The Golden Age of television

Last month, i had my under-10 nieces visit me for a week; and while i have stopped watching television since past few years now; they kept mine turned up all day long! While i was watching the stuff they watched; i just felt like going and beat the stuffing out of various TV execs across all channels! It was nothing like what we watched!!!

As far as i remember; i had my first taste of satellite television in 1992-93; when most of us were just used to watching doordarshan. There were a mere number of channels, prime among them being Star TV (yes there was no star plus/vijaya/meh then) and Zee TV! These channels had limited broadcast periods, and there was no 24 hour coverage then! Zee used to telecast its programs from 6pm to 9pm on a daily basis, and i remember watching series like Dr. Anand, Snakes and Ladders and the likes which was a very novel experience then for us kids!

But the cake was taken, and gulped down by Star TV! Every weekday morning, i used to get up at 6am, get ready for school, and sit religiously in front of the television for 30 minutes; for it was Force Five (Jim Terry's english adaptation of the hugely popular Japanese Mecha series) which they used to broadcast in that time slot. I still have very fond memories of what i would define as one of the best shows i have ever seen on television!

Weekends were another cause for me to get up real early and get glued to the TV! Star started airing something called as "The Star Kids show" which was a show with many cartoon series stitched together. It had some indie cartoons as well as a section dedicated to the more established cartoons.

As time progressed and the satellite channels started broadcasting more and more shows, ever increasing in number; the Indian audience was exposed to a huge world of high quality (well, kinda!) television broadcast! We kids, who were brought up on a steady diet of syndicated shows such as DD's comedy show and Street hawk, had lots of options!

Better times were yet to come! Cartoon Network started airing sometime in 1995, and ESPN and Star started reaching out more aggressively! High quality sports broadcast (Channel nine still has a fan in me) and a wider range of cartoons were there to watch! Sony too started airing shows like "Bewitched", "Who's the boss" and "Different strokes", simply adding to the fun factor.

And how can i forget "Johnny Quest"!!!

The series, which was a blend of standard animation and impressive (in 1996) CGI was an object of worship for us kids! I would be lying if i say that my aspirations of becoming a software engineer were not harbored while watching this beautiful series!

The list is lengthy; and somehow the shows have stuck! Even after all these years; and the best part about these is the fact that they can be watched over and over again, even today! And this is exactly what does not fit in with what these execs decide to air in the contemporary times.

The television broadcast scene is India is a mess! Consider the following scenario:

- Every celebrity(!) who needs attention, comes over to television to make a quick buck and establish a potential playing ground!

- Family-centric soaps are so popular that people idolize these characters!

- The Indian middle class is continuously exploited (yes, you read the right term here!) in lieu of their 15 seconds of fame on a reality show!

- Recently; there is a new fad of picking up reviled customs such as child-marriage, and female infanticide and churning series out of those! I am not sure what is being achieved with all the stuff except earning $$$$$ for the channel!

My nieces, barely 10 years in age, know about affairs, extra-marital affairs (!) and even to some extent the politics that goes on in a household! They watch half cooked cartoons like KND, Ben-10 and are extremely allergic to the classic kids' lore such as Batman, G.I.Joe (ah, cmmon, boys liked it!) and QuestWorld! When i try telling them about the "awesome" times we had as kids; i am brushed aside as an incomprehensible fool who has not advanced with time!

After i finish this, i am simply going to lie down and enjoy episodes of Magnum P.I., which is one of the better works of Tom Selleck, instead of watching him saying "no to kids" in F.R.I.E.N.D.S® Sadly my nieces, and probably my future generations will never appreciate the golden age we were brought up in, when entertainment was entertainment, and not a fat cow being milked for cash!

Long live the golden age!

-Rish