When The Revolution Comes

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO...

SMELLOVISION REPLACES TELEVISION, trumpets a newspaper headline of the future, as spied by Elmer Fudd in a Bugs Bunny cartoon from 1944. Elmer, that old fuddy-duddy, is astonished, but the Merrie Melodies folks may have been onto something. The technological revolution about to sweep over TV will not be merely an incremental change -- more channels, more choices, more chances to play Jeopardy! along with the TV contestants (using your interactive home remote). Ultimately it could bring about a transformation so radical that the medium may scarcely be recognizable as television.

Bruce Springsteen's famous lament 57 Channels (and Nothin' On) now...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!