Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Top Two-Show Stars of the Comfort TV Era

 
Creating one iconic television character is rare enough; to accomplish that feat twice is nearly impossible. Once an actor is identified with a character that audiences have enjoyed for years, subsequent portrayals almost always suffer by comparison.

Some actors are content to repackage their signature role under different guises. Lucille Ball remained Lucy Ricardo even as her last name changed in The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. James Garner established his charismatic but cowardly con man persona in the western series Maverick, and then brought many of those same traits to Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. And while Newhart enjoyed a long and successful run, the shadow cast by Bob Newhart’s previous series was so influential, it was acknowledged in the series' final episode to universal acclaim.

Which TV stars achieved the most successful two-fers? Here’s my top 12 in reverse order:

12. Jack Klugman
The comedy-drama combo platter can be particularly tough to pull off, but Jack Klugman followed a terrific portrayal of Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple with a long, Emmy-nominated run as a Los Angeles medical examiner in the crime procedural Quincy. Both characters were cranky but lovable. 



11. Bill Daily
Yes, you can see a bumbling second banana through-line from Roger Healey (I Dream of Jeannie) to Howard Borden (The Bob Newhart Show), though Roger was more lecherous and Howard more clueless. But Bill Daily was always a reliable punch-line generator within each ensemble.



10. Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner was television’s Cary Grant, a dashing leading man equally credible in drama, comedy and action. He was rarely off TV from the 1960s through the 1990s, and one could argue that his best series, Switch, was also his most unheralded. But he makes the list by following a roguish turn in It Takes a Thief with a role that perfectly suited his debonair persona in Hart to Hart




9. Gavin MacLeod
After seven years on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Gavin MacLeod’s transition to the critically reviled Love Boat was perceived as a backward step. But it also gave him more interesting things to do than sit at the same desk and trade insults with Ted Baxter and Sue Ann Nivens. As Captain Merrill Stubing he played everything from slapstick to romance to drama. No matter what you thought of Vicki, MacLeod played those first steps into full-time parenthood with more delicacy than you’d expect from such a breezy series. 

8. Ron Howard
The transition out of child stardom is always fraught with peril, but Ron Howard made it look easy. Growing up on The Andy Griffith Show, where he held his own at age 6 amongst a stellar cast, Howard was top-billed in Happy Days then graciously ceded the spotlight to The Fonz. But it was the departure of Richie Cunningham that really made that series jump the shark.

7. Bob Denver
He is Gilligan to generations of TV fans, but prior to that three-hour tour he introduced a far more interesting character in a better series that never made the same splash in syndication. As Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Denver played television’s first beatnik, putting a friendly face on an alternate lifestyle that was widely scorned in the 1950s.




6. Betty White
After winning an Emmy as the Happy (and slutty) Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the easy option would have been to cast Betty White as the equally decadent Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls. Instead, White played against her recently established type as the more sheltered Rose Nylund. Then she won the Emmy for that role, too. 




5. Michael Landon
To praise Michael Landon as a successful two-show actor (three if you add Highway to Heaven to Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie) is to do him a disservice. Taken together, Landon was a familiar and welcome presence in 29 seasons of principled family entertainment (remember when TV used to strive for that?). He also wrote and directed several episodes of each of his shows – and when he did they were usually better than the ones left to the full-time professionals.

4. Bill Cosby
Barriers seemed to fall every time Bill Cosby appeared on television. In I Spy, he became the first African-American actor in a starring role on a dramatic series. Twenty years later, The Cosby Show felt like a new window into black culture that was different ­– and more authentic – than Good Times or The Jeffersons.

3. Robert Young
There weren’t many memorable second acts for the first generation of TV dads. Ozzie Nelson never found another role as interesting as himself, and Hugh Beaumont settled for guest spots on other shows after Leave it to Beaver was canceled. The exception is Robert Young, who followed up Father Knows Best with seven years as television’s favorite general practitioner, Marcus Welby. Welby personified a medical ideal – compassionate, knowledgeable, patient, and understanding – that seems sadly distant in this era of healthcare debacles and disappointments. 

2. Larry Hagman
Typecasting? What typecasting? While I Dream of Jeannie aired daily in syndication across the country, Larry Hagman moved from Cocoa Beach to Dallas and created one of the most prominent television characters in the medium’s history. There is not even a trace of J.R. Ewing in Major Anthony Nelson, both fully-realized, classic TV characters that will be with us as long as there is television.  



