From my local paper: Jay Cronley

Hollywood writers all out of ideas. JAY CRONLEY World Staff Columnist. Movies have never been worse. The same is true for television drama. Here's why. We're pretty much out of ideas here on Earth. And there are few talented writers and actors around to execute the remakes and rehashes, the horrifyingly bad update of "The Pink Panther" movie serving as an example of the importance of talent. There are only so many things of value around which to stage a caper, only so many ways to try to get away with murder, only a thousand ways to fall in love, 500 ways to fall out of it. And once they've all been done, and redone worse, there's nothing left to do but let some guy dress up as a woman and pretend to be his own sister. Some of what they're making are no longer movies in the traditional sense, they're computer-generated robotics whereby actors say their lines to Magic Marker lines drawn on blank screens, with monsters and what have you programmed in later. Classics ageless: A youthful age is no excuse for not knowing what was important or great. Students don't get to say that they were too young to know what happened in a world war. Nobody is too young to appreciate a masterpiece of art. Similarly, the great movies and television shows and books are easily available for anybody interested in improving. Not having the time for a classic is a weakness. Going to the movies is still a lot of fun, even in the cheap joints where sound blasts through the wall from the next room like you were at an economy motel. So is settling in with a bowl of popcorn in front of the television screen. Those who know what's good must lower their standards immediately or be left out by show business today. Evolving standards: As I watched "The Good Wife" this week, I will admit to wishing that Dexter could join this law firm - Dexter, the happy-go-lucky murderer of murderers from Showtime, the guy who slashes first and mops up later. But that attitude comes with high expectations. A radical lowering of standards could result in at least some interest in trying to keep track of all the law office affairs, dumb story lines aside. And although vampires aren't exactly real, and sex jokes aren't always funny, and characters are silly, and plots have no basis in reality, look at it this way. Get out, go, enjoy the show, what's on today is apt to be better than what is to follow..