Your definition of "interchangeable" is not my definition

[kattahj]

So, in an ONTD post about Psych (which is back soon, squee!), I came upon this comment:

all their original shows are interchangeable

usa: 24 hours of white people in unusual jobs

Is it just me or is that a ridiculously broad category to dub shows "interchangeable"? I mean, okay, if we accept the commenter's definition of "white people" - i.e.

Comments

[kattahj]

Eh... The character he plays is white, though.

Yeah, I'm not saying that this should necessarily count in the show's favour, just that while making the list, I counted any show where the main male character was either white or could pass as white. They didn't even specify "guy", which would have made at least moderately more sense.

Truth be told, it was the "unusual jobs" thing I went WTF at, because really, from that perspective there are really only six categories for a show to fall into - first whether the main character is (or passes as) white or not, then whether s/he has an unusual job, a usual job, or is at leisure.

Admittedly, Psych is the only USA show I watch (I tried White Collar and didn't care for it), so I don't know if the shows have even more stuff in common, but the comment struck me as very, very weird.

[love2loveher]

From that write-up:
For me, the biggest void on TV, right now, is the light one-hour.

For the love of all that's holy. Dub USA the non-PC channel. Say it is boring. But when they have a new show, I know that it is going to be light-hearted, enjoyable, and fun. Maybe it's not for everybody. Neither is House.

(And Royal Pains has an Indian Woman, though the rest of the show is about rich white people.)

[kattahj]

Apparently I'm the only person who got stuck on "unusual jobs". Okay.

[justhuman]

Your list is off -- you listed a bunch of shows that don't show on USA Network (at least here in the US) and shows that they "rebroadcast" -- so they are not USA "original shows

[love2loveher]

psst. The list is labeled "Non-USA shows"

[justhuman]

Yup, I completely failed at reading comprehension this morning.

[kattahj]

Like love2loveher pointed out, the list was specifically of non USA shows. Psych is the only USA show I watch, so I didn't write the post to defend the network or anything. I just thought if "white people in unusual jobs" is all it takes to make shows interchangeable, then by the same standards Torchwood is interchangeable with The West Wing.

If what the commenter meant was "too many white guys", then fair enough, but that doesn't make shows interchangeable either.

[bookelfe]

I would like to see some non-white lead people in unusual jobs . . .

(Also, I confess, I do see their point - while I do often enjoy the USA fluff, I am always running up against a limit of how many USA shows I can take at once. I mean, more than 50% of them - Psych, Monk, Burn Notice, White Collar - involve a Quirky White Guy Solving Crimes. Royal Pains and House (which is not a USA show but has reruns airing all the time on USA, so I half-count it) also fall into this mode if you count Quirky White Guy Solves Medical Problems in the same general category, which only leaves In Plain Sight and Covert Affairs, which has not actually debuted yet in a different mode.)

[kattahj]

I would like to see some non-white lead people in unusual jobs . . .

Yes! That would be nice!

I'm all in favour of having more none-white leads all over the place. But if I'm going to choose between shows with characters in unusual jobs, characters in usual jobs, or characters at leisure, then unusual jobs strikes me as having the biggest potential of fun.

Also, I confess, I do see their point - while I do often enjoy the USA fluff, I am always running up against a limit of how many USA shows I can take at once.

I only watch Psych. I'm taking on Covert Affairs if it's any good, and I've considered Burn Notice for Gabrielle Anwar's sake, but I can't say I have much idea of what their scheduling is like in general. Maybe the comment would have made more sense if I did; as it was, I felt "...congratulations, you just described half the shows ever written."

[love2loveher]

I watch Burn Notice, and it has a very hard time keeping my attention. Usually, I record it, then delete after it sits there for a few weeks without me watching.

[kattahj]

Okay, probably won't bother, then. (And that sounds like what I did with Lost a few seasons ago. It shaped up towards the end, though.)

[therru]

I'm confused. Aren't most of those shows from the USA? Exept Torchwood and Merlin...

[kattahj]

USA is also a TV network. :-)

[therru]

I'll have to take your word for that...