Scare tactics on the boob tube

“FINDING Bigfoot”

Some cynical viewers have been so happy about the shows they watch that they sneeringly refer to the TV screen as “the boob tube.”

They dismiss it as a purveyor of alleged entertainment “by and for boobs and idiots.” Is this a case of “it takes one to know one”?

In any case, the dismissive description has stuck, resulting in a poor impression of regular televiewers (like us), who are happy with the silly and shallow shows served up to them.

Some of us call these low-level shows our “guilty pleasures,” but we watch them anyway!

Included in the silly shows we shamefacedly patronize are programs that crudely and blatantly appeal to our unselective readiness to get scared out of our skulls by fears and terrors that almost always turn out to be—childish “daymares” with no real danger to them.

One of the shows that thrive on unfounded fears is  “Finding Bigfoot,” on the endless quest for the so-called Sasquatch.

For many years now, the “search” on TV for such fantasy terrors as the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot has been passed on from one program to another, all ending with less than hard, provable evidence that such feared creatures actually  exist.

And yet, those TV searches continue to be telecast, because there’s a stubbornly unenlightened segment of the televiewing population that loves to get scared—of its own shadow.

Another TV show that resorts to scare tactics is “Ancient Aliens,” which seeks to “prove” that, all these centuries, mankind has secretly been controlled and ruled, off and on, by more intelligent and powerful beings from outer space.

Citing spurious or unscientifically “slanted” historical and topographical “evidence,” the show posits the view that such structures as the Mayan temples, the pyramids in Egypt, as well as more recent phenomena like gigantic wheat and corn field circles are the humongous handiwork of these superior creatures—so, capitulate, already!

If this sounds like a blockbuster sci-fi film fantasy, the “experts” featured and cited on the show have missed their true calling, and should more profitably switch careers!

Other harum-scarum shows on the boob tube that viewers should take with a pound of salt include “Killer Reality,” “Real Murders,” “Ultimate Croc Hunt” and “Hitler’s Last Year.”