Father Knows Best a very false show - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

12-28-2000, 02:22 PM

Life in the reaL 1950'S was NOTHING like what you see on this show. There were toilets in the bathrooms (at least in houses where there is running sink water),fathers didn't always have white collar jobs, were not always over or even just six feet tall, and possesing athletic builds. Mothers did not always look like former fashion models. And in the50s it was rare that both middle aged parents be perfectly colege educated. Also couples who loved each other and were totally healthy would virtually never sleep in sperate beds! As for the kids not all real 50's children were incapable of real violence or being closet gays. And a lot schools in the US had blacks and Chinese/Japanese kids going to schoo with white kids. I have seen real 50's yearbooks proving this.

04-17-2001, 02:34 AM

Dumb, false, and indistinguishable from other 50's shows!

Lisa Hains · 08-20-2001, 02:34 PM

You two have missed the purpose of FKB. That was a wonderful time of life. Mothers and fathers raised their children together. The family worked as a unit. I miss those days and I loved the show - it was fun.

ficlopri · 08-29-2001, 02:36 AM

Lisa, quite a few married women in the real 1950's worked at pissass low paying jobs just to support their familes. FKB was a bunch of bull**** in every way!

MsLulu · 08-29-2001, 02:58 AM

I agree most TV shows of the 50's aren't realistic (actually, alot of shows from any decade are unrealistic). They're not supposed to be. They're supposed to be entertaining and an escape from reality.

09-09-2001, 05:06 PM

Apparently some people here are not able to distinguish fiction from documentary entertainment. Father Knows Best was fiction, and believe it or not, in the 50's some families did consist of college educated parents, one of whom had a white collar job. If Jim Anderson had been portrayed as an auto mechanic in Slim's Auto Repair Shop, would somebody complain that not everybody in the 50's was a "grease monkey"? Sure the show was sort of phoney with the moralizing and politeness, but even though it was distorted it did reflect something of the 50's.

ficlopri · 09-23-2001, 04:18 AM

I can distinguish just fine between those two. I didn't say that no one in the 1950's had two college-educated parents and other stuff, just that it was rare.
Also, a great many surbanites in the early 50's got into the suburbs on something called the G.I. Bill. It was given to veterans of both WW2 and the Korean War. On FKNB you never hear the G.I. Bill being mentioned. Also, most kids in suburbs in 1954 (when FKNB premiered) were not born and raised in those suburbs (so unlike the fictional Anderson kids on FKNB). The reason being the surburban craze was under ten years old in 1954. Most kids came there from big and mill cities. Furthermore, the house you see on FKNB is not a real house inside or out. Shot in the Columbia Pictures studio and studio lot, it is more picaresque than many, many real-life suburbs were especially at the time as they often tended to be undeveloped. Again FKNB a very false show.

ficlopri · 09-23-2001, 04:20 AM

I should have written it as "FKB" and "suburbanites" but everything else I said stands!

Lisa Hains · 09-24-2001, 02:38 PM

Get a grip! It's tv - entertainment - not a documentary of life in the 50's. Actually, I grew up in a house and a community that looked quite a bit like the setting of fkb. I will be glad to see that show again on tvland. Especially, during these tough times - it will be nice to escape to.

Lesley Russell · 09-25-2001, 07:11 AM

Please remember that FKB was a sitcom, not a PBS documentary. It was the network that made decisions on seperate beds, not the writers. FKB hit on alot of the feelings, attitudes, and looks of the era. I know. I was there. Incomplete, sure. Oversimplified, yes. But real and warm in many ways. Yes, both my parents were college educated. It wasn't that rare. This show was meant to entertain and produce a warm feeling, not show sadness and major tradjedies. I'm sorry if some people did not have a happy experience in that time. It does not mean it did not exist. I can't wait to see everyone again.

------------------

ficlopri · 09-26-2001, 02:29 AM

It does not make one damn bit of difference whose idea it was to make the show's married couple sleep in seperate beds. It was ridiculous just the same! No married couple who are healthy as could be and love each other dearly would ever sleep in seperate beds. Ever!!!!

ficlopri · 09-26-2001, 02:41 AM

I can promise you something else too. At least 70% of all American children in 1954 did not have two college educated parents (probably even as good deal more). That alienates 70% minimum of all 50's kids watching from thinking this show was just like their lives. It was silly for lots of other reasons too. The seperate bed issue. The overly perfect looking parents. What city is Springfield a suburb of? No mention or even hint. Looks like a world in itself. A father who has a full time white collar job and still has nothing but time and energy to spend with his kids. Money affording this great house is no object ever. Almost no one ever yells. And so on. No hemmorhoids (sp). No periods the girls go through. Ridiculous, ridiculous!

Lesley Russell · 09-26-2001, 07:46 AM

I hesitate to reply again with someone who is so obviously bitter and full of personal resentments. FKB must show you a life of which you feel unjustly deprived. I'm sorry for that. Don't watch the show. And please study a bit more of your social history of the time. It has been said, FKB was a tv show, not the absolute true example of life in that time, but there are decent representations if you would not become so personally charged. If not at all for you, again I'm sorry, I hope your life now is better.
As George McMichael said on The Real Mccoys,"I've said my piece."

