You can tell the Underground is restive. I’m in a bad mood, and when the subject of TV shows came up, it reminded me of a piece I wrote early in the year - before I went to blog software.
Most of you didn’t see it, and since re-runs are a staple on televsion anyway (isn’t this ironic), I’m doing it one more time…
The Original Rant
In the midst of another bout with insomnia, I found myself stuck in front of the tube, watching a fly fishing show where the host wasn’t exactly a strong caster as much as he was a strong talker.
In one heart-rate-inflating sequence, the two anglers in the drift boat casually covered the water of a wading angler, a move guaranteed to draw a glare from most anglers, if not a speeding bullet. Marvey.
Expertizing
You watch fishing shows at your own peril, and I suppose I got what I deserved simply for tuning in. After all, this wasn’t the first time I found myself yelling at the television while some “expert” bloviates about his “respect” for the fish and the sheer beauty of it, holding it out of the water so the viewer could also “appreciate” the fish, which by that point is looking pretty glassy-eyed.
Popping a fish out of the water for five seconds to take a picture isn’t noteworthy, but when those seconds climb past the 30 second mark, then any “appreciation” for the fish takes on a more exploitive cast. Or a more egotistical one.
Inevitability
Maybe it’s inevitable whenever the lines of recreation and commerce start to intersect, but honestly, where do these shows come from? And why (why??) does the presence of a camera reduce all involved to a bunch of gibbering, high-fiving morons?
Next time, I’m going to read a book.
[tags]television[/tags]
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
kbarton10 10.13.06 at 3:13 pm
Relax Hoss,
The recent death of Steve Irwin should have a lasting and pronounced effect on these digital naturalists.
“…not how bright these beautiful rainbows are (fish struggle) and how pronounced the black spots are (fish struggle) on the sides of … arghhh”
Camera pans to limp corpse of fisherman face down and drifting slowly …
Fade to Black
Tom Chandler 10.13.06 at 5:43 pm
If only. But trout aren’t dangerous (typically only to marriages), so there’s precious little to stop the bloviation.
The hyper-kinetic Irwin was light years ahead of most of these guys…
victor Schiro 07.28.07 at 12:28 am
I would like to know if there is a really good, creative and really well done trout fly fishing TV show. And what do viewers like to see most in a show like this.
I personally would like to see a show that slows the pacing down to what it is really like to be on a stream and focus on the experience of stalking and catching trout. I don’t need a master fly fisherman pulling trout in left and right like there is no tomorrow. I wouldn’t mind seeing a host with some personality that is just an average fisherman who is learning to be better as the show goes on through the season.