What was the last TV show you watched?

[HanauMan]

Being a single parent nowadays is far from unusual (and in sitcom land, it goes back to at least Different Strokes).

When I was a kid there was a TV show on NBC called Julia. It starred a young black single mother who worked as a nurse, and her son (who was roughly my age at the time I watched the show). I fondly remember watching it as a child in the very early 1970s though I don't know whether it ever aired on British TV.

 

[MisterCairo]

Being a single parent nowadays is far from unusual (and in sitcom land, it goes back to at least Different Strokes)

When I was a kid there was a TV show on NBC called Julia.

And I remember watching the original run of One Day at a Time (now since rebooted on Netflix) for my childhood crush, Valerie Bertinelli:

And of course, the grooviest of them all, about TWO single parents hooking up:

Fun fact: The Brady Bunch was one of the first American sitcoms to show a married couple in the same bed, vice two twins! The first was apparently as far back as 1948, but it became controversial to show bed sharing in the fifties.

One thing absent from the Brady household though - a toilet! THAT was crossing a line...

Sherwood Schwartz came up with the idea for TBB in 1966, when he read that even at that time, 30% of American families were blended. He pitched the idea, and in 1969 the show came to fruition on ABC. As iconic as it is now, it never cracked the top 30 shows during its run!

If you think about it, single parents as an idea on tv* is practically vintage!

*Though Mike Brady and Carol Ann Martin stopped being single parents after episode one...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lest we forget, Sheriff Andy Taylor was a single parent, as was "Bachelor Father," as was Steve Douglas with his Three Sons. This was done very deliberately -- the Boys believed that women viewing the program would subconsciously interject themselves into the series structure as the absent mother, and would thus be more susceptible to the commercials.

Radio also had "single parents." Throckmorton P. "The Great" Gildersleeve was a single man raising his orphaned niece and nephew, and was renowned for the incompetence of his romantic life.

 

[Fading Fast]

Lest we forget, Sheriff Andy Taylor was a single parent, as was "Bachelor Father," as was Steve Douglas with his Three Sons. This was done very deliberately -- the Boys believed that women viewing the program would subconsciously interject themselves into the series structure as the absent mother, and would thus be more susceptible to the commercials.

Radio also had "single parents." Throckmorton P. "The Great" Gildersleeve was a single man raising his orphaned niece and nephew, and was renowned for the incompetence of his romantic life.

I am not disputing any of the above as I have no doubt that "marketing" was a big part of the decision, but they also need "quirky" scenarios - single parent families, merged families, etc. - to have some fresh and different material to write shows about.

 

[Zombie_61]

With all of the TV reboots and movie remakes, it makes you wonder if Hollywood has run out of original ideas...

...There only are something like twelve basic stories in human history anyhow...

I'm not convinced Hollywood ever had any original ideas, especially since, as Edward alluded to and according to this book and it's author, there are only seven basic plots anyway--overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. These same stories have been told since humans first learned how to communicate with each other, certainly long before movies and television came into existence. Sure, every now and then someone might put a new "spin" on these stories, but even then it's a sure bet that spin was inspired by a previous event. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it's obvious that some people are simply better storytellers than others.

 

[EngProf]

Lest we forget, Sheriff Andy Taylor was a single parent, as was "Bachelor Father," as was Steve Douglas with his Three Sons. This was done very deliberately -- the Boys believed that women viewing the program would subconsciously interject themselves into the series structure as the absent mother, and would thus be more susceptible to the commercials.

Radio also had "single parents." Throckmorton P. "The Great" Gildersleeve was a single man raising his orphaned niece and nephew, and was renowned for the incompetence of his romantic life.

The Old West was really hard on mothers (and parents), at least as portrayed in the '50's Westerns:
"The Rifleman": Lucas McCain and son Mark, no Riflemom
"Bonanza": Ben Cartwright and Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, no Mom
"Fury": Peter Graves and a kid and a horse, no Mom
"Buffalo Bill, Jr." Two kids adopted by the local judge, no parents
"Annie Oakley": Annie plus her younger brother, no parents
"Sky King": Sky and his niece and nephew, no parents
"Judge Roy Bean": The Judge and his daughter, no Mom
"Laramie": Ranch owner and younger brother, no parents

 

[Formeruser012523]

I'm not convinced Hollywood ever had any original ideas, especially since, as Edward alluded to and according to this book and it's author, there are only seven basic plots anyway--overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. These same stories have been told since humans first learned how to communicate with each other, certainly long before movies and television came into existence. Sure, every now and then someone might put a new "spin" on these stories, but even then it's a sure bet that spin was inspired by a previous event. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it's obvious that some people are simply better storytellers than others.

The Old West was really hard on mothers (and parents), at least as portrayed in the '50's Westerns:
"The Rifleman": Lucas McCain and son Mark, no Riflemom
"Bonanza": Ben Cartwright and Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, no Mom
"Fury": Peter Graves and a kid and a horse, no Mom
"Buffalo Bill, Jr." Two kids adopted by the local judge, no parents
"Annie Oakley": Annie plus her younger brother, no parents
"Sky King": Sky and his niece and nephew, no parents
"Judge Roy Bean": The Judge and his daughter, no Mom
"Laramie": Ranch owner and younger brother, no parents

Just look at Walt Disney. He made a mint doing this very thing. Retelling stories about dead parents and stories previously told by generations of storytellers. Especially the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Except he gave them happy endings because those stories were DARK. NBC's show Grimm did a remarkable job retelling these same tales with a great "spin" that lasted six seasons. If it ain't broke.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A popular radio program in 1940-41 was "I Want A Divorce!" The myth of the eternally-happy nuclear family hadn't fully penetrated the public consciousness quite yet.

