Well, I guess it’s official, the Logo network (sometimes a little NSFW) is ditching it’s all gay programming in favor of something more mainstream. Their official excuse is that they are changing to meet the needs of today’s LGBT community. Sorry, but that is a bunch of crap and I doubt anyone who has ever watched the network would believe it for one second. Instead of admitting their colossal lame programming is at fault, they are trying to save face behind a pathetic excuse IMHO.
When it first debuted I was really looking forward to it. Our own network just for us. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be 90% reruns and really bad stereo-typical programming. And they wonder why it failed? Seriously, what did they think? We’d just all tune in to watch the same shows we’d seen over and over already. Puh-lease!
They did have a few worth while shows but naturally they didn’t keep those. The Big Gay Sketch Show was comedic gold. The Trans-America show was very dramatic. The documentary on gay’s in America was both inspiring and ground-breaking. All of which they got rid of. The only show left even worth watching is Ru Paul’s Drag Race. They managed to find a reality show hit there, as evidenced by its exceptionally high ratings. It’s pretty much the only reason I even keep the channel in my cable package. [1]And once it’s over I’ll probably get rid of it.
I’m sad to say the network is a flop and they should change it. But if they really wanted to focus on our community, they’d develop more original programming and stop pandering to just stereotypes. Stop pretending we’ll watch anything gay and be happy about it. Sadly, that’ll never happen. No, they’ll move on to cheesy reality shows that pander to the lowest common denominator because it grabs ratings. *sigh* Don’t even get me started on the A-list. What a completely pathetic show that was. It was insulting to watch.
Many have said that we don’t need an all-gay network anymore because we are so mainstream now. I disagree. While we don’t need a network that panders only to stereotypes, we do need one where we can watch our own. The idea that we are too mainstream now is nonsense. Pick any show on prime time and tell me how truly they reflect our lives? How many shows show the day to day struggles we face? How many show more than a pandering interest in our lives? How many show more than a one-time gay kiss vs. an actual sex scene? Zero, that’s how many. We might be more visible on tv these days but being visible isn’t equality. We need a place to call our own. We need a channel that we can tune into with shows and characters that reflect who we are as a whole.
Sadly, it seems Logo won’t be it.
References
| ↑1 | And once it’s over I’ll probably get rid of it. |
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Logo is owned by Viacom, yes the same folks who own MTV and VH1.
Television in general sucks these days because of the trending toward 'reality' programming. The only networks that seem to be thriving are AMC and ABC. The rest have all gone off the deep end.
Logo had a okay travel show for the gay traveler for a bit, but what I think is missing is a in depth news show with longer stories… 60 minutes 'esque. I'm not sure a nightly 1/2 hour would be sustainable for them but maybe something weekly.
Current TV used to be interesting with it's "viewer driven" productions but that has lost it's steam too.
On to the mainstream crap as with most things on TV. 🙁