Saturday, February 23, 2013

MeTV and Maude


If you are a child of the 70's, then you might remember that the early 70's were a time of great change in the world of television viewing. It was a time when many new sitcoms such as The Jeffersons, Good Times and All in the Family became staples of the airwaves. Times were becoming political and writer/producer Norman Lear was cashing in big with his sitcoms which had a decidedly liberal edge. Thanks to Lear and a few others like him....many shows were off limits in my house. Well...off limits for me as I was just a young child and these shows were considered way too mature for kids. My mother however did watch many of them....at least for awhile. The three shows that I remember Mom watching but being completely taboo for me were Maude, Soap and Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Since we only had one tv and Mom held all the power in the house....I had no idea what I was missing all I knew was if I couldn't watch it....it must be good!

With the channels now like TVLand, Antenna TV and MeTV.....at least some of these shows are getting new life breathed into them. New generations are getting to see a birds eye view of what the world was like through the eyes of Lear and others. TV was quickly changing from squeaky clean Ward and June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver and heading straight into a raunchier and somewhat edgier Archie and Edith Bunker on All in the Family. 

What I have learned from watching these shows as an adult is.....for that time these shows were ground breaking. They were a mix of edgy bordering on blue humor along with a lot of political and social statements. The thing most of these shows had in common were that they were superbly acted by stars such as Carroll O'Connor, Bea Aurthur, Sherman Hemsley and Billy Crystal. In a conservative climate...these shows were shaking up the airwaves, causing some to turn off their tv's and in some cases causing even more to turn them on (albeit ushering their children from the room) to see what Archie and Maude were going to do this week.

The three as I said that we never were allowed to watch were considered the more risque' and shocking of the new order of sitcoms. Soap was one that went at every social taboo of the time from infidelity to homosexuality and hit them head on. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to this day as an adult I am not sure what it was about. It was filmed as an old time soap opera with a modern (1970's) comedic twist. As I recall it was another one that broke ground, threw out everything everyone had ever known about soaps and comedy and wasn't afraid to offend. I have seen several episodes as an adult and quite frankly....I wasn't that impressed, maybe because I found it ridiculous....but back in the day, it was a guilty pleasure for many. Finally.....there was Maude. My mother (a very conservative lady) watched Maude until Maude did the unthinkable and had an abortion. My mother refused to watch it after that. Well for awhile anyway.

Other than knowing that Maude had an abortion....I really knew very little about Maude until recently. Yes....I am still kid enough to think that if Mom forbade it....then I just had to know why. Thanks to MeTV......I have been able to find out. For the early 1970's Maude had to have been culture shock. The premise is a four times married liberal woman who constantly feels the need to prove her liberalism while putting up with her neighbors/best friends who are far more conservative than she. The show dealt with the ERA (equal rights amendment), civil rights, homosexuality, divorce and yes...abortion. All of these were hot buttons of the 70's and some had never before been discussed on tv. To think of going from Lucy and Ricky having to have separate beds to Maude discussing premarital sex had to have caused the vapors in more than one household.

Looking at Maude now though....I have to laugh. First, let me say that Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan were just as funny in the 70's on Maude as they were in the 80's in the Golden Girls. Arthur had a stage presence and a way with physical comedy that few other actresses of her day or any other for that matter.....had or have. Her facial expressions alone could keep an audience laughing well into the next scene. By today's standards Maude is mild mannered and pretty non-offensive (sans the abortion episodes), but the humor remains timeless.

What I find most interesting though..... is that in so many ways....Maude's liberalness was more of a persona she wanted rather than who she really was. Examples of this are Maudes stand on free love. In the 70's free love was the new hot button. Sex was becoming casual and couples were having sex outside of marriage and even living together. Maude was all for it....except when it came to her grown daughter. Just the thought of her adult and divorced daughter Carol having sex in her house sent Maude into a melodramatic frenzy. Her liberal views on sex also did not trickle down to her teenage grandson who was not allowed to be alone in the house with his young girl friend. Maude also went overboard with her civil rights views when hiring a black maid. Rather than hire a white maid (yes....they still called them maids even in the enlightened 70's) she actively sought out a black maid to prove how socially progressive she was. Then in her guilt over hiring the black maid....rather than let her work, Maude was treating her to three martini lunches and telling her how supportive of black issues she was....all the while racially insulting both the maid (Florida) and blacks in general far more than any racist ever could. Even when it came to her abortion....Maude believed other women could have abortions but for her it was inherently wrong. If not for the urging of her daughter....the Maude character likely would not have had the abortion because even in her self proclaimed liberal ideology....right was right and wrong was wrong.

