One Way Ticket to TV Land?

The average American watches 28 hours of TV per week, according to Neilson ratings.  That’s over one full day dedicated towards only television.  Are they really watching, though, or are they using it as white noise?  Whereas TV used to be an event, it may be becoming more commonplace.  To get an insight on television and where it’s headed, I interviewed Professor Ellie Pye at Endicott College.

Known as “Professor Ellie” or “Ellie” to her students, this gung-ho teacher takes an enthusiastic Firefly, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones.  Before coming to Endicott two years ago, she’d worked with community media, totaling almost twenty years of experience.  Her interest was cemented in high school, when her guidance counselor called her down for the “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” chat.  She’d always loved television and stories and, having recently read about the industry in the news, made her decision.  Afterwards, her mother bought her a camera (which was really expensive back then, she said, not to mention that it was a “behemoth of a thing”).  She loved everything about the field.

approach to all of her classes, throwing in jokes left and right to keep the atmosphere light, and making fairly frequent references to her favorite shows:

She remembers watching a lot of TV as a kid.  Although she wasn’t consciously studying it or watching all the behind-the-scenes specials, she was certainly picking things up.  For starters, it spurred her imagination.  Now a very inventive teacher, always looking at things from new angles, it’s no surprise that Ellie enjoyed creative writing—though she never took a class.  She recalls one of the stories she wrote, in eighth grade, had been a murder mystery titled “Death Ring.”  She’d written it as part of a contest.  Contemplating it now, she muses that it may have been okay back then, but in today’s society, “I probably would have been psychoanalyzed, pulled out of class, like, ‘What’s wrong with you, Ellie?’”

She shares an anecdote about, more currently, helping her son clean out his room.  Being only a little younger than she was when writing “Death Ring,” she’s amused to find he has a similar imagination.  Elli supports that creativity, but makes sure there’s a line between fiction and reality, okay and not-okay.  It’s a delicate balance, one that’s being constantly tested in today’s society.  It’s a “different era.”

Ellie kept up her writing and, a few years after working in the television business, had her own television series airing on public access channels.  She describes it as being a serial, a soap opera, and a comedy all in one.  It was, essentially, everything she loved about television.  It “clicked” for her.

She could probably talk for hours about what she likes and dislikes in television: acting, delivery, writing, writing, writing….For her, the best part is the “what if?”  It that moment when you fall so in love with a show that you are always questioning what will happen next or what could have happened had things gone differently.  (I’m fairly certain that’s the entire base behind fanfiction.)  By doing this, you have to look deeply into the program, “breaking it down.”  She says that kind of analysis is her favorite part to teach.  It shows.

Ellie definitely knows what she’s talking about.  Each lesson is usually accompanied by a story of some sort.  She’s also very observant, in tune with the progression of the field.  Since going into the industry, she’s noticed quite a few things about how our world of television has evolved and, even, where it’s going.

Q: In teaching and studying TV, how have you seen that it’s changed in the last fifty years?   What are the biggest aspects of that?

A: I think the box has kind of opened.  Someone took the lid off and everything just kind of went poof!  All these ideas, you know?  My big mantra I’ve always had is always ask “What if?”  And it seems like that’s what a lot of forces are trying to do.

Sometimes you feel like it’s going over the top and it keeps going over the top, getting more and more worse, like those reality shows….How far can they go with people getting really drunk and having a lot of sex if that’s all they do?  There are times where it gets pushed to one side of the extreme.

But, you know, I think there’s so many more opportunities.  People can do it right and, because there are so many more channels now, there’s so many more niches, that a lot of shows may not have had that opportunity before because there were only like three networks and they had to gear themselves toward the greatest denominator.

Q: Do you think TV acts as a mediator between new ideas and public acceptance?

A: I think so because I think TV [networks], like anything, have things they know are going to be successful and that allows them to try the less successful things and be able to afford to do that.

Sometimes there is that one thing that just clicks, you know, like The Walking Dead….This is something that’s new and original and people are taking right to it.  But would that have worked twenty years ago or even ten years ago?  Or ten years from now?  Will it still be on the air?  Who knows?

Q: So, it seems like now, as there is more and more TV, one method of babysitting or parenting is to, like, stick your kid in front of the TV.

A: Absolutely.

Q: What do you think about that idea?  Does it limit creativity?  Do you think it works or it doesn’t work or, maybe, it’s overdone?

A: I think it could be bad.  It really depends on the kid and the parents.  My kid watches TV.

My daughter, she’ll watch TV in the morning, when she gets home, that kind of thing…so she’s watching stuff and watching content.  There’s definitely a fine line between getting her to understand that it doesn’t need to be on all the time.  And also watching what she watches. If my son is watching South Park, I’m like, “Okay, maybe the eight-year-old shouldn’t be watching this with you.”  And he’s really good about making sure he’s not watching South Park when she wanders into the room.

I think it’s really up to the parents.  The biggest thing that drives me crazy is when the TV is always on.  When people are doing other things.  Like it’s just normal to have it on in the background.  And I’m really adamant about that.

Q: Do you then think that maybe we’re growing more addicted to television?  That we’re just more accustomed to having it all the time?

A: I don’t know if it’s television.  I think it’s just content in general.  You can watch stuff anywhere now.  I just loaded the Netflix app on my phone and I’m like, “What am I doing?  This is just crazy!”

It’s tough.  It’s a rough road that you’ve got to back away from a lot.

Q: What are some of the most recent developments in TV?

A:  Definitely the original content…the streaming stuff on Netflix.  It’s a powerful tool.  Like, you’ve heard me talk about this, but one of my favorite series is Firefly, which I never would have been able to check out if it wasn’t on Netflix.

It is really an exception if I watch a show while it is actually on the air.  Like everything is either on the DVR or On Demand or streaming.  That’s huge.  That’s amazing.  And I think it’s going to keep going in that direction.

Q: Is there a specific way you’d like to see TV evolve?

A: I don’t know.…I guess just kind of trying to continue to think outside the box because I really hate it when one idea latches on and fifteen copy cats shows have to come out after it.  Just try new things.