Why Do We Love Car Chases? It's Live Reality TV

Is it possible that our silly Los Angeles car pursuits are getting better and better? Coverage of them is totally ridiculous and unwarranted, and I'm embarrassed to be so enthralled with them. And yet... the compelling question of How will it end? is enough to keep us glued to the screen. Today's pursuit, down Ventura in the Valley, was no exception.



A slow speed chase, featuring a man in a car with a sign that read "Victory Parade." As he inched down Ventura, he waved at pedestrians and took his time, as LAPD crawled behind him.



Finally, a man jumped into the street, stood in front of the car--forcing him to stop. The man then grabbed the driver, stuck him on the hood of a LAPD cruiser... and both guys promptly got arrested. It's live reality TV.

Kent Shocknek Retires: Here's What He Should Do Next

Local TV news won't be the same. Especially coverage of the next earthquake and car chase. KCBS/KCAL announced Monday that Kent Shocknek, who now anchors KCAL's primetime news, is retiring:

Longtime KCBS (Channel 2) and KCAL-TV (Channel 9) news anchor Kent Shocknek today announced his plans to retire at the end of September 2014.

A veteran of more than 36 years in television news, Shocknek has been a fixture in Los Angeles for 31 years and is believed to have anchored more hours of news on local television than anyone else in the history of the market.

The first and longest-serving morning TV news anchor in Los Angeles, Shocknek was the original anchor of “Today in L.A.,” which debuted in 1986. He joined CBS 2 in 2001 and anchored morning and evening newscasts for the station until November 2013, when he became co-anchor of sister station KCAL 9’s top-rated 8 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council honored Shocknek for his decades of service by proclaiming January 10 “Kent Shocknek Day.”

“For years at CBS 2 and KCAL 9, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with the best producers in morning TV; and more recently, the best prime-time anchor team anywhere,” Shocknek said. “Now it’s time to catch up with the people I love, and check out some places I’ve always wanted to go.”

“From Leslie Moonves on down, I thank everyone at CBS for their friendship and support. Southern Californians are the best neighbors in the world, and I will be forever grateful to them for inviting me into their homes for so long.”

“Kent Shocknek is a Los Angeles TV news institution,” said Steve Mauldin, President and General Manager, CBS 2 and KCAL 9. “He’s a consummate professional who has distinguished himself as an outstanding breaking news anchor with an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Southern California.”

As I mentioned to CBS' Kelly Kahl yesterday, I do hope someone now hires Kent to anchor the Car Chase Channel, an idea I think we all agree is too obvious not to happen.

Now... classic Kent, the infamous time he jumped under his anchor desk, as immortalized by David Letterman:

The Most Bizarre Police "Chase" Ever?

Viewers of KCBS 2, KNBC 4, KTLA 5, KABC 7 and KTTV 11 on Tuesday evening were treated to what was alternately both the dullest and most unusual car chase in recent memory. First, it wasn't actually a car, but a tow truck. But secondly, the guy was following most traffic rules -- stopping at intersections, allowing other drivers to go and mostly following the speed limit. The LAPD was behind him, taking their time as well... and allowing news vans to join the chase.

An LAPD spokesman even mentioned on air that this wasn't a big deal, that they were basically going to let him keep driving. (And whatever the infraction was, it seemed pretty minor. Check out the details on the KABC screen grab above. We're having a chase... for that??) Channel 7 relied on a 14-year-old eyewitness for some shaky details, while Channel 4 reporter Robert Kovacik decided to saunter up to the driver's window and talk to him -- and then tout an "exclusive" that consisted of an exchange of maybe two sentences.

The driver finally entered Glendale, where eager Glendale Police officers decided to one-up their LAPD counterparts and finally arrest the dude at around 6:40 p.m. As usual, it was a complete waste of time (remember, the stations blow out their commercials when they go with wall-to-wall chase coverage) and yet you couldn't stop watching.

Only in L.A., kids, only in L.A.