The Internet has ruined "TV Talkback". "TV Talkback" is a feature that appears in the Star Week television listings that come with the Saturday Star here in Toronto. Growing up with the Toronto Star, "TV Talkback" was a great place to go every Saturday morning to learn where you recognized that face from or what the name of that old show was. The format was question and answer with a television expert supplying the answers to various tv-related questions. Who played so and so or what's the name of that short-lived sitcom starring Mr. X were typical questions. It took a real expert to answer them back in the 80s and early 90s.
Now, an average Joe like myself is a television expert. The answers to any question of this nature are at my fingertips. If I want to see an actor's entire portfolio, no problem. If I want to see the entire cast of Dallas, I only need a few seconds. Is that actress dead or alive? I'll have the answer in a jiffy. With the Internet, there are no longer those questions you have to wait months and months to learn the answer to. Bar bets and the like can be settled with a visit to the Internet Movie Database or a quick Google search.
Yes, "TV Talkback" is a victim of the information superhighway. It's as relevant today as the Yellow Pages collecting dust in the closet or those unused stamps from '98. We're all experts now.
