What happened to good TV? Where did it go? When the '80s left, I think that most of our best programming left with it. Example: "G.I. Joe". What's up with that? Have you seen what's happened to G.I. Joe? One of my all-time favorite animated programs has been turned into a bleak vision of the future along the lines of George Orwell's "1984". Remember when there used to be characters we cared about? Like General Hawk and Low-Lite and Sci-Fi and Bazooka Joe and Roadblock? They're gone. COBRA has been erased completely.
Say goodbye to Cobra Commander, Destro, and the Evil Twins. When those characters left, however, they took with them the plots and stories that people could identify with, like the time that Low-Lite came to terms with the cruelty his father subjected him to in his youth. That was a great episode. Now, however, we've got long-haired (since when did the military allow long hair?), street-talking freak-shows running around shooting guns at everything that moves. Ooops, sorry. I only meant to blow up that one thing. Forget about "...and knowing is half the battle". I suppose that the networks have decided it's much more important to blow things up than try to teach kids anything (It's just as well: the new "Joes" wouldn't do so well around children, I'm afraid). That's the one big difference. The old "G.I. JOE" was about building- friendships, morals, and good times. The new show is about destruction, even on an artistic level (the only bright colors used are when something explodes, a stark contrast to, say, Bazooka Joe's red jersey in the old show).
Remember "MacGyver" and "Magnum, P.I." and "Airwolf" and "The A-Team" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "The Cosby Show"? They are gone now, relics of the past. Children today grow up watching "Cops" and "Biker Mice From Mars" (Whatever happened to "Voltron"???), programs void of anything that might, God forbid, make you THINK about what's happening. When a good show appears, like "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." or "Legend", they suffer from terrible ratings (why watch a show that makes you think when instead you could be watching "Baywatch"?), linger for a few months (not even a whole season!), and die. Granted, some good shows still exist. "The X-Files", definitely a cerebral show, is around because people like television that deals with freaks (the messages presented are often lost on certain audience members). But it's good TV. So is "Chicago Hope". But the best television, the stuff I grew up with, the stuff that involved thinking instead of simply gazing at a glowing screen, the stuff with characters I loved and stories that were exciting and bold, has gone the way of Eden.
And that, my friends, is a sham.
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