Hmm..Question! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

crazyredhead · 03-26-2004, 03:15 PM

This kinda an odd question, but do you think Lucy being able to show herself as a pregnant woman on TV broke the barriers to lead to all the stuff that can be shown on TV today? (sex, blah, blah, blah..) Or did time allow it? I mean, if Lucy never got pregnant, do you think TV would almost be the same as it was back then?

I was just pondering o it, and thought I'd get your opinions!

SPLAIN · 03-26-2004, 05:25 PM

Contrary to popular belief, Lucy was not the first, but hers was the first one that made such an impact, it being talked about on the show and all, but TV would be the same, it just evolved as time does, the fifties was twin beds, today they show twins IN BED!

hawaii five-o · 03-26-2004, 05:25 PM

I think that the times have definitely changed. But if Lucy hadn't have been shown as pregnant on TV, somebody else would have later on and would have been first, such as Elizabeth Montgomery.

NostalgiaAce777 · 03-26-2004, 05:32 PM

Yes, indeed that is a good question to ponder. One in which one could only offer an opinion.
I have no doubt, that as the times change, with values and standards. Back then, when our parents and grandparents were growing up, certain things, like pregnancy in the media, sex were taboo. Such topics were discussed in privacy and not discussed publicly.
Lucy was a very determined person. Even though later on she said she didn't think the show would last as long as it did, that her intent was to use them as home movies to show her baby and that she would have been just as happy being a homemaker and a mother. But we all know she couldn't be out of the public spotlight, and she wanted Desi right there with her, as a means that could keep them together. When Lucy came on TV she was already a hit so to speak. Jess oppenheimer, being the producer, had seenwhere they were going. they could let this good thing end. So he encouraged them to 'stay with the program'. together they discussed and found a way of making this work. Which I think ultimately, back then took a lot of spunk and courage. Questions arose,"How would the general public perceive this?" So they had to talk to preists and pastors and so fourth and psycolgists, to see if they thought it was too risque, [for that time period]. So this got the 'ball rolling' [pardon the pun

]
Today we live in a world where people are quite comfortable with discussing such things, books have been written, documentaries shown. The media today is not what it was, sex is brought up in shows, that started in the seventies. Maybe even earlier. Remember I dream of Jeannie? There was a big controversy about Barbra Eden's costume, and showing her navel. So as time times change so do the standards.
IMHO, I think "Lucy" really did light the fire, I think this kind of broke people out of their shell a little bit, and people realized, this is life, what it is about. I Love Lucy was a sitcom about a married couple. Married couples have sex, they have children. This gave the show realism, made it beleiveable, even though the antics were fantasmal. So in other words, people got a grippe and loosened up.
On The Other hand, I remember the movie "Gone with the Wind". In that movie Rhett Butler/Clark Gable uttered the famous phrase'Frankly my dear I don't give a damn". That was made in the thirties or forties, and "Damn" was/is a curse word. You didn't hear anything like that comeout of anyone's mouth. MGM was almost not allowed to release the picture because of that word. Today we throw it around[in the media] like it is nothing. Even though it wasn't frequent in the media back then, people said the word off camera. Even after that movie was made, you very rarely ever heard that word again in a film, until the late fifties, early sixties. There was a slight quantum leap as far as scripted venacular was concerned. In other words, someone eventually picked back up on that and seen this in a different perspective, and this gave the green light to have curse words scripted into movies or TV. TV really didn't pick up on that until the late 60's or 70's. Tv was mostly about family entertainment.
You don't hear about the rave in curse words, as widely as you do about the fact Lucy and facing the facts of life. So in closing I would say perhaps someone would eventually picked up on it as the values and standards changed with the times, But "Lucy" played a major part of getting it going. Make any sense?

On a lighter note the first pornographic words on TV uttered were on Leave it to Beaver. "Ward, don't you think you were a little 'rough on the beaver last night' "?

Just a little joke. This is what we perceive now, back then I don't think that would have been taken as being explicit.

dawsongirl · 03-26-2004, 11:12 PM

Probably a little of both. I think the 60s changed a lot of things about TV...and the way the US thought as a whole.

Lodee · 04-01-2004, 04:01 PM

That's an excellent question crazyredhead. I think the barriers would have been broke reguardless of who broke them and how.

She just happened to be one of the first.

Kazza · 04-01-2004, 05:59 PM

Desi also broke barriers by being if not the first (I can't think of anyone else) THE FIRST) non-American on a tv show and be accepted and liked. That, broke a lot of barriers for today's market. He was also the first owner and President of his own production company and tv studio. And the use of film to record a sitcom with 3 cameras (still used today) instead of kinescope and the invention of the rerun.

