They say that this is the golden age of television. Far, far removed from the days of just three networks, there are now more outlets offering up more series than ever before. In fact there is speculation that next year's fall season might just be the last for the traditional roll out of new shows, based on the simple fact that they are rolling out new shows everywhere all the time. It was just a few short years ago that Netflix was revolutionary, becoming the first non over-the-air or cable service to offer up an episodic offering. Now Amazon, Hulu and CBS All Access are not only viable alternatives to traditional outlets, but compete with and even best them as measured by viewers, awards or just water cooler buzz.
To be sure, as in most areas, the field is dominated by a few major players. With production and marketing budgets in the millions, their offerings are the ones you hear about most often. That doesn't mean that they are the best, just merely the best promoted. Take the flagship offering from Apple's new service, Apple TV+. Called "The Morning Show," it stars such bankable names as Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon. Yet all that talent doesn't make it a "must watch." As one review put it, "It's familiar, which is no sin, but it's unmemorable, which is no asset." It continues: "Apple founder Steve Jobs was fond of the line, ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal.' Thus far, ‘The Morning Show' is not worth calling the cops on." That has got to truly hurt the Cupertino faithful.
"The Morning Show" and its siblings may have unusual parents and unique distribution models, but at their hearts they are still old school TV, be they comedy, drama or some hybrid. Subject matter and sensibilities aside, they would be equally at home on CBS at 9:00PM on a Thursday night. That's not something you can say about a new series that debuted this week from the National Pork Board. Not only you can view it on YouTube, Facebook or even a virtual reality Headset, it's unlikely to be found sandwiched between "Chicago Med, "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D." even if it is also shot in the Midwest.
Filmed in partnership with the Minnesota Pork Board and Christensen Farms located in Sleepy Eye, MN, it's called "Pig Farming: The VR Experience." Shot with a 360 degree camera that enables you to look around the tour progresses, it's hosted by a 7th generation farmer named Maddie Hokanson. She takes viewers on a walk through gestation, farrowing, nursery and finishing barns, and uses animation and line drawings to explain the process that turns piglets into bacon. Hokanson is a natural on camera, not to mention being authentic: she's a graduate of South Dakota State with a degree in Agricultural Education, as well as having been named the inaugural Pig Farmer of Tomorrow in 2017.
If pigs aren't your thing there are lots of other web series that might interest you. You might have heard of Zach Galifianakis' "Between Two Ferns," or Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." Beyond that there are ones for every taste. If you are a travel buff, check out "Discover Puerto Rico with Lin-Manuel Miranda." If you like talk shows, listen in on three generations of women on "Red Table Talk" with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. If you want more traditional Rom-Coms, there's "Sideswiped," while "Sorry For Your Loss" feels more like a big screen film about a young widow. And "Bumbld" is a "raw and unapologetic account of the 'swipe culture' from the female perspective." It's sort of an updated, more profane and funnier version of "Sex and the City" delivered in sub three-minute installments.
Being a mass media consumer used to be easy. The choices were few, the cost non-existent. Now you have options galore, with an ala carte menu that resembles the offerings at a 24-hour diner, and a pricing structure where you spend in increments so small that you don't realize that you've dropped $100 in a month. Viewers are couch potatoes no more, but rather couch commandos, juggling multiple screens and jockeying multiple remotes. Pick what you like, though you should check out Maddie: we all know that everything is made better with bacon.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford would actually rather read a book than watch a screen. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
To be sure, as in most areas, the field is dominated by a few major players. With production and marketing budgets in the millions, their offerings are the ones you hear about most often. That doesn't mean that they are the best, just merely the best promoted. Take the flagship offering from Apple's new service, Apple TV+. Called "The Morning Show," it stars such bankable names as Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon. Yet all that talent doesn't make it a "must watch." As one review put it, "It's familiar, which is no sin, but it's unmemorable, which is no asset." It continues: "Apple founder Steve Jobs was fond of the line, ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal.' Thus far, ‘The Morning Show' is not worth calling the cops on." That has got to truly hurt the Cupertino faithful.
"The Morning Show" and its siblings may have unusual parents and unique distribution models, but at their hearts they are still old school TV, be they comedy, drama or some hybrid. Subject matter and sensibilities aside, they would be equally at home on CBS at 9:00PM on a Thursday night. That's not something you can say about a new series that debuted this week from the National Pork Board. Not only you can view it on YouTube, Facebook or even a virtual reality Headset, it's unlikely to be found sandwiched between "Chicago Med, "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D." even if it is also shot in the Midwest.
Filmed in partnership with the Minnesota Pork Board and Christensen Farms located in Sleepy Eye, MN, it's called "Pig Farming: The VR Experience." Shot with a 360 degree camera that enables you to look around the tour progresses, it's hosted by a 7th generation farmer named Maddie Hokanson. She takes viewers on a walk through gestation, farrowing, nursery and finishing barns, and uses animation and line drawings to explain the process that turns piglets into bacon. Hokanson is a natural on camera, not to mention being authentic: she's a graduate of South Dakota State with a degree in Agricultural Education, as well as having been named the inaugural Pig Farmer of Tomorrow in 2017.
If pigs aren't your thing there are lots of other web series that might interest you. You might have heard of Zach Galifianakis' "Between Two Ferns," or Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." Beyond that there are ones for every taste. If you are a travel buff, check out "Discover Puerto Rico with Lin-Manuel Miranda." If you like talk shows, listen in on three generations of women on "Red Table Talk" with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. If you want more traditional Rom-Coms, there's "Sideswiped," while "Sorry For Your Loss" feels more like a big screen film about a young widow. And "Bumbld" is a "raw and unapologetic account of the 'swipe culture' from the female perspective." It's sort of an updated, more profane and funnier version of "Sex and the City" delivered in sub three-minute installments.
Being a mass media consumer used to be easy. The choices were few, the cost non-existent. Now you have options galore, with an ala carte menu that resembles the offerings at a 24-hour diner, and a pricing structure where you spend in increments so small that you don't realize that you've dropped $100 in a month. Viewers are couch potatoes no more, but rather couch commandos, juggling multiple screens and jockeying multiple remotes. Pick what you like, though you should check out Maddie: we all know that everything is made better with bacon.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford would actually rather read a book than watch a screen. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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