My Two Cents – What Happens To Our Shows When Tomorrow Comes?

photo: nbc

With all the show cancellations coming up this year (and a few scheduled for next year already—RIP Rescue Me and rumors of Entourage), I began thinking about what television has come to in the last few years.

When the staff here at thetwocents was asked to put together their top shows of the decade as the end of the year approached, my list consisted of Will & Grace, Friends, and Beverly Hills 90210. It was quite sad that people had to look up to see if those shows even aired in the 2000s. They did.

It was only 2005 when Friends and Will & Grace ended. I’ll cut some slack for the original 90210, which only aired halfway into 2000. The list that came out had shows I had never even heard of. Honestly, what the heck is Firefly? And I love all things Glee, but best show of the decade? Not quite yet.

Late at night while I’m trying to fall asleep, I watch Will & Grace reruns on Lifetime. In fact, I still DVR some of those episodes I just can’t get enough of. Friends runs on three different channels here so I get to watch three different seasons simultaneously. A few weeks ago I got to watch the finale, while Rachel was finding out she was pregnant and the gang was in the Bahamas. All in one day. There are more goodies I love to watch. How about Full House, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, or That 70s Show (okay, maybe not those last two seasons…). These shows still run today on various channels at all times of the day and have new followings with each show they air. Even some shows that are currently airing new episodes are already in syndication. Tonight on Lifetime I get to watch the post-Superbowl “Code Black” episode of Grey’s Anatomy and then tomorrow night it’s all brand new over on ABC. Even How I Met Your Mother plays late at night on cable. Every morning, afternoon and weekend, I cuddle in bed with Brenda, Brandon and the original West Bev gang thanks to SoapNet. No CW and Annie-ran-over-my-uncle storylines for me. I’ll stick with Kelly and Brenda wearing the same dress to the spring dance, thank you.

So then I think to the future. What will we see on our televisions ten years from now? Like I said, I love Glee, but will it really be in reruns a decade from now? Grey’s will only last on Lifetime for so long and not many shows can last 15 years like ER (which thankfully I still watch everyday thanks to TNT). Can you imagine watching Ugly Betty on TVLand? That would be a trip. Will it come to something like the cable music channels we get? Instead of “hits of the 90s” and “songs of the 80s,” will we get shows of our decade? Will we see Sheldon and Leonard on TBS at 7 AM? I just can’t picture it. TBS will always be the 7 AM home of Zach and Slater.

I can still quote Friends (“He’s her lobster!”) and remember when Will & Grace did a horrible job hiding Debra Messing’s real-life pregnancy. And who could forget Nip/Tuck‘s “Carver” storyline and when George Clooney swooped in to take Julianna Margolis away when she left ER?

These are shows engraved in my mind that I will never forget and I just wish shows of today were as good as shows of yesterday. And I hope the ones that are on par with those goodies stay around and find a way to be engraved in the minds of future TV watchers of tomorrow.

Oh, and don’t think I forgot my childhood favorites like Perfect Strangers, Growing Pains, Family Matters, Boy Meets World or Charles in Charge. That’s a whole other column all together. 🙂

Farrah Kaye – Associate Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com