Boob Tube

I just watched an episode of Andy Griffith that I hadn't seen before.  Aunt Bee was encouraged to run for city council against Howard Sprague.  Andy was backing Howard.  The two candidates had a debate and Howard smashed her.  Aunt Bee, realizing that things on the razor's edge of Mayberry politics wasn't quite the same as Garden Club, gracefully stepped down and endorsed the ever-so-qualified Howard.

The viewers learned that it's good to recognize the strengths of ourselves and others.  We also learned that silly old aunts shouldn't run for office and should stay in the kitchen where they belong.  I'm not really hot on that last moral. 

But at least there was a moral.

I also saw a piece of an episode of . . . I have gratefully forgotten the name of it.  It went something like this:

Young, buxom blonde woman whose neckline met the hem of her shorts:  "Why do you have to be such a dick?"

Young, handsome man: "I'm not being a dick."

Blonde: "Yes you are!" (sob, sob, stamp out of room)

Blonde: "And then he was like, 'I'm not a dick,' and I was like, 'yes, you are.' " (sob, sob) "Why does he have to be such a diiiiick?" (whine, whine)

Young, black-haired woman with bare legs to her chin: "Ohhhhhh," (pouty mouth) "So what are you going to dooooo?

Blonde:  "I'm like, I don't knowwwww."

Black -haired: "I know, right?"

Without taking into account inflation, I think it cost 14 times as much to produce that episode of Andy Griffith than it did to produce the latter.  Andy and Aunt Bee's characters actually acted.  There were costumes and scenes and characters. There was a script, for crying in a bucket.

Who gets the job of deciding what gets on TV?  I think I want that job.  Are we really that hard up for talent and creativity that stuff like that looks good?  Bring back Alfred Hitchcock, the Twilight Zone and the Smothers Brothers.  Bring on more channels like History and Nat Geo.   And news?  Give me a break!  Where are the Cronkites and Brinkleys that reported news instead of trying to entertain with competetive hysterics?

I'm not being a silly old person.  I'm like, being a silly person in her prime with 100 channels and nothing to watch.  (whines and stamps out of blog)