What I see in Maude is much what I see in a lot of the liberals of our current generation. So many liberals wish to be seen as forward thinking, accepting of all views and both civilly and socially conscience to the extent that right or wrong they tend to support any liberal agenda. Thus when you try to get to the center stone of why they feel or believe a certain way....they can't really tell you, because they really don't know. They simply want to be viewed as liberals and all that implies....even if they aren't sure what all that implies. Maude is very much this way in the respect that often she tries to support what she thinks any good liberal would, but when push comes to shove.....it becomes almost ridiculous because her core belief is simply not there. She also learns that like it or not.....she does have prejudices and even some conservative values that she just can't get beyond. I think Lear got it right with this character. Just as he did with Archie Bunker the polar opposite of Maude. Bunker's hard core conservatism didn't always bid well for him and as the character grew both Bunker and the audience found that underneath the racist, hard nosed extreme conservative exterior lay a man who didn't really hate anyone who wasn't white and even grew to tolerate his liberal son in law.

I think Lear tried to show us that in every liberal there are some conservative values and in every conservative lies a little social liberalism. Possibly this was modeled after his own experiences. Lear was a decorated WWII soldier who fought proudly for his country. His politics and social views were and I assume even at 90 something still are, liberal but when he felt the Carter administration was a failure and not a good fit for the country he fought for.... he was not afraid to vote against the democratic party. Many of his characters also show this same strong but not unbendable stance which in my opinion makes them both human and likable regardless of your own politics or beliefs.

Yes...I have to say that watching Maude of late has made me laugh to the point of tears at times. I love the contradictions in Maude and can sort of understand how my ultra conservative mom was drawn into the show all those years ago. Although Mom was the antithesis of Maude, to her I am sure this new sitcom was like a train wreck. You just couldn't not watch. I think aside from the pure humor that Maude creates with every episode....I also appreciate both the writing and the acting of this show. Arthur, McClanahan, Conrad Bain, Bill Macy and Adrienne Barbeau were a cast that was hard to beat....although Arthur, McClanahan and Bain are by far my favorites on the show and sadly....they are all gone now. 

So it is Saturday morning....snow is on the ground, we didn't get to go to St. Louis and I have obviously been watching too much tv. Two 4 day weekends in a row is just a little too much tv time. However...if you are like me  and are really tired of all the reality shows, the blood and guts crime shows and some of the current sitcoms that have a whole lot more "sit" going on than "com"....I encourage you to take a walk down memory lane. Check out Maude or if Maude is not your cup of tea....MeTV has everything from My Three Sons to Emergency. All the shows we grew up with and even those that some of us were not allowed to watch. ;)


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great blog. I love all those old shows. I remember some being off limits in our house too. We were lucky enough to have two tvs though so occasionally we would sneak off to find out why we shouldn't be watching them. I am also a Bea Arthur fan. She was an amazing actress and a loss to the craft when she died. I loved this blog.

Anonymous said...

I have never heard of MeTv. I will have to check it out. I had forgotten about Maude. I loved that show and like you I found her contradictions to be a big part of the Maude draw. Nice blog.

Anonymous said...

Your views on liberals are quite wrong just like your views on Maude. Maude was a very progressive woman on a very progressive show. She never wavered on her political views. You make her out to be a wishy washy woman who was not confident in her beliefs. It appears you see all liberals with the same wishy washy mind set. I really don't like this blog and I really don't like your opinions on the show or liberals.

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me? In case you hadn't noticed this blog is nothing but her opinions. If you don't like what she has to say then don't read it. I think she made some excellent points and I think she kind of nailed the Maude character. I also don't think she was putting Maude in a bad light. I think Maude was wishy washy and I think she had conservative views. She was more than a one dimensional liberal. She had many sides which brought her to life and drew in both conservatives and liberals. It was a cmom said a well acted and well written show. For the record she never said liberals were wishy washy. Those were your words. She said that many liberals have some conservative views just like many conservatives have some liberal views. Of all her blogs you choose to be upset about I find it funny that you pick this one.

Anonymous said...

Wrong. This is just another blog where she personally attacks liberals because they do not believe as she does. Today she just did it through a tv show. Blogger your tactics are transparent and I am sure Bea Arthur is rolling in her grave.

Anonymous said...

You've written another great blog that made me think. TV is all around us. For me, its been a way of life. But I just don't understand much of television broadcasting anymore. And its an industry that I've spent 30 years of my career creating content. It's my career.

In the 70's television was trying to mirror a changing society. A changing culture. Today it seems that television is wanting society to mirror it and mold our society into something after itself. I just don't want to be part of that ideology. I believe TV is a medium that should entertain and inform first. Am I old fashioned? I don't believe so. Many of the people I work with are in their 20s and 30s. And I get my inspiration from those that are even younger.