SPLAIN · 04-01-2004, 09:28 PM

Yeah i curse him every time i see a rerun! LOL! Doesn't it make you wince though that we were ever that dumb, that two people on a tv show had to be shown in twin beds and all that other nonsense, and that they had to think they would be cancelled because she got pregnant?

Kazza · 04-01-2004, 09:34 PM

IT was just the mentality back then; probably since a bed is not the only place to get preg they left that open to the imagination :wink:

NostalgiaAce777 · 04-02-2004, 02:55 PM

Yeah with the way Lucy and Desi were mad for eachother, I mean come on people, He is a hot Latino, and she was gorgeous with those big Blues of hers, you think they confined their love to one small room?
I cannot just picture them saying to eachother, "Your bed or mine?":wink:

dawsongirl · 04-02-2004, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NostalgiaAce777
Yeah with the way Lucy and Desi were mad for eachother, I mean come on people, He is a hot Latino, and she was gorgeous with those big Blues of hers, you think they confined their love to one small room?
I cannot just picture them saying to eachother, "Your bed or mine?":wink:

How 'bout, "Your shower or mine?"

NostalgiaAce777 · 04-03-2004, 12:55 AM

Good one dawsongirl, I was gonna be more frank, but didn't want to offend anyone here. Anyone would have to know they were hot and heavy, at least in real life I would think.

SPLAIN · 04-03-2004, 07:22 PM

Kitchen table? Couch? Floor? Rear balcony? Hallway? Closet? Piano bench? Even the oven door sometimes stretched to six feet or more, LOL!

Kazza · 04-03-2004, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SPLAIN
Kitchen table? Couch? Floor? Rear balcony? Hallway? Closet? Piano bench? Even the oven door sometimes stretched to six feet or more, LOL!

You are too much and with lots of IMAGINATION!

Lodee · 04-03-2004, 10:05 PM

Let's not encourage him now!

03-26-2004, 03:15 PM	#1
crazyredhead Seniorita Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: DIZZY LAND Posts: 715	Hmm..Question! This kinda an odd question, but do you think Lucy being able to show herself as a pregnant woman on TV broke the barriers to lead to all the stuff that can be shown on TV today? (sex, blah, blah, blah..) Or did time allow it? I mean, if Lucy never got pregnant, do you think TV would almost be the same as it was back then? I was just pondering o it, and thought I'd get your opinions!
	__________________ *BEKAH* But uf coss I cahn spik purfuctly good Amurecun. Ethel: "Ring the bell." Fred: "What for?" Ethel: "They don't know we're comin up and people would like a little privacy." Fred: "These aren't people, they're Ricky & Lucy."

03-26-2004, 05:32 PM	#4
NostalgiaAce777 The Furmite Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Long to be living Floridays, BlueSkies and Ultraviolet Rays, Lookin for Better Days Posts: 283	Yes, indeed that is a good question to ponder. One in which one could only offer an opinion. I have no doubt, that as the times change, with values and standards. Back then, when our parents and grandparents were growing up, certain things, like pregnancy in the media, sex were taboo. Such topics were discussed in privacy and not discussed publicly. Lucy was a very determined person. Even though later on she said she didn't think the show would last as long as it did, that her intent was to use them as home movies to show her baby and that she would have been just as happy being a homemaker and a mother. But we all know she couldn't be out of the public spotlight, and she wanted Desi right there with her, as a means that could keep them together. When Lucy came on TV she was already a hit so to speak. Jess oppenheimer, being the producer, had seenwhere they were going. they could let this good thing end. So he encouraged them to 'stay with the program'. together they discussed and found a way of making this work. Which I think ultimately, back then took a lot of spunk and courage. Questions arose,"How would the general public perceive this?" So they had to talk to preists and pastors and so fourth and psycolgists, to see if they thought it was too risque, [for that time period]. So this got the 'ball rolling' [pardon the pun] Today we live in a world where people are quite comfortable with discussing such things, books have been written, documentaries shown. The media today is not what it was, sex is brought up in shows, that started in the seventies. Maybe even earlier. Remember I dream of Jeannie? There was a big controversy about Barbra Eden's costume, and showing her navel. So as time times change so do the standards. IMHO, I think "Lucy" really did light the fire, I think this kind of broke people out of their shell a little bit, and people realized, this is life, what it is about. I Love Lucy was a sitcom about a married couple. Married couples have sex, they have children. This gave the show realism, made it beleiveable, even though the antics were fantasmal. So in other words, people got a grippe and loosened up. On The Other hand, I remember the movie "Gone with the Wind". In that movie Rhett Butler/Clark Gable uttered the famous phrase'Frankly my dear I don't give a damn". That was made in the thirties or forties, and "Damn" was/is a curse word. You didn't hear anything like that comeout of anyone's mouth. MGM was almost not allowed to release the picture because of that word. Today we throw it around[in the media] like it is nothing. Even though it wasn't frequent in the media back then, people said the word off camera. Even after that movie was made, you very rarely ever heard that word again in a film, until the late fifties, early sixties. There was a slight quantum leap as far as scripted venacular was concerned. In other words, someone eventually picked back up on that and seen this in a different perspective, and this gave the green light to have curse words scripted into movies or TV. TV really didn't pick up on that until the late 60's or 70's. Tv was mostly about family entertainment. You don't hear about the rave in curse words, as widely as you do about the fact Lucy and facing the facts of life. So in closing I would say perhaps someone would eventually picked up on it as the values and standards changed with the times, But "Lucy" played a major part of getting it going. Make any sense? On a lighter note the first pornographic words on TV uttered were on Leave it to Beaver. "Ward, don't you think you were a little 'rough on the beaver last night' "? Just a little joke. This is what we perceive now, back then I don't think that would have been taken as being explicit.
	__________________ If we weren't all crazy we would all go insane...Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Lattitudes Changes in Attitudes

