Rick B. (bup) -
Hot dang I love this book. It's a book that makes me feel good, like I'm doing the right thing as a liberal member of society, and feeling intellectual because it's a thesis about social progress, but it's also a book that throws its pitches right into my lowbrow wheelhouse: sitcoms.
I know Barney Miller. I know Bewitched. I (mostly) know Alice. Friends. Modern Family. I can talk about them for hours, and now it feels like it's really brainy. I haven't wasted years of my life watching lightweight mind-numbing candy. It was research!
And a major salute to Baume for getting Norman Lear to do an extended interview, as well as interviews with Marsha Posner and Richard Day. Those are valuable artifacts in their own right, and we owe Baume for collecting their insights in a way we'll only appreciate fully 50 years from now.
His writing's very conversational, so much so that I feel like I could shoot him a text, like he's my bud, that says, "you're worried people didn't get an Edward Everett Horton reference? Dude, you know I did, and everyone we know." Or one that says, "Matt, I agree with you that American network television had a big avoidance complex with queer folks, but in this case, where the characters are talking around why people think Chandler is gay, without ever using the word gay, that could be because it's effective comic writing. Talking around a word because the characters are uncomfortable makes great comedy." And he'd shoot back he gets what I'm saying, but I'm wrong, and call me a doofus, but I'd know he'd taken what I said into consideration because we both respect each other's American network TV chops.
And sure, I'm all "yay, LGBTQ+ people!" but I'm no hero. I put the book down the instant I read that a 1974 episode of Police Woman treated lesbians in such a stereotyped and derogatory manor - in 1974! - that after protests the network agreed to never air that episode again, and I immediately sought out (1974! dear God, how bad must it have been!?) the episode on the internet. I didn't expect porno music whenever the gay women characters were onscreen or anything, but I needed to see the trainwreck. Note to readers: the biggest trainwreck is Royster's outfit (attitude *snap!*). Not worth the time. It's offensive in a very boring and why-did-I-waste-my-time? sort of way.
I know Barney Miller. I know Bewitched. I (mostly) know Alice. Friends. Modern Family. I can talk about them for hours, and now it feels like it's really brainy. I haven't wasted years of my life watching lightweight mind-numbing candy. It was research!
And a major salute to Baume for getting Norman Lear to do an extended interview, as well as interviews with Marsha Posner and Richard Day. Those are valuable artifacts in their own right, and we owe Baume for collecting their insights in a way we'll only appreciate fully 50 years from now.
His writing's very conversational, so much so that I feel like I could shoot him a text, like he's my bud, that says, "you're worried people didn't get an Edward Everett Horton reference? Dude, you know I did, and everyone we know." Or one that says, "Matt, I agree with you that American network television had a big avoidance complex with queer folks, but in this case, where the characters are talking around why people think Chandler is gay, without ever using the word gay, that could be because it's effective comic writing. Talking around a word because the characters are uncomfortable makes great comedy." And he'd shoot back he gets what I'm saying, but I'm wrong, and call me a doofus, but I'd know he'd taken what I said into consideration because we both respect each other's American network TV chops.
And sure, I'm all "yay, LGBTQ+ people!" but I'm no hero. I put the book down the instant I read that a 1974 episode of Police Woman treated lesbians in such a stereotyped and derogatory manor - in 1974! - that after protests the network agreed to never air that episode again, and I immediately sought out (1974! dear God, how bad must it have been!?) the episode on the internet. I didn't expect porno music whenever the gay women characters were onscreen or anything, but I needed to see the trainwreck. Note to readers: the biggest trainwreck is Royster's outfit (attitude *snap!*). Not worth the time. It's offensive in a very boring and why-did-I-waste-my-time? sort of way.
