Quality in television programming and production

Quality TV

Some critics might allege that the phrase 'quality TV' is an oxymoron -- that there is no such thing as quality television, and every hour spent in front of a television is wasted time. Certainly, using television as a drug, and mindlessly staring at a screen, surfing channels or staring at a television program of little interest is of questionable value. But that could be said of any activity done to waste time, such as playing video games. The mere fact that television is on a screen does not make it 'bad.' After all, the same criticism could be made of films. Television and film has the capacity to provide purely passive entertainment, but also the ability to shock, surprise, and shake the viewer out of his or her comfort zone. Quality television can even change behavior, in terms of political action, daily behavior patterns and social alliances and sites of identification for the viewer.

This is what is important, what makes something 'quality television' is that the television program must be worthwhile in content, chosen with a purpose by the viewer, and watched in a such a way that the program's purposeful effect upon the viewer is realized. Usually this ideal is achieved when the viewer watches with an audience, in the company of others. Quality television has the feeling of an 'event.' To achieve that life-shocking sensibility, crafters of quality television entertainment have often deployed violence, and explicitly or implicitly made reference to violent social problems. However, some viewers are offended by this -- it has been objected that television violence is inherently exploitative and therefore 'bad' television. However, so long as the violence is not for 'violence's sake,' but serves a higher purpose, violence does not dilute the quality of television, and in fact may be necessary to communicate a message.

Quality TV is educational

All but the most hardened critics of television would acknowledge that educational TV is 'good' TV -- after all, Sesame Street has taught countless children numbers, colors, and letters -- and also to be more tolerant of different races, religions, and ethnicities, as reflected in the multinational cast that has been featured on the show. Raising an adult viewer's sensibilities about the pervasiveness of violence in society and its causes through an expose of prison violence such as Oz is no less valid. Even nonfiction, educational PBS programs like Ken Burns' documentaries on the Civil War, baseball, and jazz deal frankly with controversial issues of race, discrimination, war, and the violence used to perpetuate social injustice in American history. Burns' documentaries have become living museums of the American experience, featuring news clips, photographs, actors reading journals and eyewitness historical accounts, and generated new interest about history all over the nation. History and science teachers use nonfiction TV programs, and other PBS programs like Nova, in their classrooms and make use of supplemental educational material provided by the television station. To edit out, for example, the bloodiness of Civil War battles or the violence that occurs in the wild would be detrimental to the educational aspects of these quality works of television, and it would be just as dishonest to create a version of the old West where men did not swear vs. The frankness of Deadwood.

Ultimately, seeing an honest TV the gives genuine information, rather than sanitized misinformation improves society. TV programs such as high-quality cooking, exercise, and home improvement shows can give ideas to viewers about how to change their lives for the better. So can the social action or changed view of the world in fictional and nonfictional television programs that depict a violent world. Ugliness and violence, is part of life, and to exclude this would dilute the informational authority of the medium and the messenger.

Quality TV is an 'event'

Although it may go without saying, TV has provided a vital and necessary function bringing the nation and the world together during times of national crisis. After 9/11, virtually every person with access to a television was glued to the set, not simply to look at horrifying pictures, but to receive information about what was going on. TV provided a calming function, by giving information and dispelling rumors that naturally generate during times of turmoil. The images may have been violent, but surely 'not knowing' and not seeing what was happening would have been worse and provoked more fear.

TV has long provided a function of being a kind of national, uniting fireplace of comfort during the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and televising Kennedy's subsequent funeral, even though the images may have been shocking, like Jackie Kennedy's blood-stained dress. Every controversial war, from Vietnam to Iraq that has taken place in history since TV became a ubiquitous feature of the American living room has been violent yet necessary viewing. Once upon a time, people had to wait a long time to hear about events as they happened, now they can see it happening before their eyes, even the uglier side of supposedly patriotic wars -- history in the making his quality television, even if that history is violent and tragic.

Of course, politically-oriented TV can occasionally provide more 'heat' than light in terms of the information it gives, but that is the fault of the broadcaster, not the medium itself. People are more aware politically, and more aware of other cultures because of the visceral, visual images of TV and even fictional event-style broadcasting forces the viewer to view images more carefully, and consider if the images require them to bring about a change in their lives. One of the best things about 'event' broadcasting, whether it is a political event or the finale of the Sopranos is that it discourages passive TV viewing and encourages people to get together and make watching the show a social experience in a way that promotes discussion. Shocking images or emotions are often part of what drive people to make a show 'much see' TV. Suspense combined with information is what makes an experience truly 'must see' TV.

Quality TV is enjoyed collectively

Watching TV with the family and friends, rather than in isolation, thus brings an additional level of 'quality' to the experience. Quite often adult content in broadcasting facilitates communal television-watching and thought-provoking discussion, rather than dilutes the quality of the experience. Children may feel frightened about world events, but through television they gain knowledge and can talk about the subject with their parents. TV can instigate discussions about important issues that are difficult to bring up, like sexuality, the threat of violence, alcohol, and drugs. Ignoring the reality of violence is surely worse, and the collective experience of engagement in front of the television by a family can be beneficial. Similarly, when a parent knows that a television program is designed for a mature audience, he or she will be more likely to watch the program with the child, to ensure that the violence is viewed in an appropriate manner. TV watching like this is thought-provoking and active, and socially bonding rather than passive and isolating. The creators of shows like the Wire, the Sopranos, and Oz designed their shows to address cotemporary issues and spur on such thought-provoking discussions.

Quality TV is a window on the world

Emotionally stirring TV encourages identification with characters the viewer might not otherwise encounter. Seeing programs about other nations and socioeconomic classes can excite interest and elicit sympathy for places around the world. Television images can humanize far-off or abstract events, like the crimes many Americans face in their streets on a daily basis. Sometimes the images of life in the wild of 'dog eat dog' can be brutal, but to present a sanitized version of life, would not be accurate or fair to real people's experiences, whether their lives are actually depicted or used to inspire fictional events.