"The average American out there loves the show "24," OK? They love Jack Bauer, they love "24." In my mind, that's as close to a national referendum that it's OK to use tough tactics against high-level al-Qaida operatives as we're ever going to get."
'No Television without Representation'?! I know there's phone polls in "Britain/America's Got (No) Talent" & it's 'Reality TV' ilk, but that's stretching things so far as to make Shaun T's 'Insanity Workout' seem like Pilates for the over-60s.
And I thought TV in the US (apart from PBS on cable) was funded purely by advertising. There's me thinking that we in the UK paid for an annual TV Licence which paid for the BBC; effectively a compulsory Broadcasting poll tax. Yet, I can't decide what can be shown on the BBC at least.
...more's the pity. All the so-called 'Reality TV' would be replaced by actual documentaries, soap operas would be replaced with Sci-Fi TV series, and there would be a 'BBC Anime' channel, showing the very latest series airing in Japan.
Alas, if wishes were currency, I'd be homeless and starving. And that's the point. Also: what appears on TV - except for (non-Faux News) news/documentaries - isn't real.
WWE, for one. Pantomime for inbred ADHD-afflicted rednecks. Ah, whither the Sumo on Channel 4 in the late 80s...? At least that's a real competition.