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Why Every '80s Sitcom Decided to Kill Off the Mom
Topic Started: Jun 12 2012, 05:17 PM (452 Views)
ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
interesting cultural criticism....
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Interesting... Ah, the 80's... The good bad ol' days. :unsure:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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brenda
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..............
For many years, Disney has had dead or missing parents for its stories, so it's not surprising TV sitcoms would try that, too.
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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Frank_W
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Nothing like the warmth and beauty that patricide engenders in children. :)
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
brenda
Jun 12 2012, 07:40 PM
For many years, Disney has had dead or missing parents for its stories, so it's not surprising TV sitcoms would try that, too.
If I have to watch too many more episodes of 'Jessie' and 'Big Time Rush' then life might end up imitating art.

What the heck is wrong with children? I absolutely love the Penguins of Madagascar and Spongebob, but oh no, they're apparently boring - why the hell do my kids make me watch this tween-angst drivel?



Having said that, the absolute worst show on TV is Total Drama Island. Not only is it 'Reality TV', the worst kind of TV ever invented, it's FREAKING ANIMATED so that ANY SEMBLANCE OF REALITY IS GONE.


God.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
It's a shame the Brady Bunch didn't last a few more years. It would have been cool to watch someone pop a cap in Carol's ass.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
We also sadly missed out on watching one of Arthur Fonzarelli's associates from the 'motor trade' off Marion Cunningham.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
June Cleaver: a name that just cries out to be a corpse.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Frank_W
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jon-nyc
Jun 13 2012, 04:33 AM
It's a shame the Brady Bunch didn't last a few more years. It would have been cool to watch someone pop a cap in Carol's ass.
:spit: :lol2:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
John D'Oh
Jun 13 2012, 04:31 AM
... it's FREAKING ANIMATED so that ANY SEMBLANCE OF REALITY IS GONE.
I recommend Drawn Together: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawn_Together
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
It's only teenage wasteland.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Dewey
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HOLY CARP!!!
There's probably some truth in what the author says, but I think it's more involved than just wanting to appeal to households of divorce. If that were the case, more of these shows would have actually featured divorced parents, not situations where the mother was dead or otherwise completely out of the picture, and they would have portrayed more incidences of the kids living with two parents but not under the same roof.

What I seem to see in the phenomenon - and while there was a discernible pattern, this collection of shows was a small percentage of all sitcoms from the decade - is something else. The culture of the '60s emphasized and celebrated the importance of youth on their own merits - the idea that their thoughts and wisdom was at least equal to, and probably superior to, the wisdom of their parents' generation. It took a decade or so for the children of the '60s to find themselves in decision-making positions in the entertainment industry, so its no surprise to see a spate of sitcoms in the '80s that portray kids as essentially little adults, with equal or greater intelligence than their benighted and often absent parents. Taking one or even both birth parents out of the picture assists in sharpening the focus on the children. These shows were often far more about the kids and their experiences, sans parents, than about actual familial interaction.

By the show's own admission, we actually have an excellent example of that, albeit in reverse, with the more recent "Everybody Loves Raymond." For at least the first year or so, the opening of the show featured Ray Romano explaining the show, the main characters, and the plot setup, during which he says something along the lines of "We also have kids, but the show's not really about them." And even much earlier, even the old animated Charlie Brown programs never pictured adults, and only rarely did we hear them "speak," only as muted trombone notes, denying them of even a human voice, to keep the focus on the kids and what they were doing.

Anyway, I'm sure that the producers of those shows were trying to make social and political commentary - often, it was blatant - and that part of it was a statement about single-parent homes. But I think the more important commentary was the focus on the assumed superior wisdom of the youth over their parents. Just my two cents.
"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685.

"Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous

"Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011

I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
Yeah, yeah, yeah Dewey. Now which 70s sitcom Mom would you have liked to see get whacked?
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Dewey
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HOLY CARP!!!
No question - Ann Romano, One Day at a Time.
"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685.

"Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous

"Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011

I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14
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KlavierBauer
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HOLY CARP!!!
I'm pretty sure Schneider "whacked" her repeatedly.
"I realize you want him to touch you all over and give you babies, but his handling of the PR side really did screw the pooch." - Ivory Thumper
"He said sleepily: "Don't worry mom, my dick is like hot logs in the morning." - Apple

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jon-nyc
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Cheers
That's cold, she was already divorced. You would have left those kids homeless.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Copper
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Shortstop


The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Dewey
Jun 13 2012, 01:24 PM
There's probably some truth in what the author says, but I think it's more involved than just wanting to appeal to households of divorce. If that were the case, more of these shows would have actually featured divorced parents, not situations where the mother was dead or otherwise completely out of the picture, and they would have portrayed more incidences of the kids living with two parents but not under the same roof.

What I seem to see in the phenomenon - and while there was a discernible pattern, this collection of shows was a small percentage of all sitcoms from the decade - is something else. The culture of the '60s emphasized and celebrated the importance of youth on their own merits - the idea that their thoughts and wisdom was at least equal to, and probably superior to, the wisdom of their parents' generation. It took a decade or so for the children of the '60s to find themselves in decision-making positions in the entertainment industry, so its no surprise to see a spate of sitcoms in the '80s that portray kids as essentially little adults, with equal or greater intelligence than their benighted and often absent parents. Taking one or even both birth parents out of the picture assists in sharpening the focus on the children. These shows were often far more about the kids and their experiences, sans parents, than about actual familial interaction.

By the show's own admission, we actually have an excellent example of that, albeit in reverse, with the more recent "Everybody Loves Raymond." For at least the first year or so, the opening of the show featured Ray Romano explaining the show, the main characters, and the plot setup, during which he says something along the lines of "We also have kids, but the show's not really about them." And even much earlier, even the old animated Charlie Brown programs never pictured adults, and only rarely did we hear them "speak," only as muted trombone notes, denying them of even a human voice, to keep the focus on the kids and what they were doing.

Anyway, I'm sure that the producers of those shows were trying to make social and political commentary - often, it was blatant - and that part of it was a statement about single-parent homes. But I think the more important commentary was the focus on the assumed superior wisdom of the youth over their parents. Just my two cents.
Want the parents, especially the moms, featured front and center?

Watch the Lifetime channel. :cool2:
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Dewey
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HOLY CARP!!!
I don't particularly care either way, a sitcom can be good or bad, with or without parents front and center. I was only commenting on what was likely the reason for the pattern that was identified in the article.
"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685.

"Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous

"Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011

I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14
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