1. Mary Tyler Moore
Every list of the ten best situation comedies of all time should include The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. If it doesn’t, it was written by someone who is either 12 years old or not very smart. Both series were intelligent, sophisticated trailblazers that blended workplace and homefront humor with equal proficiency; both featured flawless ensemble casts, multiple classic installments, and produced more than 150 episodes with no discernible drop in quality from first to last.

And both shows starred Mary Tyler Moore. As a sophisticated suburban housewife or a career gal trying to make it on her own, Mary was never less than captivating. As Laura Petrie she launched a Capri pants fashion trend, and set pulses racing as one of TV’s sexiest wives and mothers – all while sleeping in a separate bed from her husband. As Mary Richards, a single 30-ish woman who didn’t need a man to complete her, Moore struck a blow for feminism without ever getting as strident as Marlo Thomas, or letting the message obscure the comedy. No one else on television has ever created two more indelible characters. 



Saturday, November 16, 2013

Terrible Shows I Like: Tabitha

 
We all have them – TV shows we enjoy despite prevailing opinion and common sense telling us they are a waste of time.

I have amassed more than most people, which can be attributed either to an uncommonly forgiving nature or just questionable taste.

Take Tabitha, a failed spin-off that lasted 12 episodes and would not be considered a career highlight for anyone involved. I bought the DVDs and have watched every show more than once. I see the flaws, but there’s also a tangible Comfort TV component as well, partly due to its pedigree. 



If you care enough about television to have found this blog, you probably know that Tabitha was inspired by Bewitched and follows the grownup adventures of Samantha and Darrin Stephens’ first-born.

A bit of SORAS-ing (soap opera rapid aging syndrome) was necessary to make the concept work. If Tabitha was “born” in 1966, on the “And Then There Were Three” episode of Bewitched that aired that year, she would have only been 11 in 1977, when this series debuted. That’s why Erin Murphy, the original Tabitha, could not reprise her role. 



One of the series’ drawbacks was never deciding how beholden it wished to be to its TV roots. The opening credits sequence, featuring a Bewitched clip and the Stephens’ photo album, suggested a close connection. But it then rewrote the family history by changing Tabitha’s younger brother Adam into her high-strung, perpetually exasperated older brother.

The objective was to recreate the Sam and Darrin dynamic with siblings; Tabitha was the lovable witch trying to stay off the magic, and Adam the skittish mortal always beset by his sister’s powers. The strategy was doomed from the start, as viewers never felt the affection beneath the scolding – Adam just comes off as a pill. 



Guest stars were dispatched to reinforce the Bewitched connection; Dr. Bombay makes a house call in “Tabitha’s Weighty Problem,” and instigates the only genuinely funny scene in the series. And the Kravitzes, both nearly unrecognizable from their Morning Glory Circle days, pay a visit in “Arrival of Nancy.” George Tobias (Abner), spotting a full gray beard, appears to have wandered in from Fiddler on the Roof.

Of course, had Samantha stopped by to see her “daughter” Tabitha would be in a lot more DVD collections. But when Elizabeth Montgomery closed that door she never looked back.

Aunt Minerva, a new meddling relative in the Endora mold (Agnes Moorehead died in 1974) was played by Karen Morrow. Once hailed as the heir to Ethel Merman for her incredible singing voice and charismatic stage presence, Morrow had the misfortune of showcasing her considerable talents in one Broadway flop after another. Eventually she moved to Hollywood where her bad luck continued. Her Minerva was the worst component in an ill-fated series. 



So what’s to like about Tabitha?

It starts with Lisa Hartman, whose enthusiasm never wavered and who one could see making the character work with better material. The show’s writers, perhaps sensing they had a turkey on their hands, never missed a chance to put her in short skirts, cheerleader costumes, hot pants and towels to distract male viewers from the jokes that weren’t working.





Hartman was always beautiful and still is, but here, with feathered Farrah hair and before the nose job she never really needed, she makes an utterly charming Tabitha Stephens. This job also launched her singing career (that’s her voice you hear in the show’s catchy theme), which eventually blossomed with help from Knots Landing and husband Clint Black. Her 1982 “Letterock” album is first-class ‘80s pop rock.

