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© 2004-2008 Keith Ecklund

July 02, 2004

Alternative Futures :: Home Sweet Home

In the future, television shows will become obsolete. For entertainment, people will receive live feeds from the nearest traffic intersection camera. The cameras will be interactive, allowing people at home to see and talk with people on the street. And all television remote controls will have voting buttons, giving viewers the power to rule on such things as traffic violations, accidents, and witnessed crimes.

And property values of large, suburban homes will plummet, due in large part to the success of the cameras. The wealthy, seeking the entertainment of hectic, crime-infested neighborhoods with their well-placed cameras, will force the poor from the tiny, inner city apartments, relocating them, ironically, into the houses of their dreams.

In the future, the poor will soon come to realize that the dream of their lifetime has become nothing more then a long empty hallway. They will pace back and forth with their children in tow, moving silently between television and window. They will stare at a screen that never changes and a street corner that is forever silent, dreaming of a time when life felt more full.

Soon there will be an all-reality cable channel. (Really. Some lady who won $1 million on “Survivor” is in on the ground floor of this venture.) I hope for a reality series on all the restaurants, discos, and clubs that I’m not cool enough to go into. Just an hour of regular-speed conversations at the bar, near the dance floor, etc. Of course, on this show, unlike real life, the music won’t be too loud to overhear conversations.

pam on 07/02/04 at 12:55 PM

i think a reality show about comatose people might work. you wouldn’t have to pay much attention to it, like baseball, you could do housework or drink beer, there they would be, the cast of characters whom you would come to know so well. every few months, maybe someone gets unplugged, but besides that, it’s mostly the sound of respirators. peaceful like. maybe have the women in revealing bathing suits.

michael on 07/02/04 at 05:32 PM

I kind of like the idea of comatose television. You could market it as the world’s ultimate stare contest. You, the viewer, against some of the world’s best comatose victims. Maybe even have guest’s frequent the show, giving them an opportunity to wake up the some of the champions.

I don’t know. I suppose there could be collector’s cards and action figures.

Keith on 07/02/04 at 08:51 PM

We have several skylights in our home—and an oft-beautiful sky to enjoy through them—and I fantasized recently about a “programmable” skylight for not-so-fortunate climates. This entry reminded me of that fleeting thought.

Debi on 07/02/04 at 09:22 PM

I’d like to see a reality show about reality shows, one that found a way to demonstrate the impact cameras and crews have on a situation simply through their presence. For instance, on a show like ‘The Real World’ a secret camera would follow the cast into a bar first, tape the reaction, and a few minutes later the ‘real’ camera would arrive and highlight any changes.

Incidentally, in a Washington, DC hotel I stayed in there was an intersection channel, and it was surprisingly entertaining.

steve on 07/03/04 at 10:10 AM