TV gets a bad case of ADD

Television rules. Aww, look at the puppy. I have three and a half dollars in my wallet…. Television rules. Aww, look at the puppy. I have three and a half dollars in my wallet. Burgers taste good in my mouth-shaped orifice. N to the O to the R to the R to the I to the S – Chuck Norris! Oooh Oooh Oooh this is the chorus!

Whoa. Forgot my Adderall. Now, without further short-burst interruptions.

Is it just me, or has the proliferation of short-burst comedy segments consisting of non-sequiturs become more rampant in recent years? Arguably starting with “The Simpsons,” shows like “Family Guy” and “Scrubs” have used these nonsensical breaks from the linear plot to present things that are so ludicrously out of this world that to not accuse the writers of taking psychedelic substances would probably be taken by them as an insult.

I remember a time when the plot was concrete and unbroken. Plots were only momentarily interrupted by the occasional subplot that would still somehow relate back to the main plot. In fact, I just like to say plot.

Nowadays, well, anyone who’s ever watched an episode of “Family Guy” knows that non-sequiturs will appear every three minutes. I’m not bashing “Family Guy” in any way – it’s one of my all-time favorites. But “Family Guy” is almost pulling a “Simpsons” plot by focusing more on antics rather than character-driven plots with occasional deviances from the norm.

Just who exactly is to blame for this recent trend? To pin the notion on just one person would be not only unfair but also impossible, so let’s look at a broader spectrum.

Culprit No. 1 is the Internet. Upon its inception, the Internet was looked at as the ultimate reference library and the best source for porn on the planet. But then sites like YouTube became popular, which led to the birth of Internet celebrities.

Two examples that come to my mind immediately are Fredryk Phox and Kyle Monkey. In the words of Phox, “I make a few [short videos] every day, out of boredom, and I edit them together, and for some reason people think they’re funny.” The clips average 10 seconds in length and are completely random, but they’re hilarious.

The other possible culprit is modern economics. Today’s market, driven by technology like the Internet, pretty much mandates that “time is money.” This especially rings true with the entertainment business, where agents are guaranteed to be bombarded by more than 100 demo tapes a week of wannabe entertainers sending unsolicited mail to their offices.

Scott McNeil, one of America’s most prolific voice actors, in a fan’s YouTube video interview, says that these days we live in an ADD world – so a tip he offers hopeful voice actors is to keep demo tapes short. Include some voice samples, each measuring no more than 15 seconds in length, and keep the tape under a minute and a half.

Getting back to television, the ADD phenomenon is a great way for a show’s writers to flex their creative muscles, no matter how insane or inebriated they might be. Comedies need to try harder to be funny these days because there’s a good chance that we’ve seen the formula so many times already that the term “ad nauseam” would be commonplace. In fact, the little ratings square that appears at every show’s beginning would probably read “AD” to warn viewers of this trend.

So yes, “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker might not like “Family Guy” because they feel that the show reminds people of the plot every 10 minutes because of its format, but really, it’s little breaks like those that make the shows fun to watch. It’s a case of “What will they come up with next” taken to the ADD extreme.

So if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish an article for