TV Rock page 2
Look around. There isn't a single band or performer with as large or boundary-crossing a following as "ER." Part of the reason, of course, is that TV's reach is wider, while pop music has suffered a communication breakdown, splintering into too many disparate realms, parceling listeners into too many separate universes. The structure of radio is such that a Pearl Jam fan never has to encounter Madonna or vice versa. And TV, which is coincidentally at a creative peak, has stepped in to fill the void.
Now, shows like "ER," "Melrose Place," "Friends," "Seinfeld" and "The X-Files" drive pop culture in a way that rock did in previous eras, influencing fashion and hairdos ("Melrose" and "Friends"), positioning itself as a portrait of a generation ("Friends"), articulating left of center sensibilities ("The X-Files").
So how did this all happen? Maybe it's the fact that the baby boomers who grew up believing that rock would change the world now sit in the media and entertainment industry power seats. That would explain the "Big Chill" premises of "Seinfeld" and "Friends," and the rock 'n' roll attitude of this season's "Roseanne,'' which turned a pivotal birth episode a few weeks ago into a tribute to Jerry Garcia.
It may also explain the use by the networks (well, NBC and Fox, at least) of rock iconography as a promotional tool. It took an April 1993 Entertainment Weekly cover photo depicting the "Seinfeld" cast members in a "Meet the Beatles" pose to jump start NBC's promotional juices, but since then, "Seinfeld," although named for its star, has been pitched as a show about a fab foursome of equal comedic elements.
If "Seinfeld" is the Beatles of TV, then the relentlessly adorable "Friends" is the Monkees. The Rembrandts' video for that accursed theme song even features the "Friends" actors as (what else?) a rock band. (As for "ER," it may not be promoted like it, but it's the TV equivalent of a Motown oldie, utterly formulaic, but irresistible all the same.)
Next page: The Elvis of cheese TV
