Spontaneous Musings

Veronica Mars fascinated me tonight - and since it came after an hour of semi-boredom flipping between Friday Night Lights (which I suppose would grab your interest if you haven't seen this sort of thing before - families obsessed with high school football is neither new to me nor really all that interesting, if you think people went nutty over BTVS, you have not met a football fan. To this day, I despise The Broncos and The Cheifs. And to be honest, BTVS was more interesting to talk about, in short - so not my cup of tea), and Gilmore Girls, which was mildly better than last week. (More Lane and Paris, less Luke and his family.) Ghod I miss House. Really miss House.

But back to VM.

VM surprised me. I honestly thought it was going to do something completely different. It's rare that tv surprises me. Actually haven't been pleasantly surprised in quite a while. So, you'll understand that when it happens, I grin. The fact that it is happening via cultural media lately feels a tad pathetic, but hey, beggars can't be choosers - right?
( Veronica Mars Spoilers )

Nip/Tuck isn't really worth discussing, except that I think the show may have jumped the proverbial shark. Almost switched to Boston Legal which has the distinction of having three Star Trek alum playing lawyers or legal people - Shatner, the guy who played Odo, and Armin Shimmerman. Watching Shimmerman and that guy who played Odo act off each other is a bit of a treat. Plus we have James Spader flirting with Candice Bergen. LOL! Now if only they weren't doing it all in court rooms and as lawyers, I'd watch it.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...for some odd reason popped into me head at the moment, probably because I just took a trip down memory lane regarding School House Rock courtesy of liz_marcs who posted on it. I adored "school house rock" but only vaguely remember the lyrics - truth is I vaguely remember the lyrics of all songs, my audio memory is screwy. But I can recreate exactly what happened visually. Visual memory is amazing. If you are under the age of 30, you may or may not have seen these shows or even heard of School House Rock, although you can get them on DVD - you can get just about anything on DVD nowadays, which makes me nostaligic for the days when you missed a tv episode, you *really* missed it and chances were you might not *ever* see it again. Now? Even if the dang thing gets cancelled, you're likely to catch it on DVD at some point. Somewhat discombobulating when one thinks about it. Who'd have thunk it? We'd figure out a way to ensure tv shows live forever, but not a way to make sure everyone could get food, a decent education, and health care? Ain't capitalism grand?

If you were born after 1980, chances are you never saw them. School House Rock aired on ABC every Saturday morning between 1973-1985. They were surrounded by classic cartoons such as Underdog, Scooby Do, and LaffOlympics. (For a complete history you can go here: http://www.school-house-rock.com/history.htm and here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Rock! (when in doubt go wiki), see I'm not completely talking out of my ass this round.)What the site doesn't mention is something I vaguely remember from an Administrative Law course in (very small voice) law school.
And I think I found a reference to it finally - you wouldn't know about this unless you worked in TV or took an Administrative Law course in 1993 just after the Children's Television Act was passed.

Founded in 1968 by Peggy Charren, Action for Children's Television was formed to increase availability of quality programming for children. Unsuccessful at obtaining cooperation from the networks directly, ACT turned to political action. In 1970, the organization presented a petition to the FCC intended to change a number of FCC policies regarding children's programming. A resulting inquiry launched unprecedented response. Hearings were held, and in 1974 the FCC Children's TV Report and Policy Statement offered specific guidelines such as: a limit of nine and a half advertising minutes per hour in children's programs, the use of separation devices indicating divisions between commercials and programs, the elimination of host selling, and the directive that children's programs not be confined to one day--(Saturday morning television had become synonymous with children's television). Later reviews suggested that the networks were not meeting these requirements or their obligations to serve children, but further regulatory action in the 1980s was blocked by the shift toward a deregulatory stance at the FCC and in the courts.
go here for more info: http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/childrenand/childrenand.htm)

If memory serves, and bare with me here - it was over ten years ago since I studied it, this political action group made it clear to the FCC and Advertisers that if they didn't do something, they'd ban their products and take legal action. The "Hearings" apparently put the fear of God so to speak into them for a bit, and there were a few Administrative Court hearings that helped, not many but a few ending with ABC and a few networks agreeing to make concessions. ABC and the Admen put their heads together and came up with "SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK" as a concession to the committee. All the networks put on what is called "After School Specials", "SchoolBreaks Specials" and "Special Treats" - go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_school_special

They started them in 1971 and ended them before 1990 or just a few years after a deregulation stance was pushed at the FCC. In the 1980s the government was basically deregulating everything - we're feeling the pain of that awesome decision now. The deregulation is also responsible for the sudden change in programming at the major networks - that and the advent of cable television, including Nicklodean and The Disney Channel.

It wasn't until 1990 - that the Children's Television Act was passed, which shifted things again.
That's when we started getting more educational programming and less violence. And now they are apparently reintroducing School House Rock to the schedule.