Television: January 2008 Archives

In this age of 500 channel, cable, satellite and HD TV, it's easy to forget that television itself is just over eighty years old. Originally invented by Philo Farnsworth in 1927, television took more than twenty years to become a staple in American homes.

In 1945 there were fewer than 7,000 working television sets in the country and only nine stations on the air, three in New York, two each in Chicago and Los Angeles, and one each in Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y. Grainy programming was available only a couple of hours each day. As the fifties began, televisions were becoming a common household appliance. By 1958 when the population of the United States was just under 175 million, there were 525 cable TV systems serving 450,000 subscribers in the United States.

During its first season on CBS, Gunsmoke wasn't in the top thirty in the television ratings. It was during the series second year that that the show caught on, eventually becoming the year's seventh most popular program. From then on, Gunsmoke became one of the most popular westerns in television history, running for twenty seasons from 1955-1975.

Matt Dillon (James Arness) is the Marshall of Dodge City. He does everything he can to prevent the use of guns in the town. Instead, he prefers to show the townsfolk other alternatives for solving their differences. While many westerns of the time focused on shoot outs and saloon brawls, Matt Dillion regularly uses his smarts and quickness to capture the bad guys and have them punished for their crimes. Occasionally there are action scenes involving gunplay, but those moments are few and far between.

Based on the Neil Simon Play and the 1968 hit film, in 1970 Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson developed The Odd Couple into a successful television series. Tony Randall plays the proper, fastidious photographer Felix Unger and Jack Klugman portrays the gruff, sloppy Oscar Madison, sportswriter for the New York Herald. Felix is a compulsive neat freak; Oscar views the floor as his personal dumping ground.

The Odd Couple was never a huge ratings success during the series initial run. The show was never in the top twenty of the Nielsen ratings and occupied six different time slots during the series five year run. In syndication, The Odd Couple gained a loyal following and became a fan favorite.

Hawaii Five-O which ran from 1968-1980 on CBS remains one of the most popular police dramas in television history. Jack Lord's steely portrayal of Five-O's man in charge, Steve McGarrett, makes the show worth watching. Played by Jack Lord, McGarrett combines intensity with coolness.

McGarrett is a bachelor who obviously enjoys the company of island ladies--a self assured man with a staccato delivery. He is always polite when dealing with his subordinates, Danny "Danno" Williams, Kono Kalakaua and Chin Ho Kelly. However, Steve has little patience for constitutional civilities--"Gentlemen, I want you to turn this place inside out"--finding the crook is always the most important thing.

I have to admit that having watched the first few minutes of Rob & Big when it debuted on MTV in 2006, I thought, what the heck is this? Watching a 30-something professional skater named Rob Dyrdek and his 400 pound bodyguard, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin didn't seem like it would hold much interest for a 30-something non skateboarder such as myself but Rob & Big are just crazy enough to be interesting. Why exactly does a skateboarder really need security anyway? He probably doesn't but what the heck.