Taboo TV

[rpm]

I was watching Family Guy and South Park today and thought,"If I had kids, would I let them watch this?"
When I was growing up in the seventies my Dad would never let my sister and I watch Maude,ok I understand that one,Sonny and Cher,TOO RACY and Mary Tyler Moore,?????????
Anyone else have shows that were off limits in their youth?
All In the Family was ok cause Dad liked it,but no to the Jeffersons

 

[classiccaprice]

I'm a bit younger, but I was not allowed to watch the Simpsons (Bart and Lisa were a good examples of how kids should act)... Kind of pales in comparison to Peter and Stewie.

I also was not allowed to watch the Nickelodeon show "Salute Your Shorts," because they made fun of cafeteria workers (and my mom worked in the cafeteria).

It's sad, but a lot of kids today do watch south park, family guy and the like... I often hear references to them from my 5th graders. They know things I had no clue about at that age, and have no qualms about sharing that information. Yeash!

 

[dalangdon]

For someone who was raised rather vigorously Catholic (albeit of the Jesuit variety) I was never censored in my TV viewing, or anything else, for that matter. My dad was on the library board, and made sure I had an "adult" card when I got my library card, and I have many fond memories of sitting up with Dad, watching Johnny Carson. Really very laissez-faire, at least by neighborhood standards.

With that said, we did have a few rules: No TV during meals, for one thing. We were expected to show up for dinner looking reasonably presentable, and be able to conduct a conversation.

No phone calls during meals. We had to answer it, of course, (pre-voicemail days) but no one - not even Dad - could conduct a conversation: Just get them off the line and return to the table. Since we always ate in the kitchen, which was one of the few rooms with a phone, everyone heard everything anyway.

Irreverence and/or sarcasm wasn't a big deal, as long as you had a point to make, and had good table manners

But as far as TV? Not so much. But then again, we only had four channels, and two TV's.

 

[danemodsandy]

rpm:

It sounds like your father was quite strict, perhaps stricter than most, but '70s TV was very different to what had gone before, and a lot of people who were accustomed to '50s and '60s TV were a bit uneasy about the changes. Today we think of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as very wholesome, but it's actually pretty adult, albeit in good taste. The show presented one of the first gay characters on network TV (Phyllis's brother Ben), and it made no bones about Sue Ann Nivens' sleeping with Lou Grant. It treated subjects like divorce (Edie Grant leaving Lou), prescription medication abuse (Mary herself), and fertility problems (Ted and Georgette). Not even death was off-limits, with the hysterically funny "Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode resulting.

While all of this was done with excellent taste and great good humour, there were still a lot of people around who felt that the bland sitcoms of the '50s and '60s ought to be good enough for anybody. '70s TV was absolutely wonderful while it was going on; it was suddenly okay to be completely grown up on the tube. Sadly, the progressiveness of that era has turned into the licentiousness of ours, where anything to do with sex is relentlessly mined for cheap laughs.

I am sorry you missed The Sonny and Cher Hour. It's not well-remembered today, but Cher can belt out a standard with the best of them, and those old songs were a regular feature on the show.

 

[ptcruiser51]

My dad, America's #1 bigot...

We were never allowed to watch Shari Lewis because she was Jewish. Ditto Milton Berle, Danny Kaye, et. al. I used to be so thankful that Ed Sullivan, Lucy & Desi and Fred MacMurray were Christian!
My sister was forbidden from watching Marcus Welby, M.D. because he once did a show about VD.
When I was a teenager I rebelled and played my Steve & Eydie records incessantly. Revenge IS sweet!

 

[perc-o-prince]

I find FG hilarious myself, but I wouldn't allow my youngster to watch it if'n I had one. I too hear FG and SP references from kids on my bus who I would think too young to watch it. But, they're entitled, so they get to watch it!

Beavis & Butthead would be out too ("I am Cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole!")

Chuck

 

[sikiguya]

FG and SP

My kids are not allowed to watch either of those shows. They tried to watch FG but were shut down quickly. My little one (5 years old) won't even look at video games that are rated E 10+. He knows better. Their favorite TV shows are Spongebob Squarepants, America's Funniest Videos, and Full House.

Even the other kids that come over to our house, cannot talk about those shows or video games, or they are asked to go home. I take no nonsense from any of them. LOL

That being said, I did watch The Simpsons & Beavis & Butthead in my teenage years but they did not influence my acions.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Good for you, Heather! Nice to see some parents still exact a little control over their children instead of letting them do whatever they want just to keep them quiet (and because it's easier!)!

Chuck

 

[perc-o-prince]

"Chuckles Bites the Dust"

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants!

 

[neptunebob]

My father, back in the 70s would refer to "One Day at a Time" as "R-rated" bccuase the daughter lived with a man without being married. I never knew what he expression meant, but when he would talk about it he would always say: "Why buy a cow when you can get the milk for free".

 

[appliances4me]

taboo

I was not allowed to watch married with children the simpsons. And finally Will An Grace. I know I am showing my age here. My poor father tried so hard. LOL

 

[jeffg]

Wow Matt, did your dad think it was contagious?

I'll show my age here.. This is pretty much what I grew up with:

"What Jimmy didn't know was that Ralph was sick. A sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious -- a sickness of the mind. You see, Ralph was a homosexual."

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

There wasn't much our parents didn't let us watch when I was growing up... they were Baptist rednecks. The only time they had an issue was when I tried to watch Will and Grace as a teenager. It was about the time I was realizing I was gay... they didn't like that at all! They thought the show was a bad influence. I remember sneaking around to watch it, and always being ready to press the "recall last channel" button on the remote as soon as I heard footsteps!

If I had childeren, Family Guy, South Park, and Bevis and Butthead would certainly be off limits. I'm too much of a prude to enjoy those shows myself... Well... I'm starting to get into Family Guy a little. I don't have cable at home, but it comes on when I'm at work so it's nice.

 

[sdlee]

personally,

what I dont understand is that FG and SP were not created nor are they directed to children.....tecnically in the begining niether was the Simpsons,but we can thank the toy manufactureers for changing all that...These cartoons are for and meant to be watched by adults.........yet kids are watching them..........I blame the media....I blame the techers....lol....whatever.

If you dont want them watching them, its ok to say NO!

 

[jbuscemi]

I think so much of what is on TV today is so very trashy. It has been a long time since I taught school (30 years ) I have often wondered if I were still teaching how would I deal with the comments and questions that would inevitably come up?! I don't know. The TV folks say ," Well, if you don't like it, change the channel" Well when you do it is just more of the same tasteless drivel. Thank God for Public Television..here in Boston , Channel 2

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

"Thank God for Public Television..here in Boston , Channel 2"

Amen to that. If it wasn't for public television here, I wouldn't be watching any television at all. What is on network TV is that offensively bad, and I will not subscribe to cable, because it's just dozens of channels more of offensively bad.

 

[cehalstead]

not directed to children...

in another era, neither were The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Flintstones, Jetsons, et al

Were originally pitched as "the first 'adult' cartoons" way back when. Some of the earliest episodes (no longer shown) had Fred and Wilma smoking (!) since their primary sponsor was Winston. I think they even came on rather late at night for kiddies, 8:30 pm.

 

[peterh770]

We didn't watch alot of TV because if we weren't outside playing, then we were doing chores... The only real TV I remember watching was The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and Carol Burnett.

How times have changed and the TV became the great babysitter. Maybe if the TV was off more and parents sent their kids outside to play, there'd be less of the attention deficit disorders out there...