Commercials as Superior Entertainment

I loathe, loathe, loathe television. It is the preferred medium of ignoramuses, and can seldom be delighted in save as spectacle. That said, there is certainly a discrepancy between television which is vacuous and immoral, and that which has a semblance of higher thought coupled with a subtle morality which is not detrimental to the well-being of the viewer save in excessive doses. ABC is set to release a sit-com which serves to ruin my casually constructed dualistic system causing me to develop another.

ABC on Tuesday announced plans for 12 new television shows next season, including a spinoff of its hit hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy" and a caveman comedy based on the popular Geico insurance commercials...

The network even picked up a comedy called "Cavemen," adapted from the Geico commercials as an offbeat commentary on ethnic prejudice from the perspective of three prehistoric guys trying to make their way in the modern world.

As much as I loathe, loathe loathe television, my disgust is easily doubled for commercials. Geico's ads are mildly amusing, especially in comparison to other advertisements, but they are still ads. For those of you who watch too much television, this means that Geico is messing with your mind to compel you to purchase their product. Rather than simply mention what the product is and what it does, they use humor and other nefariously employed devices to increase sales. Oh Blessed Corporatism. The Almighty Dollar be praised!

And now we, as a culture, must endure a television show who owes its existence to a thirty-second commercial. The truly sad thing is that this show may very well succeed, and that granting that humans will continue to allow their minds to rot in front of the lobotomy box, it may very well deserve to do so. I don't really know what passes for comedy these days, but I can't help but suspect that the Cavemen will be just as funny than their competition--if not more so.

I greatly look forward to next year when the Budweiser frogs will make their triumphant return in a situation comedy of their own. Just kidding. Maybe.