The most significant development in television over the last 25 years isn’t technological. It’s nothing gained. It’s something lost, perhaps forever. TV has lost its conscience; it has no shame.
And the day chosen by NBC to provide its most shameless programming is, of all days, Thanksgiving.
NBC’s live coverage of the traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year began at 9 a.m. Once up there with the loftiest of feel-good family programming, the parade’s “coverage” now causes nausea. By 9:45, NBC had made it abundantly clear that the new tradition it was observing was one that exploited Thanksgiving, the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the amiable, energetic presence of NBC’s Al Roker to hard-sell NBC goods.
The commercials weren’t enough for NBC, nor were the bottom-of-the-screen graphics that carried NBC promos during the parade. The parade itself was leveraged – used, in the worst sense of the word – to push NBC product. This was Thanks-taking.
First there was, if by magic, the parade-side appearance of Jane Krakowski, a star on NBC’s “30 Rock.” Roker dutifully asked about her evolving character on the show before concluding their chat by getting to the real point: “30 Rock,” he said, appears, “Thursday nights, right here on NBC.”
Moments later, who should appear by Roker’s side? Why if it isn’t Patti LaBelle! Happy Thanksgiving, Patti!
Roker was quick to establish the reason he was drawn to her: LaBelle will be a regular on “Clash of the Choirs,” a new NBC reality show. “Tell me about the show,” Roker said to her over the sound – but not the sight — of a band marching in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And when she was through, Roker again hit the shameless button: “Clash of the Choirs, December on NBC!”
A few minutes later, Roker was in the street-side bleacher seats, and whom do you think he ran into? Why, it was Masi Oka and Ali Larter, two stars of “Heroes.” Roker, who had to speak loudly – there was some sort of parade going by, after all – asked them about the fabulous special effects on their NBC show.
Roker finished that session with, “Continued success – ‘Heroes,’ Monday nights, right here on NBC.” Then, he added, “Lots more of the parade, stay with us!” NBC then went to a block of commercials, as if we hadn’t just left one.
And right after those commercials, NBC threw it back to Roker for another commercial. He stood with Christopher Meloni, a star of the NBC show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” With floats and clowns and music-makers moving by in the obscured background, Roker asked questions about the show. Meloni, if we correctly read his body language, seemed embarrassed.
And, in keeping with NBC’s latter-day coverage of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Roker concluded the interview with, “‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,’ Tuesdays on NBC!”
No shame, no conscience. Not even on Thanksgiving. Heck, especially not even on Thanksgiving, not with all those viewers gathered to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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Ed Fountaine, who covers horseracing for The Post, recently was watching the TV Land network when he bumped into an “Andy Griffith Show” episode that struck him as oddly familiar.
The episode was from 1963, and it guest-starred the British actor Bernard Fox, who portrayed English butler Malcolm Meriweather. While riding his bike in Mayberry, Meriweather causes an accident, but can’t pay the $40 fine.
Thus, Sheriff Taylor, rather than throw the poor chap in jail, pays the fine for him, but sentences him to work off the debt while serving as his and Opie’s butler while Aunt Bea is away.
And that left Fountaine with the creeps. He found the plot of that 1963 episode to be identical to the 1993 “Seinfeld” episode, “The Pilot,” the TV show within the TV show, during which a man who can’t pay up is sentenced to be Jerry’s butler. Interesting.