Should TV go back to morality lessons?

[Tankeryanker]

Between LITB, FKB and BB I have been moraled to death.

I think they stand out more now than they did the first time around while watching the BB.

Any idea if there was a conscious movement to remove them from TV?

[stevea]

I always advise skipping early BB. Only so many sniffles call the dr. and whining I can take.

A funny FKB today where Bud had Betty take the blame for his traffic ticket. Then he dresses in drag and pays it. S6, Bud Hides Behind a Skirt.

I'd rather have a morality play than some of the sleaze that passes for sitcoms today. One newer one I liked was the Middle. Not a morality play nor sleazy, just funny. Also liked early 2-1/2 Men. A little sleazy but really funny. The further on they went the further into the gutter they went.

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by Tankeryanker

Between LITB, FKB and BB I have been moraled to death.

Any idea if there was a conscious movement to remove them from TV?

I'm not getting who you mean by "BB"? But I'm fairly confident of what your overall meaning is.

Some people are more susceptible to "celebrity" than others. If Fonzi is telling them that it's cool, or not cool to do some certain thing, there are many people who will gladly accept guidance from their idols.

Me personally, I'm not too moved if an athlete decides he wants to try and shove white guilt in my face, or if some sit-com actress implies that I'm a monster because I'm not vegetarian.

I've been criticized my entire life for "the error of my ways", so picking up a few more critics along the way really doesn't phase me.

I was never offended by LITB's soap box moralism, nor was I offended at Married with Children's warped satire on reality.
I personally never liked Rosanne, so I made use of the channel changer...which to me appears to be the elegant solution most other people should follow.

[Cx]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

I'm not getting who you mean by "BB"? But I'm fairly confident of what your overall meaning is.

"BB" = ( The ) Brady Bunch

[GentlemanJim]

LOL

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by Cx

"BB" = ( The ) Brady Bunch

Ahhhh, thanks!! I should have known that.

[Cx]

I don't know. When you're too young to know you're being manipulated by dramatic moralization, I guess it works. You get older and see it for it is; well meaning but tedious moralization as if it was a secret Hollywood cabal with your parents or your teacher and that the show was shilling on their behalf.

I remember when we were young ( elementary to early middle school age ) sometimes my parents, but mostly my mother, would, when we would watch a show like LITB, FKB or the BB and she would watch with us and say stuff like "See? He helps his mother without her asking. Why can't you be more like him?". "See? he just gets up and does what she says without hemming & hawing. Why can't you be like him?" "See? How come you don't watch, play with, indulge your younger brother or sisters, like him?". I'd retort something like "Well, how come we don't have less uptight easy-going mothers and fathers like them?" Or any other luxuries they had we didn't. Parent retort to my retort: SWAT!

Another anachronism I noticed was the kids calling their parents sir or ma'am. "Do you understand Junior?" "Yes sir". I recently had a conversation with a co-worker and it came out while he was retelling a childhood story that he always called his father sir. I was surprised, and he was surprised I was surprised. In all my life ( I rolled out the factory door in 1962 ) I never ever heard a friend, neighbor kid, cousin, fellow student call their father's "sir". The only time I ever heard/saw it was on TV or movies depicting earlier times or sterner parents. I dunno; maybe I've led a charmed life.

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by Cx

Iwe would watch a show like LITB, FKB or the BB and she would watch with us and say stuff like "See? He helps his mother without her asking. Why can't you be more like him?". "See? he just gets up and does what she says without hemming & hawing. Why can't you be like him?" "See? How come you don't watch, play with, indulge your younger brother or sisters, like him?"..

WOW, I would have freaked out had my mother been THAT attentive.

I'm sure that my parents played a soft role, such as deciding which shows I would be permitted to view......."Bonanza" vs "The Smothers Brothers" and stuff like that.

But in terms of steering my behavior, my mom just had this "look" that when she gave it to you it felt like a dagger in the stomach....you'd do anything to make that look go away.

[Cx]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

WOW, I would have freaked out had my mother been THAT attentive.

What I think it was, was that, except for the Brady Bunch, my mother was young enough to be still living at home when the FKB and LITB were on prime-time. so she was probably well acquainted with the shows by the time I saw them as re-runs.

I know what you mean about "The look" thing. With my mother it could be like that too, and it may or may not have been accompanied by yelling, depending on her whims.

[GentlemanJim]

LOL,

[MichaelMartinD]

Beaver and Wally only call Ward "sir" when they are in trouble.

[Schmo]

Some things considered right back in those days are now considered wrong, and vice versa.

[Furienna]

I'd rather have a morality play than some of the sleaze that passes for sitcoms today.

I don't know. When you're too young to know you're being manipulated by dramatic moralization, I guess it works. You get older and see it for it is; well meaning but tedious moralization...

This will maybe sound weird, but I can see where both of you are coming from.
I prefer it when they split the difference: not too much sleaze or too much dramatic moralization.
Some favorite shows of mine might be closer to one of the extremes than to the other.
But they will find a good balance most of the time.

Another anachronism I noticed was the kids calling their parents sir or ma'am. "Do you understand Junior?" "Yes sir". I recently had a conversation with a co-worker and it came out while he was retelling a childhood story that he always called his father sir. I was surprised, and he was surprised I was surprised. In all my life ( I rolled out the factory door in 1962 ) I never ever heard a friend, neighbor kid, cousin, fellow student call their father's "sir". The only time I ever heard/saw it was on TV or movies depicting earlier times or sterner parents. I dunno; maybe I've led a charmed life.

Oh yes, this! It is true that this mostly happened on shows about older days (like "The little house on the prairie"), or if a kid was in huge trouble. However, I found it weird and I'm glad that I wasn't the only one to feel that way.

[Mr. Television]

Better than the no moral TV of today.

[favoriteshow]

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

Better than the no moral TV of today.

Mixedish is a new show that is family friendly that often delves on lessons from the character (Bo's) past. It is is a flashback series to the '80s, and a pre-quel spinoff to Blackish. I actually prefer it to Blackish which I used to watch, but stopped, as the family on Blackish was too rich and spoiled. Not a fan of Modern Family either, where it was just another rich family.

My only dislike of Mixedish is the Santamonica character, who is Bo's younger sister. In Blackish, the show originally had Rashida Jones play her as an adult. She was a rich, superficial sister and it was funny for the storyline as she was a guest appearance for 1-2 episodes.

But, on Mixedish, they kept that young girl to play superficial that all the time, but it doesn't seem real to have a kid who always acts that way, somewhat like an accessory. Hopefully for Season 2, the writers will make Santamonica more dimensional, and be like a sister, like one's younger sister in real life would be like.

Even on Wonder Yrs, Wayne was usually always shown as dumb and a jerk, but the story, at times, showed him to have some dimension as a human.