Television has played a huge part in entertainment for Americans and people all over the world. Most people I know grew up with a Television in their house, I certainly did. However, like many millennials, I think I stopped watching television programs as companies like Netflix, HULU and other streaming services rose in popularity. I believe that I had (officially) stopped watching television sometime during my freshman year of High School. I had bought my own MacBook by then and would log into Netflix whenever, wherever I chose to. It’s really not hard to see why the traditional form of T.V. is dwindling in popularity. People are busy, aren’t home all the time- and just turning on the T.V., won’t keep the place of where you paused the show you were watching an hour ago. When did life become just so convenient?

The original ‘television set’ has come a long wayyy since first being created by German inventor Paul Gottlieb Nipkow in 1884. This idea had been in the making by various groups since the 1800’s but up to this point, only had the capability to mechanically scan pictures and then share that image to the front screen- making for kind of a boring experience. This new and improved model utilized a rotating disk with wires connected through punched holes to bring resolution to the front screen. This first invention however, was referred to as an ‘electric telescope’ as opposed to a television. In 1907, two inventors by the names of A.A. Campbell-Swinton and Boris Rosing created their own take on a new television by working with a cathode ray and mechanical scanning system. These devices paved the way for the ‘modern televisions’ that we grew up with- electronic televisions. This new concept officially introduced in 1927, would only take off in coming years and become America’s new addiction. This television had the ability to show moving objects from a camera-like viewpoint.

I see a lot of comparisons to the evolution of computers in relation to the timeline of television sets. It’s interesting because typewriters were a major invention at one point and then were replaced by computers, which now I feel like are replacing T.V.’s. This is of course just my opinion, but does anyone else see this happening in the near future? With touch-screen becoming more popular and Apple Watches (sort of) replacing phone’s, I would like to see what future technology will bring us.

Rodman ‘Rod’ Serling was an American screenwriter most well known for narrating ‘The Twilight Zone’, a television series known for incorporating both parts mystery and horror. He was incredibly influential in forming television industry standards as well as played an active roll in politics. The documentary we watched, Rod Sterling: Submitted for your Approval, dove deeply into how he incorporated his progressive thoughts and actions into his work, questioning everything and striving for the greater good. He was known for having a passionate personality and strove to challenge current societal norms in the different plots of his shows. The Twilight Zone took off as an extremely popular show and was widely viewed by people of all ages for many years to come. Serling won six Emmy’s for his work as a writer on television shows, four being a product of ‘The Twilight Zone’.

I watched a few episodes of the Twilight Zone and really enjoyed them. I thought the show was incredibly really well-made, especially for the time it was produced. Most shows during the 50’s and 60’s were given extremely basic, easy-to-follow plots and lacked that riveting intellectually-stimulating element. The Twilight Zone brought never-before seen plot-twists that really surprised people and introduced the public to a new era of television.

Does anyone see a comeback in older shows like the Twilight Zone on popular streaming services like Netflix Amazon Prime or HULU?