A Woman's Work Is Never Done
Okay, so I watch TV.
I know I should do more chores, or bake, or read to my kids more, or weed the garden or build works of great art or cure cancer, but instead, I find that I often watch TV.
A lot of TV.
I probably shouldn't, but I do.
However, in my defense, I do remember a time when TV wasn't just "good," it was great.
Why? Because the pioneers of television were all seasoned theater actors who knew how to act.
This meant they knew how to be funny. They had something called experience in front of live audiences. What happened to this? I don't get it.
An example of the kind of timeless television I'm talking about, the kind based on good old fashioned acting talent, is found in this random clip from The Honeymooners.
Perhaps the theme is dated, but these actors were former Broadway hams who simply had the chops to pull off how to keep a scene moving, the audience engaged and knew precisely what character driven comedy was all about. What happened to this talent?
The Honeymooners were basically a four person cast: Jackie Gleason; Audrey Meadows: Art Carney and Joyce Randolph; They played just simple folks, a bus driver and his wife and their next door neighbors each living in boring, crappy apartments in Brooklyn. But, they were human and funny and moving and very real. I miss this in television today.
Sorry, Eric Schaeffer and the those other crappy television stars out there (on cable) but what separates junk from gold is one simple ingredient: Real talent.
I don't see it much any more. I wish I knew why this seems like such a rare commodity.
But real comedic timing and experience in front of a live audience seems to be in short supply on the airwaves these days, and it mystifies me.
Maybe the sets have gotten better, maybe the writing has improved, but in the end, comic talent is talent.
Watch:
I know I should do more chores, or bake, or read to my kids more, or weed the garden or build works of great art or cure cancer, but instead, I find that I often watch TV.
A lot of TV.
I probably shouldn't, but I do.
However, in my defense, I do remember a time when TV wasn't just "good," it was great.
Why? Because the pioneers of television were all seasoned theater actors who knew how to act.
This meant they knew how to be funny. They had something called experience in front of live audiences. What happened to this? I don't get it.
An example of the kind of timeless television I'm talking about, the kind based on good old fashioned acting talent, is found in this random clip from The Honeymooners.
Perhaps the theme is dated, but these actors were former Broadway hams who simply had the chops to pull off how to keep a scene moving, the audience engaged and knew precisely what character driven comedy was all about. What happened to this talent?
The Honeymooners were basically a four person cast: Jackie Gleason; Audrey Meadows: Art Carney and Joyce Randolph; They played just simple folks, a bus driver and his wife and their next door neighbors each living in boring, crappy apartments in Brooklyn. But, they were human and funny and moving and very real. I miss this in television today.
Sorry, Eric Schaeffer and the those other crappy television stars out there (on cable) but what separates junk from gold is one simple ingredient: Real talent.
I don't see it much any more. I wish I knew why this seems like such a rare commodity.
But real comedic timing and experience in front of a live audience seems to be in short supply on the airwaves these days, and it mystifies me.
Maybe the sets have gotten better, maybe the writing has improved, but in the end, comic talent is talent.
Watch:
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