Are there any shows that were like lightning in a bottle

[TMC]

In other words, it's a show that you liked growing up that were clearly “problematic” and that “wouldn’t make it today”, something that simply came along at the "right place and the right time", or just the formula didn’t work when others tried to copy it.

[icecream]

I Dream of Jeannie, she literally came out of a bottle.
Not that it should ever be remade anyway, no one could compare to the original cast. There are way too much remakes in general, get some original ideas current writers and leave the classics alone.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by catsrule

I Dream of Jeannie, she literally came out of a bottle.
Not that it should ever be remade anyway, no one could compare to the original cast. There are way too much remakes in general, get some original ideas current writers and leave the classics alone.

Well, I Dream of Jeannie if anything, is a perfect example of what I'm referring to as a show that would likely be considered very problematic it were to be made later on. The show was about a gorgeous, scantily woman in Barbara Eden, who wants to cater to her "masters" every whim. It's easy to suspect that a premise like that would immediately interpreted as some sort of sexist male fantasy. Even though, Barbara Eden herself has steadfastly denied such a thing on the contrary.

[merlinjones]

Political Correctness is the antithesis of comedy.

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by TMC

In other words, it's a show that you liked growing up that were clearly “problematic” and that “wouldn’t make it today”,.

I believe that the old Dick Tracy cartoons would never fly today, McHale's Navy would be a very hard sell, and Dukes of Hazzard would incite a riot at first view of the General Lee

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by TMC

It's easy to suspect that a premise like that would immediately interpreted as some sort of sexist male fantasy.

Someone can "interpret" a work any way they choose, but that doesn't mean that was the creators' original intent. Sometimes what looks like a silly whimsical show is in fact... a silly whimsical show.

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAcres

Someone can "interpret" a work any way they choose, but that doesn't mean that was the creators' original intent. Sometimes what looks like a silly whimsical show is in fact... a silly whimsical show.

Well, that's a nonsensical statement if I ever heard one. So, a hot blonde being "kept" in a bottle by a young bachelor and there to do his bidding--while walking around in a sexy, skimpy outfit and chasing after him the entire time--isn't a blatant male fantasy? Underscored by the perverted best friend, who is so desperate to get in on the deal that he keeps tricking the bachelor into giving the blonde to him?

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by TMC

Well, I Dream of Jeannie if anything, is a perfect example of what I'm referring to as a show that would likely be considered very problematic it were to be made later on. The show was about a gorgeous, scantily woman in Barbara Eden, who wants to cater to her "masters" every whim. It's easy to suspect that a premise like that would immediately interpreted as some sort of sexist male fantasy. Even though, Barbara Eden herself has steadfastly denied such a thing on the contrary.

It was actually derided by critics back in the 1960s for this very reason, which is why I suspect that the show completely shifted gears when it went to color. In the beginning, she was this completely adoring character who wanted nothing more than to worship the ground that Tony walked and whose affection was threatening to wreck his love life. Later, the show shifted away from that whole angle and became more farcical, relying on slapstick and Dennis the Menace-type antics. The show also changed the dynamic between Jeannie and Tony, in that he had to constantly walk on eggshells around her.

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by merlinjones

Political Correctness is the antithesis of comedy.

It's antithesis to the comic hacks who keep making that whiny complaint. The most brilliant comics of the past (Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, etc.) did their best comedy under the worst kinds of constraints. Constraints were so tight that performers could be arrested on obscenity charges for merely using the F-word or referring to sex in any capacity (Most famous example: Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Jim Morrison).

So, what's stopping comics today from being brilliant in spite of "PC?" Nothing but their lack of talent. Comics today, whining about PC killing comedy, wouldn't have lasted a day in the 1960s or 1970s, when comics had to figure out how to be funny without being offensive, insulting or insensitive--and without using excessive profanity or vulgarity. Even Redd Foxx, one of the masters of blue comedy, knew how to funny in front of the church going crowd. Today's comics are so hacky, they can't make any joke without swearing, being mean-spirited or knocking demographics down. That's all they've got. Most of them don't even tell jokes anymore. Tracy Morgan saying he'd kill his son if he were gay? Where is the joke? The guy, who just got axed from SNL because he was just trashing Chinese people? Where is the joke? Dave Chapelle saying men should dump women who get abortions? Where is the joke? None of these "PC is killing comedy" hacks tell jokes. They just speak their opinion and then play martyr when people call them out on it.

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by dee2364

Well, that's a nonsensical statement if I ever heard one. So, a hot blonde being "kept" in a bottle by a young bachelor and there to do his bidding--while walking around in a sexy, skimpy outfit and chasing after him the entire time--isn't a blatant male fantasy? Underscored by the perverted best friend, who is so desperate to get in on the deal that he keeps tricking the bachelor into giving the blonde to him?

If Tony had capitalized on the situation and actually had Jeannie do some perverted bidding then the "sexist male fantasy" narrative would carry more weight. But such a show does not exist because that's not the kind of show Sidney Sheldon wanted to create.

[merlinjones]

"I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later'' was the PC version - and not at all funny.

[TMC]

Happy Days also fits into being a show that was "in the right place, at the time". It came right off of the heels of George Lucas' film American Graffiti, which incidentally also featured Ron Howard and Cindy Williams from Laverne & Shirley. American Graffiti was a huge hit (it was the third highest grossing movie of 1973 only finishing behind The Exorcist and The Sting), and you can say that it proved the spark in a resurgent interest in 1950s era and the music.

There was also the surprising success of the musical Grease on Broadway. Incidentally, the very own success of Happy Days, you can say, helped create the market for a filmed version of Grease come 1978.

Happy Days also coincided with the end of the Vietnam War. Without getting too political, the 1970s was a traumatic period for many Americans, particularly those who held conservative values and had seen those values questioned and protested during the 1960s. Simply put, Happy Days represented a fictional narrative of a more “innocent” time and that appealed to many. Happy Days consequently, largely avoided the real life racial problems of the 1950s such as the Civil Rights era (outside of the episodes "Fonzie's New Friend" and "Southern Crossing") and feminist themes when compared to other sitcoms of the era that featured modern working women like One Day At a Time, Alice, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.