are obviously having a hell of a time trying to find something watchable, and while repetition may be the sincerest form of flattery, the old cops and robbers, good guys vs. bad guys, liberally sprinkled with sexy eye candy has already been done to death. For something to be "new" it means it hasn't been previously peddled a hundred times with dozens of alternate plots. Granted, the average viewer probably has an I.Q. about twice his shoe size, but even idiots eventually realize the talent pool has been overgrown with pond scum and weeds.

But I shouldn't be too critical of brain-rotting television; it did get me interested in computers, and I now know a hell of a lot more about computers than I ever did about television.