TVSquad

Would you like to see more nudity and profanity on network television?

It's no secret that the networks are losing ground to the cable channels when it comes to original scripted programming, especially dramas. Just take a look at the Emmy nominations for Best Drama this year and you see that three of the six nominated are from cable: Mad Men, Damages, and Dexter). And the three that are from the networks are shows that have been a while and are (arguably) on the back nine when it comes to their life: Boston Legal, Lost, and House. While the network shows obviously get more viewers than cable, cable (and online) is the place to go for more creative content and buzz.

Wired's Epicenter blog has a piece about how the more free world of cable television is hurting network TV.

When we're in grade school, or even high school, and we walk into class and we see that our regular teacher isn't there, we're happy. We like to see a substitute, so we can either toy with them or be more casual with them, or maybe they'll just tell us to put our heads on our desks because they don't want to do any work either. But it's different with television. We don't want to see substitutes. But TV hosts are busy people and often have to do something else and can't be on their own show. Here are the five TV personalities that bum me out whenever I see they're filling in for the regular person:

1. Ann Curry (The Today Show). Why does she get on my nerves so much? She seems nice enough (as if we can tell exactly from a TV box several hundred miles away), but there's something abou ther personality. Is it the stumbling over her words? Is it the fact that when she fills in for Meredith Vieira (and before that, Katie Couric) it seems like she really tries to take over, trying to be the serious one to get things back on track when Matt and Al are having fun? She just always seems to be auditioning for some better gig, which isn't a bad thing I guess, but it's just so obvious and grating. I don't even like the way she stands.