Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Toledo
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 04-13-2018, 01:18 PM
 
11,610 posts, read 10,303,548 times
Reputation: 7213

Advertisements

Kirk Baird, the Toledo Blade's TV critic, seems to believe that this show is funny and a wonderful benefit to Toledo. When I saw it, I was appalled and actually was angry that Toledo and public education were being so maligned by an alleged comedy program.

<<Griffin bemoans that fate returned him to “this garbage pile of a town,”>>

Humor, but not Toledo, shines in new NBC sitcom - The Blade

I know the mantra that any publicity is good publicity, but does Baird really believe that most of the nation won't assume that to some large degree that Toledo really is "a garbage pile," especially with the recent toxic algal shutdown of its water supply?

<< Hollywood doesn’t usually “get” the Midwest.

But A.P. Bio's creator Mike O'Brien does. The 41-year-old former Saturday Night Live writer grew up in and around Toledo, graduating from St. John’s High School in 1995. >>

Toledo's prime-time moment - The Blade

Really???

In the couple shows that I saw, the featured character is Harvard-trained biology teacher who refuses to teach his eager Advanced Placement students. He was repeatedly truant, but the school's fawning principal has no desire to can him. His students plot to replace him with an actual teacher. I cringed. This wasn't funny.

After reading Baird's coverage of Mike O'Brien and the show, I wondered if this show wasn't an effort by a pretentious and condescending parochial school graduate to mock public schools. Why didn't O'Brien set the show in a parochial school, where the opportunity for comical juxtaposition likely would have been even greater?

And why did Baird accept without question O'Brien's claims that he loves Toledo? I can't imagine calling any hometown that I respected, let alone loved, "a garbage pile." Why did O'Brien do that?

And I don't think O'Brien "gets" the Midwest. In 97 percent plus of Midwest public schools, a teacher of the character and indifference portrayed in "A.P. Bio" wouldn't last one week.

Baird thinks scripts like this are funny, or even remotely credible?

https://www.springfieldspringfield.c...episode=s01e06

Do Toledoans really enjoy this show and its portrayal of Toledo and public education?

Last edited by WRnative; 04-13-2018 at 01:33 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-14-2018, 10:40 AM
 
2,903 posts, read 1,960,321 times
Reputation: 3474
Have never even heard of the show but it doesn't surprise me to hear its being put down by some lamebrain. While in the military I had a couple people make foolish comments about our great city after telling them where I was from. At a friend's Thanksgiving dinner another guest who couldn't hold the two beers he had had so far said, after someone else asked where I was from, "I was in Toledo once, didn't think much of it.". Asked where he had been in the city, he said the Greyhound bus station changing buses. I was going to say something like, "Boy, you really are a hick from the sticks, aren't you?". But I saw his pregnant wife was who staring down out her plate embarrassed, so I took the high road and didn't say anything.

I've noticed people from Cleveland like to put down Toledo as well. Probably because they've heard the jokes about their city and it makes them feel better putting another city down. Pretty pathetic.

And yes, it sounds like he was mocking public schools because he didn't go there. Immature to say the least.

Having said that I went to Waite High School, graduated in '83, and I can tell you I got very little education from my teachers. They felt they weren't getting paid fairly so most of them sat on their butts, reading a book or chitchatting with the students rather than teaching. It was awful enough I thought about complaining to someone, the principal maybe or city council, but knew what that would mean - a heck of a lot of homework, quizzes up the wazoo, etc.

Its at least a little different today since students have to pass certain state mandated tests to pass, if that's still the case. I do know though, when the recent teachers' contract was being negotiated the teacher's union told the teachers to do only the bare minimum required, which is what my teachers did when they were negotiating their contract back in the early '80's. Another strike against whether unions should be allowed for any type of government group of employees at the federal, state or local level in my book. Mob union thug mentality only thinking about themselves, not giving a darn about whether a community can afford what they are demanding. If they wanted to get rich they shouldn't have become teachers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-14-2018, 05:05 PM
 
Location: Findlay, OH
656 posts, read 2,308,413 times
Reputation: 330
This is the first I've heard of it, but I watched the episode from the article's link. The jokes are too vague to highlight Toledo. If that's a crucial part of the plot, then there has to be something more specific than what they shelled out. This is just sloppy, and it breaks my heart.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2018, 11:05 AM
 
6,598 posts, read 8,919,983 times
Reputation: 4673
The main character in AP Bio isn't really a traditional protagonist. It's basically the network-friendly version of Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is a funny show, but all of those main characters are deplorable people too. As such, it's not really an insult for that type of a character to not find the charm in mid-sized Midwestern city life. It says more about the mindset and misery of the character than the city (especially since there are some moments where he sees the light and comes to enjoy or defend Toledo and the Toledoan characters in the show).

AP Bio's all right, it's not a masterpiece, but I think it's funny enough to watch. I went to public school in Toledo and never even considered that this show could be perceived as a slam against public schools, or public schools in Toledo in particular.

FWIW, Toledo and Fort Wayne are the only places I've been where residents regularly put their own city down. There's not as much pride in Toledo as there is in other cities.

Last edited by ferraris; 04-17-2018 at 12:16 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-03-2018, 12:05 PM
 
16,212 posts, read 10,747,611 times
Reputation: 8437
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferraris View Post
The main character in AP Bio isn't really a traditional protagonist. It's basically the network-friendly version of Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is a funny show, but all of those main characters are deplorable people too. As such, it's not really an insult for that type of a character to not find the charm in mid-sized Midwestern city life. It says more about the mindset and misery of the character than the city (especially since there are some moments where he sees the light and comes to enjoy or defend Toledo and the Toledoan characters in the show).

AP Bio's all right, it's not a masterpiece, but I think it's funny enough to watch. I went to public school in Toledo and never even considered that this show could be perceived as a slam against public schools, or public schools in Toledo in particular.

FWIW, Toledo and Fort Wayne are the only places I've been where residents regularly put their own city down. There's not as much pride in Toledo as there is in other cities.
I agree with the bold. I think that this show and the person who is from Toledo who created it, have this as a part of the show because Toledoans regularly demean and down our city. It is in the mindset and it is something that really bothers me being from here and having a great sense of pride and nostalgia and appreciation for my city.

It is like they are very insecure and embarrassed to be a Toledoan or be from Toledo and think everywhere else is like some sort of heaven on earth lol. It is sad to me and I always tell people who complain that they should leave. I'd rather all the nelly negatives leave and quit b**ching all the time. Especially when most of the complaints are unfounded or they are based upon the personal decisions of people who make those comments (like folks who can't find jobs when they are drug users lol - that's why they can't find jobs for the most part - a personal decision to use drugs - they'll then go on and on about how weed should be legal - I tell them that in many places where weed is legal employers still test for drugs. You don't want high workers in the workplace as they are a safety hazard).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Toledo

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top