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To: MinorityRepublican
Being in an older demographic (57 yo), I never see any of these shows during their initial runs on TV, especially if they are on the big 3 networks. I catch them mostly in re-runs on cable.

Many of them have their moments and are funny. But stepping back and taking the culture war into consideration and looking at the morals of America today, here is what jumps out at me ... very few, if any children in these serials. I see a bunch of selfish, self-centered, delayed-maturity adults who have lost, no, never had, the focus of family life. Yes, I know, I am a buzz-kill.

And yes, this applies to the so-called #1 show in the land, "NCIS". The only regular character who is married, and happy about it, is the director of NCIS.

I cannot help but think that constant exposure of this absence of happy heterosexual family life subliminally affects those in their 20's. And yes, this trend has been going on since the 1970s (even earlier if you happen to be a fan of "the soaps").

35 posted on 12/24/2012 10:37:38 AM PST by MacNaughton
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To: MacNaughton

This isn't the '50s anymore. They don't make shows like "Leave it to Beaver" anymore. America has changed since then.

38 posted on 12/24/2012 2:56:02 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MacNaughton
I cannot help but think that constant exposure of this absence of happy heterosexual family life subliminally affects those in their 20's

In most ways HIMYM is a subversion of all those shows.

First of all young lad, TV has never had happy heterosexual family life.
In the 50s, there was no hetrosexuality because there was no sex - it was the 50s.
In the 60s single parent family was the norm, but because divorce was still taboo, and women weren't allowed jobs, the message sent was - Your mom's gonna die, kid!
In the 70s changing mores introduced the disappeared dad, simgle mother - lesson men are jerks.
In the 80s you had Roseanne and families who stayed even though they shouldn't - marriage is a mistake.
The 90s added to that with Sienfield and yes, even Friends when single is the dream, when you marry it's over.

On HIMYM, despite all the characters (except Marshall, but he's from Minnesota) coming from Divorced or Dysfunctional 70s and 80s TV families, happy heterosexual family life is not the end, it's the goal.

The character, Ted, is demanding perhaps too much perfection, and ironically will end up the last to marry

Ted: What if Cindy is the woman I'm supposed to marry and I'm just giving up? So long, elegant yet welcoming home in Westchester, with a sensible mortgage I can handle without dipping into my savings! Bye-bye, two kids I raised with a stern yet loving hand, finding the perfect balance between father and friend! Adios, triplet schnauzers Frank, Lloyd, and Wright—

Marshall, Lily, Robin: TED!!

But as the flashback format of the show shows, in 2030 he has all that.

Marshall and Lily who were less picky and settled for the the first person of the opposite sex they met in college are well on the way to recreating the family Marshall had in St Cloud, Minnesota - although perhaps not with the wife 15 year old Marshall wanted in his letter to his future self

Fifteen-year-old-Marshall: Your wife, let me break it down for you, dude. Your wife, blonde, six feet tall, huge rack, and she caters to your every whim.
Marshall: Sorry, baby.
Lily (none of that): That's okay. You just described your mother.
Yeah, perhaps not exactly family viewing, but Marshall reached for someone better, and Lily settled for someone who is definitely not her deadbeat dad, so it's all good.
39 posted on 12/24/2012 4:38:30 PM PST by Oztrich Boy (I think, therefore I am what I yam, and that's all I yam - Rene "Popeye" Descartes)
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