Pop Culture Is Losing Itself
Soundtrack: “Distance And Meaning” by Converge

Aaron Spelling has gone to the big television production booth in sky. He died earlier this evening from complications resulting from a stroke he had earlier this week. I can't say that I'm too tremedously torn up about it (although Tori Spelling can't leave this mortal realm soon enough in my opinion), it's sad that the man who brought us “Fantasy Island” and "Starsky And Hutch" is no longer with us.

If you're asking who Aaron Spelling is, you've been living under a rock. Mr. Spelling was one of the most prolific and successful television producers ever. Without him we would have no “Beverly Hills 90120”, no “Charlies Angels”, no “Dynasty”. Of course, no “Beverly Hills 90120” is probably a good thing...

I think the real reason this is sad news is because it is another signal that television is going down the crapper. There's no reason to have as many channels as there are, and there's no reason why I should be bored when I have about 50 or 60 of those said channels. There should be something on that I would enjoy, but 75% of the time there isn't. Thankfully I usually watch the tele (as they say in Mother England) in the evening, when there is actually content on that doesn't bore me out of my skull. I wish I got the BBC, because all I'd watch is AbFab and The Office reruns. And Doctor Who. And Red Dwarf. Hell, I'd watch anything on any BBC station because it's bound to be better than what we have here. Except Teletubbies... they freak me the hell out. And I'd want my news from Deutsche Welle. The technology to make your own television channel has to exist... someone's holding out on us, dammit! Because if I could assemble my own mega-channel with all of my favorite shows, I'd be in heaven. Seriously. And don't tell me it's called TiVo, 'cause TiVo just isn't the same.

Gah, this is why I usually buy stuff on DVD.