I miss appointment television; when I could come in to work the next day confident that everyone had watched the same show that I did.
What ever happened to appointment television? I remember when women across the country sighed and cried after Brenda and Dylan first slept together; when no one went out on Monday nights unless they were going to a Melrose Place party; I even vaguely remember the summer when everyone was asking,"Who shot JR?" Now the audience is so fragmented, that it's rare to find a show that everyone is watching.
"There was a time when people fed from the same cultural trough at the same time," says Robert Thompson, trustee professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University."I don't think we're going to realize how much we're going to miss those days when we were held together by that cultural glue." Granted, there are some shows still providing water-cooler fodder, such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, American Idol, and 24, but even these shows haven't achieved the ratings success of Dynasty or Dallas in their heydays. In fact, of those four shows above, I admit to only wanting one (Lost). When co-workers talk about the latest death on 24, I only have a vague idea of who they're talking about, and when I bemoan Logan Echolls' latest debacle I'm asked, "who?" because the person doesn't watch Veronica Mars. I can't even depend on a good Prison Break haircut joke.
The audience has become so fragmented, that I can't assume everyone is watching the same shows I am. Even if they are, they may be Tivo-ing-and-saving-for-later, so I have to preface conversations with "Spoiler alert!" or turn to message boards so I can dissect what happened and re-live the good parts. My appointment television has turned into appointment websites - I'm a computer zombie on Thursdays as I pour over my favorite fan sites reading about Lost and Veronica Mars. I now have ABC Family's website on my list of favorites so I can find out more about Wildfire and Beautiful People, because none of my friends are watching these guilty pleasure shows.
If I had a Gilmore Girls party would anyone come? If I said I wished that House was with Cuddy would anyone know who I was talking about? I miss the days when I could proudly say I was staying home on a Friday night because I needed to watch a favorite show. Now people look at me like I'm crazy: "You watch Conviction? Who's in that again?" Or "Why don't you just Tivo it?" Because I like watching shows in real time! And it's getting a little lonely.
