There has been much discussion in recent years about the continuing decline in attention spans among young Americans.
It’s difficult to quantify or verify this phenomenon, but if this trend is as real as the loudest alarmists say, there are many possible reasons:
Most people with even a shred of self-awareness would admit that the constant temptation of social media and other smartphone-related distractions has at least partially undermined their ability to focus on a single task for extended periods of time.
While these temptations (allegedly) have a negative impact on productivity in schools and offices, they also impact the entertainment industry in both subtle and obvious ways.
Yes, we’ve talked before about the decline in family TV time and how social interaction becomes more difficult because no one else is watching the same shows.
Many have observed that the causes of these trends are complex, multifaceted, and potentially irreversible.
But today, instead of simply worrying about these problems, we want to offer a solution.
The original blockchain
This concept may seem confusing in an age of endless entertainment options, where each of us can curate our own nightly entertainment experience to suit our specific tastes.
But aside from those awful two-hour reality shows, this might be the only way to convince an entire family to lock themselves into one network every week from 8 to 10 p.m.
Of course, we are talking about programming blocks.
Yes, some of our younger readers may not know what the hell we’re talking about, but there was a time – not too long ago, in fact! – When a network groups a number of similar programs together with the goal of retaining viewers during peak prime time hours.
The craziest part is: it worked!
Perhaps the most famous of these was TGIF, which aired every Friday night on ABC from 1989 to 2000.
“Perfect Strangers,” “Full House,” “Family Matters,” “Step by Step,” “Boy Meets World” and “Sister, Sister” are just some of the sitcoms that helped popularize TGIF (and, in turn, TGIF these situation comedies).
Steve Urkel, American pioneer
The relationship was a symbiotic one, with some of the shows going on to be successful later on on different nights. But before putting these veteran shows on the air during the week, the network wisely used their popularity to help launch new series.
It’s an ingenious system. At the height of the Urkel craze, the network would air Family Matters at 8 p.m., knowing that a large portion of the audience would stay to watch whatever program aired at 8:30.
(Urkel’s crossover appearances on “Full House” and “The Walking Dead” proved that Jaleel White’s iconic character was a hit.)
Sure, for every Boy Meets World there’s a Muppets Tonight, Teenage Angels, or Freaks Out, but it was a highly successful strategy in the pre-Internet era when many families didn’t even have Cable TV.
In fact, the strategy was so successful that ABC launched more loosely related shows, including the unfortunately named The Hump (Wednesday nights), MCTV (“Cooler TV,” Saturday mornings) and I Love Saturday Night” (hopefully its own show).
None of these were successful, but NBC struck gold in 1993 with the concept.
Could there be more must-see places?
Must-See Thursdays (a concept that has since expanded to other nights, with mixed results) was a dream come true for network executives.
At its peak, the lineup kicks off with “Friends” at 8 p.m. Seinfeld hit third with a 9, and ER ended things with a 10.
As for 8:30 and 9:30? Well, with these imports, you could have Al Gore reading the phone book for half an hour and still have 30 million viewers.
“Caroline in the City,” “A Single Man,” “Suddenly Susan” and “Veronica’s Closet” may not rank among the classic sitcoms.
But these most forgotten shows all ran for multiple seasons, thanks in large part to the popularity of the episodes sandwiched in between.
NBC was very focused on synergy at that time. In terms of marketing, Urkel walks, allowing Kramer to run.
Of course, the Winslows’ obnoxious neighbors pop up on other shows from time to time.
But Must See TV is upping the ante with events like Blackout Thursday.
It was a 1994 stunt that centered around all four sitcoms in the lineup (Mad About You, Friends, Seinfeld and Dabney Coleman’s short-lived The People) The same plot device – a power outage plunged Manhattan into darkness.
Well, that’s the idea anyway.
Unlike the other three series, “Seinfeld” declined to participate, instead offering the classic series “Gymnasts.”
The friends play ball and the beloved installment stars Matthew Perry as Chandler trapped in an ATM lobby with a supermodel.
The experiment has never been repeated and therefore may not be considered a complete success. Still, you’ll love the innovative spirit behind it.
Snick: tweener block
But perhaps no show remains as consistent in tone week after week as Nickelodeon’s “Snicket.”
Saturday night lockdown marks internet only time No Switch immediately to Classic Replay/Nick at Nite mode at 8 p.m.
Instead, the 8pm to 10pm time slot offers slightly edgier content targeted at the brand’s teen audience.
Shows like “Clarissa Explains Everything,” “Ren & Stimpy,” “Pete & Pete” and “All That” gave 12-year-olds their own prime-time moment in the ’90s.
The fact that their younger siblings weren’t allowed to stay up late or watch such raunchy shows only heightened the excitement.
For many viewers, the experience may feel like a thrilling glimpse into adult life.
They can probably look forward to enjoying two hours of themed shenanigans on weekdays in the future.
Alas, the program area is now no longer all about dinner parties and affordable groceries.
Which is why, in these divisive times, we can only hope that some brave network executives decide to bring America back together through four silly, purely apolitical situation comedies.
Then, when this brave soul looks at the country he healed and asks in his most nasal Ucker voice, “Did I do this?” we can say, “Yes, Mr. or Mrs. Web Executive. Yes you did.
TV fans, what do you think?
Should blocks make a comeback?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts.