My business, as it has evolved over the past decade it is leaving the airwaves and cable and moving to the internet with each and every passing day. Not because of my lead, but because many of my customers are abandoning broadcast as a means to reach their customers. I don't blame them. And that's because their customers are leaving broadcast and looking for their entertainment and information on the internet.

The last few times I went out shopping I have been stopped by cable company reps asking me if I'm looking for a better deal on my cable bill. I enjoy telling them I don't have cable. Why? there are hundreds of channels and so little of it has any value. One large cable company even asked me how I'm connecting with customers and what I'm doing to help them market themselves. Is it because I'm brilliant and delivering cutting edge solutions? Hardly. I went to a cheap college in Kansas. As a rural kid I learned to listen before starting to work. Doing that has paid off over the years.

TV isn't delivering what their customers want. They failed to pay attention and listen to their customers. Times are tough. Look around. On the news there is nothing but bad news followed by more bad news. People are looking to be entertained and all the sex and violence on TV has just about run its course.

I don't have any plans of going back to TV anytime soon with my business. Maybe I'm living in a cartoon world. But I'm getting paid to deliver happier messages that solves my customer's challenges. And in the end, my customer's clients are getting what they need. No sex. No violence. No selfish attempts at shaping a culture. Just giving people what they are looking for.

So I'm just working with people that want to entertain and inform. That's what I believe is missing from television today.

Anonymous said...

OMG are you kidding? I have never ever seen cmom personally attack anyone. In fact she goes out of her way to comment on a persons politics and never there character and where did she personally attack anyone in this blog? As for Ms. Arthur I am sure wherever she is, this blog is not even of grave rolling importance to her.

Anonymous said...

Why are so many liberals angry when they find an opinion that is outside of their beliefs? Conservatives are not without fault either.

Rants, insults and shout downs are an awful way to try to change other people's views. And often, it's just pathetic.

Many of the great TV programs of the past had characters that where conflicted. As many of us are throughout our lives. Maude was one of those characters. She had strong opinions and was never afraid to share those beliefs with others. But internally, she caught herself between ideologies. And that gave her many times in her show to be conflicted. I'm conservative in many of my beliefs. But there are times I have to bend and yeild when it comes to the people I love and work with. Maude was no different. It made her real. It made her interesting to watch every week. She took on many of the social issues of her time. That show was daring. That's what made it a success. It wasn't a one ideology only show. No, its appeal was broad. Libs and conservatives alike watched Maude every week.

She wasn't a character of only one ideology and stomped on anyone that differed in thought as one commenter is doing in response to this blog. Nope. She pushed herself in understanding herself and others. And in the end, it made her character on TV even stronger. Whether you agreed with her or not.

The willingness to listen to and trying to identify with others is quickly becoming a lost skill. We are ALL flawed in one way or another. And we can learn when we stop and take the time to try to understand one another. For me, some liberals ideas are not bad ideas.

You can't do that, when your only way of exchanging your beliefs is to insult others.

Anonymous said...

Why are so many liberals angry when they find an opinion that is outside of their beliefs? Conservatives are not without fault either.

Rants, insults and shout downs are an awful way to try to change other people's views. And often, it's just pathetic.

Many of the great TV programs of the past had characters that where conflicted. As many of us are throughout our lives. Maude was one of those characters. She had strong opinions and was never afraid to share those beliefs with others. But internally, she caught herself between ideologies. And that gave her many times in her show to be conflicted. I'm conservative in many of my beliefs. But there are times I have to bend and yeild when it comes to the people I love and work with. Maude was no different. It made her real. It made her interesting to watch every week. She took on many of the social issues of her time. That show was daring. That's what made it a success. It wasn't a one ideology only show. No, its appeal was broad. Libs and conservatives alike watched Maude every week.

She wasn't a character of only one ideology and stomped on anyone that differed in thought as one commenter is doing in response to this blog. Nope. She pushed herself in understanding herself and others. And in the end, it made her character on TV even stronger. Whether you agreed with her or not.

The willingness to listen to and trying to identify with others is quickly becoming a lost skill. We are ALL flawed in one way or another. And we can learn when we stop and take the time to try to understand one another. For me, some liberals ideas are not bad ideas.

You can't do that, when your only way of exchanging your beliefs is to insult others.

Stapleman said...

I haven't watched Maude in years but if memory serves me Maude was not terribly bending in her views. This was the reason for many crazed tantrums on her part. She was a liberal to the core and she had little respect for anyone a.k.a Arthur who disagreed with her. I really don't remember Maude being conflicted at all.

Anonymous said...

Stapleman either your memory does not serve you as well as you think or you and I watched completely different shows. Maude was conflicted and as someone else said, it made her character both believable and somewhat likable. I too watch MeTV and the other day they had an episode with John Wayne where Maude was not going to let John Wayne in her house because he was a republican. She threw a fit right up until the time he showed up at her door. When she saw him she melted and was star struck. It was a great episode and well done by both Bea Arthur and the Duke. It was total conflict on Maudes part and that episode was one of Maudes most popular. You know it is okay to be liberal and admit that at times you are conflicted.

