Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for June 24, 2021

Sometimes a red hat is just a red hat

I had an original idea for a screenplay. They responded with a very unoriginal reply – Don’t call us. We’ll call you.

He must have tried to do something truly original and independent of thought instead of rehashing something with race- and gender-swapped characters. Hollywoke hates that.

It’s a VERY niche market.

The primetime TV lineup includes such gems as The Dating Game, The $100,000 Pyramid, Card Sharks, and various other rehashes of daytime game shows which were airing decades ago. Current primetime projects include game shows based on “Slip & Slide”, on the video game “The Sims”, and yet another season of yet another rehash of amateur singing shows, “survival” shows, and cooking shows. So I can see how somebody trying to use wit and literacy in Hollywood would be doomed.

Screen writers are renown wits but TV producers are only half as witty as writers.

A truism of playwriters/screenwriters: “Satire is what closes on Saturday night.” (Quote by George S. Kaufman.)

And then there was the guy who won a Rory for the Most Gratuitous Use of the Word “Belgium” in a Serious Screenplay.

Except for football I have not watched a regular TV show in maybe a decade, CuriosityStream for about $20.00 for a whole year is simply a gem. Get the app.

He forgot to cast any Afro-Latinx-Jew-Asian-Gay-Trans-Bi-Furries.

Such writers started taking to the pavement when representative types replaced true characters. (“Barney Fife, Columbo, Jim Rockford and Angel, you are wanted on set….”)

Wit and literacy? H-m-m-m-m . . . I kinda think those guys caught a bus a long while back and have rarely been seen since.

He appealed to the intelligence of the voters and lost by a landslide.

There is a reason why US commercial broadcast TV is known as “the great American wasteland”.

Dumbing down America is TV today! They cancel all the good dramas and replace with garbage, especially the idiotic talk shows, one after another, and sitcoms of yelling and nonsense. Ratings are high for these imbecile shows……cable offers more garbage….out of 600+ channels, you’re lucky to find about 8-10 channels worth watching. How many channels can you have with advertising, same reruns for years and stupid programming? Even PBS has been a big disappointment. One day, soon, I will cancel cable because it’s proven to be worthless, and waste of time.

What’s happening to America? Everything is changing for the worst instead of improving…..dumbing down America campaign seems to be on a roll, not stopping any time soon….pitiful

GAWD. . .haven’t watched any tv for close on 15 years now. . .haven’t missed it. . .don’t go to movies much, either. . .

When “Status Quo” really means “Stale Quotes”

‘’wit and literacy’’ vs. gunfights and car crashes … guess who wins?

Gotta go now. We’re going to see ‘’fast and furious # 28’’. Wonder how it ends.

It’s difficult to fight cultural decay, especially when it’s considered woke enlightenment.

It looks like he’s going pretty well with the donations. His cap is full of money. He may never go back to trying writing.

The Roman Empire, entertained the masses, with bread & circuses. That overall worked well for the upper class. Today, trying the same tactic, is missing one of the key elements. In Rome it was FREE for the peasants (the seats weren’t as good but the same entertainment was free for all. Today in the USA if there is anything of quality to be found, one has to PAY for it. When I had to choose between cable/satellite TV, and eating….

Prove you learned your lesson: change the note to “Will drop pants for money.”

TV has always been a low point, except for a very few things. Books are better, but the main plots tend to be the same

The mine where they film Gold Rush just uncovered some spectacular mammoth fossils. Unfortunately the production crew and actors weren’t there.

“Reality” shows that don’t deal with reality. Inane sitcoms where a laugh track is needed to indicate the “funny” dialogue. Shows such as The West Wing had excellent dialogue, presented by talented method actors. Now a show gets canceled mid season because it’s too cerebral, or the back story takes too long. There’s always Britbox

“Relied on wit and literacy” to an audience that’s mostly half of the former and il- of the latter.

I find myself drawn to science-type shows…“How It’s Made”…“Impossible Engineering”…that sort of stuff. Oh, and don’t forget “Forged In Fire” and “The Incredible Dr. Pol” for my idea of ‘reality’ programming.My wife, on the other hand, prefers a steady diet of the old classics like “Cheyenne”, “The Big Valley” and “Death Valley Days”.

One of the reasons I threw out my TV over a decade ago is that I got tired of seeing shows that were written for people with the intelligence and attention span of a 5 yr old.

Stick to novels. You won’t make as much money but you’ll still have vested interest in your soul.

The Mencken dictum about not losing money comes to mind. Long before Idiocracy he had Boobocracy.

I blame “reality” programmes. I remember hating the History Channel because it turned in the Hitler Channel and now the only history it has on the air is the history of rummaging in barns and pawn shops.

TV was once described as a vast waste land and that’s when it was still pretty good.

Decades ago, highly accomplished science-fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon was doing a radio interview (yes, THAT many decades ago) during which the interviewer challenged him with “90% of science fiction is crap.” To which Sturgeon replied “90% of everything is crap!”. This has come to be known as Sturgeon’s Law.

In math, we refer to it as a bell-shaped curve.

Who needs writers? Movies write themselves now. Must appeal to every race. Must appeal to women. Must not offend the Chinese. Must include: car chase, gun fights, explosions, computer graphics, soft core sex, romance, happy ending. Not required: plot, acting.

I can’t find any programs with wit and literacy on my TV! TV is doing its job of dumbing us down.

Is Bob Eubanks still doing “The Newlywed Game?”

I was driving through Sacramento this morning and saw a Lady Bum standing near a intersection with a Sign.."Broke & Ugly ! truth in advertising ? A while back my fav bum sign ever, Why lie I need a Beer. I saw him once climbing into his Brand New Chevy Tahoe parked around the corner, hey he never said he was broke.

Hollywood doesn’t want quality. They want something sellable, and that means lowest common factor.

Hey, as a librarian, I know exactly where he’s coming from.

For excellence in network TV, watch Gunsmoke reruns.

Just because someone claims they have wit and literacy, could be they may only be half right.