Lisa Hains · 09-26-2001, 03:22 PM

I agree, ficlopri must have had a very sad childhood - I am sorry. But, the fact is tv is entertainment, esp. sitcoms. Try to remember that. We didn't start hearing about hormones, sex etc. until much later than the 50's and 60's. Try to just enjoy. Personally, to me, it is nice not to hear about sex and violence sometimes.

TVLanFan · 09-26-2001, 11:52 PM

re: above poster stating that "at least 70% of families in the '50s didn't have two college educated parents, etc...".

That may or may not be true, but FKB was not about a family with two college educated parents...it was about a family, living in the suburbs, in which the father worked and the mother stayed home and took care of the house and the kids...I don't know about Margaret's education, but if she was college educated, they sure didn't stress that in the show...did that lady EVER work outside the home? maybe for an episode or two, but she was not a "career" woman by any means.

I happened to have grown up in the 60s and 70s, in a beautiful suburban area. And, far more than 70% of the moms in my area did indeed stay home to raise the family. Very few moms worked outside the home before their kids were at least Jr. High age. Our childhood was a lot more like FKB that unlike it in those respects.

As far was what state Springfield was in, it doesn't matter. It was not meant to be in any particular state, any more than Mayfield (of Leave it to Beaver fame), "City" (of Brady Bunch fame), or even "Metropolis" (of Superman fame). A lot of sitcoms in those days took place in fictional towns, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. They were not meant to be a historical records of life in those days, they were situation comedies, and nothing more. BTW, my father worked his butt off in NYC (we lived in NJ), but he still managed to find plenty of time to spend with us (3 kids). Parents can do that if they set their priorities correctly, which is something too few parents do today. Too many parents regard their kids as an inconvenience today, but such was not always the case.

As far as your individual life matching or not matching what happens on these shows, that's not the point. They were just stories written by people for other people to (hopefully) enjoy. Sorry if your life wasn't quite like the Anderson's, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

12-28-2000, 02:22 PM	#1
ficlopri@webtv.net Guest Posts: n/a	Father Knows Best a very false show Life in the reaL 1950'S was NOTHING like what you see on this show. There were toilets in the bathrooms (at least in houses where there is running sink water),fathers didn't always have white collar jobs, were not always over or even just six feet tall, and possesing athletic builds. Mothers did not always look like former fashion models. And in the50s it was rare that both middle aged parents be perfectly colege educated. Also couples who loved each other and were totally healthy would virtually never sleep in sperate beds! As for the kids not all real 50's children were incapable of real violence or being closet gays. And a lot schools in the US had blacks and Chinese/Japanese kids going to schoo with white kids. I have seen real 50's yearbooks proving this.
ficlopri@webtv.net Guest Posts: n/a

04-17-2001, 02:34 AM	#2
T. Roy Guest Posts: n/a	Dumb, false, and indistinguishable from other 50's shows!
T. Roy Guest Posts: n/a

09-09-2001, 05:06 PM	#6
Robert Adams Guest Posts: n/a	Apparently some people here are not able to distinguish fiction from documentary entertainment. Father Knows Best was fiction, and believe it or not, in the 50's some families did consist of college educated parents, one of whom had a white collar job. If Jim Anderson had been portrayed as an auto mechanic in Slim's Auto Repair Shop, would somebody complain that not everybody in the 50's was a "grease monkey"? Sure the show was sort of phoney with the moralizing and politeness, but even though it was distorted it did reflect something of the 50's.
Robert Adams Guest Posts: n/a

08-20-2001, 02:34 PM	#3
Lisa Hains Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: Springfield, MO USA Posts: 19	You two have missed the purpose of FKB. That was a wonderful time of life. Mothers and fathers raised their children together. The family worked as a unit. I miss those days and I loved the show - it was fun.

08-29-2001, 02:36 AM	#4
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	Lisa, quite a few married women in the real 1950's worked at pissass low paying jobs just to support their familes. FKB was a bunch of bull**** in every way!

08-29-2001, 02:58 AM	#5
MsLulu Wiggly Mom Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 30, 2001 Location: San Diego, CA, USA Posts: 144	I agree most TV shows of the 50's aren't realistic (actually, alot of shows from any decade are unrealistic). They're not supposed to be. They're supposed to be entertaining and an escape from reality.

09-23-2001, 04:18 AM	#7
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	I can distinguish just fine between those two. I didn't say that no one in the 1950's had two college-educated parents and other stuff, just that it was rare. Also, a great many surbanites in the early 50's got into the suburbs on something called the G.I. Bill. It was given to veterans of both WW2 and the Korean War. On FKNB you never hear the G.I. Bill being mentioned. Also, most kids in suburbs in 1954 (when FKNB premiered) were not born and raised in those suburbs (so unlike the fictional Anderson kids on FKNB). The reason being the surburban craze was under ten years old in 1954. Most kids came there from big and mill cities. Furthermore, the house you see on FKNB is not a real house inside or out. Shot in the Columbia Pictures studio and studio lot, it is more picaresque than many, many real-life suburbs were especially at the time as they often tended to be undeveloped. Again FKNB a very false show.