Anonymous said...

Is everything political? I do realize that Maude was about a liberal woman but the show was more than that. I think this blogger speaking more of the times and the types of shows that were on rather than politics alone. The 1970's were innovative and granted politics played a huge part in the era, there were a lot of great shows that were on at that time. Not just sitcoms. The blogger mentioned Emergency and that was a favorite of mine. Also Hawaii Five-O was on. It was such a great show that even all these years later it has been remade and is still a great show. The funny thing is, that a lot of the shows that were on back then would not be allowed on the air now because of the language and stereotypes that they perpetuated. There are no Archie Bunkers, Maudes or George Jeffersons anymore because we have politically corrected ourselves into a world of censorship where you can see a girls naked behind on tv but you can't say Indian. I guess it is hard to talk about these shows without getting political. I stand corrected.

KCE Omaha

Blog Fan said...

Interesting how blogs or opinion pieces sometimes take on a life of their own. This one surely did. So is this about old tv shows vs. new tv shows or is it about liberal characters vs. conservative characters? Everyone seems to be reading this differently.

I take from this blog that the blogger may not agree with Maude, but since being introduced to her as an adult the blogger has an appreciation of the show, the actors and the writer regardless of politics.

I also agree with the bloggers belief that these characters may have been written with a liberal agenda, but the writer also shows that the characters are multifaceted and also have conflict because they do also have some more conservative views. This is not an insult to any political affiliation. It is simply a fact of humanity.

I really like this blog but more than that, I really like the dialogue that has ensued from it. Way to go blogger.

Anonymous said...

I would certainly like to know where you got your information on Norman Lear. I had always heard he was anti-war, supported draft dogging, was a staunch liberal and never would have voted outside the democratic party. His shows referenced all of these beliefs and when he did have a conservative character such as Archie Bunker he made him to be an uncompromising and unlikable character. I think you are creating a back story for Mr. Lear that does not exist. It does though make your "opinions" about Maudes character a little more plausible. Too bad like your Lear story, your opinions of Maude too are pure fiction.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous I have no idea where the blogger pulled her Lear information from but if you go to wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Lear it backs up this bloggers information. It takes a lot of balls to call someone on the carpet for information they post when you are only going by hearsay and no facts. Maybe in light of the information that this blogger was correct on her Lear facts, then her opinions on Maude aren't so far fetched after all. Oh and a word of advise, in the future before you decide to call someone out maybe you should have your facts straight first. All you have succeeded in doing is to make yourself look stupid.

Anonymous said...

Yes Archie Bunker was made to be uncompromising and not particularly likeable but since All in the Family was on much longer than Maude, Norman Lear took the opportunity to grow the Bunker character. Just like Archie started out uncompromising and unlikeable, the character of his wife Edith started out a little dingy, very dependent on Archie and unwavering to his word. As the seasons progressed both characters grew and Archie became more likeable and Edith became stronger. Lear knew how to create and grow a character and he also knew how to make those characters connect with a broad audience. He saw that a character was more than their political beliefs or prejudices and he allowed them to grow and evolve making them very human to us all. Great blog by the way and great subject matter.

Jackie C said...

Maybe someone else already pointed this out but watching these shows circa 2013 we have lost perspective. In the 1970's the characters in these shows were very conflicted because people in this country were conflicted. We were dealing with war, political cover ups, womens rights, roe v. wade and progressive sexual ideas. We had as cmom said gone from Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy where you couldn't even say the word "pregnant" to books like The Joy of Sex and Valley of the Dolls. We were talking about sex, equal rights and racism and Norman Lear translated this all into his characters. Like most Americans Maude was conflicted about the world she came from and the world that the 1970's was becoming. Her progressive political views and her upbringing in a post WWII conservative world were at odds with each other. Also Archie Bunker was also a projection of what was going on in the world. Many Americans like Archie were trying desperately to hold on to the conservative and yes somewhat racist world they had known. Change was not easy and this new socially, sexually and politically progressive world that the 70's were becoming was foreign to them. They were lost, shocked and embarrassed and fighting to hold onto their conservative up bringings. Lear was a genius at being able to mesh the characters he created with how real humans in the real world were dealing. If Lear had not had such an ability to create such three dimensional characters then his shows would never have had the huge viewership's that they had. There was a little bit of every man or woman in each character he gave us. We all have a little liberal, conservative, bigot in us and that is what drove audiences to tune in each week and that is what have his shows timeless.

Anonymous said...

The blog was great but the comments were exceptional. I have been back five times to read the comments. The sign of a good blog is when you get comments like this. Good work cmom.