(Please
don’t say Cincinnati. Please, lord, punish anyone that says Cincinnati.
Thank you.)
I
was promised I could find anything I wanted.
Not
all-in-one shopping. It wasn’t all going to be on Netflix or Amazon
Prime or Disney+ or whatever. I might have to search. I might
learn whatever-it-is was on a platform I don’t subscribe to.
But
in this world of on-demand, all in the clouds, streaming at my
fingertips, digital age, I was promised I could find anything.
And,
I can’t.
WKRP
in Cincinnati was a brilliant show. (In fact, I contend that
“Turkeys Away” is the greatest episode of television ever broadcast.
Ever. No exceptions. It’s that good.) But there are some problems
with it. One of the biggest issues involves the music.
The
show did such a wonderful job of collecting and including music
that much of it can no longer be used. As a really basic explanation,
the rights and approvals involved were apparently so specific
and narrow that beyond the original broadcast the usage was never
agreed to and signed forever and for everything. Whether syndication
or home video (or any other option and technological advancement
that might come around), a huge batch of music that was utilized
during the production of the show and made it to the first broadcasts
can no longer be shared.
For
the most part, time has healed a few wounds. Attempts have been
made to restore as much as possible, and some content for WKRP
has been negotiated and brought back. And you can do some searches
and find episodes for purchase on some services, or collections
of the show available for purchase.
But
included with your subscription? Nope. Guaranteed available from
your television or cable or satellite service? Not at all. Presented
in its original format with all content intact? Not happening.
And
WKRP is not alone.
People
make fun of me from time to time. I like CDs. I like DVDs. But
more than anything else, I suppose the best description of it
is I like tangible. It’s nice to be able to say that streaming
whatever… music and movies to start… can help me out. But what
happens when Amazon or Apple goes out of business, and can no
longer provide authentication of my purchase (and protect my rights
of product ownership)?
And
before you start laughing about Amazon or Apple going out of business,
let’s just remember not many people thirty or forty years ago
would have ever thought Sears was going out of business. Was Toys
‘R’ Us expensive? Yup, but it seemed solidly in place as a business
entity. And if you want to know about the rise and fall of technology
with a finger snap, find a Blockbuster and ask to speak with the
store manager. (You’ll be looking in Oregon for this one. Only
a single store left.)
Some
of you will be familiar with the amazing history of the BBC. In
simple terms, videotape was bulky and awkward and expensive and…
well… just not easy to store. Tapes were erased and used again.
Yup, classic television shows, considered disposable and wiped
clean. (“Billy, would you go outside, clap the erasers and permanently
delete the Doctor Who episodes? No one will ever want
those again. Thank you.”)
Forgive
me when people start talking about getting rid of DVDs, while
defiantly telling me things will be so much easier and more readily
available, and yet I remain hesitant to fully buy in on it.
It’s
not true. And, if someone isn’t careful, they’ll be praying that
somewhere a person has a copy of this or that in an obsolete format
hidden in a box around the house. (Hmm… maybe that house could
be in Cincinnati. Now that would be funny. Anyway…)
There
used to be an old joke about your favorite album. A format appeared,
and you needed to buy it again. The whole process was like some
elaborate conspiracy to ensure future business. Album to 8-track
to cassette to CD. And suddenly streaming, as if there would be
a final purchase and no need to buy it again. The trouble is,
what you want needs to be available before you never need anything
else.
And
until it is, “…if you’ve ever wondered, wondered whatever became
of…”