Annoyed with TV

There was an interesting review of a show on the ABC coming up (I forget which) in the Age's green guide. It's a show from the BBC and they wondered why the UK is not only producing the show - pretty middle rate stuff apparently - but why we are watching it here. The reviewer missed the obvious - ok, the UK produces some trash, some middle-ground stuff, and some great stuff. But the point is: they produce it! And I'd rather have a lot of Aussie drama with some fair-to-middling shows and some trash and some good stuff, than all American, BBC, or even New Zealand (hey, what's with the NZ cop patrol, etc.?). The problem has become that programmers are now looking for the quick fix/quick ratings buzz (assuming that because younger audiences are in such a mad, fast-paced media world, they have a smaller attention span), instead of actually allowing things to grow. Plant a seed. Wait ten years. You'll have a huge tree. Plant a seed. Wait five minutes. Change the position of the seed. Wait five minutes. Change the position of the seed. Wait five minutes. Give up. You'll have a ruined garden. (I usually avoid reality TV as much as possible, but I too got into So you think you can dance. But they had a panel that offered CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, with dancers who were actually interested in their artform - rather than in being famous. Compare it to any other show and it's just about getting your face on TV. Eg. Australia's got talent. That show won't last) You know, I'm actually a big fan of a great Aussie/US TV show. It was called Farscape. It was original in the entire world of TV. It had good actors and writers and production values. It was also uniquely Australian in its humour. Now all we have is country women having affairs with desperate housewives and people getting lost in pounds of flab because nobody has the guts to go first and produce something really out there... (Ok, I'm stopping now... Today's obviously my day to rant! :P) Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne