The 25 Whitest TV Shows of All Time - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 03-04-2013, 06:56 PM

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2...24768122916305

Quote:

There are a number of television shows that, regardless of how we feel about them or how good they may have been, are simply "white." Now, before anyone gets offended and starts squawking about "reverse racism," allow us to explain what we mean.

We're not defining whiteness just in terms of skin color, but rather in terms of a naive or oblivious view of the world that's incapable of seeing the difference between the majority and the minority. Either that, or they just opt not to take it into consideration. To wrap it up in a neat little package, it's a world where the concept of the other simply doesn't exist.

Now, we're not suggesting that these shows were intentionally or maliciously created in this fashion, we're simply calling things as we see them. Despite our little disclaimer and explanation, we realize that some feathers will be ruffled, but we hope our recognition of the 25 Whitest TV Shows of All Time is understood and appreciated.

shotzette · 03-04-2013, 07:11 PM

Leave it to Beaver
Hazel
Father Knows Best
Partridge Family
That Girl
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres
Beverly Hillbillies
My Mother the Car
Gilligan's Island
Dusty's Trail

and oodles more...

I think that these shows were a reflection of their times and geared towards the advertisers target demographics; affluent to middle class white families.

tlc38tlc38 · 03-04-2013, 07:25 PM

Friends

*ROGER* · 03-04-2013, 08:08 PM

The Brady Bunch

biffbronson · 03-05-2013, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shotzette

Partridge Family

You haven't seen the Richard Pryor episode, or Rob Reiner as a counterculture motorcycle man?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shotzette

Beverly Hillbillies

There were quite a few episodes near the end centered on an African-American secretary at the Commerce Bank who visits the Clampetts. This storyline is now somewhat controversial as it seems she's being mistreated -- though she's not.

Much earlier on, the Clampetts explore the hippie scene (Alan Reed Jr. episodes) and also Jethro encounters more hippies later on (smoke crawdads) and becomes their Robin Hood. The Clampetts' world wasn't as self-contained as some might try to assert.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shotzette

Dusty's Trail

Such a short-lived effort -- why list it here? I'm baffled. Had it run longer than a few dozen episodes, maybe it wouldn't be on your list.

visaman666 · 03-05-2013, 07:14 AM

Hello Larry. Even when Arnold and Willis were on the show to darken it up a bit,it was still painfully white.

OH Nuts! · 03-05-2013, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shotzette

Leave it to Beaver
Hazel
Father Knows Best
Partridge Family
That Girl
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres
Beverly Hillbillies
My Mother the Car
Gilligan's Island
Dusty's Trail

and oodles more...

I think that these shows were a reflection of their times and geared towards the advertisers target demographics; affluent to middle class white families.

Yup. And I'd add Gidget, The Brady Bunch, My Three Sons, Bachelor Father, The Patty Duke Show - really the vast majority of shows from the 50s & 60s (i.e. the "oodles"). I'd also add Room 222. Know it might sound odd to add that show, but it's treatment of many controversial issues was lacking. In this regard, the show tried but was trying. Still liked it very much though as Lloyd Haines was fantastic as Pete.

tv star collector · 03-05-2013, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biffbronson

You haven't seen the Richard Pryor episode, or Rob Reiner as a counterculture motorcycle man?

There were quite a few episodes near the end centered on an African-American secretary at the Commerce Bank who visits the Clampetts. This storyline is now somewhat controversial as it seems she's being mistreated -- though she's not.

Much earlier on, the Clampetts explore the hippie scene (Alan Reed Jr. episodes) and also Jethro encounters more hippies later on (smoke crawdads) and becomes their Robin Hood. The Clampetts' world wasn't as self-contained as some might try to assert.

Also: Sammy Davis Jr. guest-starred on an episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Such a short-lived effort -- why list it here? I'm baffled. Had it run longer than a few dozen episodes, maybe it wouldn't be on your list.

MacLeaper · 03-05-2013, 12:25 PM

I'm not sure I understand the point of such lists. I do get it to some degree and I understand that all of these shows must be considered as a product of their times. This doesn't mean that everything that went on in those times was right- but it does help one understand why a TV show from that time was like it was- it was reflecting what was prevalent at the time, good or bad.
However, I hope no one would make the assumption that the Cleavers must have been racist because it seems like we never saw anyone other than Caucasians on "Leave It to Beaver". One could make the same assumption of the Winslows on "Family Matters" too, for that matter. But wait-they had the token white guy Rodney for a while in the first 2 seasons or so. Does this also mean the Lopezes are racist because we hardly ever see other races besides Hispanics on "The George Lopez Show"? (And for the Caucasians on there- George's higher-ups, including his boss- all seem to be essentially jerks. Which could be a caricature of bosses in general, not necessarily all white people.)
Was "Mr. T and Tina" racist for having predominantly Asian characters?
I would daresay the answer is, "No" for all of these (unless there are personal biases on the parts of the creators that I am not aware of.) Until only fairly recently, the Caucasian race has been the predominant race in America and according to statistics, it is still the majority (though admittedly, other races are increasing in number and narrowing that gap.) So it makes sense that there would probably be more shows that feature Caucasians more in general. However, in countries white Caucasians are the minority, I would not expect this to be the case- in South Africa for instance, where the white population is significantly smaller than the black African population. This is also true in some Caribbean countries as well and other places around the world. This doesn't make these countries racist for not portraying white people as often on their own TV show programming- it just means that their shows are reflective of the predominant racial makeup of their countries. But of course, in a country like America, where a lot of races call home, it is nice to see other races on shows, in both supporting roles and starring roles. Of course, I equally enjoy shows like "Leave It to Beaver", "Family Matters", and "Chico and the Man" (though I like "The George Lopez Show" well enough, it's not my favorite- but this is more because I don't always like the attitudes displayed- which I can say the same for many Caucasian-starring shows, like "Roseanne", "That '70s Show" and many others- though I have seen some of these shows too.
And if I ever had the chance to see "Mr. T and Tina", I'm sure I would enjoy that too, especially since it's a spinoff of "Welcome Back, Kotter"- of which I'd still like to see the last 3 seasons, since those have yet to come to DVD.

