Can There Be Television For Us?
Obama promises a change in Washington. Can he orchestrate one for TV programming while he’s at it?
2008-12-11
By Ronda Racha Penrice

Race relations aren’t going to magically change when the Obamas take their rightful places as the nation’s first family a month and a few days from now. Without a doubt race relations are arguably more hopeful than ever in most areas. Still, unfinished business remains. Nowhere is that more evident than on the tube.

There has rarely been a time when some among us haven’t complained about what’s on television. We’ve had our bright spots, mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s when "The Cosby Show," "A Different World," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "In Living Color" and, depending on who you ask, "Martin." Ensemble pieces have stepped up from time to time and that’s true right now with "Grey’s Anatomy," "Ugly Betty," "ER," especially with Angela Bassett in the last season mix. By signing Laurence Fishburne on to replace original lead actor William Petersen, franchise-starter "C.S.I." is not going down without one hell of a fight.

As much as we’d like to control what actually makes it on the tube, the reality is that might be a pipe dream for now. God willing, that won’t always be the case but that’s today’s reality. We’re not powerless, though. By choosing what we watch, we can send a message to Hollywood. But the million dollar question is: do we really want to? After seeing Barack almost nightly on the evening news, not to mention regular doses of Michelle, Sasha and Malia during the campaign, can we really go back to a steady diet of "Flavor of Love" spin-offs?

So far the answer has to be a resounding “yes.” How many of us have publicly heaped a bailout’s worth of criticism on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" but still switched to Bravo in record numbers? "Real Chance of Love" has received so much play, catching it on VH1, at almost any hour, is as guaranteed as AIG burning a hole in their wallets with our money. And whereas Keyshia Cole’s "The Way It Is" once offered hope with its insistence on family counseling and collective healing, these days her former crackhead mama, Frankie, whooping and hollering almost every episode has turned that dream into one of our worst nightmares. But you certainly can’t tell by the ratings. They’ve never looked better.

There is a sliver of hope with Oprah Winfrey launching her own network, appropriately titled OWN—Oprah Winfrey Network---in 2009. Taking its cue from the best aspects of her daily talker which informs and inspires its viewers to live their best lives ever, OWN is a move in the right direction. Even Bob Johnson thinks running another network is the way to go so he has joined forces with ION Networks to form Urban Television, a so-called public interest company. While there won’t be much licensed television, the original programming model also seems a little shaky. Johnson hopes to provide more health-oriented programming, perhaps a foolishly adolescent attempt to battle the big O, but how can you when the model is the actual creators buying blocks of time while splitting ad revenues with Johnson himself.

Suppose these two proposed ventures do provide the best healthy and inspiring programming available, will we watch in great numbers? Certain programs maybe. Realistically, two such networks won’t cut it. The real problem with BET, Mr. Johnson’s most infamous broadcast venture, wasn’t that it had music videos. The problem was music videos, questionable ones at that, made up the majority of the programming. From time to time, some public affairs programming snuck in. One time, BET had the right idea by funding its own movies. If only quality and not quantity had been the barometer, those folks who once picketed current head honcho Debra Lee’s house might have found some other use for their energy. Slowly but surely, TV One is carving out a formula with original programming like Unsung and Murder in Black and White. Still, they just aren’t there yet.

As black as we are, there are many shows like "Brothers and Sisters," "Dexter," "Californication" and "Entourage" that have some of us tivo-ing up a storm. If only there were some Black shows with the same commitment to quality, all might be right with the world. Having a Black president has to change something on the tube, one would guess. According to a recent New York Times article, some network heads are ready to give “Black” shows the greenlight. NBC is looking at a dramatic series for Gabrielle Union from "The X Files" writer/producer Frank Spotnitz, as well as considering developing deals with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua and Ice Cube.

All isn’t rosy, as these developments are largely deemed “tailored to blacks.” Not great shows that happen to star Black people or may be directed or written by Black people. In the end, it all falls back on us. How can we say we want quality Black dramas or sitcoms, for that matter, that we all can watch but know every outlandish thing Real, Chance and Frankie, not to mention NeNe and Sheree, are doing?

Something has got to give. We dared to believe that a brother could win our nation’s most powerful position and it happened. But yet we can’t turn off the tube. Who is to blame for that? Is it always the Hollywood crack dealer who sells the junk? Or does the audience that won’t stop shooting it up need to enter some serious rehab? If television has any chance of doing the right thing, the truth is we’re going to have to make them.

Veteran freelance writer and self-diagnosed television junkie Ronda Racha Penrice is the author of African American History For Dummies.