The Crying Indian

[Smartboy]

One thing that I have established here a long time ago is the fact that a lot of people from Generation X were teenagers when "Gimme a Break!" was on prime time. I would say that was their target audience. Well, by the time that shows like "Friends" came along, people who were teenagers during the run of "Gimme a Break!" were somewhere in their twenties at this point. I guess that people who were in their early thirties when "Friends" came out could still be considered Generation X. I do not remember "Gimme a Break!" ever being referenced on "Friends". However, there was quite a bit of mention of other shows that the target audience would remember from their teenage or young adult years. These shows included Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Three's Company. Just like on "Gimme a Break!" there were jokes and story line pertaining to Sesame Street, The Brady Bunch, the Mickey Mouse Club and other shows that the viewers would remember from their childhood. Right below this thread, there is another one be me called "Mention of Bras". This thread concentrates on an episode of "Friends" called "The One with the Ski Trip". In this thread, I explained how this episode of "Friends" was very similar to episodes of "Gimme a Break!" on a bunch of different levels. Well, now I would like to offer you even more incite on the subject. In this thread, I explained how the character of Joey needs the wire of a bra to either pick the lock of his car door or hot wire the engine or something. It was the character of Phoebe who eventually surrendered her bra for the cause. The sight of Phoebe's bra made me feel very giddy, just like references to Julie's bra made me feel giddy over a decade earlier! While the bra debate was going on, the character of Chandler lit up a cigarette and starting puffing. When he was finished he tossed the butt on the snow. Phoebe pointed out the inappropriateness of him tossing the cigarette butt on the ground when their was a public garbage can right next time him. In the typical Chandler way, he said "I thought that if I tossed it on the snow, maybe that crying Indian would come and save us"! Just like Smokey the Bear and Woodsy the Owl, the crying Indian was a very popular Generation X icon. It was very classic retro TV moment!