The Cultural Irritant

NBC has made their mark on our culture. They've done it by creating a catch phrase that spans two generations so far. That is an undertaking that only a multi billion dollar company could hope to have any success doing. They've done it by repeatedly pounding into our heads that Thursday is the home of MUST SEE T.V.! Let's examine that phrase. MUST see. Do you really need to see it? Well, if you're to have any clue on what everyone's talking about at work the next day, yeah, you do. I can imagine those execs sitting around the board table brainstorming, "we need something catchy that rhymes with must see!" "Wait I've got it! TV!" While a ray of sun beams down into the room and a choir of angels sings halleluja. The show that has anchored the lineup of "Must see tv" shows for 12 years is ER, short for "Emergency Room." A bland title that belies that complexity of situations this normal looking Chicago city ER dea...

Well, fall is in the air. This means we can count on 2 things. Yankee hate, and crappy T.V. shows that somehow have television and radio advertisments that sound a little like this: *voice rife with intense passion* "This Tuesday, watch the show that has captured the very soul of the heart of America. *cue snippet from the show* It's kids like you that make me want to coach football and and do crazy, college football stuff! " *voice* Friday night lights is the most powerful show in American history. See the show critics are calling, Riveting, delightful, Orgasmic. *snippet from show* I just don't know how to quit you Ebert and Roepper say that it should replace learning in schools. The New York Times says, "Kyle Chandler will win this years Academy Awards for best actor not in a movie, as well as, Best actor in a movie. He makes us feel tingly in our giblets." *passionate voice* Friday Night Lights, if you miss it, you might as well commit suicide. Let me ...