Fresh Lessons From Old TV Shows

Like many television viewers, I have recently discovered the joys of the DVD sets that are bringing back entire series from the old days for a whole new audience to enjoy.  And while I am thoroughly captivated by the original Perry Mason from the 1950’s, and Mission Impossible from the 1960’s, I have also discovered, to my surprise, an interesting phenomenon.  I am really enjoying the writing in those shows.

Back then, the TV industry did not have the advantage of computer generated imaging and all the other fancy special effects we are so used to today.  In fact, on the face of it, old shows like “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” seem rather simplistic.  Special effects are almost nil and today’s viewer might at first miss the flash and dash of, say, CSI: Miami.  But one soon discovers that, because of lack of  technology, those television shows had to rely on good writing to grab the viewer, and so it turns out that those shows are not simplistic at all but quite gripping.

Stories, and especially dialogue, received more focus and attention back then than do some of today’s programs, especially those that rely upon entertaining the viewer with visual bells and whistles.  Watch a 1950’s episode of Dragnet and you will see a story told in black and white, with a lot of crisp and snappy dialogue, but without special effects, no color, no glitz, no sudden shocking visual displays of violence and sex.  The tension and surprises and, yes, even shocks, are delivered through words.  And isn’t this, after all, what story-telling is all about?  

Books don’t come with special effects or sound tracks.  The author cannot dazzle a reader with a rousing musical score, or emotional close-ups of the heroine’s tear-stained face, or a dozen helicopters appearing suddenly against the night sky.  Words are the only tools available to a writer.  On top of that, I noticed that while television viewing is passive, books are interactive.  Why?  Because they invite the reader to bring something to the party.  I find that television viewing leaves little or nothing to the imagination, whereas reading a book taps into the reader’s own inner fantasy world. 

How often have you said, “The book is better than the movie.”  That’s because, despite today’s film technological ability to display stunning visual effects on the movie or TV screen, nothing can surpass the visual effects we view on a much more impressive screen: our own minds. 

Image Source: scriptfly.com