Will today's TV impact future generations?

[ABMAC]

"Settle down, Beavis."

Most of what we watched in the '70s was crap. The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space… it was all stupid crap, but it kept our minds off Vietnam and disco.

[MegoGeekJr]

"Settle down, Beavis."

Most of what we watched in the '70s was crap. The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space… it was all stupid crap, but it kept our minds off Vietnam and disco.

(If you mean me)

Look, I'm sorry if I over said what I said.
I just get serious sometimes.

[Hector]

Lost in Space crap?

Come on now...



But yes, many 70s shows were pretty bad too.

[Mikey]

Lost in Space was one of the best TV's shows produced.
Most people that don't like it, just don't get it.

[jessica]

My son said that they mentioned a line from Planet of the Apes on Hanna Montana the other night. He said that he recognized a line, but they changed it a little. They said, "take your stinking paws off me you darn dirty ape!"

Isn't that so cool that one of the best films ever continues to surface all over the place?

[mego73]

My son said that they mentioned a line from Planet of the Apes on Hanna Montana the other night. He said that he recognized a line, but they changed it a little. They said, "take your stinking paws off me you darn dirty ape!"

Isn't that so cool that one of the best films ever continues to surface all over the place?

I think I saw that. It's obvious some of the jokes are aimed at the parents as well as the kids. Most kids are not going to get that Apes reference.

Another time, one of the kids went "Hoyyyyoooooo" to a joke being made, just like Ed McMann on the Tonight Show.

About TV being crap, I generally agree, although there is some great TV here and there, it's mostly crap.

The difference today( and I'm talking mainly about sitcoms since action adventure or drama shows are a whole different animal) is that a lot of the crap shows are convinced they are great and relevant. And there is nothing I hate more than pretentious crap.

Plus, I also hate hiding smutty stuff on TV behind the sign of "frankness" and "adult sensibility" There is nothing "adult" about the high school attitude towards sex most sitcom characters have today.

The people that made Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch, etc, knew what they were, they didn't have delusions of grandeur. They went out to make wonderfully enjoyable diverting shows that allowed an escape from reality. They took care to realize the shows were going into the homes of family with all ages of people and were careful to respect that.

I think what surprised me most about checking out Hanna Montana is that it seems that the people making the show are following that same paradigm in bitter contrast to what comes on Network TV today.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

"Lost in Space?" Oh no! A Carrot bent on REVENGE!!!!!! *shudder*

>They went out to make wonderfully enjoyable diverting shows that allowed an escape from reality.

All kidding aside; I think THIS is the crux. Shows were made to be watched. Period. Nobody cared if a bunch of nerds were gonna slowframe every scene looking for hidden messages. Nobody cared about slipping in little private jokes to show how much pop culture trivia they knew. It was about the show. I think the biggest casualty we've suffered comes from the focus on internal consistency. Nowadays (as part of that "clever" thing) WAY too much time is spent conforming to whatever the currently popular template is. Older stuff worried more about consistency within the show. Sure, you KNEW they weren't getting off the island; that was a part of it.

>There is nothing "adult" about the high school attitude towards sex most sitcom characters have today.

This is pretty prevalent everywhere. Goes back to my discussion about "Identity Crisis." You see a lot of stories that WANT to say they're dealing with "mature subject matter" but aren't; 'cos they don't want the responsibility of actually DEALING with said material.

>They took care to realize the shows were going into the homes of family with all ages of people and were careful to respect that.

NnnneeeEEEHHHhhhhh.... I think the main reason they kept it clean was 'cos they HAD to. It's funny to watch old stuff now, 'cos you can see when they were substituting. IE: Them weird, long drawn out kisses you'd see that are representing sex, 'cos you couldn't actually show sex. It gets really bad by the late 60's; and by the 70's there's more innuendo than actual dialogue in some shows. (Anyone remember Kirk's "boot scenes?")

>I think what surprised me most about checking out Hanna Montana is that it seems that the people making the show are following that same paradigm in bitter contrast to what comes on Network TV today.

...but don't go thinking it's social resopnsibility or anything. They know their audience: teenybopper girls. And they know their target market: the PARENTS of teenybopper girls.

Don C.