It seems that all local television stations, particularly those seen in Dar es Salaam, have conspired to bore their viewers to death.

With the possible exception of local news bulletins and news from international channels such as CNN, BBC World News, Sky News, Al Jazeera and DW TV, there is now nothing worth watching on TV.What we are fed daily is a monotonous diet of cheap South American dramas and extremely low-quality “movies” from Nigeria.

What is particularly maddening is the fact that almost all stations show these Mexican and Brazilian soaps and Nigerian “films” at prime time, sometimes until well past midnight.  I have feeling that our stations get this crap free of charge.

Well over a dozen TV stations can now be seen in Dar es Salaam, but these offer very little in terms of programme variety for their viewers.

I remember the days back in the 1990s when we had only two or three stations, but which had plenty to offer to their viewers in terms of information and entertainment.

I recall with nostalgia the days we used to watch high-quality sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Living Single, Family Matters and Perfect Strangers. There were also exciting action dramas such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Dark Justice, Incredible Hulk and Renegade.

Local dramas were also captivating, with actors who had a passion for what they were doing, not the veritable junk recorded in posh settings we are seeing today.Those were the days when you actually looked forward to returning home from work and relax in front of your TV set.

Local television stations lost a dedicated viewer last year when I subscribed to a major pay-TV channel, and I must say I am enjoying every cent I pay.

J.S. Kilassi,
Dar es Salaam.

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