Stunned

You know, I spend a weekend watching Australian TV, and the last thing I expect to see when I reconnect to the world around me is serious talk of nationalising the banks.

Given my own stance on nationalising, I am pretty much in favour of it, but I'm also just...stunned.

Stunned, because it is surprising on just how fragile our own economic security has been.

Stunned, because it is just amazing that we as a country have survived on what looks like fumes instead of fuel.

I freely admit that I am not in any way, shape, or form an economic whiz, but it has seemed apparent to me that the government's role is to ensure the security (economic, social, and political) of its citizens to go on and live their lives.

I also view this from an "entertainment" perspective: This economic meltdown (as many are describing it) is going to manifest itself in terms of what gets green-lighted and what comes out of seemingly nowhere to become a hit.

NBC, for example, sees ER end its run this Spring, and with the bizarre Jay Leno @ 10/9 pm choice has thrown the successful Law & Order shows into possible cancellation before their own time. (Not that this is much of a surprise, since NBC programming executives have had no real strategy for their main brand since the mid-nineties.)

CBS has imported a Canadian drama and is getting relatively good ratings for it (even if it got the axe in Australia).

Ultimately, what I believe is going to happen is that we--as an audience and media consumers--are going to see a trend of co-productions and imports. We are also going to see programs that are not so much "whiz! bang! pow!," but focused strongly on developing story and character.

Not that the procedural is dead. It'll just have to be interesting and gripping for less.

The real genre to watch will actually be the sitcom*. I don't think that we've seen the show that will revive it to its former heights, but I believe within the next two years, we will be seeing a rush on sitcom productions.

*Some might argue reality TV will flourish in this market, but I have to wonder this: "Would I really want to see some failed actor from the Valley win a big bucket of money when I'm trying to just keep a roof over my head? I don't think so."