WITHER TELEVISION ?

Once upon a time, in a far distant age a man with a rather unusual name invented something which we call television. He was, of course, John Logie Baird and, although his original system is not what we now use, it is his name that has become associated with the invention.

Television used to be a source of genuine entertainment and education. It was restricted in its hours of output and radio continued to have a large audience, attracted by the magic of imagination. Over the years, we have seen a proliferation of television channels, mostly funded by advertising, and an enormous decline in the quality of its output. The adverts are now far more important than the programmes which they support.

It used to be that the output from the BBC could be relied upon to be of a better standard than that of the commercial channels, but no more. Taking a look at the schedules for any week is a depressing activity; programmes begin at 6:00am and continue until the early hours of the following morning and yet most of them are repeats of old children's programmes, shows about antiques or doing up houses, etc etc. This diet of stale drivel is punctuated by news broadcasts that are generally the same at 10:00pm as they were at 9:00am, and the horror of the ubiquitous 'soaps', not to mention the plethora of 'reality shows' the true gruesomeness of which defies description. There is also, of course, the occasional sporting event that often causes the broadcaster to devote disproportionate coverage to what can only be called 'minority sports', while also devoting ludicrous amounts of time to the national sport of 'talking up' our inadequate football teams.

An entire week's programming may, if we are lucky, contain a few bright spots - The Daily Politics, This Week and Question Time; Have I got News for You ?; once or twice a year, there may even be a new drama (perhaps, even, a series) that's worth watching and there may be an occasional historical or political programme of note,  but, these small islands of interest aside, what does the BBC really produce for the billions it is given ? On an average day, I doubt that the BBC shows more than 2 or 3 hours of television that has any real merit.

While the BBC of today is pretty dire, the commercial broadcasters are substantially worse. With the advent of 'sponsors messages' we now have our programmes interrupted at every opportunity by some ridiculous jingle or piece of film that usually precedes the other adverts and is then repeated before we return to the programme. Worse still is the way in which some broadcasters now cut into programmes when adverts are due; no longer a 'fade out' but a sudden break, so sudden in some cases that not just scenes, but words and sentences are curtailed prematurely. No longer is there any pretence of a 'natural break'. Commercial channels have no real interest in the programmes which are simply a vehicle to attract an audience to the adverts which have now taken centre stage and yet, perversely, are of a generally far lower standard than those of years ago. Everything is geared to striking a chord with a receptive, poorly educated and gullible audience which, sadly, seems only to willing to play along. As with the BBC, there are occasional, though even less frequent, lights that shine through the gloom, 'Downton Abbey' being the most brilliant recent example, but there are also abject and appalling examples of pure drivel, as witness the egregious 'Pillars of the Earth'.

The way in which television has changed over the years is a perfect example of the adage 'more is less'. The more channels that have been created, the worse the content has become. Repetitive soaps and formulaic US dramas and, so-called, comedy shows; reality shows and endless programmes about cooking, antiques, poor little baby aminals (sic) etc., etc. Endless repeats of fine programmes from 20, 30 and 40 years ago that, at first repeat are welcome but by the 4th or 5th repeat begin to pall and by the 10th have become truly annoying.

Television has withered. What was once a medium for entertainment is now a medium for advertising, even the BBC finds ways to include what are effectively adverts in its output, both on television and radio. Television panders to the ill-educated masses and no longer makes any real effort to educate or improve them. It glamorises the worst aspects of human behaviour and makes them seem normal. It perverts everything it touches, and destroys the morality of our children. What began as one man's great vision for the future, has become an all-consuming beast, a modern God that will ultimately destroy itself but may well destroy its followers first.