WTF? Friday - Early Sunday Morning Edition
Not only is there a National Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship, it's being televised.
Okay. I get it - The Omen, Poseidon, King Kong...There are no original ideas anymore. Of course, there haven't been since Shakespeare, since most things are variations on themes you find in his works, but the re-make has taken the place of the original idea.
Television, with rare exceptions, is worse. If I see one more beautiful woman/fat stupid guy sitcom, I'm going to snap, I swear. One response to the recognition of the complete lack of originality has been the reality TV craze. Other than for interesting subject matter on PBS or the News, the phrase 'reality television' is akin to 'military intelligence' - an oxymoron. Why do I need to watch people's lives on television, particularly people I wouldn't let into my house if they showed up at my door for real? Has real reality lost its luster? Do we so lack in imagination that we need to live vicariously through others rather than, say, reading a book? Books have always provided me with the best images, with very little effort. (And if we want to talk about living vicariously, I'd like to say that most heroes I read about look remarkably like me, only more...heroic.)
But come on, I mean, Rock, Paper, Scissors? If you're going to show a sport, show a sport. If you're going to show a competition that's not a sport, also fine - Spelling bees teach us a lot more than spelling, they're a sociological microcosm - but for goodness' sake, this barely qualifies as competition.
I eagerly await the results of the NHL playoffs, the World Cup, and the Coin-flipping or straw-drawing championships. Any contest (to use the term loosely) that can be used to determine who gets the last beer should not be the subject of a television program.
Okay. I get it - The Omen, Poseidon, King Kong...There are no original ideas anymore. Of course, there haven't been since Shakespeare, since most things are variations on themes you find in his works, but the re-make has taken the place of the original idea.
Television, with rare exceptions, is worse. If I see one more beautiful woman/fat stupid guy sitcom, I'm going to snap, I swear. One response to the recognition of the complete lack of originality has been the reality TV craze. Other than for interesting subject matter on PBS or the News, the phrase 'reality television' is akin to 'military intelligence' - an oxymoron. Why do I need to watch people's lives on television, particularly people I wouldn't let into my house if they showed up at my door for real? Has real reality lost its luster? Do we so lack in imagination that we need to live vicariously through others rather than, say, reading a book? Books have always provided me with the best images, with very little effort. (And if we want to talk about living vicariously, I'd like to say that most heroes I read about look remarkably like me, only more...heroic.)
But come on, I mean, Rock, Paper, Scissors? If you're going to show a sport, show a sport. If you're going to show a competition that's not a sport, also fine - Spelling bees teach us a lot more than spelling, they're a sociological microcosm - but for goodness' sake, this barely qualifies as competition.
I eagerly await the results of the NHL playoffs, the World Cup, and the Coin-flipping or straw-drawing championships. Any contest (to use the term loosely) that can be used to determine who gets the last beer should not be the subject of a television program.
I agree that TV has stopped coming up with good ideas. It's not just what we watch either- even popular culture (mainly music and clothes) seems dead set on holding revivals. There was a 50s swing revival, a 60s garage rock revival, a 70s hippy revival, and an 80s electro revival- all in the last decade or so. What do we do when we run out of material to recycle?
Posted by
Basil |
Sun Jun 11, 09:31:00 PM
If poker can be televised, so can Rock Paper Scissors. It's faster moving and less reliant on the fluke of random events such as the order/location of 52 shuffled cards. The game is played all around the world, it can be played by people who don't share a common language, you don't tend to have arguments among the combatants during the competition, serious injuries are at a minimum. Like the Iditarod dogsled race, women compete on equal footing with men. To top it off, the World Championships are held in Toronto. See http://www.worldrps.com for more information.
Posted by
Anonymous |
Mon Jun 12, 12:30:00 PM
That's precisely the point, Mrx - "serious injuries are at a minimum". Unless there is the potential to hear the phrase 'career ending injury' during the coverage - it doesn't qualify as a sport. Note that that applies to poker as well, and I have no problem with that.
I'll also note that the article says it's being sponsored by Bud Light, which fits - a not-real sport for a not-real beer.
Posted by
Dan |
Mon Jun 12, 07:12:00 PM
I was completely unaware that we would have readers in the R.P.S. demographic.
My issue is not with the game, it's with the televising of it. I share your feelings on televised Poker, it's a phenomenon that has gone on for too long. I have a strong feeling that televised Monopoly would be more interesting.
Hmmm...I need to get an agent...
Posted by
Flash |
Tue Jun 13, 09:21:00 AM
I was hoping there would be only one, not unlike Highlander.
Posted by
Flash |
Wed Jun 14, 11:38:00 AM