Thinking inside the box

URTV (Asheville’s public-access station, available on Charter cable Channel 20) is now in its second year of operation. This homegrown station offers local members the rare opportunity to produce their own brand of entertainment, as opposed to the hideous programming on regular television.

As the onslaught of reality TV fills our screens with banal happenstance night and day, we, the people are now given the chance to create a new standard of excellence right here in our own back yard.

So far, however, the results have been spotty. in the limited time I allot for TV viewing, I’ve seen a patron/producer demonstrating his global tracking device in his car for at least six minutes before I surfed away to CNN. I’ve tuned in to Channel 20 to catch a young couple reading the news, motionless as deer caught in headlights. I’ve also watched the gospel laid out on a blackboard by a didactic preacher who reminds me of a physics teacher I had in high school.

I’ve seen and heard lots of music by local musicians, ranging from whimsical, artistic video by bohemian bards to drunken jams shot late at the club. (Asheville does have one thriving music scene, and this is a good chance to catch it.)

One URTV staple features a supposed mad scientist and his friends at weekly tea parties. Seated at the head of a lengthy table, surrounded by casual accomplices who wander in and out of the frame, the host directs the banter as well as a blue screen displaying psychedelic patterns. The murky audio is matched by the rambling conversations, which seem to lack any particular topic.

It’s easy to pick apart these amateur productions, but I must also applaud the creativity and fortitude it must take to produce such ventures. I’m told it’s as easy as paying the annual dues, attending orientation and certification courses, checking out a video camera and then editing the tape at the URTV studios downtown. The hard part, it seems, is coming up with subject matter and characters worthy of sharing with the viewing public.

There’s a good possibility that reality TV originated from this same “hard part.” And I’m afraid this phenomenon has changed the creative landscape forever. On the heels of such “ratings grabbers” as The Real World, COPS and Survivor, Ozzy Osbourne and family ruled the tube for a couple of years in this young century, cursing and yelling as only the “Prince of bleeping Darkness” could. Six million people tuned in weekly as the bar was lowered.

The voyeuristic element in America was awakened, and it now feeds on some of the weakest moments in TV history: programs like Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Surreal Life, Intervention and The Girls Next Door. All shows, I would argue, that really don’t need to be seen. I used to imagine Hugh Hefner as leading a charmed life, but after seeing what’s going on at the mansion…

Granted, commercial television now offers us more choices, and there are some extraordinary shows. High-definition TV is remarkable! Digital effects seem boundless. Clearly, it’s the content that needs tweaking.

A good portion of society’s ills can be traced to at least a couple of different sources, beginning with our collective parenting skills. Too much work and not enough attention to little Johnny, and there’s trouble in the wasteland. And then there’s that incredibly transcendental box in the corner (aka television) that continues to become more “real” with each new show.

Surely we can toss some major blame at the programming powers of … uh … well … um—whomever it is who green-lights these programs—for our youth’s decline in moral fortitude and lack of scholastic aptitude. Can’t we? But the ratings suggest that we eat all this up and lick the spoon.

You know what? Once lines like these have been crossed, I’m afraid there’s no going back. The cameras will continue to turn on us; interactive shows starring the viewers at home will become commonplace. The bar will continue to be lowered until censorship becomes a dirty word!

In the name of free speech, incredible mediocrity will blanket the airwaves. The FCC will cease to exist. “Give the people what they want!” will be the networks’ (and their sponsors’) rallying cry. Money wins again! In the words of the dearly departed Hunter S. Thompson, “It’s going to get ugly.”

Meanwhile, in Asheville, we now have the option of creating and producing our own style of reality TV. After all, these are our airwaves. This is our chance to bring something fresh and enlightening to the screen. I urge you, Ashevilleans: Become local producers! Create and elevate!

And maybe, if our cameras started following real smart people around, test scores would start to spike, and America’s focus would blossom into moral and global matters? Now there’s an idea: URTV presents The Hawkings! Got to find the right demographic…

[North Asheville resident and former broadcaster Brent Robinson holds a B.A. in mass communications from UNCA.]

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

9 thoughts on “Thinking inside the box

  1. Hey, Brent… thanks for the thoughtful article… as to my show, “Ralph Ralph Runs the Roads,” you shoulda watched longer. ;-) … I’ve produced 29 hours now of road trips with Karen the GPS unit and people seem to love them. I get lots of good comment. Please don’t base your opinion of URTV (“we are the future”) on just a quick perusal of a few shows.

    Yes, lots of amateur production values but our budgets are $50 a year instead of hundreds of thousands an EPISODE like national TV and we STILL, all of us on cable channel 20, we STILL put out informative and entertaining shows by local producers right here in Buncombe County.

    You can learn more about URTV at http://urtv.org and http://urtvforums.org … and watch us on channel 20, especially “Rapid Ralph Runs the Roads.” I go places you don’t want to go so you don’t have to go. … but, also, a lot of places you WILL want to visit.

    And don’t knock the Mad Scientist Tea Party until you’ve dropped by and had some tea with Dr. John.

    Support your local public access TV! Thanks.

    –Rapid Ralph

  2. Dixiegirlz

    I’d love for the author to drop by the T party. We’re always open to suggestions to make the t party better. BTW the tea is very good.

  3. Brent, do stop by the T party anytime. We’ love to have you. The tea is good and the open dialog is often a feckless hodgepodge. But so what?
    It’s charm lies in it’s free form ,stream of conscious dialog.

  4. Rob Close

    ok i suppose that’s a fair description of how they look over at AGRTV – but they do a great job, and have been improving consistently for the last year.

    now they just gotta gesticulate a bit better.

    “just gotta gesticulate”. wow, try saying that 3x fast. bet it comes out as “geschickulate” by the end. and don’t let me use these boards after 3am.

  5. Nam Vet

    Ralph, I didn’t know the driving show was yours. I like it. Keep up the good work!

Leave a Reply to Ralph Roberts ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.