09-23-2001, 04:20 AM	#8
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	I should have written it as "FKB" and "suburbanites" but everything else I said stands!

09-24-2001, 02:38 PM	#9
Lisa Hains Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: Springfield, MO USA Posts: 19	Get a grip! It's tv - entertainment - not a documentary of life in the 50's. Actually, I grew up in a house and a community that looked quite a bit like the setting of fkb. I will be glad to see that show again on tvland. Especially, during these tough times - it will be nice to escape to.

09-25-2001, 07:11 AM	#10
Lesley Russell Member Forum Cub Join Date: May 09, 2001 Location: Richmond,VA USA Posts: 2	Please remember that FKB was a sitcom, not a PBS documentary. It was the network that made decisions on seperate beds, not the writers. FKB hit on alot of the feelings, attitudes, and looks of the era. I know. I was there. Incomplete, sure. Oversimplified, yes. But real and warm in many ways. Yes, both my parents were college educated. It wasn't that rare. This show was meant to entertain and produce a warm feeling, not show sadness and major tradjedies. I'm sorry if some people did not have a happy experience in that time. It does not mean it did not exist. I can't wait to see everyone again. ------------------

09-26-2001, 02:29 AM	#11
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	It does not make one damn bit of difference whose idea it was to make the show's married couple sleep in seperate beds. It was ridiculous just the same! No married couple who are healthy as could be and love each other dearly would ever sleep in seperate beds. Ever!!!!

09-26-2001, 02:41 AM	#12
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	I can promise you something else too. At least 70% of all American children in 1954 did not have two college educated parents (probably even as good deal more). That alienates 70% minimum of all 50's kids watching from thinking this show was just like their lives. It was silly for lots of other reasons too. The seperate bed issue. The overly perfect looking parents. What city is Springfield a suburb of? No mention or even hint. Looks like a world in itself. A father who has a full time white collar job and still has nothing but time and energy to spend with his kids. Money affording this great house is no object ever. Almost no one ever yells. And so on. No hemmorhoids (sp). No periods the girls go through. Ridiculous, ridiculous!

09-26-2001, 07:46 AM	#13
Lesley Russell Member Forum Cub Join Date: May 09, 2001 Location: Richmond,VA USA Posts: 2	I hesitate to reply again with someone who is so obviously bitter and full of personal resentments. FKB must show you a life of which you feel unjustly deprived. I'm sorry for that. Don't watch the show. And please study a bit more of your social history of the time. It has been said, FKB was a tv show, not the absolute true example of life in that time, but there are decent representations if you would not become so personally charged. If not at all for you, again I'm sorry, I hope your life now is better. As George McMichael said on The Real Mccoys,"I've said my piece."

09-26-2001, 03:22 PM	#14
Lisa Hains Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: Springfield, MO USA Posts: 19	I agree, ficlopri must have had a very sad childhood - I am sorry. But, the fact is tv is entertainment, esp. sitcoms. Try to remember that. We didn't start hearing about hormones, sex etc. until much later than the 50's and 60's. Try to just enjoy. Personally, to me, it is nice not to hear about sex and violence sometimes.

09-26-2001, 11:52 PM	#15
TVLanFan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 31, 2001 Location: Florida Posts: 199	re: above poster stating that "at least 70% of families in the '50s didn't have two college educated parents, etc...". That may or may not be true, but FKB was not about a family with two college educated parents...it was about a family, living in the suburbs, in which the father worked and the mother stayed home and took care of the house and the kids...I don't know about Margaret's education, but if she was college educated, they sure didn't stress that in the show...did that lady EVER work outside the home? maybe for an episode or two, but she was not a "career" woman by any means. I happened to have grown up in the 60s and 70s, in a beautiful suburban area. And, far more than 70% of the moms in my area did indeed stay home to raise the family. Very few moms worked outside the home before their kids were at least Jr. High age. Our childhood was a lot more like FKB that unlike it in those respects. As far was what state Springfield was in, it doesn't matter. It was not meant to be in any particular state, any more than Mayfield (of Leave it to Beaver fame), "City" (of Brady Bunch fame), or even "Metropolis" (of Superman fame). A lot of sitcoms in those days took place in fictional towns, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. They were not meant to be a historical records of life in those days, they were situation comedies, and nothing more. BTW, my father worked his butt off in NYC (we lived in NJ), but he still managed to find plenty of time to spend with us (3 kids). Parents can do that if they set their priorities correctly, which is something too few parents do today. Too many parents regard their kids as an inconvenience today, but such was not always the case. As far as your individual life matching or not matching what happens on these shows, that's not the point. They were just stories written by people for other people to (hopefully) enjoy. Sorry if your life wasn't quite like the Anderson's, but that's the way it goes sometimes.