100 Dance Parties and Counting

The one hundredth episode of So You Think You Can Dance will be airing on July 23rd. The centennial hoedown is already being trumpeted by folks in the know, as there will be the requisite special guests (including Katie Holmes, see above) and charitable facades (a dance foundation for orphans and puppies). Here's my issue: so what? Don't get me wrong, it's not that I wouldn't celebrate the show. Among the putrid morass of reality programming SYTYCD stands several notches above.

Rather, I have grown weary of the endless counting that is meant to somehow signify an achievement. That includes the hundreds of TV shows produced, thousands of games sold, and trillions of rubles earned at the worldwide box office. And this distinction seems especially dubious for reality shows that replenish ad infinitum without needing to alter or enhance what's come before. As I said I like SYTYCD, but at bottom it's a competition show. That means you select a bunch of dancers and turn on the cameras. Don't worry, I'll alert my DVR, but don't also expect me to sit around fashioning laurels that you're just going to sit on.

The numerical brass ring is relatively new to the television medium. Back when Lucy was up to no good and Ralph was begging for a trip to the moon, it wasn't unusual to film thirty or more episodes per year. So, if a show was worth its while, you could assume there would be a lot of episodes of it. Only more recently have networks begun setting off promotional fireworks when some creation has the temerity to last more than a few minutes. But I'm just dandy with giving some deserved notice to a Friends or a Buffy. Because those shows were gutted with some kind of grace to to come up with a whole new set of goods (and they were good goods) week after week.

Truthfully I would be much more excited on July 23rd, if we lived in a world where some fictionally inspired, individual, and sharply smart TV shows could last more than just one season. (Those of you who point out that Pushing Daisies technically lasted two already know that doesn't count.) I'd also like to get to a point where a sitcom could last several seasons without continually being threatened by extinction. According to Jim, I'm not looking at you.

A better, broader television landscape would enthuse me much more than knowing the latest yearly totals for the CSI's and Law and Orders. But I'm not counting my breaths.