julia\’s blog

Television has always played second fiddle to its flashier, more glamorous cousin: motion pictures. Now, however, the tide is turning. It used to be that actors who wanted to ease their way into retirement took jobs on television shows, essentially putting themselves out to pasture in less demanding, lower-quality productions. Today, the very opposite is happening. Take, for example, Steve Carrel, who became a household name thanks to movie roles in films like The 40-Year- Old Virgin and Anchorman. He’s currently starring on the acclaimed NBC show The Office, with no plans to leave anytime soon, and filming his movies over summer hiatus. And then there’s Paul Haggis, a screenwriter/director, who won two Oscars in 2006 for his movie Crash. His next career move after the double win was to take a break from movies and go write for TV. Just a few years ago, that move would have been considered career suicide. It certainly hasn’t hurt Haggis, though: he was nominated for an Oscar again in 2007, and has been hired to write the screenplay for the next James Bond movie.

It’s not just the perception of television that’s changing, however; it’s the television itself. Shows today are of higher quality, and caliber. The television industry is quickly moving away from the schlocky, laugh track sitcoms of the ‘80s and ‘90s, where it was painfully obvious to anyone watching that there was no backyard beyond that fake-looking tree outside the kitchen window. Now, shows like Heroes, on NBC and ABC’s newbie hit Pushing Daises are taking on the appearance of a Hollywood-produce film. The special effects on Heroes rival those in some movies today, and Pushing Daises takes on the look of a Tim Burton-esque film, with its whimsical colors and design.

Lastly, with today’s mindset of ‘We want it now,’ TV is the way to go for many viewers. No longer content to wait months until the next big blockbuster hits the screens at their local multiplex, fans only have to sit patiently for a week until the newest episodes hit the screens. While some may argue that there’s nothing like the magic of sitting in a darkened theater, watching an adventure unfold on the screen, you have to remember that the magic ends after only two hours or so. With television, we’re bringing back the excitement of those Saturday afternoon adventure serials, the ones that used to play before the movies. Today, more viewers than ever are ‘tuning in’ to see what will happen next week…and liking what they see.

Television has always played second fiddle to its flashier, more glamorous cousin: motion pictures. Now, however, the tide is turning. It used to be that actors who wanted to ease their way into retirement took jobs on television shows, essentially putting themselves out to pasture in less demanding, lower-quality productions. Today, the very opposite is happening. Take, for example, Steve Carrel, who became a household name thanks to movie roles in films like The 40-Year- Old Virgin and Anchorman. He’s currently starring on the acclaimed NBC show The Office, with no plans to leave anytime soon, and filming his movies over summer hiatus. And then there’s Paul Haggis, a screenwriter/director, who won two Oscars in 2006 for his movie Crash. His next career move after the double win was to take a break from movies and go write for TV. Just a few years ago, that move would have been considered career suicide. It certainly hasn’t hurt Haggis, though: he was nominated for an Oscar again in 2007, and has been hired to write the screenplay for the next James Bond movie.

It’s not just the perception of television that’s changing, however; it’s the television itself. Shows today are of higher quality, and caliber. The television industry is quickly moving away from the schlocky, laugh track sitcoms of the ‘80s and ‘90s, where it was painfully obvious to anyone watching that there was no backyard beyond that fake-looking tree outside the kitchen window. Now, shows like Heroes, on NBC and ABC’s newbie hit Pushing Daises are taking on the appearance of a Hollywood-produce film. The special effects on Heroes rival those in some movies today, and Pushing Daises takes on the look of a Tim Burton-esque film, with its whimsical colors and design.

Lastly, with today’s mindset of ‘We want it now,’ TV is the way to go for many viewers. No longer content to wait months until the next big blockbuster hits the screens at their local multiplex, fans only have to sit patiently for a week until the newest episodes hit the screens. While some may argue that there’s nothing like the magic of sitting in a darkened theater, watching an adventure unfold on the screen, you have to remember that the magic ends after only two hours or so. With television, we’re bringing back the excitement of those Saturday afternoon adventure serials, the ones that used to play before the movies. Today, more viewers than ever are ‘tuning in’ to see what will happen next week…and liking what they see.

OK, I really hope this works this time.  And anyway, this is my new blog! And now I have officially entered the realm of technoholic, because this makes me fourth blogging site account, and that’s just sad. This is a lot better than Blogger, though.