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The Twilight Zone's use of fantasy to comment on human situations was ahead of its time, paving the way for another show that did the same - Star Trek. The Dick Van Dyke Show was a forerunner of witty, adult-oriented sitcoms that became popular in the 1970s.
I would also say on the heels of All In The Family came Sanford and Son, Fred was a racist old coot, could not stand Lamont's Puerto Rican friend Julio because he was Puerto Rican, so racism from a different perspective, but I loved Fred, he made me laugh
This is a pretty obscure one, but for some reason, the 1960s British show The Prisoner, written by and starring Patrick McGoohan, comes to mind. Very big brother and dark show that took a look at many contemporary societal issues. A good precursor to many popular Sci Fi shows that came along many decades later.
From the very beginning, the show promised to push a lot of envelopes. Writing a sitcom in a serialized format allowed them to use "adult" soap opera themes in a comical way, and turn the sitcom format on its ear, since the situations didn't resolve in one episode. You had the usual adultery, amnesia, custody battles, secret paternities and murder mysteries you saw on daytime soaps, but done in a much more "modern" way, with enough laughs to dull the sharp edges. Still, before the show even premiered, many ABC affiliates refused to even air Soap because of its adult "racy" content.
Most notably, they included one of the very first openly gay characters (not THE first, but the most visible), and the character (Jodie, played by Billy Crystal) was not a one-note/one-joke character. He actually got to have a boyfriend (though they eventually broke up), which was basically unheard of on TV in the late 1970s. Over time he was involved in a groundbreaking-for-its-time custody battle involving a gay man winning custody of his child from the (straight) mother.
The show also got a lot of grief (that eventually turned to admiration!) over having the women of the show openly discussing their problematic sex lives, usually discussed around the kitchen table while eating junk food. This was the early prototype of such kitchen-table chats about sex on The Golden Girls. Mary's husband Burt developed impotence, leading to tons of off-color jokes. He later believed he had slept with his secretary while drunk (she lied in an effort to break up his marriage). Mary's son Danny (Jodie's brother) was a reformed mobster, and at one point had an affair with a black woman, which was still a cause of "concern" among certain groups in that period.
Jessica's daughter Corinne was commonly known as the town tramp, with one scene talking about how she'd slept with most of the town's leaders (when asked about the mayoral election, she assured her mother that "the best man won"). Corinne even seduced the local priest into leaving the priesthood to marry her (which was a disaster). Corinne's teenaged brother ended up in a cult, then later had an affair with his teacher (when asked by his mother what he'd been doing lately, he slyly replied, "Oh, you know---same old thing..."). Their sister Eunice had an affair with a congressman, then an escaped convict. Jessica's husband would jump on anything in a skirt, all while denying he would ever have an affair.
So yes, there was plenty of reason for some people to be "offended", but the way they could present these outrageous situations in a comical way made the show truly groundbreaking. They also proved that you could do a serialized comedy series rather than just the self-contained format we were accustomed to. It also was one of the first shows to get "adult content" advisories...though watching it with 2017 eyes, you wonder what the objections were.
Soap - was way ahead of it's time, I'd love to see re-runs of that show.
I loved that show. Recently watched them on video, and I’m not sure they’ll ever re-air it these days. It’s very unpolitcally correct. They’d probably have to censor some of it these days, but just in the language. The subject matter would be very relevant today.
From the very beginning, the show promised to push a lot of envelopes. Writing a sitcom in a serialized format allowed them to use "adult" soap opera themes in a comical way, and turn the sitcom format on its ear, since the situations didn't resolve in one episode. You had the usual adultery, amnesia, custody battles, secret paternities and murder mysteries you saw on daytime soaps, but done in a much more "modern" way, with enough laughs to dull the sharp edges. Still, before the show even premiered, many ABC affiliates refused to even air Soap because of its adult "racy" content.
Most notably, they included one of the very first openly gay characters (not THE first, but the most visible), and the character (Jodie, played by Billy Crystal) was not a one-note/one-joke character. He actually got to have a boyfriend (though they eventually broke up), which was basically unheard of on TV in the late 1970s. Over time he was involved in a groundbreaking-for-its-time custody battle involving a gay man winning custody of his child from the (straight) mother.
The show also got a lot of grief (that eventually turned to admiration!) over having the women of the show openly discussing their problematic sex lives, usually discussed around the kitchen table while eating junk food. This was the early prototype of such kitchen-table chats about sex on The Golden Girls. Mary's husband Burt developed impotence, leading to tons of off-color jokes. He later believed he had slept with his secretary while drunk (she lied in an effort to break up his marriage). Mary's son Danny (Jodie's brother) was a reformed mobster, and at one point had an affair with a black woman, which was still a cause of "concern" among certain groups in that period.
Jessica's daughter Corinne was commonly known as the town tramp, with one scene talking about how she'd slept with most of the town's leaders (when asked about the mayoral election, she assured her mother that "the best man won"). Corinne even seduced the local priest into leaving the priesthood to marry her (which was a disaster). Corinne's teenaged brother ended up in a cult, then later had an affair with his teacher (when asked by his mother what he'd been doing lately, he slyly replied, "Oh, you know---same old thing..."). Their sister Eunice had an affair with a congressman, then an escaped convict. Jessica's husband would jump on anything in a skirt, all while denying he would ever have an affair.
So yes, there was plenty of reason for some people to be "offended", but the way they could present these outrageous situations in a comical way made the show truly groundbreaking. They also proved that you could do a serialized comedy series rather than just the self-contained format we were accustomed to. It also was one of the first shows to get "adult content" advisories...though watching it with 2017 eyes, you wonder what the objections were.
My favorite was Benson, the Butler. Him and Jodie were the only truly normal people on the show. In one episode though, the sheriff was going over why everyone in the house was a suspect in a murder investigation and then he named Benson. Everyone was surprised because Benson would never do that, but the sheriff said it was because he was the butler, and he was a n*****. My 2016 ears were a little shocked, but I forgot people actually said that back then to show injustice. Now we can’t say the word, but we talk about the injustice.
They also said another taboo word for gay men, a lot. If it aired again, they would have to censor it.
I'm sure they would censor certain words, or just edit the line out for reruns on typical broadcast/cable, but I've seen reruns of The Jeffersons on Starz Black where they leave everything in--even George's infrequent (but weaponized) use of the n-word. Perhaps Starz has a policy on airing "original" versions rather than edited versions, warts and all.
I certainly would add The Mary Tyler Moore Show to this "groundbreaking" list. Hers was the first show of its type who popularized the idea of friends behaving as "a family you choose", and of course made an effort to reflect the changing roles of women in the workplace.
Thomas the Tank Engine (original or CGI, Thomas is Thomas)
Arthur PBS (1990s to early 2000s only)
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