As a lothario TV host at the local station where Tabitha works, Robert Urich also deserves praise for basically inventing Ron Burgundy 30 years before Will Ferrell. Urich had comedy chops to go with his leading man looks; they were better served on Soap, but like Hartman he emerged from the show unscathed and on to greater glories.

I really love the glimpses we get of his character’s apartment, with its huge square-shaped couch, chrome light fixtures, wet bar and waterbed with animal-print comforter. Watch for it in the pilot – this could be the quintessential swanky 1970s bachelor pad. 



Finally, what still makes Tabitha watchable for me is how it brought the innocent sensibilities of a 1960s sitcom into the ‘70s, when the genre was uprooted by groundbreaking series like All in the Family, MASH and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Sometimes you want real-world issues and social progress in your comedy, and sometimes you just want to unwind with a reminder of gentler times. Tabitha falls short of the classic TV standard, but as Comfort TV there are moments when it works just fine. 

 

Friday, November 8, 2013

The Pact That Produced Comfort TV

 
Have you ever heard of The Code of Practice for Television Broadcasters? If not, you’ve probably seen its seal after the closing credits of TV shows that originally aired between 1952 and the late 1970s.



Of the many factors that separate shows from the Comfort TV era from the current television landscape, the Code of Practice may be the most consequential – and the most divisive.

In four single-spaced, two-column pages, this document provided a set of guidelines specifying what is acceptable content for a television series, and what is not.

According to its Preamble, “It is the responsibility of television to bear constantly in mind that the audience is primarily a home audience, and consequently television’s relationship to the viewers is that between guest and host.”

This is the first sign that these guidelines have long since passed into a bygone age. Would you welcome any of the Real Housewives, or the inhabitants of the Big Brother house, as guests in your home?



The Code continues: “Television, and all who participate in it, are jointly accountable to the American public for respect for the special needs of children, for community responsibility, for the advancement of education and culture…for decency and decorum in production, and for propriety in advertising.”

Antiquated? Perhaps. Words like ‘decorum’ and ‘propriety’ are no longer prevalent among television executives and producers, unless they are used as examples of what doesn’t draw ratings or sell enough Cialis.

The Preamble is followed by a list of subjects that must be approached with prudence. More quotes from the text:

“Profanity, obscenity, smut and vulgarity are forbidden”

“Attacks on religion and religious faiths are not allowed”

“In reference to physical or mental afflictions and deformities, special precautions must be taken to avoid ridiculing sufferers from similar ailments and offending them or members of their families.”

“The presentation of cruelty, greed and selfishness as worthy motivations is to be avoided”

“Criminality shall be presented as undesirable and unsympathetic. The condoning of crime and the treatment of the commission of crime in a frivolous, cynical or callous manner is unacceptable”

“The use of animals, both in the production of television programs and as a part of television program content, shall, at all times, be in conformity with the accepted standards of humane treatment.”

“Racial or nationality types shall not be shown on television in such a manner as to ridicule the race or nationality”

“News reporting should be factual, fair and without bias”

I’ll pause for a moment until you stop laughing at that last one.

What is being communicated is not primarily about censorship; unlike the Comics Code Authority, which famously rejected an issue of Spider-Man because it depicted drug use, the Code of Practice allowed a wide range of topics to be included in television dramas or comedies, including drugs. However, it required that behavior that is considered wrong, illegal or destructive be presented as such.

As the document later states in a section on children, “Crime, violence and sex are a part of the world they will be called upon to meet, and a certain amount of proper presentation of such is helpful in orienting the child to his social surroundings. However, violence and illicit sex shall not be presented in an attractive manner, nor to an extent such as will lead a child to believe they play a greater part in life than they do.” 



Still, the question becomes: Are these restrictions that limit creativity? Or did the Code establish protections that helped television to maintain a suitable standard in programming content that would be preferred by the majority of its viewers?

It was inevitable that television would eventually grow beyond any concerns over being a well-behaved guest in a viewer’s home. The cable TV industry was not limited by whatever broadcast restrictions remained at the time of its introduction, and networks have been forced to keep up with edgier content. Many of the series aimed at mature viewers are now among the medium’s most honored and acclaimed.

But I am grateful that television, in its first three decades, strived for something beyond entertainment. Dozens of the shows created during this era remain among the finest ever produced. And if you have children you can let them watch any of them without worrying about inappropriate content.

If you would like to read the Code of Practice for Television Broadcasters in its entirety, you can do so here.