MovieChat Forums > Thirtysomething (1987) Discussion > One Faux Pas

One Faux Pas

posted 15 years ago by ragingbull1965
13 replies | jump to latest

OK so many people will think that this was trivial, but the producers of the show did not do their homework well because in the episode showing Gary washing Susanna's hair, he made the comment, "I had a double major in college, medieval literature and cosmetology". Only two universities in the world offer degrees in medieval literature, Oxford U and the University of Toronto. But in the series, Gary was roommates with Mike at Penn St. which does not offer such a degree. And it was never mentioned in the series if Gary attended graduate school at the aforementioned universities. This oversight notwithstanding, this was still a great show and it was a damn shame that it was discontinued when it was. I guess it reminded too many baby-boomers of their own lives and they later stopped watching it. So in a way, this may have been a early form of "reality TV".

[–] Wyndmoron 15 years ago

Don't know what universities offer degrees in medieval literature but Gary and Michael did not go to Penn State, they went to the University of Pennsylvania.

[–] kprp 15 years ago

and wasn't Penn Michael's "fallback" choice? Seems like I caught that in one of the first episodes.

Hey OP, you don't think that Gary was kidding about the cosmotology comment? That's not a univeristy level subject, anyway. It's taught at trade schools.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] goeswithness 15 years ago

There are many many medieval programs in Universities, and usually you will pick an emphasis within those programs, such as literature. You can also, if you major in literature, choose to emphasise a particular area such as the middle ages. Degrees are called different things, but the major is still the major. My degree says English and Humanities, but I did a medieval/renaissance emphasis - whatever the degree says, I majored in medieval literature.

[–] INTJewel 15 years ago

Ugh. A joke's not funny if you have to explain it. He was trying to get laid, people.

[–] ragingbull1965 14 years ago

I once met a fellow who used to attend the Univ. of Toronto and when I asked him why he had chosen that particular school, he told me that he was a medieval literature major and only two schools offered such a program at the graduate level; UT and Oxford. Now if he gave me a bum steer, I apologize.

OK, so I got Penn confused with Penn State but you all got the idea.

Who Dat Who Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints! LONG LIVE THE WHO DAT NATION!!!

[–] lasteven 14 years ago

They made other inaccurate statements about academia, such as Gary's SAT score--it wasn't a round number, something like "672" when the scores come in increments of 10. And Michael made a mention of him getting an A or a B (some letter grade) on his thesis/dissertation but generally those don't get letter grades, it's strictly pass/fail.

[–] kennebec 14 years ago

Once upon a time SAT scores could be any number, not just multiples of 10. I think it changed in 1974, which is certainly later than when Gary would have taken his SATs.

[–] calamarisoup 13 years ago

Mine were in multiples of 10 in spring 1970 and fall 1971.

[–] whereismikeyfl 13 years ago

I just saw this. How could anyone miss that this was a joke?

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] danika1-203-80512 13 years ago

This is coming from a person who holds a PhD in English--you can get a specialty in literature even if your university doesn't technically offer that specialty as an official degree. For example, if you want to specialize in Victorian Literature (as I did), you can do that in pretty much any English Lit PhD program ... any good department would have a variety of "specialty" professors who could direct your research. There are some schools that very specifically advertise types of specialties, but this doesn't mean it is so black and white. On my committee, I had two professors who were employed by outside universities that did have more specialized programs, but Gary could have easily gotten his PhD specializing in Medieval Lit from a school that doesn't technically have Medieval Lit as a listed program. Just FYI :-)

[–] fiveforme 11 years ago

I realize that this is almost 2 years old, but I have to ask; what can you do with a degree in Victorian Lit? What career were you pursuing? And did that pan out? I ask because I have a friend who got his PhD in Music. He majored in musicology, and although most of his courses involved 'old' music, such as baroque, etc. including theory, his thesis was on the Canadian rock band Rush. He worked really hard and for a long time to pay for university and get his degree. It's not like going to community college. That was 10 years ago, and although he regularly sings with internationally known choral choirs, I had to 'unfriend' him from Facebook because every single day he complained about the lack of work available for a Doctor of Music. I think he expected that once he was a doctor, the world would be beating a path to his door and he'd be wealthy the moment he put his personalized license plate on his car. So when I hear of things like doctorates in Victorian Lit I always think of him and wonder how it worked out for others who followed their dreams in courses that aren't considered the 'norm.'