THE LOU GRANT SYNDROME

What is "The Lou Grant Syndrome" you ask? It is a non fatal condition which originated in small town, Ontario, Canada.

In all seriousness, I named this condition back in the late '70s. At the time there was a popular and acclaimed sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When this half-hour comedy program left the airwaves, the character of Lou Grant, played by Ed Asner, was given his own hour-long dramatic vehicle. I remember that there was a little bit of confusion at the time, as Lou Grant, the show, was more serious in tone... not exactly what you would have expected it to be, based on it's parent, which wasn't a true progenitor. Critics and audiences seemed to be caught off guard by the shift in dramatics.

I, for one, liked Lou Grant very much. At that time, 1977, I was starting to lose interest in television watching as a regular hobby -- as a matter of fact, to this day, I feel that regular television program viewing is something one grows out of as they get older -- so even though I latched onto a new program, well, the Neilson company would not get an accurate picture of audience appeal, for this series, based on my habits. This is a shame, as I would have watched it more often if I hadn't discovered the outside world when I did. (I am joking as I, like a few of my friends, played road hockey for a chunk of the year and organized ice hockey during the winter. During the summer I ran around, and sometimes into, trees and biked just about everywhere.)

My point is: I came up with the term, "The Lou Grant Syndrome"; a term I applied to those who like a particular television program very much but never seem to get around to watching it. By the way, I probably saw seven or eight episodes of Lou Grant. The series went four seasons.

A couple of close friends of mine actually used the term, "The Lou Grant Syndrome"... I am posting here in order to try to make it a better known condition; or at least the proper name for the condition. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not called "Gotten a Life".