We recently watched a series of television shows that stand in sharp contrast to the usual television fare.
The hero, an officer of the law, didn’t hesitate to use lethal force when circumstances demanded it. However, in contrast, he showed kindness and concern for others in trouble, regardless of age, sex or race.
Although attracted to the leading female in the show, a woman of questionable repute, he treated her with respect and dignity. Unlike many shows, they kept their clothes on, not spending half the time jumping in and out of bed with each other. We watched episodes that dealt effectively with issues such as murder, honesty, forgiveness, love, marriage and male bonding.
How can one crime drama outclass the frontrunners such as Law and Order, CSI, NCIS and Bones? I can think of two positive things to say about current crime shows: you won’t find better acting anywhere and you will learn technical or scientific things from every episode. However, I can identify at least four other things that make me want to toss my TV set.
The audio production, like much of modern music, puts more emphasis on ambience and irrelevant detail than on the spoken word. The characters walk down the street discussing important details with street noise drowning out their voices. Similarly, people in work places have radios blaring and machines running so viewers must strain to follow conversations. Eventually, Anna and I change channels.
You might correctly argue that we’re getting old and our hearing has lost its sharpness. Isn’t that true of a large percentage of the television audience? Give us a break. I spent years in radio and TV studios and know capable engineers can balance background noise so it gives correct ambience, at the same time allowing listeners to follow the conversation.
Next comes production quality. They shoot against a busy background that often draws the eye away from the real centre of interest. They switch from scene to scene or pan rapidly so that viewers miss the point. Again you might blame us. Old eyes have more trouble decoding rapidly changing scenes. Also, writing or storytelling in modern TV dramas rarely meets the best writing standards. Many begin with short scenes that involve a number of characters who may or may not appear again. Then they switch from scene to scene too quickly for aging brains.
And finally, the barnyard morality of many modern television dramas leaves me cold. In NCIS one character sexually harasses and browbeats others in every episode, displaying a lack of discernment that would get him fired from any real-life job. We quit watching the program Bones because the lead character spent so much time discussing her sex life and acting on it. You might suggest we have old-fashioned standards, but you can’t convince me work places have deteriorated that much since I retired.
Now back to the show I discussed in the opening paragraph, a show that demonstrates good audio, story telling and production quality without moral lapses. Gunsmoke ran on television from 1955 to 1975. A friend loaned us the DVDs. What really bugs me: if they could do it 50 years ago, why can’t they do it today?