The Classic TV Year in Review: 2021

 

In a year when everything costs more, viruses refuse to leave and justice seemed blinder than usual, the positive news emanating from the classic TV world has never been more welcome or uplifting. In challenging times the Comfort TV shows of the past offer an oasis of sanity and civility, and sometimes even manage to bridge the gap between their world and ours, as in our first item below.

 

Best Classic TV Moment #1: Captain Kirk Finally Explores the Final Frontier

Raymond Burr played Perry Mason but he never won a court case. Robert Young played Dr. Marcus Welby but he never performed surgery. But earlier this year William Shatner, whose iconic portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk helped launch a sci-fi franchise that endures to this day, finally got a real glimpse of outer space, thanks to technology that did not even exist when his Enterprise began its five year mission. 

 

 

We will never know how many young men and women were inspired to pursue a career in science and exploration because of Captain Kirk and Star Trek. Offering him one of the first seats on a spacecraft was both a gift bestowed and a debt repaid. And in these divisive times it was one of the rare news stories that made everyone happy.

 

Best Classic TV Moment #2: WandaVision

We talk a lot about how classic TV shows can provide a temporary escape from the fears and tragedies of the world, and that topic has never been explored as provocatively as in this Marvel/Disney+ series. The life of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) has been marred by one devastating loss after another. But unlike the rest of us she has the power to insulate herself from further heartbreak by transforming one small town and its residents into a trouble-free environment inspired by the shows she grew up watching – The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties. 

 

 

As a fan of those vintage series I appreciated the great affection expressed for them, and how they still live within our shared memories. But I also wonder whether WandaVision is warning us that too much exposure can result in unrealistic expectations for our own life and times. One could also ask if Wanda’s versions of their premises were a fair representation, or if she added an extra layer of sugar coating that rendered them more unsophisticated than they actually were. It has been several months since I first watched WandaVision, and I find myself still pondering these questions.

Best Classic TV Moment #3: Time Life Celebrates The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet

Sam Nelson, grandson of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, had been promising a first-class DVD release of this landmark series for more than a decade. Fans had all but given up before Time Life finally stepped in to help. While that company had released several classic TV sets already, from Get Smart to The Flip Wilson Show, it was still surprising that they’d be willing to make a sizable investment in re-mastering a show that was nearly 70 years old. 

 

 

That they did so is a great cause for celebration, as The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet is one of television’s most clever, unique, observant, intelligent, well-written and well-acted situation comedies. Time Life offers both 50- and 100-episode collections, and if you opt for the bigger one and like what you see, you’ll still have more than 300 more episodes to discover in the many public domain sets also available.

 

Worst Classic TV Moment

I might have opted for the recent “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” versions of Diff’rent Strokes and Facts of Life episodes, but it justified its existence thanks to the apparently ageless Lisa Whelchel donning her Eastland uniform and singing her show’s theme song.

 

New on DVD and Blu-Ray

Streaming options have now clearly surpassed home video sets for many as the preferred way of watching classic shows. But for those of us who still prefer to have these series on our shelves, there were a few welcome opportunities to add to our collections. I Dream of Jeannie, The Incredible Hulk, and Kolchak, The Night Stalker all debuted on blu-ray, And the aforementioned Ozzie & Harriet release renews our hope that other lost treasures, such as The Defenders, will one day get the DVD treatment they deserve.

 

In Memoriam

This is always the toughest section of these pieces to write. As always we lost several fine actors who helped make our favorite Comfort TV shows the classics they have become. The passing of Ed Asner struck particularly close to home for me; As I wrote earlier this year, “when the character (of Lou Grant was) spun off into a drama set at the Los Angeles Tribune, every episode of that series taught me what it means to be a journalist, every bit as much as the journalism teachers I had in high school and college (and I had some good ones). It didn't inspire my career choice - I was writing for the school newspaper in junior high - but it made me a lot better at it.”

 

The death of Mike Nesmith was also deeply felt, as I grew up on Saturday morning reruns of The Monkees, and I doubt a month has gone by since then when I haven’t listened to any enjoyed their music. Mike was the smart Monkee, sometimes the reluctant Monkee, and arguably the most talented Monkee, but I’m glad that toward the end he embraced that legacy and understood how much it meant to a generation of fans. 

 

In 2021 we also lost Ed Asner’s Mary Tyler Moore Show costars Gavin MacLeod and Cloris Leachman, Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show and spent her final years in the town on which Mayberry was based; Markie Post (The Fall Guy, Night Court), Peter Scolari (Bosom Buddies, Newhart), Hal Holbrook (The Bold Ones: The Senator), Frank Bonner (WKRP), Eddie Mekka (Laverne & Shirley), Clarence Williams III (The Mod Squad), Norman Lloyd (St. Elsewhere), Billie Hayes (H.R. Pufnstuf), Felix Silla (The Addams Family), Michael Constantine (Room 222), Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman), and Cicely Tyson, whose TV credits include Roots and one of the best TV movies ever made, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

 

Most Popular Comfort TV Post of 2021

I thought I knew the winner here even before I checked the archives: A piece I wrote back in February about the censoring of classic TV shows in syndication. For the record, I was against it – and so was just about everyone who read it. When I posted the link to it on social media it generated thousands of responses and several interesting discussions.

 

But to my surprise there was a piece posted in May that edged that one out by about 200 clicks – my review of Rolling Stone’s list of the top 100 sitcoms. Maybe someone linked it in the comments section of the magazine’s website.

 

Least Popular Comfort TV Post of 2021

From October, a post entitled I Love Lucy at 70 generated very little interest. Maybe the number will pick up after more people watch Being the Ricardos.

 

What’s Ahead in 2022

Last year when I looked ahead to 2021, here’s what I wrote: “Hopefully the end of lockdowns, masks, despotic governors, colorful circles on the ground marking out social distancing space, and other tribulations ushered in by 2020.”

 

Can I just recycle that for the coming year as well?

 

One certainty I know is forthcoming in 2022 will be the tenth anniversary of this blog. While I know I’ve enjoyed writing everything you’ve read here, I’m honestly not sure whether this venture has been a success. Comfort TV is rapidly closing in on one million total clicks, which sounds impressive, but Korean boy bands generate one million views in 24 hours. Everything is relative.

 

For the moment the plan is to keep going into our second decade, and perhaps explore other ventures, such as a podcast. We’ll see what happens. For now, I thank all of you for your support and kind words over the years, and wish you a happy and healthy 2022.