As Seen On TV

I remember the first time I realized how important TV culture can be to one’s social life.

I was 13 years old in middle school band, practicing one of our many terrible renditions of pop songs, and some of my peers began talking about what happened the night before on “The OC.”

I remember desperately wanting to be part of this conversation but having nothing to contribute. I went home that afternoon and studied up on the goings-on of the snobby, rebellious teenagers of Newport Beach.

The following Friday morning, I walked into fourth-period band ready to bond with my peers about the sex, scandal and superficiality of mediocre network television.

Did this suddenly make me cool and popular as I may have hoped?

Of course not.

But my pre-pubescent self did gain the acceptance that comes from being able to participate in the first of many vacant conversations that continue to define our interactions with  acquaintances.

Television was and is a critical social gel of popular culture.

It’s an easily accessible conversation starter, and such water cooler chit-chat is essential to our social makeup. “Hey, did you see last night’s episode of (insert mutually appreciated program)?” Cool, let’s talk about that while I wait for you to finish getting your Cherry Coke out of the vending machine.

In the last year or so, though, our options for a fairly universally watched program have been dwindling.

Gone are the WTF moments from the morning after a crucial “Lost” episode. No longer are our heartstrings pulled by the will-they-won’t-they love of Jim and Pam.
Our popular culture seems to be missing a must-watch show.

This is not to say that there are not good TV shows to talk about. When “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead” or “Mad Men” are in season, we regain a shadow of the comfort of re-hashing the previous night’s  programming.

But none of the four major networks currently offers a show with the mass appeal and suspense necessary to bring us  together.

We settle for more niche programming, facilitated by the rise of Hulu and DVR. We can watch what we want when we want, which is great, but that flexibility is what allows our hyper-specific tastes to guide our TV choices.

We find our favorite show and watch it. Programming is not dictated by a rigid schedule that forces us to all be more or less on the same page.

And there isn’t an individual show with the mass appeal to make us want to watch it in time to talk about it the next day.

Sure, you can find someone to discuss last night’s “Fringe” with, but there really isn’t the draw to unite an entire subculture. Television is currently in a vacuum of good, but not great, programming.

Please, Hollywood, give us something so we aren’t forced to live through another season of “Jersey Shore.”

In the meantime, we fill our breaks with other options.

Do yourself a favor and pay attention to the Super Bowl on Sunday. God knows you’ll need something to talk about in the break room Monday morning.