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8-11PM When America Actually Becomes Dumber

Just flipped through some news and read that NBC's Prime Suspect will not be renewed for a second season.  It is arguably the best new show to come on Network TV in the last five years.  Easily the best. It has the grittiness of past great cop shows like Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue before it jumped the shark (which surprisingly was when David Caruso left).  It's humorous enough to get some laughs and the people are real and you care about them.  It's sort of like The Shield in that you care, but you also dislike some of them for different reasons.  The real tragedy, is Maria Bello's character  Jane Timony is one of the best, most real characters on television. 

So this show will be taken off, but another year of Survivor, Dancing with the (B-List) stars and crap like this will be renewed.  As America gets dumber my the night, the chance for shows that actually entertain will be lost.  I remember when I was a kid, PBS showed wonderful series', channel 9 and 11 showed classic movies and CBS, NBC and ABC had a decent lineup of quality shows.  Not all the time, but most.  Even the mind numbing shows like Dallas and Dynasty were at least fun. 

So Tuesday night at 10PM, apparently nearly three times as many people would like to watch Private Practice.  A hospital "drama" that at first view seemed to be written in the same crayon it's predecessor Grey's Anatomy was.  If anything, if you take the main characters, it says a lot about what American women think about themselves, to choose some sappy story about women hooking up left and right over a strong character with morals and pride.  When I hear and read what women watch, it's a sad state of affairs and explains a lot as to why I'm single.  Stupidity and self esteem lacking people need not apply.  Maybe we have become such a shallow society that even our television ideals have fallen so far that we look down on intelligent powerful women.  Women always seem to champion the likes of Oprah or Hillary Clinton, but they don't actually want to be them.  Men say they respect a woman who feels secure in her skin and can handle herself, but the reality is that they just want a pulse and someone who will let them watch the game.  Honestly, as much as some love to say they love that the glass ceiling has been shattered, there are more people squeezing out the crazy glue than there are smashing through.  If nothing else, TV has taught us that.

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