Hey! It's Festivus for the rest of us

This year, wanted to make sure that the holiday of Festivus is marked on the day the holiday occurs. In previous years, somehow it slipped by without recognition until the day after. Not that it really makes a difference in the scheme of things but holidays should be celebrated on the day they take place.

For the uninformed, this holiday got its start as a segment on the still-lamented TV comedy series, "Seinfeld" with Frank Constanza, George's father, who explains the holiday this way, "many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way." The doll was destroyed but as George elaborated, "out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!"

The holiday is unique in that it includes the Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength. Who among us hasn't or doesn't air our grienvances at some point? Speaking for myself because nobody else will, I recently aired a grievance at the supermarket, when returning rotten cheese. Don't think that the cashier was aware of the Airing of Grievances in spite of numerous attempts to explain, but she still gave me my money back. In as far as Feats of Strength are concerned, just this morning I brought a trash bag filled to capacity to the disposal shoot and tossed it in. Two days ago I walked along a slush-filled sidewalk ignoring the option to walk on the cleared road. These are feats, friends!

Last but certainly not least, there's the Festivus Pole, in which an un-decorated aluminum pole is displayed in place of a Christmas tree. One could, if one felt moved, dance around the pole or perhaps - just a thought - string up some cord and hang laundry.

So once the binge-watching of TV series has lost its charm and all the gifts are wrapped, and the cat has re-decorated the tree as only cats can do, get the gang together and hold hands singing around the Festivus pole. Why? Why not?

It's Festivus all Across the Land

(Sung to the tune of "Winter Wonderland")
Grievances aired, are you listening,
At the dinner, meatloaf is glistening.
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight.
It's Festivus all across the land.
Standing there, is an old pole,
Unadorned, it is a strong pole.
It stands straight and tall,
As we go along,
It's Festivus all across the land.
In the Living Room we can wrestle,
And try to pin the head of the house.
He'll say: Are you ready?
We'll say: No, man.
But we will do our best
To pin him down.
Later on, we'll conspire,
As we air grievances by the fire.
To face unafraid,
The gripes we have made,
It's Festivus all across the land.

What's wrong with TV these days?

We're barely into the fall TV season and already cancellation fever is in the air. Seems that TV series are already being cancelled, which doesn't bode well for viewers who have formed an early attachment to a favorite program. Alreadyon the chopping block are "Lone Star" (never watched it so don't know what I'm missing, if anything) and "My Generation" (same thing). Even more interesting and telling is that the series were cancelled after only two programs. As is and most likely always will be, ratings is the indicator of a series viability and if the numbers aren't there, bye-bye program!

This season i.e. fall 2010 and for whatever reason, writers and the powers-that-be at TV networks have decided what viewers need - not necessarily want - are more cop programs. While I'm a fan of "Law and Order: SVU", I can't see the need for "Law and Order: LA." Then again, that's just my opinion. I do, however, like "Detroit 1-8-7" because it is a throwback and mix of "Homicide: Life on the Streets" and "NYPD Blue." Although it really doesn't offer anything new in cop dramas, I think there's potential growth for the characters if the networks give it a chance to grow and therein lies the problem. Unfortunately, cancellations come quickly and networks don't give viewers a chance to develop an attachment to the characters and story lines. No sooner are we introduced to a program, than it's cancelled.

Part of the problem - IMHO - is that the writers don't or perhaps can't come up with new ideas. It's variations of old themes, updated. Attention network execs: viewers aren't stupid! We recognize familiar themes! As an early viewer of "Lost" there was an immediate attraction at least for me, because the writers/creators knew how to tell a story. Isn't that what it's about in the end? The story? Can't remember the last time I tuned into a new comedy series. First of all there is nothing worse (for me, anyway) than canned laughter. It interrupts the dialogue and is a constant irritant. It's as if the writers are petrified viewers won't know where the funny parts are and have to tell us! Really - we can discern humor from dumb-ness! Just give us something to laugh at!

And so once again, viewers await the rest of the cancellation list and their replacements. We tune out because in the end, there really isn't any reason to tune in. Give viewers new ideas and solid writing plus plots and we'll be back.