Born in the mid-eighties, I was part of the first real TV-Generation. We were the kids who spend more time in front of goggle-box than every other Generation before. It was the time when the commercial TV stations started to be big in Germany. Before, the German media environment was quite lucid. Of course also the three public-service channels were broadcasting some foreign TV shows like Dallas, the Denver Clan, or Bonanza, but the majority of TV shows were German productions. The upcoming commercial TV stations have twisted this ratio completely. The new TV shows, mostly from the United States, congested us literally.
This wave spared no-one. The elder people started to watch and love the imported game shows like Jeopardy and various formats of daily-soaps. But the change was bigger for us. Growing up with our favorite Astrid Lindgren characters like Emil (Emil I Löneberga), Karlsson (Karlsson på taket) and of course Pippi (Pippi Långstrump) we were now faced with Heman and Saberrider and the Starsheriffs. Doubtless at this time I was nuts on this shows and all the old stuff was totally uncool.
Nowadays I try to screen what I am watching. One effect is that I am endeavoring not to watch these preposterous shows were some third-class-sort-out celebrities are sitting in juries deciding who is good enough to be a model or a singer. In all honesty sometimes I have a look on it. It's necessary to be up to date, because sometimes I have the feeling, that these time-wasting shows are for the mass of people more important than politics and world affairs. Nevertheless in this dessert of entertainment, there are some shows I like. For example there is no episode of The Simpsons I haven't seen. Shows like Friends and King of Queens caused the one or another snigger in me. Since lately there is one actual show I am following like none before. It's called How I met your mother. This masterpiece of a sitcom makes me laugh the whole 30 minutes of every episode. However the humor is embedded into a continuous story about friendship, love and people searching for the right path in life. A lot of these topics are well-placed between the lines of the visible story. Unfortunately it has to be added, that these tricky, well-conceived parts are decreasing in the latest of the four seasons in the wake of the strike of Hollywood authors. Nevertheless I would still recommend to zap-in at a look.
Regarding to my experiences with television I have to conclude that it is harder than ever before to find some good entertainment in television. The fact of having more than 30 free accessible TV stations in Germany doesn't make it easier to do the right choice. It's like with everything in life. It's not the quantity that counts, it's quality. Since a few years I am very happy that it's possible again on some Sunday mornings to follow the adventures of Pippi and the prank of Emil on the German children TV channel, by the way broadcasted by public service.
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