If you have been on the Internet at all today, then you have probably at least noticed and decided not to read a blog post about how it is upfronts week in New York City, where all of the networks announce their new shows. Vulture always does a particularly good and thorough job of rounding up all the preview clips and explaining them, so there’s that. It’s kind of weird. I mean, watching preview clips of new shows makes sense, but the upfronts, and I have said this in years past, I am sure, but they are a business presentation made by television networks to advertisers to secure revenue streams. Why are civilians like you and me even talking about it? Especially when you consider that personally, all I really want to talk about is how Gwyneth Paltrow is now selling a $950 shot glass on Goop. How is this even possible? Your yes men have to be surrounded by yes men to get to this level of disconnect. Is there some kind of reward for becoming such a parody of yourself? Either in the after-life, or maybe there is some kind of contest sponsored by Annie’s? Hey, speaking of parodies, I watched the first clip of the new NBC show Ironside today, which is about a tough, streetwise cop who plays by his own rules and just HAPPENS to be in a wheelchair, which, I mean, I am sure the show will be good, I love a good procedural, and no offense to people in wheelchairs who deserve to have their stories told on network television, and who is to say a man in a wheelchair can’t be a powerful hero, but, like, if you are going to put a new twist on an old form does it have to be SO COMICALLY OBVIOUS? The preview clip for real seems like some Wheels Ontario shit.

It IS a little (and really, only a little) interesting how the breakdown of the traditional broadcasting model or whatever (ZZZZZZZZZZ WAKE ME UP WHEN I’M A SIZE BORED) is perfectly aligned with the casual interest in the structure itself. What I mean is that a few years ago more people were actually watching shows but nobody was talking about the upfronts outside of people who went to the upfronts. You just turned on your television and you watched it and maybe there was a new show and maybe you liked it and maybe you didn’t. Nowadays everyone has to be all up in all of the business, at the very same time that they are more distracted and diffuse than ever. It’s more important in Blog World 2.0 to know what all of the new shows are about, even if you “don’t own a TV.” I have literally no conclusive thesis to posit off of this observation, but it is curious. Knowledge is power jkjkjk. The upfronts. LOL. Who cares? Besides EVERYONE? Would you hit it? (Image via Shutterstock.)