TVSquad

Normally I wouldn't mention local programming on TV Squad, since it would only be of interest to those who live in the same city I do (in this case, Minneapolis). However, three nights ago I may have discovered the most ingenious use of public access television I've ever seen. I don't remember the time, but I know it was after midnight. I've watched public access before, but this time I found myself encountered with an odd paradox. What I was seeing on the screen was so intriguing I couldn't change the channel, and at the same time, it was one of the most boring things I had ever seen in my life. A young man was playing Scrabble with people who called in. He sat off to the side, and "your" letters sat facing you. Since it was live, there was no editing. You actually had to wait while he spelled something, and then wait for someone to call in to spell another word. The whole show was like some kind of dadaistic, Warholian endurance test. It may have been the ultimate public access moment, the kind of parallel television universe that could only be created by normal people with too much time on their hands.