Having watched the first season of "Entourage", I briskly threw it (and the entire second season) into the trash; nothing really happened in the series, except for actors pretending to be actors pretending to act. Interesting?

I thought "Seinfeld" was ahead of the game as Larry David resurfaced (from being rejected the fuck out of Saturday Night Live where most of his sketches were denied) with a sit-com that was based on rebuked jokes; keeping an entire 30-minute episode alive by having irritating main-characters nagging about subjects that made me flinch and think about kids dying in the third world is notable to me, at least. I mean, hearing the subjects of "Seinfeld" divide the world into trifles and petty nothings -- e.g. Jerry arguing with Elaine and George whether air is really visible or not, coffee could be the same as watered-down tea and if big hats are only worn by self-obsessed people (or not) -- does give you perspective on your own problems. The characters irritated the hell out of me, not only because Seinfeld said little about 99,999% of the rest of the world (which of course isn't spanking white, 30-somethinged and boring, all at the same time - much like "Friends"), but because nothing ever really happened. Nothing.

People apparently loved that. ((A way to measure this is the following: "the show itself held the record for the Highest Television Advertising Rates through 2004" which is taken from here.)) In Sweden, the early nineties were defined by irony and sarcasm becoming the new cool. Little wonder did people love "Seinfeld" as it embraced the little things that many people wonder about; we butter our sandwiches before rushing off to work and think about how they always land butter-down when dropped. Consider this, then: butter a cat on its back and drop it - would that produce anti-gravity? Hm. These thoughts moulded Larry David's and Jerry Seinfeld's multi-million-dollar accounts.

I'm not against these types of TV-series. In fact, I prefer series like "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" when compared with crap like "The Real World" or any other reality-based shit-fest that brings nothing to the table - not even a few laughs. But that's like comparing something bad with something worse.

I do, however, prefer reality-shows with something that either apply to your life in some sort of sensible, intellectual way and/or makes you learn while watching, e.g. "Project Runway" and "Top Model"; if you're into these professions and peel off the pap (e.g. the gossip, the rifts that the producers eagerly try and create, Tyra Banks, et.c.) you'll get professional insights which I have not witnessed in another media before. And you don't have to be an aspiring model to actually get a glimpse of the work-hard-and-you-can-make-it-mentality that douses said series. "Entourage" and the likes don't provide insights into the acting profession, though - and neither do they claim to.

My problem with most of the meta-series isn't their lack of aspiration or the fact that they are stories about stories; it is simply this: they say nothing to me about my life. Of course, I am neither an actor or a model, and I have no aspirations towards this, but remember, the stories in the semi-real series are (mostly) sheer fiction and actually, I think the stories that are entirely imagination-based are a lot more well-written. These quasi-fantastical things are mostly about trifles, shit that even I can make up. Imagine Larry David thinking up The Log Lady. It just couldn't happen.

Think about it. In most of these meta-series, people are funny, things happen, some characters even may develop somewhat - but they seldom are even remotely memorable. Entertaining, yeah, but they're neither "Twin Peaks" or "The Wire", which are merely a couple of examples of series that are entirely made-up and a lot better than any meta-adversaries.

Which, of course, lowers the expectation-level for the viewers for programs to come.

Just as language is (in parts and places) deteriorates much due to the advent of IM-software, the quality of TV-shows of today will most likely deter many script-writers-to-be from ever trying; on the other hand, this is the old things-were-better-when-I-was-younger-scenario - bollocks to that! I merely state that while some may think that things will never be better again, I say they most definitely will. Every time something gets drab, a revolution begins. History repeating, you know. Although, while "The Wire" has set a new standard for cop-series, something is severely lacking in the meta-land of TV-series, possibly "Extras" being the sole exception. I've heard that "The Comeback" is an interesting view despite Lisa Cudrow acting an ex-famous sit-com star.

What really inspired me to write this was this video, a bit of the pilot episode of "Nobody's Watching", a TV-show that is written by the people who made "Scrubs" and "Family Guy". It will be the ultimate meta-constipation yet, methinks.