I’m back from a weekend of R&R with family and friends in suburbia.  On Sunday, we gathered at my friend Tara’s for an afternoon barbeque in the sunshine.  One of the many and varied topics of conversation discussed was TV.

As a new mom, Tara doesn’t have time to schedule her TV watching so she’s turned to renting DVDs of cable series like True Blood and Dexter, but was frustrated that she wasn’t able to get her hands on a copy of Dexter season 4.   Her cousin Adam and I had both seen the series online months ago.  We both raved about the fourth season, especially about how neither of us could wait out the week for the final episode to air.  It was the talk of the town, it was must-see TV.

How rare is it these days that a television show is an event? 

My dad was telling us about when he was a kid his family used to sit down in front of London Palladium in the ’60s and got all excited because they knew Frank Sinatra would be the main act that night.  It was a big event.  This reminded me of my own childhood when me and my friends would run inside to watch our favorite shows.  Looking back on those shows now, they weren’t much to talk about, but then, they were worth my time.  Thursday nights on NBC back then was ‘must-see TV’.

Maybe the problem is that we’re spoiled for choice.  We all know the way in which we watch TV is changing.  We don’t need to watch what’s on when it’s on.  We watch what we want, when we want it.  We will find a way to see the shows we can’t get through the TV set. 

Adam and I said we could do away with traditional TV and would much rather just pay for the channels we want.  HBO, Showtime, Showcase, and Bravo! were the only ones we cared about.  Both of us watch TV online because we can’t get the shows we want to see on TV.  Yes, I could pay to watch HBO Canada, but I don’t want to.  I already pay too much for TV and don’t want to pay for the movie package just to get the ONE channel I really want. 

But not only the way in which we watch TV is changing, but WHAT we want to watch on TV is changing.  The shows I watch on conventional TV are good, but don’t have me chomping at the bit for the next episode.  They typically lose my interest before the middle of the second season. 

Cable shows are where it’s at.  They’re provactive, realistic, gritty, intelligent, and different.  Dexter, Sex and the City, Californication all push moral boundaries, but that’s what makes them exciting.  Some viewers get offended and protest.  If you don’t like, don’t watch.  There’s a heckuva lot of stuff on TV I find offensive (mostly reality shows) but I don’t start petitions to get them off the air, I simply change the channel (and likely moan about the misapplication of funds).

Sure, sometimes all you want is to shut your brain off and melt into the sofa before a simple cop drama, but even conventional TV used to have some thrill to it.  Perhaps conventional programs should look to cable shows for some inspiration.  Get us excited again.