The CBS "rural purge" of 1971

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by PaulKTF, Oct 12, 2016.

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  1. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

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    You know, Fox has done some really good shows on occasion. I'd say the CW is far, far worse on the average.
     
  2. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member Thread Starter

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    USA
    It's just more fun to make fun of Fox. :)
     
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  3. It has become even more bleak in 2017. For the broadcast networks today, a handful of America's largest cities are the critical demo. Given the way Nielsen operates and what advertisers pay for in today's market, many broadcast shows basically target a small handful of cities like New York and L.A. Anything else is a bonus in their view.

    It's why most scripted network television presents a very narrow slice of American life practically unrecognizable to 70% of the country. You aren't going to hear many Southern accents on ABC or CBS.
     
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  4. James Slattery

    James Slattery Forum Resident

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    Long Island
    Aubrey wanted 3 things in his shows: Broads, Bosoms and Fun! If you look at the pulchritude on display during his time in charge: Tina Louise, Dawn Wells, Jeannine Riley, Pat Woodell, Donna Douglas, Julie Newmar, they all fit the bill. The only reason quality shows like The Defenders, East Side West Side and Slattery's People got on the air is because William Paley was still running the show.
     
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  5. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

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    In response to the "I Dream Of Jeanie" belly button issues.
    I think it only applied to Barbara Eden for some reason. Many of the female guest stars were able to wear bikinis by the third season. And Emmaline Henry, Mrs. Bellows, wears a very belly button revealing pair of hiphuggers in Hawaii. So I don't what the issue was with Eden.
     
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  6. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    Eden was married to Michael Ansara, who was Syrian, maybe he objected?
     
  7. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    I've seen interviews with Barbara Eden about this subject. She seems to make it a network decision on some level. There is one on the First Season DVD by Sony were she mentioned that the producers of Laugh In wanted to make a big deal and show it on TV first, and how there were meetings at the network to decide if they would permit it. By then Goldie Hawn was in a bikini and body paint each week on Laugh In. Why was Eden so special?
     
  8. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    As a big fan of Hogan's Heroes, even I admit the show was done by 1971. It hadn't really jumped the shark with any ridiculous plot or casting changes, but there's only so many sabotage missions the POWs could go on. Plus, by that point, the show had already gone on three years longer than the American involvement in WWII had lasted. (Though admittedly realism was the show's main emphasis.)

    Looking at the list of cancelled shows, most were already reaching the ends of their lives the way it was. Bringing in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and All In The Family were the right moves.
     
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  9. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

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    I think Hogan's Heroes had made cast changes as well. Ivan Dixon's replacement was awful.
     
  10. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

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    Dixie
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I have notice a correlation of the types of TV shows that are popular and the sociopolitical state of the country.

    Just don't take away Big Brother!
     
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  12. GroovyGuy

    GroovyGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Halifax, NS Canada
    It was all about the Benjamins - it's what the networks thought the sponsors wanted. Money talks, true talent often walks :(
     
  13. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    Looking at TV listings from the early 70's can show that the change from The Beverly Hillbillies style of show to All in the Family was not absolute and finite in 1971. There were more urban fare shows starting in the late 60's. That Girl is paving the way for Mary Tyler Moore. And networks were still giving typical 60's style shows a chance well into the 70's. ABC still wanted Bewitched for the 72-73 season. It was Elizabeth Montgomery's decision not to continue. They tried to follow it up with The Paul Lynde Show. Dick Van Dyke had a well reviewed sitcom in this same time period. The Partridge Family and the Brady Bunch are far from cutting edge 70's TV too.
     
  14. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
    I recently watched some PLS episodes. It's not a typical '60s sitcom. It's shot before a live audience, and the central conflict is between PL and his non-working college student son-in-law (sound familiar?). There were also a surprising number of marijuana jokes.

    After the PLS was axed Columbia moved Lynde over to Temperatures Rising -- now that was a typical '60s sitcom.
     
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  15. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    I meant to imply that The Paul Lynde Show was a contractual obligation that Montgomery's then husband, Wil Asher, owed to ABC in place of new Bewitched episodes. Yes, they did try to emulate the All In The Family edge, as did others. Anyone remember Dom DeLuise in Lotsa Luck? Produced by Carl Reiner and the Dick Van Dyke show writers?
     
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  16. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    Sorry Grant, a purge is a purge, they all go or they all stay.
     
  17. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Just don't take away Big Brother!
    Well than, i'd rather them stay. They don't bother me. If I don't want to see something, I don't watch it. Simple.
     
  18. cboldman

    cboldman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hamilton, OH USA
    Green Acres devoted its final two episodes to a couple of non-rural backdoor pilots which never went anywhere -- 'Hawaiian Honeymoon' amd 'The Ex-Secretary' -- a regrettable end to a series that never lost much of its edge.
     
  19. James Slattery

    James Slattery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Long Island
    Both PLS and Temperatures Rising had pretty fair ratings. I like them both. ABC had the brilliant idea of combining the two and moving Lynde into TR. Didn't work and they wound up killing 2 shows. Although one has to admit, having Paul Lynde be married with kids is the epitome of an unrealistic fantasy show!
     
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  20. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
    Of the episodes I saw, there was one episode where PL goes gaga over some hot college coed. This didn't work at all (compare it to the classic MASH "Henry In Love" to see the premise work). The only other time it was unbelievable was when he would cuddle with his wife and make sexual innuendoes. That seemed odd. The writers wisely kept these scenes to a minimum.

    Otherwise, as long he was just complaining about his kids ("Who can understand anything they say?"), his wife, or his lazy son-in-law, it was acceptable.

    But there is one very interesting scene. I forget the context, but PL says something like, "They'll think I've gone completely weird". To which his wife replies, "How will they be able to tell?"

    It seems to me the writers are breaking the 4th wall here, and commenting on PL's off-show persona. But that was the only such example I noticed.
     
  21. Luvtemps

    Luvtemps Forum Resident

    Location:
    P.G.County,Md.
    It was time for those rural shows to go,I too liked most of em but time catches up with all things...we outgrew em!!
     
  22. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    For the most part, they did end rural-skewing shows by 1971-1972. All the shows you mention were merely cornball or unrealistic shows -- not shows that took place in small towns or rural areas.

    I think he was hired on the basis of doing the musical Bye-Bye Birdie, where he played a hapless father of a teenage girl (and sang the song, "What's the Matter with Kids Today"). Granted, he was almost over-the-top gay, but there were a few TV performers who could sorta/kinda get away with that. There were some gay actors on television in the early 1970s -- the biggest one I can think of was James Daly on Medical Center -- but they were very careful about their identity and the roles they chose. Other actors, like Rip Taylor and Charles Nelson Reilly, mainly did game shows and other venues where they could get away with making a lot of risque comments, at least to a point.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2017
  23. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Oh well. You can't change history, but I watch all those shows now. I love Petticoat Junction.
     
  24. Mr. Fernando

    Mr. Fernando Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    You can't always go by that. Time may move at a different rate over the course of a series. Each season or year that goes by doesn't necessarily mean a year went by on the show.
     
  25. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I'd think Raymond Burr on Ironside beats out James Daly, as far as who had a higher profile.
     
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