mem@sii.UUCP (Mark Mallett) (12/09/83)
b I was watching a TV show with my son today (the advantage of having a child is that you can pretend to keep him company while he is watching cartoons)- this was something called "Inspector Gadget". I was trying to read the credits as they flashed by at about a screenfull every second or so, watching the letters get smaller and smaller each screen; it got to a point where the letters were far smaller than the resolution of my television. While I have seen rushing credits before, I have never seen them so small that they are impossible to project much less read. I think both practices are ridiculous and I wish they'd stop it. Also, I'd like to congratulate some net.tv submitter whose name I didn't catch for the correct speculation about Larue putting blanks in Hunter's gun (Hill Street); I'm glad to have quoted this speculation widely, makes me look smart. No credits were given, of course. Oh, and I suppose while I'm criticizing tv and talking about Hill Street--- given the amount of garbage on tv, why do competing networks put their good shows opposite each other? I would think that they'd pick almost any other slot and pit good show against garbage. It would all balance out and more people would get to see more shows. (Although actually I don't know why I am complaining; I currently only tune in one network tv show a week (Cheers, which slides into Hill Street which isn't quite bad enough to turn off).) Mark E. Mallett decvax!sii!mem
crl@pur-phy.UUCP (Charles LaBrec) (12/12/83)
It is relatively simple to understand why good shows are pitted against each other. Each network, if it had its own way, would like the country to watch only THEM. If they pit garbage against a good competitor, the garbage loses. Only if a good show is pitted against it could they possibly steal the time slot. This also leaves the garbage to compete. Hopefully, in their minds, their garbage is better than the other's garbage, so people will watch them. The same sort of mentality affects time slot decisions. Sometimes, a good show is moved such that it gives a strong lead in to something else. I noticed that "Cheers" is being moved back 1/2 hr. to make place for "Buffalo Bill". I guess that NBC is trying to use the strong audience from "Cheers" to build up one for "Buffalo Bill", since viewers who want to watch "Hill Street" are less likely to switch for 30 mins. Charles LaBrec UUCP: pur-ee!Physics:crl, purdue!Physics:crl INTERNET: crl @ pur-phy.UUCP