Was TV’s Gidget NSFW?

 

“Oh, so you like the creepy ones.”

 

That was the response I received during a discussion about favorite episodes of the delightful short-lived sitcom Gidget, featuring Sally Field in her first starring role. 

 

 

I was surprised by that word choice as I never viewed any situation comedies from the 1960s as “creepy,” unless it was a Halloween episode, or unless Rob Petrie dreamed he lost his thumbs to an alien that looked like Danny Thomas.

 

 

I cited two episodes as favorites, both of which had one common trait – Gidget becomes infatuated with an older man. That was not the reason I liked them – I thought the stories were well told and cleverly presented. Both also had laugh-out-loud moments, as well as tender scenes between Sally Field and Don Porter as Gidget’s patient, loving father. Their relationship was always the strongest element of the series for me.

 

But just a one-sentence plot description was enough to earn a “creepy” designation from someone who does enjoy classic TV, but who is also younger and grew up in a different America than I did – one in which people are much quicker to view a situation without benefit of context in the most harmful light possible.

 

These are the episodes: You be the judge.

 

“The Great Kahuna”

All the kids at the beach are starstruck by the Kahuna, a legendary beachcomber who travels the world in search of the next big wave. Gidget is thrilled just to be the girl who brings him a Coke, but when an old flame of the Kahuna’s shows up, he pretends that he and Gidget are an item. She doesn’t buy it for a minute (“How old is this un-riped tomato?”) but it’s enough to momentarily discourage her. For helping him out of a jam he tells Gidget they are now “connected forever in the design of the gods.” 

 

After that Gidget is ready to follow him anywhere, but the Kahuna and Gidget’s father both have other ideas. And, in time, so does Gidget.

 

“I Love You, I Love You, I Think.”

Gidget meets an older guy on the beach and they start surfing together. He calls her adorable after she supplies a picnic lunch but never acknowledges that they have a relationship. “At least for the next five to six years,” he tells her. “Talk to me then and I might make you a serious proposition.”

 

With school starting next Monday, the mystery man urges Gidget to forget him, and she calls it the perfect romance – “over before it had a chance to begin.” But on Monday she walks into math class and guess who’s her teacher? And while the moment they see each other is every bit as awkward as it should be, it’s also hilarious, because of some unexpected slapstick moments and because Sally Field is a gifted actress.

 

Obviously it’s necessary to watch the episodes to judge whether anything in them is inappropriate. But let’s first acknowledge that there are dozens of episodes like this in Comfort TV shows. Writers recognized the inherent possibilities of both humor and pathos in a crush story, as well as how relatable that situation was for viewers. How many of us in our youth or teen years had a crush on a teacher? That story was told on almost every family sitcom from Father Know Best to Family Affair. It worked  outside a classroom as well: Marcia Brady fell for her dentist; Danny Partridge was in love with the family’s tour guide at King’s Island Amusement Park.

 

These Gidget episodes are no different than the rest, except in some ways I think they are better, because in both cases the objects of Gidget’s crushes are developed into real characters instead of one-note types. The Kahuna, played by Adam-12’s Martin Milner, is at a crossroads in his life. He re-evaluates his rootless existence, just as Gidget is eager to embrace the freedom his current life represents. 

 

 

Another standout quality in both episodes is how Gidget’s father handles these moments. He does not react like a hysterical, overprotective dad, but as a man who respects his daughter, and recognizes that these infatuations are not something worthy of histrionics, but understanding. This is how a mature adult and parent should act, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his composure helped viewers who were parents when they faced a similar situation. 

 

 

I can’t imagine that anyone at the time thought these shows were creepy. In both stories, as in all of the episodes of other series that leveraged this plot for 25 carefree minutes of television, there is never any suggestion of a possible romantic relationship, and even less so of a meaningless sexual encounter. No one is taken advantage of, and no one walks away feeling misled or betrayed.

 

Reasonable people understood what these shows were about, and accepted them for what they were. A crush is normal – a situation where the older, responsible adult acts inappropriately (perhaps illegally) is not. There is a difference, and it’s not complicated.

 

But we live in a time when a lot of older series that once seemed innocent have become marginalized for any number of reasons, not the least of which is a cynical reassessment of how people should interact. It mandates that families now look a certain way; it has impacted what we are allowed to find amusing; it ascribes to a different set of values to avoid offense, and in doing so offends more potential viewers than it satisfies.

 

I find all of this deeply concerning, perhaps more so since I just turned 60, and find myself reflecting about how much has changed since the first time I watched all of these shows I still love.  

 

One brief conversation, referencing a sitcom almost as old as I am, efficiently crystallized all of these troubling thoughts into a distressing observation: too many people now see evil in things that are natural – and concurrently overlook evil in what is unnatural. I don’t think that bodes well for the future. That is why when it comes to my television choices, I will continue to live happily in the past.