More RTN Highs and Lows

Hey, I just realized that I went DAYS without writing about Retro Television Network. Time to rectify that situation with some more pros and cons:

HIGH: Variety on the schedule. I wish there were more 1960s and 1950s shows, and maybe some more sitcoms, but at least RTN provides some semblance of variety in its lineup. There are cop shows, medical shows, private eye shows, thrillers, war shows, westerns, and more. Plus I like that their weekend lineup is distinct from the weekday one, and it's great that series with shorter runs get some plays on Saturdays and Sundays.

LOW: Perhaps I'm greedy, but it would be nice to see RTN take a few more chances, especially while it's young and not so beholden to demos. I'd enjoy seeing cartoons or game shows or maybe some old news programs on there. Sure, there are niche cable networks devoted to airing certain genres, but they haven't locked up everything, and besides, many of those are abandoning the "retro" stuff, anyway.

HIGH: One of my favorite RTN programs is "Run For Your Life," a nifty variation of "The Fugitive" starring Ben Gazzara as a man with a fatal condition, one which conveniently leaves him hale enough to span the globe and have adventures as he tries to pack as much living as possible into the year or two he has left.

Ivan at TDOY wrote about this show recently, and I'll add that I enjoy the somewhat melancholy air the show has because of that sense that time is running out. Gazzara's performance captures this hint of sadness without turning the character into a self-pitying mope. I also think "Run" has one of the best title/end credits sequences in TV history, a POV sequence that puts you in a car and sends you racing down an empty road into a vast desert.

Oh, and I'd mention Pete Rugolo's music, but I'm still trying to forget this.

LOW: Every now and then, there are some audio hiccups and pixilation issues on RTN. I suppose this is a result of compression, but I'm not savvy enough to go into depth here. Really, I feel like I'm nitpicking here. I'm just glad to see some of these old shows in any form, and overall the channel looks pretty good. But, hey, I have to include a few "Lows" to justify titling this post "Highs and Lows."

LOW: There are no closed captions on any of the programs, at least none that I've seen. Being involved with captioning in a professional capacity, I'm biased, but I've long known you don't have to NEED the service in order to appreciate it. Having a new baby in the house certainly makes me appreciate the ability to mute the tube every now and then while she's trying to fall asleep. I don't know why RTN is exempt from captioning requirements; maybe it's still under the radar. Hopefully they'll offer something soon.

HIGH/LOW?: I read somewhere that RTN showed programs out of broadcast order, but I can't slag them for that because the few shows that I checked ARE running in sequence. Granted, this isn't a big deal in terms of missing out on "Lost"-style serialization or character development (much as I enjoy "Quincy," I don't think the Q-man went through tremendous evolution over the course of his 8 seasons). What bugs me is when stations skip all over the map or go back and forth. For example, though I enjoy "Lou Grant" weekly on American Life, lately I only enjoy it 2 or 3 times a month because the network keeps interrupting the sequential run with repeated first-season episodes. So far, RTN isn't recycling a dozen or so episodes of anything and driving us crazy with repetition.

LOW: The future? Retro Television Network is a lot of fun, but I still worry that it can't last. A recent Sitcoms Online article explained future plans to expand the schedule with a bunch of live talk shows. Now, the goal is supposedly to get rid of some of the infomercials, but what if that stuff starts encroaching on the reruns? I know, I know, it's way too early to fret like that. But I can't help but wonder.