03-26-2004, 05:25 PM	#2
SPLAIN I Love Lucy Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 04, 2002 Location: MONTREAL, CANADA Posts: 4,563	Contrary to popular belief, Lucy was not the first, but hers was the first one that made such an impact, it being talked about on the show and all, but TV would be the same, it just evolved as time does, the fifties was twin beds, today they show twins IN BED!

03-26-2004, 05:25 PM	#3
hawaii five-o Book 'Em, Dano Senior Member Join Date: Jun 27, 2003 Location: At home, eating cereal straight out of the box Posts: 1,406	I think that the times have definitely changed. But if Lucy hadn't have been shown as pregnant on TV, somebody else would have later on and would have been first, such as Elizabeth Montgomery.

03-26-2004, 11:12 PM	#5
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,134	Probably a little of both. I think the 60s changed a lot of things about TV...and the way the US thought as a whole.

04-01-2004, 04:01 PM	#6
Lodee Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 12, 2003 Posts: 1,562	That's an excellent question crazyredhead. I think the barriers would have been broke reguardless of who broke them and how. She just happened to be one of the first.

04-01-2004, 05:59 PM	#7
Kazza Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 17, 2003 Posts: 3,244	Desi also broke barriers by being if not the first (I can't think of anyone else) THE FIRST) non-American on a tv show and be accepted and liked. That, broke a lot of barriers for today's market. He was also the first owner and President of his own production company and tv studio. And the use of film to record a sitcom with 3 cameras (still used today) instead of kinescope and the invention of the rerun.

04-01-2004, 09:28 PM	#8
SPLAIN I Love Lucy Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 04, 2002 Location: MONTREAL, CANADA Posts: 4,563	Yeah i curse him every time i see a rerun! LOL! Doesn't it make you wince though that we were ever that dumb, that two people on a tv show had to be shown in twin beds and all that other nonsense, and that they had to think they would be cancelled because she got pregnant?

04-01-2004, 09:34 PM	#9
Kazza Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 17, 2003 Posts: 3,244	IT was just the mentality back then; probably since a bed is not the only place to get preg they left that open to the imagination :wink:

04-02-2004, 02:55 PM	#10
NostalgiaAce777 The Furmite Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Long to be living Floridays, BlueSkies and Ultraviolet Rays, Lookin for Better Days Posts: 283	Yeah with the way Lucy and Desi were mad for eachother, I mean come on people, He is a hot Latino, and she was gorgeous with those big Blues of hers, you think they confined their love to one small room? I cannot just picture them saying to eachother, "Your bed or mine?":wink:

04-03-2004, 12:55 AM	#12
NostalgiaAce777 The Furmite Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Long to be living Floridays, BlueSkies and Ultraviolet Rays, Lookin for Better Days Posts: 283	Good one dawsongirl, I was gonna be more frank, but didn't want to offend anyone here. Anyone would have to know they were hot and heavy, at least in real life I would think.

04-03-2004, 07:22 PM	#13
SPLAIN I Love Lucy Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 04, 2002 Location: MONTREAL, CANADA Posts: 4,563	Kitchen table? Couch? Floor? Rear balcony? Hallway? Closet? Piano bench? Even the oven door sometimes stretched to six feet or more, LOL!

04-03-2004, 10:05 PM	#15
Lodee Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 12, 2003 Posts: 1,562	Let's not encourage him now!