TV's Dysfunctional Family Affair

The really shocking shows are on Nick at Nite.

Charles Oliver from the January 1997 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

OK, OK, so most cable is toxic. But at least The Family Channel must be safe. After all, it's run by televangelist Pat Robertson. And the name--well, there has to be truth in advertising. Yet even Robertson neglects his duty to provide moral uplift through entertainment. The channel's Saturday afternoon lineup consists of old Western series. Let's start with Bonanza. Once more, the central character is a widower. This time he's raising three sons. But Ben Cartwright is no ordinary widower. He has buried three wives, and his longtime companion is his male cook, Hop Sing. A few years into the series, the Cartwrights added a new man to their household, a handsome cowboy they call "Candy." The all-male atmosphere seems to have left the Cartwright boys with a lot of unresolved anger. They can't seem to settle a dispute without violence.

Then there's The Big Valley. Here's a switch: It's about a single mother and her sons. But one of the boys, Heath, is actually her husband's illegitimate child, fathered in an affair he had with another woman. And longtime fans of the series will remember that daughter Audra tries to seduce Heath in the first episode, even though she knows that he is her half-brother. Finally, there's The Rifleman, about another widower raising his son. Like the Cartwrights, Lucas McCain has a hard time controlling his temper. He kills more men than John Wesley Hardin, who famously shot a man just for snoring. Is it any wonder the son quivers whenever he talks to his dad?

For a time, the Family Channel was also home to Gunsmoke, the longest-running episodic series in American history. Matt Dillon isn't a widower. He isn't even married, but he does have a long relationship with "saloon hostess" Miss Kitty. Jeez, does Pat even watch the stuff he airs? Each weeknight, the Family Channel runs old movie shorts featuring the Three Stooges. In most of these films, the Stooges aren't married. They are often depicted as living together. And their relationship has a decided S&M flavor to it. The channel has also run at least one special featuring magicians Siegfried and Roy. The less said about that the better.

The list goes on and on: Family Affair is now on fX, a channel run by alleged conservative Rupert Murdoch. The show's title makes it sound wholesome enough. But this time, both parents are dead, and the three children live with their Uncle Bill. Bill lives with a man called Mr. French. He tells the kids French is his manservant, but French is British, so there are other possibilities. My Three Sons is another cable mainstay. Again, the lead is a widowed man raising his family. His only companion is a man his boys know as "Uncle" Charley. Charley is a former sailor who likes to cook and clean. Then there's Flipper, a series featuring another widowed father. Surprisingly, there's no male housekeeper this time. But the boy does develop an unusually close relationship with a (male) sea mammal. Finally, there's The Honeymooners. True, Ralph and Alice Kramden are married. But they have no kids. And their marriage provides a poor role model: Alice constantly belittles Ralph, and he responds with threats of violence.

If it were just one show, or even a few shows, where intact families were absent, one might think it was just a dramatic device. But when the percentage is so high, you have to believe it says something about the values of those who program these channels. And as far as I can tell, it means they value their wives dead.

You get the picture. In their zeal to get ratings and make money, the managers of these channels have shirked their social responsibility to uphold the institutions that society is based upon. Just wait until the politicians get the news.

Comments

nfl jerseys|11.16.10 @ 8:05PM|#

xetftg