Did you watch Brittney Spears special appearance on “How I Met Your Mother?”  The train wreck that many had hoped would happen, never did.  Of course it didn’t.  Welcome to prerecorded programming.  Edit out the bad and do it again until it’s right.  Gone are the days when actors forget their lines, miss their mark or the lights burn out in the middle of a performance. 

Back in the Golden Age of Television, when Uncle Miltie ruled the airwaves, live television was the norm.  The idea was to execute a flawless performance to entertain the audience, but because it was a live performance, anything could happen.  Once videotape came along, shows could be more controlled by being taped in advance and re-taping if necessary to eliminate embarrassing mistakes.  Then along came the blooper outtake specials followed by the various funniest home video programs.  These shows were really the turning point that got us to where we are today on television.  It didn’t take long before everyone in America was trying to videotape their family mistakes to earn some easy cash.

And now look what it has turned into.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that YouTube and reality television shows have such a strong viewership.  They all pander to the  desire to see people embarrass themselves.  Most people slow down to gawk at a car wreck, now you can watch one anytime you want.  Try doing a search for Brittney on the web and you can bet most of what you will find is not very flattering.

Brittney’s appearance in the controlled environment of a traditional sitcom was finally a smart public relations move.  No foibles to apologize for or to try to explain away.  It was a flawless performance.  She actually seemed normal.  If you were disappointed, just wait for the outtakes.