Cable and satellite television are wonderful ways to view shows from different decades in American television history. What I’ve discovered is that there were a lot more wholesome shows on in the past than there are today.
Take “Bonanza,” for example. It was a 1960s era show about a wealthy widowed rancher, Ben Cartwright, and his three adult sons, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, in the old West. Ben was an honest, generous man who raised his sons to be honorable men. It was a western, so of course Ben and the boys would get into fights with bad guys and they would often have to shoot someone in self-defense. They weren’t perfect; Little Joe was quick-tempered and prone to fighting and Hoss was sweet but naïve and would get fooled. But Ben made his sons face the consequences of their actions; these weren’t spoiled brats with entitlement issues. When someone would accuse Little Joe of murder (which happened a lot), the whole Cartwright clan would forgive the accuser once he or she discovered that Little Joe was innocent and apologized. The Cartwrights were the kind of family that everyone would’ve liked to grow up in or to have as neighbors. The plots were interesting, there was a lot of action, and dashes of humor were thrown in here and there to keep things from getting too heavy.
Compare today’s “Hawaii Five-O” with “Bonanza.” Like “Bonanza,” “Hawaii Five-0” has interesting plots, lots of action, and humor. The interactions is fun to watch. I often enjoy “Hawaii Five-0,” but sometimes the heroes go too far. That bothers me. I want my heroes to be heroic, not to be unethical bullies. In one episode, Five-0 leader Steve McGarrett uses a gravely injured criminal as a human shield in a shootout, and then shoots through the man to kill the shooter. Let me say that again: He holds up an injured criminal in front of him and shoots him in the back in order to shoot another man. The injured (and untried) man was unarmed and was at McGarrett’s mercy, and legally was under McGarrett’s protection. It was a brutal scene. How can I cheer for a thug who would do something like that? In another episode, Chin, a member of Five-0, shoots an unarmed man on a roof (they had a history between them) and then lied about it. He was never caught.
Sitcoms today don’t fare any better. Take “Two Broke Girls,” for example. The show features Caroline, an heiress whose father lost their fortune after he was convicted of fraud, and streetwise Max, who grew up with a drug-using neglectful mother. They become best friends and roommates, and I really like the chemistry and affection between them. The problem I have with the show, though, is its over-emphasis on sex and drugs. Caroline and Max are waitresses with a small cupcake business on the side. In one episode, Caroline describes Max’s cupcakes as “ho-made, cause she’s a ho.” In another episode, Max advises Caroline on how to act slutty so Caroline’s new boyfriend won’t be intimidated by her previous social status. Drug use is frequently mentioned in the show, with most of the regular characters using marijuana or popping pills as if it were a normal thing to do. The show is on at prime time, at 8:00 or 8:30 pm. What kinds of messages does this show send to kids? At least have it on later at night. The sad thing is that the show could be really good without the sex and drugs. The chemistry between Caroline and Max is wonderful, and the show has writers that come up with witty lines. It could be a cleaner show and still be funny. And don’t even get me started on “Two and a Half Men”! Suffice it to say, the above observations apply to this show, too.
Compare “Two Broke Girls” and “Two and a Half Men” with the 1960s classic, “The Andy Griffith Show.” It was a sweet show about a widowed small town sheriff, Andy Taylor, who lives with his young son, Opie, and Andy’s aunt, Aunt Bea. Nary a swear word was spoken and the humor and life lessons were delivered with a Southern drawl and old-fashioned charm. “The Brady Bunch” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” are other classic shows with class, not crass.
The television shows of the past weren’t perfect, though. The plots were often simplistic, and men and women were usually portrayed in gender-stereotyped roles. To their credit, today’s shows often have more intricate plotting, and men and women are portrayed in more diverse roles. And speaking of diversity, there was precious little of it in the shows of yesteryear, whereas people of various races and sexual orientations are seen today. In fact, some of today’s shows are wonderful. For instance, “The Big Bang Theory” is clever, funny, and relatively wholesome. Sex is a part of the show, but it is not the primary focus, and most of the sexual interactions are within established relationships. So TV shows today are not without their merits. But today’s shows could take hints from the family-friendly shows of past decades. I would like to watch “Two Broke Girls” without cringing and “Hawaii Five-0” without hoping the good guys get busted for being such abusive thugs. Is it too much to ask that television programs are less crass and have more class?
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