 

[GHT]

The Old West was really hard on mothers (and parents), at least as portrayed in the '50's Westerns:
"The Rifleman": Lucas McCain and son Mark, no Riflemom
"Bonanza": Ben Cartwright and Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, no Mom
"Fury": Peter Graves and a kid and a horse, no Mom
"Buffalo Bill, Jr." Two kids adopted by the local judge, no parents
"Annie Oakley": Annie plus her younger brother, no parents
"Sky King": Sky and his niece and nephew, no parents
"Judge Roy Bean": The Judge and his daughter, no Mom
"Laramie": Ranch owner and younger brother, no parents

Well at least Wagon Train depicted families. However they might have been families at the start of their venture, but by the time of their arrival, plague, pestilence, unfriendly locals and famine had taken quite a toll.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Technically not a "western" (more like a "midwestern" as it took place near St. Louis), but when I was a tot my favorite TV show was " Casey Jones." Alan Hale Jr. starred in a pre- Skipper role played Casey, but for me the star was Sierra Railroad #3: later featured in both "Petticoat Junction" and "The Wild, Wild West." Little resemblance in the plots with the life of the real John Luther Jones, but that steam locomotive mesmerized me. A fascination with steam locomotives that I confess has only grown after 61 years.


My dad was a Chicago firefighter, which was a pretty cool thing for a kid.. but if the genie had popped out of a lamp he would have traded jobs with Casey as my first wish.

The show only lasted one season, and when it didn't return I was devastated. Way to smash a three year old kid's childhood joy, guys.

 

[GHT]

My dad was a Chicago firefighter, which was a pretty cool thing for a kid.. but if the genie had popped out of a lamp he would have traded jobs with Casey as my first wish.

The show only lasted one season, and when it didn't return I was devastated. Way to smash a three year old kid's childhood joy, guys.

Retire to your office/man cave/garden cabin, click on the link, turn up the sound, travel back in time. See that dragon that spits fire & steam, listen to the poet laureate wax lyrical. Enjoy.

 

[AmateisGal]

I watched the first five episodes of the new Amazon Prime show, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. It is incredibly well done. Only three more episodes to go - I know, I should have spaced it out better! The story is gripping, the characters multi-dimensional, the cinematography wonderful. Highly recommend.

 

[Brettafett]

As above... enjoying it. Onto Ep3!

 

[MisterCairo]

We have now finished the current season of Preacher (love this show!), and I am now caught up on Fear The Walking Dead.

 

[MisterCairo]

Single-parent tv shows - how could I have possibly forgotten about The Courtship of Eddie apostrophe s Father (my wife has set the keyboard to French for f$#@ apostrophe s sake) and in an usual way Family Affair where Brian Keith apostrophe s character has to take care of his nieces and nephew. I always loved Mr. French, my first exposure to a gentleman apostrophe s personal gentleman.

 

[AmateisGal]

Finished Jack Ryan yesterday. Wow. I'm quite impressed with this show and cannot wait for Season 2!

 

[Benzadmiral]

And I remember watching the original run of One Day at a Time (now since rebooted on Netflix) for my childhood crush, Valerie Bertinelli:

View attachment 133310

And of course, the grooviest of them all, about TWO single parents hooking up:

View attachment 133311

Fun fact: The Brady Bunch was one of the first American sitcoms to show a married couple in the same bed, vice two twins! The first was apparently as far back as 1948, but it became controversial to show bed sharing in the fifties.

. . .

I seem to recall that in the original Bewitched, in 1964 and onward, Darrin and Samantha had a double bed. Laura and Rob Petrie didn't, but by '64 I guess it was okay.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Another Season Two Fugitive, "Corner of Hell" -- a Lt. Gerard episode. This one featured a set of backwoods moonshiners, white trash to give all white trash a bad name: with veteran character actor R.G. Armstrong as the patriarch, Bruce Dern as one of the community, and Sharon Farrell as Elvie, the girl he's been sweet on for some time. The solid part here, despite the "poor white" caricatures, is that it's Lt. Gerard, pursuing Kimble, who finds himself accused of attacking and giving Elvie a concussion! Ironically, Gerard cannot prove he saw an unknown man (Cody, who knocked her out) leaving the scene of the crime . . . and the only one who can speak up for Gerard, who has a date with a rope and a tree branch, is Kimble.

You'd think Gerard would have his eyes opened a little after being where Kimble is now, but he really doesn't. He tells Kimble, "Still sticking to that same tall tale? 'A one-armed man killed my wife.' The truth is . . . you're guilty not only in my eyes, but in the eyes of the law." Up to this point I couldn't help but admire Gerard as a dedicated man doing his job, but not a fanatic -- but not so much any more.

 

[Touchofevil]

The season finale of Yellowstone.
I really enjoyed this season. Much better than most shows on television.

 

[MisterCairo]

I have finished The Jewel in the Crown. What a wonderful miniseries, and I wonder why it took me so long to watch it!