The ten-second Internet sitcom

In episode 18 of 30 Rock this season (viewable here on NBC.com), NBC/ GE veteran executive Jack Donagy (Alec Baldwin) feels threatened by west coast upstart Devon Banks (Arrested Development's Will Arnett), who "...pioneered the concept of ten-second Internet sitcoms." (Peep YouTube clip above for full visualization.)

And Devon Banks' webisodes were all I could think about today when I read that Sony is shrinking 70's + 80's tv shows like Charlie's Angels down to 3-5 minutes for MySpace.

And then I got stuck in a time warp watching archived 30 Rock episodes. After that, though, it occurred to me that the idea of 3-5 minute shows on MySpace was distasteful in some way, but I couldn't really figure out how. I mean, 3-5 minute tv shows sound pretty horrible. And MySpace can be pretty horrible. But what was I protecting from that stuff? The sacred medium of television? Classic works of art like Starsky and Hutch? Duh, no.

I guess we just feel extra protective of institutional crap, and extra critical of experimental crap. In the 30 Rock clip above, the 10 second Internet webisode is portrayed as ridiculous, though not unsuccessful. Later, its creator eventually gets out maneuvered by the veteran Donagy, who seduces some senior executives with the idea of old fashioned "spectacle" and "fireworks... shaped like a cowboy hat!"

As distasteful as parts of the future are, let's not over-romanticize the past.

Related: BuzzFeed's Minisodes index