I have to wonder how long it would have taken contemporary antitelevisian zealots to accept Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, or the replacement of the horse with the automobile, or the Beatles, or Saran Wrap. Finally, some thirty years after the introduction of television, critics have begun to weary of arguments concerning the value of the medium. "TV or not TV" has been bantered about incessantly in every academic arena, and 1979 marked the year that critical television commentary began to move beyond the simple question of whether to tum it on or off. At long last the pundits seem willing to face the facts: In this country, more households have TV sets than indoor plumbing.

The new thinking and criticism attempts to view television as popular art; that is, there is no longer a concern for accepting television intrinsically or as an art form, but rather there is a new concentration on criticizing the art of television. This year represents the beginning of television critics and thinkers using those analytical tee previously reserved for movie and fine art s critics.

The Ten Best Programs of 1979

Most of the shows entered in the following list were mediocre or "watchable" at best, and and they had their "moments." The remaining fifty programs in network prime til rarely "watchable" and had far fewer "moments." Thus, selective viewing was important this year, as in all other years. The only two entries which were consistently alluring and merited special a were The Rockford Files and ABC Monday Night Football.

Rockford appealed to an audience that had a sensibility combining an odd mixture of cynicism and a middle-brow sense humor. The show was attractive to those who were reared on television and who, in junior high, probably read a little Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and private-eye novels that contained fairly intricate plots. The Rockford Files stands as one of the more astute genre parodies since Maverick. It avoids staleness by developing a good storyline, maintaining an exciting pace so necessary to "an unraveling plot," and coming up with the most satirical Isn't-the-Angelino-Lifestyle-Ridiculous tableau west of Garry Trudeau. Augmenting the already fine-tuned cast of Garner, Noah Beery, Stuart Margolin, and Joe Santos are guest stars who fit in (ever notice how the guest stars on Charlie's Angels don't seem like they belong there?), such as Lauren Bacall, Rita Moreno, Mariette Hartley, and Lou Gosset, Jr. Responsible for many of the more ingenious episodes are writers/producers Stephen J. Cannell, Juanitea Bartlett, and Davit Chase. As the series forever receives poor Nielsen ratings. Someone down at NBC must realize he has a gem in his palm and is keeping Rockford on the airwaves. Does NBC know the Rockfordphiles either (1) decline Friday night social engagements altogether, or (2) make Sure their Friday night destination has a TV set and then at 9:00 p.m. "excuse themselves to powder up?"

ABC Monday Night Football also had another worthy (and lucky) year. The fact that most of the games were exciting and important was (we hope) no consequence of ABC programming. The best of Monday Night were: Pittsburgh at New England, Philadelphia at Dallas, Oakland at New Orleans, Pittsburgh at Houston, and of course, Denver at San Diego. Still argued in most bars and living rooms on Monday nights is the petty issue of ABC's employment of Howard Cosell. It has always been apparent, however, that fans tune in because it's football, not because of who the sportscasters are; otherwise they would have stopped watching the show when Don Meredith reaches the end of his six-minute attention span and begins to sing some sappy country and western song. Actually, ABC demonstrates a superior coverage of football with Monday Night; they offer closer close-ups, more isolations, and many different angles on those nifty instant replays. And of course there are those Cosell interviews ("I talked to so-and-so about such-and-such before the game. Here's what he had to say ... "). which fall somewhere between People magazine and Lou Grant, and usually receive such responses as, "Well, I'm just thinkin' about the team, Howard."

The remaining eight shows on this list were hot and cold (sometimes very cold) and include: Mork and Mindy (1978-79 season), whose star, Robin Williams, embodies that talent which jonathan Winters uses so well - being able to change personae in rapid, machine-gun style so as to create a one-person dialoguel vignette. Unfortunately, the writing has steadily gone downhill during the '79-'80 season, and the focus is sometimes taken away from Williams and placed on guests designed to pull adult viewers away from rival Archie (e.g., having Raquel Welch as a special star). The relationship between Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on Laverne and Shirley has most of the ingredients which made Lucy and Ethel so hilarious. However, the simplemindedness is sometimes too much to endure. In Taxi, the New York comedy ensemble-style of acting is often successful, but more often than not the show must resort to Andy Kaufman to back itself out of the comer it's gotten in. Barney MiUer's Steve Landesberg and MaxweU Gail are very adroit comedians whose writers know how to get mileage out of them. 60 Minutes, probably the most mature of the special-interest news formats, still occasionally stoops to a Ripley's Believe It or Not presentation. This Week in Baseball, a syndicated recap of goings-on in the major leagues, is narrated by the infamous Mel Allen in that pleasing, anachronistic sportscaster's voice of yore. The most overrated series on the air is, again, Saturday Night Live, whose devoted flock continues to drool over its barren material. When Live hits the mark, it hits true; but doesn't anyone realize that the Nurds, Two Wild and Crazy Guys, the Coneheads, the Uncle Bill Show, and Samurai HoteJ/Deli/or whatever just aren't funny anymore? The '79 edition suffers even more from the loss of the only consistently adept player, Dan Aykroyd, and his partial replacement is the team of Franklin and Davis, probably the most unfunny comedy duo presently allowed to enter a television studio. True, when the best oldies are thrown in the hopper, and then the best sketches from those are extracted and rerun as The Best of Saturday Night Live on Wednesday nights, it's not half bad. But when a first-rate comedian such as Richard Pryor is host, and when his monologues contain more acumen and wit than anything nine players and twenty-two writers can produce, you take notice of the show's overall mediocrity. The most attractive element of The Dick Cavett Show is not Cavett, the production, or the phony living room setting — it's the guests themselves. Unlike the Tonight Show, where guests know they are supposed to be cute, funny, jovial, and plug their current movie, book, Broadway play, or religion, the Cavett Show has a built-in expectation of seriousness beaming from the PBS coordinates on your TV set (Cavett: "Okay, let's talk about your breakdown following the release of your film"). Cavett's guests usually wallow in this PBS-induced state, affording viewers an opportunity to see them emoting their social selves, as opposed to their media selves.

The Ten Worst Programs of 1979

The sole factor used in selecting the worst ten shows from television's worst is the degree of bewilderment in the voice when mumbling, "Oh my God, how did this get on the air?" Stillborn series such as 240-Robert and the like are not considered, they being the obvious choices. Also, anything from Chuck Barris Productions is not in the running, for CBP wouId easily sweep any ten-worst list, thus being in violation of the Commissioner O'Brien Rule of Fairness. Here they are, and if you don't understand why, you'd first better remove that ice cream cone stuck to your forehead. In order: The Dukes of Hazaard, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, The Ropers, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hello Larry, CHjps, Soap, BJ and the Bear, Angie.