| In the '30s and '40s, during the heyday
| |
| | world. His perplexity reflected the
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| of radio and long before television,
| |
| | country's own confusion at the time.
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| comedy was king. People were sick of the
| |
| | But whether he liked it or not, the
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| realities of the Great Depression and
| |
| | world was changing.Diversity was becoming
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| wanted to laugh. Jack Benny, Fred Allen,
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| | a social and economic force. Happy Days
|
| Burns and Allen, and Amos and Andy were
| |
| | and the Jeffersons were joined by Sanford
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| some of the big stars. What Americans
| |
| | and Son. An interstellar couple even made
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| wanted in entertainment was obvious and
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| | an appearance in Mork and Mindy and
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| it didin't take a great deal of
| |
| | Three's Company dealt with unmarried men
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| psychoanalyzing to understand why.Then
| |
| | and women living together. Not
|
| came the fifties and television became
| |
| | surprisingly, Good Times and Luverne and
|
| the popular media. Fans followed their
| |
| | Shirley looked back to the simpler days
|
| favorite comedians to the screen and
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| | of the 'fifties and family values shone
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| comedy stars, especially Milton Berle,
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| | through in the Brady Bunch and the
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| Sid Caesar, Jack Benny were the household
| |
| | Partridge Family. But in the end, the
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| words. It was a return to the days of
| |
| | most memorable series of all would be a
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| Vaudeville. But a new form of comedy
| |
| | reflection on Viet Nam. Though set in the
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| appeared, the Sitcom. America was blessed
| |
| | Korean War, M.A.S.H. reflected on the
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| with I Love Lucy, probably the greatest
| |
| | insanity of war and quietly reminded us
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| series ever to appear, and the nearly as
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| | that we had lost for the first time since
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| good, The Honeymooners. Desi and Lucy,
| |
| | 1812.Archie Bunker's confusion carried on
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| the Cramdens and the Norrises were real
| |
| | into the 1980s and America seemed to
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| people. But with comedy, another type of
| |
| | share his obsession about crime. Hill
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| show, the western, began to dominate air
| |
| | Street Blues, was about murders and drug
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| time. Gunsmoke was a popular radio show
| |
| | trafficking and the very real people who
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| and moved easily onto camera with James
| |
| | had to deal with it. Americans watched
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| Arness replacing William Conrad as Matt
| |
| | gritty shows like NYPD Blue and Miami
|
| Dillon.Soon came Richard Boone as
| |
| | Vice and the slightly less violent Cagney
|
| Palladin in Have Gun Will Travel, Clint
| |
| | and Lacey and Hunter. With Ronald Reagan
|
| Eastwood and Rawhide and numerous other
| |
| | president, family values now clearly
|
| shows set in the old west. Fans clearly
| |
| | predominated. Family Ties had a young
|
| liked the genre, but the question is why.
| |
| | neocon as its hero, but Different
|
| The most common reason given is that
| |
| | Strokes, with its mixed race family,
|
| Americans were sick of the restrictions
| |
| | showed that blacks were now clearly
|
| and rationing imposed during the Second
| |
| | included in the American consensus. The
|
| World War and the storied freedom of the
| |
| | importantce of family even extended to
|
| west was the type of catharsis they
| |
| | Aliens, with Alf, and to the local bar
|
| needed. Yes there were bad guys, just as
| |
| | with the close ties between the
|
| there were in the real world, but the
| |
| | characters on Cheers. Reagan's economic
|
| cowboy hero would step in to straighten
| |
| | bubble burst in October of 1987 and the
|
| things out, then ride off into the
| |
| | Wonder Years reflected back to the joys
|
| sunset. I believe that many people knew
| |
| | of an earlier and perhaps simpler age.A
|
| America was needed in the world, but
| |
| | subdued America elected the senior Bush
|
| hoped it could clean up the mess and
| |
| | to replace Reagan and sitcoms ruled as
|
| leave.The 'sixties had myriad detective
| |
| | America entered the 'Nineties. With the
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| shows. Something clearly was wrong in the
| |
| | election of Bill Clinton the focus seemed
|
| world at the time. The Soviets were ahead
| |
| | to shift away from family values, though
|
| of us in scientific technology, launching
| |
| | they were still clearly there in a
|
| the first satellites. Our foreign policy
| |
| | slightly different format in shows like
|
| didn't seem to be working. Long-time
| |
| | Rosanne and Friends. The most important
|
| friendly regimes were being overthrown,
| |
| | new show starred the Jewish comedian
|
| civil wars in Africa, and we had
| |
| | Jerry Seinfeld. The realism of the cop
|
| communism at our southern border that
| |
| | shows of the 80s reappeared in force with
|
| refused to go away when we tried to force
| |
| | Law and Order. Concerns about the end of
|
| them out. The Bay of Pigs was an enormous
| |
| | Millenium and the possible end of the
|
| blow to our national pride. We would take
| |
| | world came to focus in Milennium and the
|
| more with the Viet Nam War, the unrest of
| |
| | cult-favorite, the X-Files.Law and Order
|
| the Civil Rights Movement, the Kennedy
| |
| | continued into the new milennium and has
|
| Assassination(s), the Assassination of
| |
| | spawned two sequels. The most important
|
| Martin Luther King and the Long Hot
| |
| | new development was the rise of the Crime
|
| Summers.Someone or something was to blame
| |
| | Scene Investigator shows which began with
|
| and we needed detectives to figure
| |
| | CSI in 2000. After 9/11, three more CSI
|
| things out. Nearly everyone who watched
| |
| | shows have come to the small screen. Why?
|
| TV at the time can remember "Book 'im,
| |
| | Perhaps people are still wondering about
|
| Dano," from Hawaii-Five-O and Peter
| |
| | how 9/11 could have happened. Just as
|
| Gunn's racy sports car. Two of my
| |
| | important, who was behind it and how can
|
| personal favorites were Mannix and
| |
| | they be tracked down and brought to
|
| Mission Impossible. With the bloodshed
| |
| | justice. The nitty-gritty of Forensics
|
| and the uncovering of clues, Sitcoms
| |
| | might just be the way the case will
|
| carried on the tradition of real people
| |
| | ultimately be solved.In conclusion, our
|
| with the Andy Griffith Show and Leave it
| |
| | entertainment has always reflected the
|
| to Beaver.Sitcoms came on even stronger
| |
| | things we most needed to deal with. At
|
| in the 'seventies when the country
| |
| | times, it can provide an escape. At
|
| reacted to the social activism of the
| |
| | others, it may even have pointed out the
|
| 'sixties and the country made a sharp
| |
| | way to a solution. Either way, it has
|
| turn to the right. Mary Tyler Moore was
| |
| | always been one of our most important
|
| the farm girl who came to Minneapolis to
| |
| | forms of dealing with issues.Raymond John
|
| make good at a television station. All in
| |
| | loves mysteries and forensics and they
|
| the Family became the most famous sitcom
| |
| | play an important role in his novel, The
|
| of all times with a harried average-guy
| |
| | Cellini Masterpiece, written under the
|
| hero who couldn't seem to put a handle on
| |
| | pen-name of Raymond John.
|
| all the things that were happening in the
| |
| |
|
