AT HOPE AND MAIN: TELEVISION: IS IT FRIEND OR FOE?

I once had respect for TV. That was long ago and far away. Growing up with black and white television is a nostalgic memory for some, growing up without TV was a reality for others. It may be hard to believe, but life existed before TV.

TV means a lot of different things to different people. How would you describe it to someone who never experienced it before? A square shaped box that can be turned on and off at will, that issues sound and visual images -- sometimes too loud or shocking -- that we sit in front of on a routine basis, for various reasons, are entertained by, lulled to sleep by, stimulated by, educated and informed by, misinformed by, and comforted by. Forgive me for being a tad overdramatic, but these adjectives come to mind, and I would feel that in leaving them out, I might be performing a disservice: baby sitter, idiot box, boob tube, propaganda instrument. Have I left anything out? I can feel the daggers in flight, headed over here toward Hope and Main.

Television, its full name, has disappointed me. Its operation is disorganized, inaccurate on a regular basis, and without mercy.

I will no longer rely on TV to entertain me since they took "Matlock" and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" off. Does this sound ridiculous? How many of you will admit that you might have similar feelings? Too scared?

These shows may have been moved to different time slots. The point is, they did it without any warning! No information about a time change, station change and certainly no apology. That's rude. There I was, set up to get my couch potato time in and whoosh, my show vanished. Honestly, at that point I quit TV.

I held out for a while. Then I missed that instrument that lulled my son to sleep. A replacement that didn't involve effort on my part, was nonexistent. I'll admit it, I was tired, and instead of being a responsible parent and reading to my child to unwind him, I wanted to take the easy way out. TV came back into my life. I sold out. I gave it another chance.

I have recently been "given" the History channel for "free" and I'm enjoying it. It worries me though, I can't trust it. Like other changes in consumerism, they're giving me something I didn't ask for. What's the motive? When coffee suddenly came in packages instead of cans, did we really believe it was for freshness' sake? My coffee was always fresh in a can. How about yours? Then they began changing the amount of coffee in a standard can or bag container. I never asked for an 11.5 size container to be priced the same as a 16-ounce container, did you? Do they think I'm that stupid?

There are some good children's programs on as well as educational and informative shows for adults. TV can be a great comfort to the lonely, sick and bedridden, too. Why don't they take their responsibility towards these audiences more seriously then? When they list a program starting at a specific time, is it that difficult to be accurate? Everybody makes mistakes, but these are just made too often. How can we possibly trust them?

There used to be this show on called "Legacy." It only aired once a week. I looked forward to it big time. I would allow myself the luxury during that hour to be swept away to a different time and place. It was my escape. One day it was just gone. I checked the TV guide for days, looking for some information about where it went, or where it was going. I talked to other people about it. Nobody knew anything. I began to wonder if the show ever really existed. Maybe I dreamed the whole thing up. Causing me to question my sanity was an act without mercy.

Now that I'm actually climbing up onto my soapbox, I need to vent about TV's quality. OK, I now have all these extra channels but nothing worth watching. When the "Honeymooners" and "I Love Lucy" were on, TV was good, and you didn't pay for it. It didn't embarrass me, and it wasn't on the borderline of vulgarity. What about their age ratings? Whoever is responsible for assigning the age-appropriate labels to sitcoms, really needs a big lecture. Some of the stuff they air on prime-time television makes me uncomfortable to watch in front of my kids.

MTV used to be music television. The videos were entertaining. You could tell some videos were the result of an intentional creative thought process. My daughter would rock to John Cougar and Whitesnake in her playpen. Forget about it now. They should rename it sex TV.

Why do the TV producers want to saturate us with sex, violence, commercialism, and incessant satire? Haven't we been loyal customers?

My plan of action is to boycott TV. The question is, do I really want to?