Alcoholism ISN'T FUNNY!
Re Carlton the Doorman: just saying.
shareThat's like saying 'racism isn't funny!' re: Archie Bunker.
I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand
Archie Bunker was the star and he learned something over time. All in the Family showed what a buffoon he was. Carlton the Doorman was an unseen character and the one-note joke was done to death very quickly with him. A better comparison would be the Seinfeld episode where Jerry accidentally gets his alcoholic beverage mixed up with that of Elaine's recovering alcoholic co-worker, who then falls off the wagon, perhaps because of it. He even blames Jerry during Jerry's standup act during the episode, where Jerry confuses "on the wagon" with "off the wagon." Jerry as the potential offender -- and not the alcoholic character -- is the butt of the joke here.
Things have changed remarkably since the '70s in terms of what is and is not considered appropriate material for comedy. Things were much less politically correct back then. It's funny to watch a show from the '70s like "Charlie's Angels" or "Starsky and Hutch" and see how the racial and homosexual stereotypes play out, and in ways that you would never, ever see on TV today, because people would never tolerate it. Almost all of the black characters in these shows were portrayed as "ghetto" and street savvy, with nicknames like "Blackjack" "Honeybear", and "Jo-Jo". The gay characters wore jumpsuits and pink spandex and had mincing mannerisms and names like Alvin.
Likewise, it was not yet considered politically incorrect to make fun of someone who was an alcoholic. "Drunks" were often played for laughs on other shows as well, such as in the case of Otis, the town drunk, on "The Andy Griffith Show".
OK, I am winding down Season 4 and Carlton the Doorman is HILARIOUS! Still, no way would this fly today in 2014, unless of course it was in a Seth MacFarlane cartoon.
shareLikewise, it was not yet considered politically incorrect to make fun of someone who was an alcoholic. "Drunks" were often played for laughs on other shows as well, such as in the case of Otis, the town drunk, on "The Andy Griffith Show".
On the first few seasons of 'Bewitched' there was always the same 'drunk' sitting at Darrin's favorite bar where he would tell his problems. Naturally, they played the drunk for laughs.
Not to mention how many times Larry Tate, Darrin and the client would get drunk at the Stpehens' house - and then Larry would drive the client to the airport, and himself home - and this was funny from 1964-72.
I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand
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There is actually an episode of "Charlie's Angels" where a "wine-o" who essentially lives on the sidewalk outside of a sports arena is played as a sort of whimsical character whom Sabrina takes out to dinner to glean information about the goings on at that location from him, and it's played as sort of a comical moment as he makes humorous comments and helps himself to most of the wine at their table. Eesh.
shareDrunkeness played to comic effect has been a staple of entertainment for years. It's only in the oh-so-sensitive, oh-so-correct era that's it's become so horrendously shocking to audiences.
BTW, I had an alcoholic parent, so I'm well aware that in real life, the state is not a humorous one. However, I think most adults know enough to distinguish between comic portrayals they encounter on television, and the actual reality of the disease.
'It's only in the oh-so-sensitive, oh-so-correct era that's it's become so horrendously shocking to audiences.'
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Yes, the same with everything else. Soon, smoking in films will be considered devastating to viewers. What's funny, is that our era is far from sensitive correct people
I think you'll find the objection coming from very young people
Rob Petrie even got drunk once, and wandered off to somewhere in NY.
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