Moral Courage in Sitcoms...

MASH did it... All in the Family did it... Spin City did it (in season 1)... Will and Grace... Taxi... SOAP..

Will Friends?

I doubt it, and here's why...

They have never demonstrated any courage, turning every imaginable tragedy into a joke (when they lost the baby, when Joey lost his job... )

There should be a sign, "No Gravitas Here!" on their soundstage...

Yes, I believe there should be a WTC episode(s).... Either that, or the show needs to leave NYC... they cannot pretend they live in a Manhattan where the Twin Towers are still standing... especially considering that they half a mile from them...

So, they need to fire their writing staff, and hire MASHs...

F

Freakster wrote in message news:[email]...

What did SOAP, W&G, Taxi, and Spin City do?

Lewis.

"Lewis Nguyen" wrote in message news:TlNs7.19017$[email]...

I have never seen any of the above shows place their characters in the middle of a current national crisis as serious as what we are experiencing right now. All in the Family commented on rape, abortion, women's rights, civil rights, and homosexuality - but they never had to make the characters go through a real-world national disaster of this magnitude, this soon after it happened.. MASH commented on the Korean War, which *was* a national disaster of this magnitude - and it did so years after that war was actually over. Will and Grace deals openly with the rights of homosexuals, but has NEVER dealt with anything this painful and dangerous. Soap's crisis situations were never based on real, specific national events. I genuinely think any script written about the WTC would ultimately trivialize it, even if it had not one laugh line in the entire script. For each person who is grateful that Friends acknowledge the worst disaster of our lifetime, there would be another who can't believe some sick person tried to turn it into fodder for a sitcom featuring a bunch of pretty bubble-heads.

Of course, MASH was as much about Viet Nam as it was about Korea, and it did run concurrently with *that* war. But, by talking about Korea instead of Viet Nam, they managed to avoid such difficulties while still commenting on war.

Interesting sidelight, now that I think of it: How many people know that MASH in its original form was *not* anti-war, but rather anti-military-bureaucracy? The original author, Richard Hooker, who actually served in Korea as a MASH surgeon and based the story on his own experience, actually *supported* US involvement in the Korean War. He was not at all pleased with what the TV series turned into and boycotted the final episode of the entire series.

[email] (JamesS1889) wrote:

Are you sure about this? Seems to me, at most, it followed the Viet Nam war. I remember watching brand new MASH episodes, but I don't remember seeing anything on the news about the the Viet Nam war going on right then. (I'm 35 by the way, born in 66.)

In article , [email] (Todd) writes:

In article , [email] (JamesS1889) wrote:

Do most people say that the Vietnam War was still a going concern in September 1972, when MASH started on TV?

Tennant

In article , Tennant Stuart writes:

In article , [email] (JamesS1889) wrote:

Okay, but I see that "Freakster" says the last US Soldier was pulled out of Vietnam in April 1973, so that's a seven month overlap.

Tennant

In article , Tennant Stuart writes:

I can read, and I can count. Other than that, this was quite a magnificent contribution of new knowledge on your part.

"JamesS1889" wrote in message news:[email]...

did

Viet

war.

MASH was based off of a 1968 Movie (that was about the Vietnam war...), which spawned a TV series which premiered in the fall of 1972, and ended its run in 1983...

The Last US Soldier was pulled out of Vietnam in April of 1973.

MASH

anti-military-bureaucracy?

I do.

Though that Football game at the end was remarkably stupid.

MASH

Actually, the real MASH units were no where near as professional as the one shown in the series...

They were normally staffed with poorly trained, inexperienced doctors, while the good doctors never left Tokyo or Seoul.

F

In article , "Freakster" writes:

MASH (the movie) was based on a novel of the same name. If it was also based on a 1968 movie, I've never heard anyone say that in any documentary.

You're absolutely sure about that?

MASH

anti-military-bureaucracy?

I think it was in the book as well, though I could be wrong. What was stupid about it?

Hence the phrase, "meatball surgery", right? Certainly, though, neither the book nor the movie nor the TV series ever showed the main characters in any kind of learning curve. My sense is that it didn't take long for them to get experienced, while the good doctors who (rarely, actually) left Tokyo or Seoul found themselves outmatched in the trenches, just as they depict. --- James Squire - http://members.aol.com/jamess1889

"JamesS1889" wrote in message news:[email]...

it

of

its

based

Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould...

Big movie... pretty good... same character... and we got to see the chick playing hot lips nude for a sec...

Yes.

Now, I am not including Marines at the embassy (which would left in 1975), but the last combat units (units designed specifically to fight bad guys...), left in April of 1973.

that

stupid

Context made no sense...

Almost as bad as the Soccer game at the end of "The Boys in Company C"...

MASH

US

TV

series.

one

while

the

any

get

Seoul

There was a pretty good documentary on the History Channel, that blasted the MASH units... basically they were set up with low faith desires for them to work...

F

In article , "Freakster" writes:

based

Well?? What was the name of the 1968 movie?

That *was* the movie MASH, 1970.

stupid

What do you mean? Say some more. You mean, how could they carry on a football game in the middle of a war zone? I would have thought it would have taken place a long way from the front.

<SNIP> The original poster wrote:

"Yes, I believe there should be a WTC episode(s).... Either that, or the show needs to leave NYC... they cannot pretend they live in a Manhattan where the Twin Towers are still standing... especially considering that they half a mile from them...

So, they need to fire their writing staff, and hire MASHs..."

I don't think anyone on the show needs to "pretend they live in Manhattan where the Twin Towers are still standing" because the WTC is not relevant to the show and AFAIR the only mention of the WTC was TO after London where Ross tells Joey there is a pub that sells Bodingtons by the Trade Centre. The fact that the show is set in New York is almost incidental. I think it could just as well be anywhere (ignoring the Central Perk/Park reference!) IMHO the lives & experiences of the characters are what the show is about, not the location.

(2 cents worth)