THE FUTURE OF ARCHIVE TV WATCHING.

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on October 8th 2023

Recently I was pointed in the direction of a particular streaming platform because it happened to have made available, gratis, for free, and without any need to subscribe to anything, the opening episode of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS season two, so that the more disinclined, or financially challenged, amongst us might have a look at it and perhaps find out what all of the fuss was about when it comes to this new iteration of STAR TREK that seems to have made fans of the classic series very happy.

The series does take several of the elements that made the original 1960s series so popular, give them a modern twist so that they can be viewed without the perceived shortcomings that the old show might have to modern audiences, and take the show broadly as it appeared in its original Pilot, and boot it well into the television landscape of this century.

But watching it did set me thinking about modern styles of television in general, because, whilst I did find that episode to be a very enjoyable hour of television, with its effects heavy visuals, smart, snappy dialogue, and complex storytelling techniques, it resembled the original in very minor ways, and I began to wonder whether viewers brought up on this brand new spin on the old show, might find little to enjoy in the original series any more if they went off to watch it after seeing this high octane version.

In the end I was wondering whether the old series would now seem far too slow, creaky, simplistic, or downright silly once this sophisticated, glossy new version, often resembling the high speed narratives involved in playing a video game, had been experienced.

And that set me wondering how many, or indeed if any, older television series might still appeal to viewers brought up almost exclusively on such programmes, and whether the kind of Archive Television that I enjoy talking about on this show, will one day be consigned to sitting unwatched, mouldering in dusty archives somewhere, whilst all the newer, flashier descendants are being loved and adored in their place.

In short, are we perhaps the last generation who will remember watching the old style of television that we adore, and, more to the point, are we the last which will want to watch it?

And as to whether future generations will be as interested in them, I do wonder, and the same can also be said for the television of the distant past, and, as I was recently told, even the more recent past.

Sometimes, it would seem that, no matter how much we might bang on about classic comedies, or significant dramas, or just fun old shows, even television that is as little as five years old has little appeal to the general viewer in the modern era.

This week, VISION ON SOUND once again welcomes back WARREN CUMMINGS from THE CINEMATIC SAUSAGE podcast, and we both try to get to the core of the knotty problem of whether, in the future, once the likes of us have slipped from this mortal realm, anyone else will care about the kind of television we enjoy watching, or will it be left to fester unloved in such archives as might exist whilst the mighty television machine rolls ever onward without looking backwards for anything other than inspiration for far flashier, and yet possibly lesser works.

Basically, what do we have to do to persuade anyone growing up in the modern television era, that the Archive TV we watch is actually worth watching, and isn’t just boring old nonsense as destined to be forgotten about as, apparently, even those brand new “must see” shows of the moment are.

PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show