Urban Thought Collective

I’ve been blogging here for over a month now. I told all of you that I was going to highlight the best that television has to offer. This week…it’s a struggle. I thought about writing an update on “Fear Itself” and “So You Think You Can Dance” (I’m enjoying both), but it felt dishonest. The truth is I’ve flipped through my 200 channels over that past week, once…twice…three times… and found myself calling Moviefone shortly thereafter. My Tivo is only 30% full and that’s just from movies I keep saved.

The problem was not the avalanche of summer reality series and the absence of scripted material. We knew that was coming. Last week there were the NBA Finals. Boston and Los Angeles back together. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were going up against the league MVP Kobe Bryant. This week, finished.

Last week, Tiger Woods was winning the U.S. Open. Fresh off of knee surgery, grimacing in pain on what turned out to be a fractured leg, Tiger beat Rocco Mediate in a wildly exciting 19 hole playoff to win his 14th Major Championship. This week, Tiger’s done for the season.

Let me take a moment to point out that I am not referencing the NBA Finals and Tiger because I’m a sports fan (I am) or because I was rooting for KG, Paul and Ray (I was) or because Tiger Woods may be the greatest golfer who’s ever lived and the most compelling active athlete on the planet (he is), but because those two events were the highest-rated programs on television last week. This week…gone.

With all this free television time on my hands there seemed to be no shortage of sad news. After the funeral and tributes to Tim Russert last week, this week George Carlin died. I could have written my entire blog on his contributions to television. The continued flooding in the central states is terribly tragic and hard to watch. Teenage girls allegedly made a pregnancy pact. Charlie Sheen drops the “N” word on a voicemail to his ex and not to be out done, Don Imus makes ANOTHER racial remark. There was plenty more bad news, but I think you get the point.

The good news is next week will be better. I realized that the low was partially my fault. I’m used to looking to television for entertainment first and news second. I tend to overlook education, culture and the offbeat. This week, I will dig deeper for the diamonds in the rough. Shows like “Survivorman” where I learned that in an emergency, Fritos can be used like a torch! (DO NOT try that at home, look for repeats of the show). In addition, the Williams Sisters are in action at Wimbledon, and that is always appointment television.

So let me get my remote!

Darryl Bell is an actor and Chicago native, best known for his roles in classic TV series “A Different World” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” His unique television commentary is exclusive to Urban Thought Collective.