I have had the opportunity to check out Aspire lately, and I liked what I saw. The network launched by Magic Johnson for an African-American, older-skewing audience has aimed for an upscale, classier image than [names of other outlets deleted], and it has a nice intro mission statement on Twitter:
Aspire is the only TV network that celebrates, reflects and shares black culture and urban lifestyle.
It is also the only TV network that has a daytime rerun block consisting of Room 222, Julia, and The Mod Squad. The former is one of my all-time favorite series, the second is a gentle if not hilarious sitcom, and the third--well, it had Sammy Davis Jr. in several episodes. The first two, especially, are examples of classy rerun programming. They fit with what I see as the generally aspirational nature of the network.
And then there's In Living Color.
Call me unaspirational, but it seems odd to add a sketch show with characters like The Dickmans (kind of like the Coneheads, but, uh...well, look it up), Handiman, and Men on Film. Oh, I thought the show was a riot back in the day, and I bet a lot of it holds up, but, wow, this is not the kind of classy rerun I associate with Aspire. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but the show sticks out on a schedule that includes Soul Food, The Hughleys, and...Man, there aren't a lot of shows on their schedule. Maybe they just need programs, period. But why not add something like Frank's Place?
Is this a big deal? Maybe Aspire just wants to get those funny little numbers called ratings. But I wonder if someone there is thinking, OK, time to go a little more lowbrow. That is a slippery road once it gets going. I don't have much skin in the game here, but I DO hope they leave the Room 222 reruns alone.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment