TaMara's comment (and your ...
Question: TaMara's
comment (and your response) about the strike seemed overly optimistic. Maybe in a prior age, people would run back to books and, er, "other" activities, but it seems more likely that people who once spent their time staring at a television set may now spend it staring at the computer screen. Which brings up an intriguing possibility: Could the writers' strike (especially if the issues surrounding it lead other Hollywood unions to strike) be the impetus that sends television essentially the way of the radio and makes the Internet even more mainstream than it is already, to the point that it possibly replaces television as the dominant form of popular entertainment? Considering that the strike primarily revolves around how the Internet will affect TV, wouldn't that be ironic?
Answer: Rumors of the demise of television are no doubt premature, but there's little doubt that the convergence of the TV and computer has begun and isn't about to backslide. I still have trouble believing that most people would choose to watch episodes of their favorite shows in front of their computer screen if given the option. And it's hard to imagine anyone being entirely satisfied with what currently passes for "original" web programming. But ever since the introduction of the VCR, let alone the DVR, the consumer has shown increased eagerness about taking control of what they watch, when they watch and so forth. As the TV and the computer become more integrated, I'd like to think it will not be so much an issue of one medium supplanting the other but of both being complementary experiences.