IllinoisTVFan · 03-06-2013, 08:41 PM

To me the whitest show was the Andy Griffith Show. Yes they did have an episode with a black man but generally no other people besides white people were on the show.

biffbronson · 03-07-2013, 07:22 AM

Regarding "Gidget," once again it was a very shortlived show. I disagree with including series that never really had a chance to expand into areas they hadn't gone to.

ThomasE · 03-07-2013, 03:24 PM

Maude should have been on that list. Hands down! LOL.

king of comedy · 03-12-2013, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomasE

Maude should have been on that list. Hands down! LOL.

I'm black but I had a crush on Jan Brady (Eve Plumb).

03-04-2013, 07:25 PM	#3
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03-05-2013, 12:25 PM	#9
MacLeaper Child of the 80s Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 20, 2001 Posts: 3,359	I'm not sure I understand the point of such lists. I do get it to some degree and I understand that all of these shows must be considered as a product of their times. This doesn't mean that everything that went on in those times was right- but it does help one understand why a TV show from that time was like it was- it was reflecting what was prevalent at the time, good or bad. However, I hope no one would make the assumption that the Cleavers must have been racist because it seems like we never saw anyone other than Caucasians on "Leave It to Beaver". One could make the same assumption of the Winslows on "Family Matters" too, for that matter. But wait-they had the token white guy Rodney for a while in the first 2 seasons or so. Does this also mean the Lopezes are racist because we hardly ever see other races besides Hispanics on "The George Lopez Show"? (And for the Caucasians on there- George's higher-ups, including his boss- all seem to be essentially jerks. Which could be a caricature of bosses in general, not necessarily all white people.) Was "Mr. T and Tina" racist for having predominantly Asian characters? I would daresay the answer is, "No" for all of these (unless there are personal biases on the parts of the creators that I am not aware of.) Until only fairly recently, the Caucasian race has been the predominant race in America and according to statistics, it is still the majority (though admittedly, other races are increasing in number and narrowing that gap.) So it makes sense that there would probably be more shows that feature Caucasians more in general. However, in countries white Caucasians are the minority, I would not expect this to be the case- in South Africa for instance, where the white population is significantly smaller than the black African population. This is also true in some Caribbean countries as well and other places around the world. This doesn't make these countries racist for not portraying white people as often on their own TV show programming- it just means that their shows are reflective of the predominant racial makeup of their countries. But of course, in a country like America, where a lot of races call home, it is nice to see other races on shows, in both supporting roles and starring roles. Of course, I equally enjoy shows like "Leave It to Beaver", "Family Matters", and "Chico and the Man" (though I like "The George Lopez Show" well enough, it's not my favorite- but this is more because I don't always like the attitudes displayed- which I can say the same for many Caucasian-starring shows, like "Roseanne", "That '70s Show" and many others- though I have seen some of these shows too. And if I ever had the chance to see "Mr. T and Tina", I'm sure I would enjoy that too, especially since it's a spinoff of "Welcome Back, Kotter"- of which I'd still like to see the last 3 seasons, since those have yet to come to DVD.
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03-07-2013, 03:24 PM	#12
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Maude should have been on that list. Hands down! LOL.
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03-04-2013, 07:11 PM	#2
shotzette Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 1,782	Leave it to Beaver Hazel Father Knows Best Partridge Family That Girl Petticoat Junction Green Acres Beverly Hillbillies My Mother the Car Gilligan's Island Dusty's Trail and oodles more... I think that these shows were a reflection of their times and geared towards the advertisers target demographics; affluent to middle class white families.

03-04-2013, 08:08 PM	#4
ROGER Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 05, 2007 Location: United States Posts: 2,776	The Brady Bunch

03-05-2013, 07:14 AM	#6
visaman666 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 818	Hello Larry. Even when Arnold and Willis were on the show to darken it up a bit,it was still painfully white.

03-06-2013, 08:41 PM	#10
IllinoisTVFan Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 22, 2011 Location: South of Chicago Posts: 4,072	To me the whitest show was the Andy Griffith Show. Yes they did have an episode with a black man but generally no other people besides white people were on the show.

03-07-2013, 07:22 AM	#11
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,446	Regarding "Gidget," once again it was a very shortlived show. I disagree with including series that never really had a chance to expand into areas they hadn't gone to.