Ah, I feel a moment of joy passing over me. Sadly it is only temporary. Why might I feel like this? It is the thought of the UPN network disappearing of the face of television forever. The only problem with that is it will be replaced with the CW network. Of course the new network may be a blessing that just can’t be imagined, but the nature of television, and the networks that provide the programming (with a target of the lowest common denominator being the guiding force in determining what gets picked up) implies that what I may imagine is far from what will ever get to be seen on television.
Let me give you an example of why I feel strongly about the UPN. This is the same reason why my outlook for the future potential of the new network is dim. In 1995 the UPN opened its doors. One of the things that the television network was boasting was its diversity. Diversity in television programs has been an issue for a long time and I previously posted some thoughts on the matter inMinorities, Television and 27 percent. The UPN had a lineup of programs that featured Black African American, Hispanic and other minority leads and supporting actors. I, like many, had a hopeful outlook on what may be presented. Those hopes were crushed with my viewing of half an episode of Homeboys in Outer Space.
If a worse combination of writing, set design, and poor allocation of what I imagine as meager funds existed I am unaware of it. That at least I am thankful for. The fact that the program had a short life is not enough to overcome that it ever had a life on television. Sadly a key member of A Different World was part of this program. While he was quite good in School Dayz and A Different World, I haven’t seen him in another program since Homeboys. It was that bad I think. I can’t speak to its plot, there didn’t seem to be any, nor a style or anything that might be of note. If I could say that this was the only program of such low quality to appear on this network, I’d feel quite differently on its demise. That is not the case in my opinion.
Television programs, The Parkers, Moesha, Enterprise and many others have all added to the downward trend exemplified by this network. These are a few of the shows I had trouble with on this network. In the Moesha program, a child dictates the events in the house while her Black African American parents are constantly befuddled and lacking in advice or guidance (this is especially true of the father. I do not mean every episode by the way, and I do not mean to say that this type of ‘children know best’ attitude is solely found on the UPN). In the parkers we have a parent that would rather be a friend that a disciplined guide. How many episodes were there where the mother was chasing a man or at a party, alongside of her much younger child? And Enterprise just failed to live up to the earlier, and far better, extensions of the Star Trek universe. Oh, speaking of Star Trek (yes I am a fan of the original, TNG, and DS9) I can not leave out the other show UPN thrust upon the fans, Voyager. While a stronger presence than Enterprise, the key feature that struck me... the first Vulcan character that seemingly was mentally disabled (at least in comparison to every other such character in that universe).
Let me digress a moment. The Star Trek franchise was know for its groundbreaking episodes when the original first aired. The interracial kiss was the first on television, with a black and white character, to my knowledge. The crew was comprised of deep diversity, with 3 of the 7 main characters being non-white (the Vulcan being an alien, and Chekhov was Russian - a cold war enemy at the time but still white). This diversity was kept to some degree in the future installments, TNG having 1 of the 9 main characters as non-white (Data is an android, but modeled after his white creator, Yar died and was a white human from a distant planet, Worf like many post-original Klingons was dark-skinned but not black. The race of Klingons are all dark-skinned and other than the original show only 1 from a movie was not dark-skinned, but as aliens they don’t count. [Worf is played by Black African American Michael Dorn making 2 on the set but only one on the show]). Deep Space 9 really moved up the stakes with several minority characters in the cast, and as regulars, including 2 Black African Americans (one of which was the key lead), an Asian Woman, and many others as aliens. In all of this groundbreaking and trendsetting actions, one thing was always clear Vulcans were hyper-intelligent and not emotional. UPN decided to show us what a black Vulcan would be like (this was the only one ever portrayed by a black actor to my knowledge) and gave us the equivalent of a high school dropout working in a science lab. Fans of the genre were never amused.
But back to my point, the overwhelming number of shows directly courting Black African American and minority viewers found on UPN were about as enriching as processed sugar. It just gave you something to look at but wasn’t good for much. Even worse is when this filler programing was used to show the diversity gap in television was shrinking. Not every show is an E.R. or West Wing, or SOAP, but they can easily exceed Homeboys in Outer Space. Perhaps the executives of 2 combined studios will be able to muster some quality programs. Perhaps scientists will find that the cure to cancer is in processed sugar. In my opinion the odds are about the same.
Die UPN, die!
This is what I think, what do you think?
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