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Thursday, August 05, 2004 Television Skewed Our Views Of Reality
Petticoat Junction -- who wants to be getting their town's water supply from the same place three chicks and a scruffy dog are lathering up -- in a place called Hooterville, for Heaven’s sake? Jeez!, Kate Bradley ran the Shady Rest Hotel -- didn't the hotel have bathroom facilities for its guests? What did the guests who stayed there do for bathing, and other necessary bodily functions? And, what kind of mother was Kate Bradley anyway? Why did her three daughters have to strip naked and contaminate the town's water supply -- with that scruffy dog in tow, no less? Gilligan’s Island -- this was a three-hour tour -- THREE HOURS! Forget about why a millionaire and his wife would bring a trunk-load of clothes, money, jewels, golf clubs, etc. onto a tiny chartered boat for a three-hour tour. WHY would they be on a tiny, chartered boat in the first place? They're millionaires! They own everything else. Where is their yacht, fully staffed, navigationally ready, and twenty times the size of the tiny S.S. Minnow? And, this movie star (forget about where all of her clothes are coming from!) -- why wasn't she lounging on the deck of some producer's yacht, sipping martinis and doing what starlets do to make sure they're in the newest movie coming out? At least the Skipper, Gilligan and the Professor wore the same clothes, day in and day out -- although, I wonder just "what" they were wearing while the "girls" were doing the laundry? (how stereotypical and sexist was that task?) And, last but not least, after the first few times Gilligan screwed up, why didn't everyone learn to quit assigning him part of the "plan" to help get them off the island? Just sit him down under a palm tree, out of everyone’s way, and pull off all of those brilliant plans WITHOUT Gilligan’s help. I didn't think he was that much of a screw-up; everyone else was at fault to keep giving him something of major importance to do in the first place! Ahhhh, The Brady Bunch -- If Mike Brady was such a smart and successful architect, how come they lived in a sprawling main level house -- living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, family room, maid's quarters, Mike’s home office – but, on the split-level pseudo-second floor, six kids were crammed into two small bedrooms and sharing one tiny bathroom with duel access entry? What kind of architect is THAT? And, if I were Jan, I would NOT have put up with Marcia being "Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes" act all of the time -- she should have just decked her! The Love Boat - Captain Stubing's short pants and knee socks aside, he sure made the rounds on the Pacific Princess, meeting and greeting. On all the cruises I've been on, I've only briefly glimpsed the captain once each cruise as he was introduced during mandatory safety instructions the first night aboard. And, what was with Isaac Washington -- was he cloned? He turned up in every bar, on every deck, at any time of the day or night. Burl "Gopher" Smith was the Gilligan of the large sea-faring vessel -- causing everyone to shake their heads in disbelief at his stupid schemes, and Captain Stubing to bellow "SMITH" at the top of his lungs several times during the voyage. Perky Julie McCoy, Cruise Director -- our cruise directors were never anywhere but in pre-determined spots, usually with some sort of barricade in between them and the guests with a microphone to make their instructions heard. And, I doubt they knew ANY of the guests by name. Adam "Doc" Bricker, the consummate ladies' man?? Did anyone buy this?? -- you'd better have your credit card and a real medical emergency if you ever wanted to see the doctor aboard any of our cruises. The Love Boat would have you believe that the ship's head crew is there, waiting to greet you as you board, and there again to bid you a fond farewell as you depart. Most of the time, you never see the same crew-person twice. Most of the time, communication is quite difficult in that most only speak a limited amount of English as they are from practically any and every country around the world (usually with the exception of the U.S.). Trust me – the list could go on, and on, and on . . . Rerun from What's Happenin’? Yeah, he's a high-school kid, sure! Jack Tripper living with two girls on Three's Company in a strictly platonic relationship? Yeah, I believe that! Well, you get the idea. Hill Street Blues brought raw, real police drama to television for the first time ever. The complexities, the underlying issues, the personal problems, everything that affected the job -- including the job -- were dealt with in layer upon layer of character exploration. It sent chills down my spine every time Sgt. Philip Freemason Esterhaus would utter those words, "Now, let’s be careful out there." Being privy to the "inside" of police work during the time of this show, this show was more than an accurate depiction of many of the "average-Joe" cops I knew. Even though Barney Miller was classified as a comedy, it had a dark gritty undertone that gave it credence as a depiction of a viable Precinct in New York City's Greenwich Village with an array of eccentrics interacting with the multi-ethnic detectives (representing Jewish, Puerto Rican, Polish, Asian, African-American), and women (Linda Lavin and June Gable). The humor usually had some sort of "edge" to it. And, even as you were laughing, you were seeing the reality underneath. I am a totally addicted Law and Order fan -- TOTALLY! From the original series, to L&O, Special Victims Unit, to probably my all-time favorite, L&O Criminal Intent, Law & Order brings the dimensions of the crime to light from both sides of the investigation, and doesn't always wrap it up into a neat little package in the end. Each of Dick Wolf's creations stands on its own, with just enough of the same glue of gritty reality to let each one play off the other if necessary. Star Trek (the original series), even for the 60's, had some of the worst set design in the history of television. And, it is no wonder that the other cast members resented Shatner -- Jeez!, his monologues were so monotonous, and his overacting was obscene! I saw a bit once by The Groundlings comedy troupe where they did "every episode of Star Trek in three minutes." It was utterly hilarious! At one point, an alien stopped Kirk in the midst of a rambling with this statement, "SHUT UP, KIRK!, You go on, and on, and on!" I could have taken a group of second-graders, given them an art-box filled with glue sticks, rolls of felt, construction paper, and a few odds-n-ends, and probably gotten the same caliber of set design as the original ST series. With that said, I absolutely LOVED the show! Cheese and all! Television -- it is an everyday part of most of our lives . . . just HOW influenced have we been, and are we still, by what we see on television? What commentary on our lives does television provide to those around us? Originally published Tuesday February 11, 2003 (bw) 2003 © Copyrighted Materials - All Rights Reserved. Susan Reno-Gilliland A Southern Belle's Life # posted by Kitty : 9:48 AM
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"a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" --- Miss Kitty, an Irish lass, a true Southern Belle; writer, photographer, artist, interior designer, animal-lover, dreamer, stargazer, cop-groupie, 70's junkie, cbc, slightly obsessive iNFp with stories to tell! ... (fascinated by forensics, human behavior, pushing all the right buttons of men she finds interesting, and seeking utterly-sweet revenge without any repercussions. ) --- "Darlin', don't ever take a Southern woman for granted!" [tm] Feeling the uncontrollable urge to shower me with gifts?!? Check out my Amazon 
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