TV IS DEAD TOO

By Khalid Salaam 

TV Is Dead Too.

A couple of months I was talking with Ryan (before he left) and Konate (Slam intern) about a blog topic revolving around the question of which is worse, the state of Hip-Hop or the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Initially I was amped about the subject but we were swamped at the time so I put I off, then the holidays came and there so much going on at work with the new regime that I kind of got bored with the topic. I decided I would take a break from giving the haters ammo. Too many people use the NBA as double-speak for their own brand of what is and isn’t acceptable. All that “thug” talk is very suspicious and really is just coded language for something else. I advise everyone to do what I do, which is to ignore people who are obvious outsiders to both cultures.

The other reason the topic bored me was that Nas’ joint got a serious amount of burn in the Slam Dome and I, for a second anyway, felt a little more optimistic about things. But checking out the list if new album releases for the next couple of quarters and hearing the latest new sh*t down the hall at XXL brought me back to the truth. Susan Price (Slam Man. Editor) asked me the other day if I was going to revisit the topic and I was for a minute then I changed my mind. Here’s why.

TV is just as bad. It’s a wasteland really. Not to mention expensive because if you don’t have cable you are SOL. For instance did you know that if you live in the NYC area you can’t watch the Knicks or Nets unless you have cable? What kind of haves vs. the have-nots BS is that? Shouldn’t there be a way for one of the local affiliates to carry the hometown team? This whole thing got started the other night when I was watching the news and they touched upon the Grey’s Anatomy controversy in which one of the actors called another guy a fag. The incident happened in October and the accused actor (Isaiah Washington) said it again at the Golden Globes on Sunday. Interesting enough, the guy who was called out later came out, saying that he was an homosexual. Weird right? This is big news because Grey’s Anatomy is the number 1 show in the country but that’s my point. It’s not so great. Its decent escapism that’s all and it’s being lauded as some great monumental show. The writing isn’t sharp or gritty enough. It’s definitely not as reality based as E.R and that’s mainly because the cast is just too good looking to be even remotely believable. Sure there was some sexual innuendo on ER but it mainly focused on the seriousness of hospital life. Greys Anatomy is like soft porn. (And I hate soft porn. Hardcore or not at all, ya know?) It’s too soap operaish. The writing just isn’t there. But my girl likes the show and I get tired of arguing all the time so I just watch it with her. I guess it’s like bonding time to her or something.

The only things on TV that you actually look forward to watching are the HBO dramas (Sopranos, the Wire and Entourage), Law and Order SVU and 60 Minutes. That’s it. And HBO is weird as hell with their programming so the seasons are spaced out years at a time. We love the Wire here at the office but by the time we find out if Michael is gonna get into the street life 100 percent some of us probably be working somewhere else. I watched Everybody Hates Chris last season but ever since that idiot network the CW changed the day and time I can’t find it. I recall a time when Must see TV actually meant something. When shows like X-Files and Seinfeld (btw I still haven’t returned to regular watching of the show. Not sure if the Kramer situation messed it up for me that much or if it’s because I’ve seen all the episodes enough times to recite them that I’m finally tired of watching it) we’re actually something that competed with all my sports watching. Nowadays when I turn on the telly I have no motivation to even click through the dial because I know its gonna be a dead end. It’s especially hard when you’re team is about a light-year out of competing for a title. So now I watch with a little less devotion so my non-sports watching becomes that much more essential. There is more idiocy, more sex, more violence and less intelligence on TV than ever before but nobody seems to complain about that. Now maybe they will. Or they won’t. Regardless no more people who don’t know anything about the NBA or Hip-Hop should be criticizing about anything. I’m tired of all these talking head fake experts trying to comment.