Just about everybody thinks most of television stinks. Ask them. Nobody admits liking most of TV. In fact, most people swear they don’t watch it all that much. Yeah, right. The sad truth is we adults and our impressionable kids are addicts to TV crap (there’s no other legitimate word for it). And the reason we watch crap is because the crap makers are experts at knowing what crap to dish out and then they convince advertisers to sponsor it. If you hate a lot of TV, then talk to business owners, large and small. Talk to IBM, Nike, Budweiser, Time Warner and the Burger Boys. They make it all possible. The reason most of us put up with crap is because there’s so much of it to choose from, we lose track of what is ordinary crap and what is superior. The market researchers know what all of us think and want (violence and sex); but just for fun, it would be interesting to make a list of what crap we would eliminate, given the power (other than turning the tube off). Let’s see …

Movie and music awards where people dress up to tell themselves how great they are.
Political talk shows featuring pundits who actually believe they’re smarter.
Sitcoms that high school dropouts could write if only they had the time.
Pro basketball. Is there a more overrated game with less drama? OK, bowling. Oh, pool.
Ninety percent of all movies which do nothing but make you wish you weren’t human.
Network commentary explaining political speeches you aren’t smart enough to get.
Ninety percent of all advertising, with a special prize for car dealers and male enhancement.
Beauty pageants which contradict the notion that humans are the superior species.
Audience participation talk shows which prove humans are not the superior species.
Day and nighttime soaps which help millions identify with futility.

Ten’s a good number. Well, goodness, what does that leave? Let’s see, a few great movies, cartoons, a load of sports (even wrestling and fishing), biography, nature, old variety reruns, shopping channels, religion, ten percent of advertising, C-Span (God love it), history, medicine, court tv, and a lot of other special interest channels. A lot of good stuff. But if you’re tired of the crap — the excessive violence for violence sake, “legit” pornography, inane psychobabble—blame it on the advertiser who is convinced we and millions of other zombies are getting precisely what we want. Hmmmmnnn.