the "dumbing down" of television

When did it begin? the dumbing down of entertainment.... 
I remember purposely avoiding what I still like to refer to as "brain dead idiot" humor --and I use the term "humor" loosely, because I do not find idiots to be amusing.  For example I was never very tolerant of the character Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies.... on the flip side I find Hank Kimball, the bumbling county agent on Green Acres to be hilarious.  There is a definite difference between those two characters, and Alvy Moore was brilliant as Hank Kimball, who was not actually an idiot, but rather a very confused man, who did not know if he was coming or going.

But I am on about soap operas.  General Hosiptal to be specific.  I have been watching soap operas since I was a pre-teen.  The best soap operas drag the story out, just a bit.... I can remember a pregnancy (on Y&R) that seemed to drag on for over a year.  But now days they seem to be tripping over their own feet to move rapidly from one story to the next.  It makes for some confusion for the viewers.  

My personal term for it is "DOOL syndrome",...DOOL being Days Of Our Lives, which I tried to watch over a decade ago,.... alas, they moved along at such a rapid pace that I could not stomach it.  This was prior to Marlena being possessed by the devil, which cemented my permanent hatred of that trash.

But recently I have been attempting to watch General Hospital.  The one story they are taking at a realistic pace (so far) is Mike's Alzheimer's disease.  They are taking their time, in a fairly realistic manner, and dealing with the Alzheimer's storyline with a better level of compassion and really playing it out. They are really touching the hearts of the viewers with that one story.  If only they could slow the rest of the story down a bit, and let the viewers enjoy it.

Meanwhile, the viewers need to take a step back and appreciate fine acting, particularly by those actors portraying the characters we most despise.  Stop asking for things to be rushed, if you are uncomfortable watching certain characters that is a huge compliment to the talent.

Current kudos to James DePaiva -Bensch is vile and repulsive -well done! and  Chloe Lanier- rarely do the viewers have a deeper hatred for any character than they have done for Janelle Benson!
As for Margaux Dawson -please, for lord sake -REVEAL her background and ulterior motives to the viewers at least!! Give us something, because we are rapidly losing interest!
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.DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON "REALITY" TELEVISION..... that shit ain't real.....

My favorite "reality show" is still The Walking Dead, but I don't watch television any longer.....
I get my General Hospital fix off the internet.....
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..blow up your tv.....throw away your paper.....
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