I want my MTV the way it was

Often I find myself turning on MTV, hoping to find something fun to watch, but am disappointed by the uninspired programs parading around.

Shows like "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" vaunt the lavish lifestyles of adolescents who didn't work for what they have and "My Super Sweet 16" celebrates the excess of expensive birthday parties.

The focus seems to be on the pretty people of California, but there was a time, when the network received its second wind in the late 1990s and a few years ago. The cable network took its viewers into its Times Square studios and made us feel more connected to the artists of the day and like a part of the MTV family.

Since its debut in 1998, Total Request Live has, in my opinion, been the cornerstone of MTV. It began as a basic video countdown show, with host Carson Daly against a black background, Charlie Rose style, and evolved into a highly rated, hour-long show with a studio audience and at one point, had a weekend edition.

It was a highlight of my high school days and I can remember eagerly returning home after school, grabbing a Diet Coke from the fridge and sitting in front of the TV to take in the day's top ten videos.

The show featured an entertainment news break at which point, viewers received the latest on entertainment and celebrity guests frequented the studio.

New videos would premiere and after 65 days on the countdown a video would be retired and placed in "the vault" and I can still feel the pang in my heart as I watched each Britney Spears video with the knowledge it would never appear on TRL again.

TRL is still on MTV, but it's overly corporate, now sneaking in a video in the middle of a commercial break, rather than as part of one of the show's regular segments and doesn't put the same amount of focus on the fans as it used to.

Naysayers would be correct in saying TRL is not completely original, since shows like "American Bandstand" came long before (in fact, Daly did receive some comparisons to "Bandstand" host Dick Clark) but part of the show's appeal was the relationship with the fans, often inviting members of the crowd gathered outside the studio to join the audience.

It was ahead of many reality shows, which now allow viewers to vote to determine competition outcomes. Through online and telephone voting, viewers determined the rank of each day's 10 videos.

A cynical part of me feels "American Idol" and similar competition shows pander to people's need to feel like they're making a difference, albeit small, but I remember going to MTV's Web site during school and writing my message along with my vote for "Oops! … I did it Again," hoping to see what I'd written scroll along the bottom of the screen as the video played. It was a reward for a few lucky fans.

While in college, I scheduled my classes so as to never miss an episode and frequently imagined myself working for MTV's entertainment news department upon graduating. I pictured myself living in New York City, delivering the latest on upcoming movies and videos in the MTV studio and perhaps even gallivanting off to red carpet events like the MTV Video Music Awards and asking Avril Lavigne how it felt to win Best New Artist.

Eventually Carson Daly left hosting duties on TRL and now hosts his own late night program elsewhere. Since then, the show's continued, but the magic's gone and none of the other hosts had the same charm or connection Daly did.

In spite of the change, those early years of TRL will forever live in my memory as one of the greatest times for MTV. Whenever I feel sad about the lack of good programs on now, I just think back to the time when I would be drawn away from my living room couch and into the studio audience in New York, feeling close to my favorite stars.

Chaz Holmes is the Columbia Basin Herald's news assistant. He keeps the newsroom informed on all of the latest in music and movies.