What show do you think is brilliant that was, and maybe still is, profoundly misunderstood when it aired as lowbrow and stupid?
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iamthemob (
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October 11th, 2010
“Married with Children” is mine – I’m rewatching it and didn’t realize how smart and sensitive it really is.
- They dealt with homosexuality as if it was no big deal in the late 80s.
- It was directed for much of its run by a lesbian.
- When Katy Segal lost her baby, the writers treated her with the respect and dignity deserved by quietly ending her pregnancy storyline on the show as if the entire thing had been Al’s bad dream.
What do people think of MWC specifically, and what other shows to people see following this type of pattern (being demonized during its run but later people finding its social or intellectual merit)? And why?
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20 Answers
The simpsons, Monty Pythons Flying Circus, Seinfeld.
Gilligans Island….......i just had to say it.
Family Guy
Tell me you love me
make it or break it
two and a half men
the bing bang theory
dexter
Harper Island
Everyone is ignoring the why. ;-)
The Beverley Hillbillies!
One of the best humorous and clever scripts ever in the history of sit coms.
Classic showcasing of upper class egos and their predudices against the common man.
Of course the Clampetts always won folks over with their hospitality and salt of the earth approach to kindness.
I love that show….and, am privledged to know Max Baer, ‘Jethro’ who is every bit as nice and humble as his character was minus the dumb & dumber factor. lol
South Park.
Anyone who insists that South Park is somehow unintellectual because of its use of dirty words and toilet humor needs to 1) Open their minds and actually pay attention to the messages of the episodes and 2) Read South Park and Philosophy, which is an excellent book.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard
I agree, almost all the time, with all of the “You know, I learned something today” bits at the end of the episodes.
The view that cartoon has on how society works and should work is profoundly practical.
@iamthemob that ending bit is exactly what I was referring to. You are spot on in your assessment, too.
Outsourced, Friends, The Office
Outsourced just premiered – how is it developed past that?
And how was the office considered low-brow, etc.?
And how was friends not? (god…I hate that show…;-))
@iamthemob I concur about Married With Children. I didn’t pay much attention to it when it was originally on but I have caught a few episodes lately. It is very funny.
Idiocracy (movie)
Dog The Bounty Hunter
I’ve never been a fan of MWC in order to know it well enough to comment and it’s not because I thought it was “lowbrow”, I just didn’t think it was funny enough to sit still for.
@Neizvestnaya I loved the Idiocracy trailer more than the movie. I could watch that trailer over and over.
@Rarebear We have The Tick (cartoon) on DVD. It is as hilarious now as it was then.
What is extremely odd is that 13 hours ago I was watching MWC reruns on YouTube for hours on end. Always loved the show. I really can’t think of any other show off the top of my head, I just found this to be an interesting coincidence.
@TheOnlyNeffie
I think it was recently released in various online contexts. I never realized how awesomely awesome it was.
I always loved it, but it is somehow far more enjoyable to watch it as an adult. It was awesomely awesome, indeed.
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