Personally, I have to agree with the idea that today’s programming is a “vast wasteland.” I love watching tv classics like I Love Lucy and the Dick Van Dyke Show. Sure, there are things I find a little weird, like the fact that Ricky can spank Lucy and no one cries domestic abuse – probably no one even knew what domestic abuse was then – but aside from the occasional tiny flaw that reveals more about the time period’s society than the plot, I really love these shows because they’re genuinely funny. Modern Family may be the one show currently airing that’s marketed as a comedy and actually makes me laugh out loud. With other shows, sure, I’ll know that it’s funny, but it doesn’t surprise me and get a giggle out of me.
Maybe it’s me, maybe I just have ridiculously high standards for what makes me laugh, but I feel like the generation after ours has to be suffering the most when it comes to TV. Cartoon Network hardly has any cartoons anymore. Disney Channel’s funniest shows have ended and their Original Movies aren’t as great as they used to be. I don’t even know what’s going on with Nickelodeon right now. I’m still confused about ABC Family because I wouldn’t want to watch any of their popular shows with my family – case in point, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. No, thank you. Ridiculously high standards or not, I’m waiting for a show that makes me laugh, something I can watch with my family, not something that makes me lament what passes for entertainment these days.