[Phogfan86]

Does anyone else remember when the Hallmark Hall of Fame meant that a powerful television event was going to happen? Richard Chamberlain as Hamlet? Julie Harris in Pygmalion? Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors? Inherit the Wind?

Now you get a run-of-the-mill TV movie.

:endgrouchyoldmanrant:

[Southern Breeze]

I hate to admit it, but I remember it too.

[CDNSushi]

Hmm. As a general rule, I try to date members of the opposite sex as opposed to myself...

Dating yourself tends to get kind of awkward after a while.

Nowadays I only go on dates with my wife otherwise she'd be jealous...

[Southern Breeze]

Dating ones self.....Their's nothing sexier than a man in a kilt.

And now I'm going to bed.

[The Wizard of BC]

You can still catch many of the Hallmark Hall of Fame shows if you look for them. They are also available on CD's.

Now about dating yourself-------

I only date myself because:

You already know the answers to all those awkward "first date" questions.

It saves on unnecessary chit chat and allows you to enjoy your meal.

It's less expensive.

You are guarantee you will go home with your date.

When you do get home there is never that "will I get invited in" question in your mind.

There are none of those awkward moments of "should I hold the door or not?"

No worrying over should I pick up the check or ask if the date wants to go halvesies.

If you meet an old flame at the restaurant there are none of those embarrassing introductions to make.

The only down side is, in the morning you can't sneak out the door in horror to what you woke up next to.

[Downix]

Originally Posted by Phogfan86

Does anyone else remember when the Hallmark Hall of Fame meant that a powerful television event was going to happen? Richard Chamberlain as Hamlet? Julie Harris in Pygmalion? Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors? Inherit the Wind?

Now you get a run-of-the-mill TV movie.

:endgrouchyoldmanrant:

Indeed, it is sad to witness the industry I went to school for becoming a mere shadow of itself, a mockery really.

[Spc. Scott]

Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC

The only down side is, in the morning you can't sneak out the door in horror to what you woke up next to.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

It's all down to return on the investment. Hallmark Entertainment has to fight it out on television with things like the most recent Batman movie as well as the competition from other programs in the same time slot on other channels. Long forms (as mini-series are referred to in the trade) spread the risk and pump up the return on the broadcaster's investment in the program. Hallmark doesn't put up a dime, it spends the broadcaster's bucks and shares in the profits. The broadcaster, for it's part, pre-sells the program to as many outlets as possible before it "green lights" the project.

I worked on two Hallmark projects shot in Ireland-- "Scarlett" (the sequel to GWTW) and "Kidnapped". Could they have been better? Sure, but the cost of the productions would have escalated by a factor of ten, at least.

There is one other factor to consider, and that's the general "dumbness" of TV audiences. By and large the light bulb in my refrigerator is brighter than the boob in front of the tube. When we refer to programs like "Hamlet" on the old Hallmark Hall of Fame series, we are referring to what is today regarded as "elitist" programming. And that, I'm afraid, is a thing of the past. Television, it seems, not religion, is the opiate of the masses.

[Phogfan86]

Good points, Macmillan. It's unfortunate that good television has to be dumbed down rather than looked at as an opportunity to raise people up to a different level, perhaps inspire and raise expectations, maybe even show them something about the world and the human condition that they didn't know before and make them better people because of it.

Television has this kind of power. It also has Deal or No Deal.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

You are right, television has enormous power to persuade and educate. The danger is that it is totally lacking in balance, morality, ethics, or any sort of intellectual honesty or depth. Access is controlled by a handful of individuals and all programming is subject to their whims, political beliefs, and private agendas.