frankensteinnoun1. an agency that escapes control and destroys its creator Given that definition, the answer is most certainly yes. While the concept was made popular by Mary Shelley in 1818, the notions that the created can destroy the creator has been around since biblical days. The story of the Golem made out of clay that came to life as a priest inscribed “EMETH”–life–on its forehead. Things go awry, the Golem needs to be destroyed, and the priest erases the first “e,” leaving the Golem with “METH”–death–on his forehead (ed. meth = death, kids. Don’t do drugs). As the Golem melts, the priest is consumed and dies, as well. That brings us to the internet and older mediums, like television and print. It also brings us to my super-indulgent guilty pleasure: Gossip Girl. I unabashedly love this trashy, unrepentant, loosely-based-on-the-book television show. The intrigue, sex, drama, over-the-top clothing, stereotypes, and generalizations about life in Manhattan are a nice breather from my day-to-day. All that said, Gossip Girl (as a representation of most prime time television shows) has found the bulk of its viewership is online with people watching the free streaming episodes of the show, along with additional content like cast interviews and commentary. This free streaming has proven to be too successful for its own good, with more viewers watching episodes online than in prime time. As this obviously causes problems for advertisers that pay (good) money for their placements, the CW has decided to pull their free streaming video, forcing people to watch, miss, or TiVo their program. The question becomes: If TV generates online content, and that online content garners more viewers than the TV program does, does it make sense to nix the more successful of two ventures? The CW created an online simulacrum monster, and the CW has cut it down. But if they cut out the majority of viewers (which happen to be their online segment), the show, no matter how freakin’ good it is, won’t be able to sustain itself on the viewership that the network admitted was too paltry, forcing them to remove online viewing. As such, the online Gossip Girl will inevitably destroy the television Gossip Girl. Ultimately, I guess it’s back to using Hulu.com, SurftheChannel.com or some random Bit Torrent site for me, as I refuse to wait for an overpriced box set to come out in order to find out what’s going on in the lives of S, B, Lonely Boy, Little J, and all the rest… jackie for amp3pr.com
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