Last week I saw a commercial which made me a little mad. While watching TBS, I learned that they would be airing reruns of "The Office" on Tuesday nights from 10-11. First, let me say that I have enjoyed "The Office" the few times I've seen it. However, it's airing on TBS got me to ponder the sorry state of reruns.There used to be a time when most series didn't go into syndication until after they stopped producing original episodes. This started to change back in the late 70s when many shows still in production which had at least 100 episodes started airing reruns in syndication. I didn't and still don't have a problem with this. However, as the years go by, the timeframe between a show's debut and its launch into syndication is getting smaller and smaller. "The Office" has only been on for 2 1/2 years. Do we really need to see reruns this early in the game? Along with "The Office", there are other fairly recent series which have already hit the rerun circuit. For example, Lifetime airs reruns of "Desperate Housewives", "Grey's Anatomy" and "Medium".
Along with current shows being sold prematurely into syndication, you have a handful of series from the past that are rerun to death. Would anyone besides the most ardent "I Love Lucy" fan shed a tear if the tales of the Ricardos and the Mertzes left the airwaves for awhile? For anyone who let out a gasp of horror over that last sentence you can relax because "I Love Lucy" will never leave the air.
My beef with these trends is that there are countless old series that are just languishing in the vaults. In early August, I did a Thursday Thirteen about series that I would love to see in reruns again. Some of the shows I listed were "The Mod Squad", "Doogie Howser M.D.", "The Wild, Wild West", and "Herman's Head". A 22 year old blogger commented on that TT by saying that she hadn't heard or seen any of the series on my list. Just to be clear, this isn't a knock against her. If channels aren't willing to take a chance and dust off some of these series, I can't expect her or others in her age range to know anything about some of the shows from yesteryear.
One of my favorite TV memories as a kid is back in the summer of 1977 when Channel 50 in Detroit aired some classic TV shows under the umbrella title "The Festival of Television". Some of the series featured were "My Little Margie", "The Phil Silvers Show", "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", "Love That Bob", "The Millionaire", "December Bride" and its spinoff, "Pete and Gladys". For a TV freak like me, this was video nirvana. It was the first time I had seen of those shows. Unfortunately, some of them I haven't seen since.
There is a certain comfort in watching an old show that is familiar. However, like the old saying goes, familiarity can breed contempt. If you were to ask the powers that be, they would probably cite the following reasons why certain shows that are available for syndication aren't shown:
1. They wouldn't draw a sufficient number of viewers
2. Since 100 episodes is the magic number for most series to have a successful run in syndication, many shows don't qualify
In my opinion, the first theory can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you were to ask the average viewer to choose between "The Defenders" and "Law and Order", they would more than likely opt for the latter based on its familiarity.
As for the 100 episodes theory, there have been a few instances where shows that didn't reach that milestone thrived in syndication. Both the original "Star Trek" and "Gilligan's Island" fall into this category. Another example is "The Honeymooners". Until the "lost" episodes resurfaced in the 1980s, TV stations ran the same 39 episodes of the Jackie Gleason sitcom over and over. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may know that I recently discovered the 2004-2007 teen mystery series "Veronica Mars". If given the chance, who's to say that it and other quality shows that fall short of the 100 episode mark couldn't have a successful run in syndication?
With the way the minds of some TV programmers work, all I can say is that I am thankful that there is a market for TV shows on DVD. Otherwise, we would be deprived of seeing many shows that aren't deemed rerun-worthy.
What are your thoughts on reruns? Feel free to also list some of the shows that you would like to see given new life in syndication.
5 comments:
I absolutely agree about the rerun issue. Why show reruns of shows we are able to see weekly? When you do see older shows they seem to be the same ones over and over. That's why I was so happy when ION Television showed "The Wonder Years" a while back. The classics you mentioned I would definitely enjoy seeing. Someone mentioned in another posting that they missed "Different World", well they don't have to because it runs daily on Oxygen TV.
At this point I would be game to see almost anything that was vintage and had not been in rerun before, or at least recently...What about "Marcus Welby" or "Owen Marshall Counselor at Law", since these shows were the predecessors of current medical and legal dramas. I am about paying homage to some of the shows that paved the way for today's fare.
With that said I could always watch "Room 222".
My husband was just saying that he can't believe Two and a Half Men is already in reruns. I didn't realize that The Office was as well! I agree with you, it's too soon!
It is odd that so many of the reruns are ... current shows! Remember in the mid-to-late 80s when Nick at Night showed old TV shows like the Patty Duke Show, Mr. Ed, and other stuff that kids would like? (Way back before all the "Josh and Drake" and "Zooey 101" etc. days.) I loved that. When I babysat in high school - a LOT - one of my favorite parts was staying up late and watching old shows like Burns and Allen, Laugh-In, Jack Benny, etc. Would love to see more shows that are NOT on the air right now! At least Nick shows things like Cosby and Roseanne.
Pjazzy: I would really enjoy seeing both Marcus and Owen once again. The last time I saw both of them is when they were on TV Land for a brief time. If Room 222 ever comes on DVD, I am all over it.
Holly: Since Two and Half Men has nearly 100 episodes available for syndication, I give them a free pass. Still... if it and other shows still in production waited until they left the air before they hit the rerun circuit, I wouldn't have a problem with that either.
Bookmama: Oh yes, I remember when Nick at Nite showed the older programs back in the 80s. You may also remember CBN (before it became the Family Channel). In the mid to late 80s they would rerun shows like "Bachelor Father", "I Married Joan", and "Here Come the Brides". Ah, the good old days.
And just to prove how bloody old I am yet again - I saw many of the shows all of you mentioned in their original runs! (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, My Little Margie, Doogie Howser, I Love Lucy, Wild Wild West. . .). I could go on.
I would love to see those shows again - and once upon a time TVland and Nick at Nite ran them, like TCM and others ran the great old movies. But they seem to have disappeared off the radar of these networks. It's such a shame.
Star Trek became a mega-franchise from reruns and generations of one family would sit and watch the original series. This popularity in reruns gave birth to the movies and the following 4 Star Trek series on television. Such is the power of the rerun.
But reruns have turned into simple re-airings of current programming - another way to save a buck by one network and promote a current show by another.
Does anyone remember when reruns only happened in summer? Now we only get original episodes during Nielson ratings periods.
They might be smart to run some great old classics instead of the episode of Grey's Anatomy that aired only 3 weeks previously!
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