the other week i was taking a quiz on mentalfloss.com where you had to put classic thursday night lineups of tv shows in order depending on the year and such. so, it got me to thinking about those great shows in the late 80s and early 90s. the years of the sitcoms. your family ties, cosby show, night court, cheers, seinfeld, wings, different world, etc. great writing supported decent acting.
then the other night i watched the monday night lineup that i usually enjoy. big bang, how i met your mother, maybe two and a half men. i was NOT impressed. you want to know what i think the biggest change is? writers that use the bleep.
i mean seriously, since nipple gate back in the super bowl halftime show a few years back, television has embraced the censorship. they have learned to use it as a crutch. get in a pickle in a frustrating situation and want to express some anger? a bleeping tirade will work. the creativity is gone. there is nothing implied or hinted at or subtly done. throw a bleep at it. the bleep has ruined intellectual aspects of sitcom writing.
and as usual, we are doing this all for the kids. we have to protect those young, fragile, impressionable minds from vulgarity. if you have been around kids lately though, those kids are NOT walking around making bleep sounds. they know what is behind the bleep. the little punks are cussing up a storm anyway. damn whippersnappers. they can’t appreciate a pre-bleep society. when the censorship didn’t have to be enforced. when society was smart enough that they didn’t need everything spelled out for them with a bleep. bleep that bleep…