Analysis: Drunk Direction

Industry critics have long referred to TV as the "idiot box". Simply put, the cinemas supposedly put out plots that encourage the mind to think. TV, in their opinion, is mindless.

I am the opposite, preferring simplicity to what I watch. Don't we spend too much of our lives in serious thought? TV is supposed to be a diversion in order to make us forget about real life for awhile. As a result, the medium should have its own fun factor.

But it shouldn't be so damned hard on the eyes. Two examples come to mind: "NYPD Blue" and any WWE (wrestling) program.

The wrestling programming, to give it credit, can't be helped. When I started watching it in the mid-80s, action was only confined to the ring & immediate area. You might see a brief cutaway to the commentators maybe once or twice per hour, but that was about it. As a result, it was always easy to focus attention on the action.

These days, no areas of an arena are off-limits. The backstage plots & off-site stories do much to enrich the script, but when action is happening too fast, you notice the director cut away to a scene every five seconds. Again, this can't be helped, but in my later days of watching the program, I found the constant cuts to be a constant irritant. It's as if someone overdosed on Ritalin and was given the director's reins. Thank goodness the detailed commentary described the action concisely, as there were times I actually had to turn away from watching it.

But NYPD Blue is a different story, and I knew they were doomed once they announced they were going to a different directing format. Its actual name escapes me now, but just look at how it (and others which followed it) affects how we view the show.

The methods go against everything I was taught in college. True, I worked on many "talking-head" interview shows, but we were supposed to give the impression the camera operators weren't tipsy. The views shown in "Blue" are from a drunk's view. Shaky cameras, off-center shots - in some scenes, half the actor's head is cut off the screen. Is this how we really view life?

Maybe it's a good thing I've never become intoxicated in my life. This is not how I would want to witness events unfolding. Giving credit to freedom of speech being exercised, why do I have to see the show presented this way?

People used to criticize the great Vincent Van Gogh, saying that anyone could splash paint on a canvas and call it art. Not everyone can end up being the artist Van Gogh was. Not anyone can be a television director, either: it takes much talent & dedication to make something look good on the screen.

For a series that has gathered much critical acclaim, why make it look as if your neighbor's five-year-old kid directed it? To me, it doesn't allow the entire project the credit or respect that it's due.