Ever
had a hankering to watch Welcome Back, Kotter? Did you
ever wonder, wonder what became of WKRP in Cincinnati?
Great
shows. Classics. Groundbreaking in many ways.
Good
luck finding them with any streaming service though, because they
aren’t there. You might be able to buy episodes. But as I write
this, neither of those two shows has a home on any streaming platform.
And
it isn’t just television shows. Some terrific movies are missing
from these services as well. For a few shows and films, the solution
will eventually come from the need for content to supply what
currently still feels like an ever-increasing list of streaming
apps. Their time simply hasn’t arrived.
WKRP
in Cincinnati is a terrific example of some of the problems
facing older shows as technology advances. It aired in a time
where things like syndication wasn’t being considered as heavily,
so many elements of production were not set up to allow for continued
life. They were barely sorted for same season rebroadcast. Almost
all sources agree things like music rights will make it next to
impossible to see WKRP as originally broadcast any time
soon.
Let’s
head back to 1990, and look at the arrival of a new program on
a little network called HBO. Shows like 1st & Ten,
Not Necessarily the News and Tales from the Crypt
broke ground and never seem to fully get the credit they deserve
for the trails they began to clear. In July of 1990, things changed
as a show arrived no one saw coming. (And chances are you have
either completely forgotten about it or don’t even recall it ever
existed.)
Dream
On.
Without
wandering too deeply into the show itself, I want you to think
about a few things. Dream On aired from 1990 to 1996.
One hundred and twenty episodes were produced for six seasons.
The first season was edited and brought to Fox in 1995. It won
awards. And, a little portion of its credits—a screen shifting
from static to sound and the HBO logo—has become a traditional
portion of every show airing on the network.
You
would think a show with content and history on this level would
be a part of the HBO Max library. Nope. It’s there in the archives.
Plus, only two of the six seasons were ever shifted to a DVD release.
I
have admitted often before that when it comes to advancing in
the world, I have feet firmly planted on both sides of the fence.
I enjoy the benefits of streaming, as one example, and I am sincere
about that. I am moving ahead with the times, so to speak. But
there’s a tangible element to be recognized, where if you don’t
have it you are not getting it.
We’re
almost five hundred words into this, and chances are good I haven’t
surprised you much. In fact, as long as you can find dragons and
Scranton and zombies and Central Perk, the inability to watch
Dream On might not matter to you in any way. Your favorites
are there, or you have options, and the world is good.
Fine.
But
what happens as the providers you see leading the way begin changing
the rules? Because it’s not just Dream On. Contracts
and more can be overcome if demand and profit make it a good action
to explore. Don’t mistake that for improvements on the way, or
even stability.
As
mergers happen, or contract rights are explored, some content
is taken away or shifts to another location. This subscription
doesn’t extend into tomorrow what it offered yesterday. Sometimes
it’s good, and sometimes it’s bad. (And sometimes we need to buy
our favorite albums in yet another new format.)
Just
don’t tell me that I’m stuck in yesterday like that’s always a
bad thing. Because yesterday I could watch Dream On.