I’ll probably regret posting this, but…for Pete’s sake, what is WRONG with ABC Television?
Here’s how I know that Satan has a hand in the TV programming at ABC: I watched “Freefall” last night.
What’s “Freefall?” It’s a primetime gameshow. The contestant answers questions correctly, they get prizes. Simple premise. The hook? Their prizes are on a conveyor belt. As they attempt to answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly, the conveyor belt moves the 3 prizes along. The fourth object in line is a cash prize. The faster they answer the questions, the more likely the contestant is to score all 3 prizes PLUS the cash bonus. Like I said, simple premise.
So, what happens when the prizes pass by the contestant on the conveyor belt? Well, how about…THEY FALL OFF THE ROOF OF A MULTI-STORY BUILDING! That’s right, the CRASH…they EXPLODE…on the ground below. And when I say “prizes,” I’m talking about furniture, plasma TV’s, barbecue grills, exercise equipment…you name it, they got it.
Let’s recap this vital point: if the contestant fails to answer correctly in time, a washing machine might plummet to its destruction.
Notice, I’m not being flippant. I’m not trying to inject humor. This isn’t funny.
I cannot remember EVERY seeing something so reprehensible, so environmentally irresponsible, so socially…MESSED UP…wrapped up and delivered as “family television.” Seriously? Seriously?!? I mean, SERIOUSLY ABC?
You know, the Roman Empire fell in part because it decayed from the inside out. If there had been TV back then, I am sure ABC’s “Freefall” would have led the ratings.
I ask myself a few simple questions. Like:
– How much does this show cost?
– Where does this stuff come from?
– Where does the broken stuff go?
– Who thought that people should be shown that it’s OK to just break stuff, for no reason?
– Who thought “because I bought it” was a good reason to the previous question?
– Does anyone at ABC know where “away” is? You know, as in, “We’ll throw it away?”
I’m so angry right now. I don’t normally have these visceral reactions to TV. There was just something so WRONG with what I saw last night. My not-quite-10-year-old son would have been appalled. This show is a primetime show. Kids WILL watch it. What a horrible and sad example these adults have set. Is this what our society has come to? At least if my kids see some horrible act of violence on TV, I can explain it away as fiction, as special effects wizardry. This…this I can’t explain. I shouldn’t have to.
I’m not angry. I’m heartbroken.
Illuminate Possibilities 
your rant is interesting to me. i agree – it is reprehensible to be so wasteful and so flippantly wasteful. i got wondering, though, when you asked, "is this what our society has come to." i wondered if i could sum up a word or adjective to describe a society that would make a show like that and call it family fun. what DOES it say about us? well, i think we are a throw away society. it’s pretty obvious that we treat all the "stuff" around us as disposable, but the true tragedy – the one that will make us fall like the romans – is that we’ve thrown away a whole host of core values. the sort of values that would have never led to the production of such a show. i think satan is a lot more subtle than abc. satan (the real one) has already slowly persuaded us to throw away core values like integrity, charity, hope, families, stuff like that. this show is just snot coming out the nose of a sick person – the person was already plenty sick – now the snot just shows everyone else HOW sick.i’d say boycott the station, but i already got rid of the tv altogether last year and i doubt much has changed.