Mediocrity - the Insidious Enemy

By PJ McIlvaine

ME-DI-O-CRE
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.

Thus does the dictionary define “mediocre”. I hate this word. Just saying it aloud, it even sounds...”mediocre.” It’s not a word you hear a lot, usually, but sad to say, recently I’ve been hearing it a lot at one of the message boards I frequent concerning a long running TV show that I happen to have a very strong affection for.

The new season has just begun, four shows in, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I’m just not feeling the love. The episodes aired thus far have been, well, to put it kindly, in my humble opinion…mediocre. The plots have been paper thin, the mystery as transparent as John Edwards on Nightline, the core characters have become caricatures and the humor has bordered on the infantile. In other words…mediocre. Yes, that’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it.

Unfortunately, on this message board, when I (or others, because I’m not alone), express this belief, we’re derided and castigated and branded as “nit-pickers” and told to go away. Apparently, you can’t be a loyal fan and point out the flubs, gaffes and logic inconsistencies without being tarred and feathered.

Hey, don’t cry for me. I’m a big girl, I know how to take care of myself…and then in the midst of one these “discussions”, the comment came up to the effect that even if the show was, ahem, mediocre, it was still better than most of what was airing. While this might be true, (I mean Charlie Sheen has a hit show, apparently, I’ve read that he’s the highest paid comedy actor on TV, but I don’t know anyone who watches his show, and Dean and Tori are still going strong with the un-reality show), it still made me sad. And it got me to thinking.

Since when did mediocrity (or being imperfect, deficient, no great shakes, not much to boast of, fall short, barely pass muster, incomplete, indifferent, ordinary, average, so-so, not very good, inferior, bearable, passable, second rate, one horse, one trick pony) become acceptable? Or dare I say, the norm? The new standard to achieve?

I want to be many things as a writer. Mediocre isn’t one of them, and this is why. Many moons ago, I fancied myself the next Stephen King. So inspired, I wrote a horror novel about a woman carrying some kind of demonic killer spawn. I knew, just knew, that it was the best thing since CARRIE.

My husband’s boss at the time was good friends with a highly respected horror-sci-fi publisher/editor/writer. As a favor to me, he asked his friend to read it. In short order, my novel was returned to me. I don’t remember much about the rejection letter (time and memory has a way of being kind) except for this: while he thought I was a talented writer, the subject matter, and the execution thereof, was “mediocre”. I cried and cried and cried. When I stopped crying, I put the novel away and started writing again, with one thought burning in my mind: to never be mediocre again. Now, years later, I may be many things, but mediocre isn’t one of them.

So when I hear someone say that being mediocre, being ordinary, just skimming along, hell, that it’s okay, hell, even something to be applauded…I shake my head in disbelief. Why would any writer want to be just ordinary? Why on earth would you waste time on something that just makes it? Barely.

Because if mediocrity is the new standard, why should we aspire to be anything more? Because it pays more? Because our mug gets plastered on TMZ and Perez Hilton even though we have discernible talent? Paris Hilton may be a very nice girl, but she’ll never get an Academy Award. Yes, mediocre scripts get bought and made all the time. Blockbuster and Netflix are full of them. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I would rather have my name and reputation associated with a good movie that made little or no money than be associated with a mediocre one that made lots of moolah.

You know what else? I’d rather be flat out awful, just suck eggs and pickles, be so bad that you burn my script after reading it…rather than have someone tell me politely that it was just, you know...blech. Like how you feel after you’ve had a bout of the flu.

I don’t want be blech. Neither should you. Take a risk. Rise to the challenge. Flex your muscles. Don’t crawl when you can run. Repeat after me: down with mediocrity!

And as for my TV show…hope springs eternal every Friday night.

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