The current trend in television programming is to stick to what’s been tried and found even modestly successful. On network television, originality is, for the most part, a thing of the past.

          It wasn’t so long ago that producers actively sought the innovative and dismissed the derivative, in polar opposition to today, when every show seems to be tied to precedent. An even more disturbing trend is television shows that take this one step further, drafting directly behind (or even blatantly alongside) a show that is still running. For instance, there’s Medium, a show about a crime-solving psychic, and The Ghost Whisperer, a show about a crime-solving psychic. Three nights a week, on CSI, you can get the same blend of crime lab schtick; only the location (New York, Las Vegas, or Miami) changes. When I was a kid, copycatting was considered a sign of insecurity, not an effective marketing strategy, and while people may have enjoyed Gilligan’s Island, they would have rejected Flannery’s Atoll as a shameless rip-off.

          Maybe we can lay the blame for creative stagnation at the feet of the struggling economy. Even worse, the recycling of what’s reliable has not been limited to television, but includes recent and emerging movies, books, and music. The fact is, the only way to break new artistic ground is to dare to tread upon it, and frankly, those who drive these industries are afraid. That’s why the networks and their sponsors will continue to sift through the chaff of reality shows, talent competitions, and the formulaic crime shows and sitcoms. They’ve been running the numbers, and now is not the time to risk dazzling the folks out there with a creative breakaway. The prevailing strategy is to look for something that’s already floating and hang on for dear life.