Can you do without color?

[Phil Nelson]

I agree with retrohacker that the absence of color doesn't detract from most TV programs. If you're watching a talk show or a rerun of Friends or Cheers, they're not doing anything creative with color. You're focusing on the dialogue and the action (if any). Who cares whether Rachel's throw rug is azure or maroon?

I wish that more new movies were made in B/W. Good Night and Good Luck, for instance, was beautiful to watch, and I never heard anyone complain that it wasn't in color.

I think we have lost some things since color took over. If you watch a classic B/W movie, such as a Hitchcock or Orson Welles feature, the composition and lighting, etc., for every scene is breathtaking. Those movies actually look worse when they are "colorized."

In the post-MTV age, many movies and TV programs rely on a machine-gun pace and the shaky camera style. Much less interesting, visually. There is more to cinematography than jogging around with a digital camera on your shoulder. Name one contemporary director who could remake a classic Bergman film in B/W.

Anyway, to answer the original post, I do watch my bigger-screen B/W sets regularly (the Predicta and the 16" Zenith tabletop). Those with 7" and 8" screens don't get much use -- just enough to keep them healthy. Fun to restore, but not practical for daily use.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html