Mike Cline column: TV then vs. now – one guy's take
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 4, 2012
By Mike Cline
For the Salisbury Post
Let’s talk TV.
This column is not a rerun, even though my previous submission to the Post was about a WBTV program called “Let’s Talk TV.”
I’ve been thinking of our television watching these days as how it was “back then.” And for a point of reference, I’ll use 1955-60 as “back then.”
In terms of technology, we have never had it as good as we have it now. If it isn’t convenient to watch a program as it airs, we can DVR (digitally video record) it and watch it when we want. If we forget to DVR a show, we can watch it ON DEMAND or even online via the internet. Or wait for the DVD box set down the road. So, there really isn’t an excuse for not seeing something we wish to see nowadays.
Back then, we had to park ourselves in front of the set and view it when it was programmed, and then it was gone, except maybe a summer rerun months later. Some shows were never rerun in the summer, so the only alternative was syndication, but that was usually years later. And many television series were never syndicated, so there was never a second chance.
So I conclude that program access is better today than back then.
Now, we will examine TV reception. Gorgeous digital high-definition (HD) color image, with multi-channel (stereo) sound – that is, when it’s working properly. Of course, those with satellite dishes are often going to lose reception when it rains or snows heavily.
And everyone’s cable goes on the fritz from time to time, regardless of the supplier.
Back then, a tiny aerial on the roof, or even less, rabbit ears on the set itself, usually wrapped in aluminum foil for maximum reception. Adequate sound, but nothing to write home about. And mostly black and white broadcasting. And around this time of year, sun spots would cause the TV picture to strobe and waver in and out.
My conclusion: In spite of the issues listed above, TV reception is much better today than back then.
Now let’s look at what we actually get when we watch a TV program.
Back then, a one-hour TV show (example: “Perry Mason”) ran 50-51 minutes, with the remaining 9-10 minutes consisting of commercials and station breaks. Today, a one-hour show (example: “NCIS”) runs 40-41 minutes, meaning a full one-third of the hour we are blasted with up to 20 minutes of commercials. Back then, a half-hour show (example: “The Andy Griffith Show”) ran 26 minutes with 4 minutes of commercials. Today, 10 minutes of a 30-minute program (example: “The Big Bang Theory”) are commercials.
And if that isn’t bad enough, we don’t get the closing credits and theme song of the show we have just finished. The broadcasters squeeze the credits into a small portion of the screen and talk over them about what’s coming up later for us to watch. That is very bothersome to me.
But the final insult is that WHILE we’re watching their show, little people or characters walk across the bottom of the screen plugging some other show we should watch, or the ultimate insult, a banner appears on the screen telling us what we are watching at that very moment. Listen TV programmers, if I’m watching “The Mentalist,” it is NOT necessary for you to tell me I’m watching “The Mentalist.” I’m not as stupid as you must believe I am.
Back then, we watched programs with a reasonable amount of ads and station breaks, with no irritating distractions during the program itself, unless the telephone rang and it was Aunt Effie with the latest town gossip. And I can’t blame the TV people for that. It was an art to be able to run to the kitchen, make a sandwich, and get back to the TV set during a one-minute break.
Conclusion: Back then was much better than today.
Now let’s take a look at programing television.
We are on the verge of another new Fall TV Season, one of the high spots of the year for networks and local stations. This is when they display what has made the final cut in their programing decisions. It doesn’t have the impact for me it once did.
Back then, when a successful show returned with fresh episodes, a new season consisted of anywhere from 32-39 new episodes. Today, 24 is a stretch, with many producing as few as 12.
This season just passed, “The Big Bang Theory” and “NCIS” (two top-rated programs) each gave us 24 installments, which were spread out among reruns over an 8-month stretch, then throughout the summer.
For its first season (1957-58), “Perry Mason” filmed 39 one-hour episodes. For every one of its six seasons, “Leave It To Beaver” shot 39. They repeated 10 or 11 of them during the summer, and the few remaining weeks the shows were preempted for special programing.
Back then, a new series was usually given a chance to build an audience if it got a bad start out of the gate, “Leave It To Beaver” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” being examples.
The Beav’s first season was on CBS. Had it been on NBC or ABC, it’s ratings would have been acceptable. But CBS was the mecca of TV at that time, and compared to the ratings of Lucy and Matt Dillon and Red Skelton, CBS gave the Cleaver family the cleaver and canceled the show.
“Wait a minute!” said the folks at ABC, “We’ll take it.” And they did. LITB would run another 5 years at its new home. And today, the show is of legendary status and still runs in syndication on several networks.
As for “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, CBS was disappointed with its first-year performance and the ratings axe fell on the Petries and their friends. Only with the intervention of producer Sheldon Leonard and the show’s sponsor did CBS relent and give the show another chance. As it turned out, the show caught fire its second year and went into the Top Ten and stayed on the air for four more seasons, winning a bevy of awards, including 15 Emmys. It, too, still plays TV on a daily basis.
Today, it is not unusual for a program to be canceled within its first three-to-four weeks. Some have been pulled after only one episode, so premiere night can now be the beginning AND the end of a show’s life.
Thus I conclude that for this category, back then was much better than today.
So after 4 TV topics, the score is: Back Then – 2, Now – 2.
And the tie-breaking topic will be the quality of today’s programs vs. that of yesteryear. And we’ll get to that …
… Right after this message from our sponsor.
Mike Cline’s website, “Mike Cline’s Then Playing,” documents all the movies played in Rowan County theaters from 1920 through 1979.