A Bit Confused

 

“Just Thinking"

I was thinking the other day about some of the television shows many of us grew up watching in the 1960s. In some ways, they might help explain why our generation occasionally seemed a bit confused. These were prime-time, family-friendly programs that were entertaining, yet blurred the line between reality and fantasy. We were invited into worlds where monsters lived next door, horses carried on conversations, witches married advertising executives, and genies could grant wishes with a blink of an eye. We knew that none of these things existed in our day-to-day lives, but these shows captured our imaginations and left us wondering, what if? The shows that I'm referring to are; The Munsters, The Addams Family, Mr. Ed, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie.

The Munsters was about a family of friendly monsters living in an ordinary American suburb, the family believed that they were completely normal, while everyone around them was shocked by their appearance and behavior.

Herman Munster was the father of the family who looked like Frankenstein's monster, worked at a funeral parlor and was kind-hearted but clumsy. His wife Lily was a vampire who was sophisticated, intelligent, and often the voice of reason. Grandpa is Lily's father, based on Count Dracula, he is a scientist, inventor, and occasional magician. Herman and Lily's son is Eddie; he is a werewolf. The confusing character is Marilyn, she is Herman and Lily’s niece, she was a beautiful, normal looking young blond women, the family constantly worried that she would never find a husband because she is so unattractive.

The show worked because it didn’t focus on the unlikeliness of the comingling monsters being in the same dynamic family, it was about turning classic horror creatures into a lovable sitcom family and using the contradictions for comedy.

The Addams Family was an unusual family that existed in their own bizarre world, they believed that they were completely normal but confuse everyone that they encountered.

Gomez Addams is the wealthy, eccentric head of the family who enjoys strange hobbies, like blowing up model trains and conducting bizarre experiments. Passionately in love with his elegant wife, Morticia. Their daughter Wednesday is intelligent, darkly humorous, and fascinated by things that frightened other children. Her older brother Pugsley frequently participates in dangerous games with his sister, but neither seem to ever get harmed.

Mr. Ed was a strange yet hilarious show about a talking horse named Mr. Ed and his owner, Wilbur Post. Mr. Ed could clearly speak English, but he almost never chose to prove it when other people were present. This made Wilbur look crazy throughout the series.

Mr. Ed was often smarter than everyone else, he would wear huge reading glasses and read books and the newspaper, follow current events, understand business deals and knows celebrity gossip. As a kid I not only wanted to have a horse, but I wanted a talking horse like Mr. Ed.

Bewitched, on the surface, it was about Samantha, a witch who marries an ordinary mortal named Darrin and tries to live a normal suburban life. Some of the more rememberable characters were Tabitha, Samantha and Darrin's daughter who inherited magical powers. Endora, Samantha's mother, who intensely dislikes Darrin. Uncle Arthur, Samantha's fun-loving uncle, played by Paul Lynde and Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor that is constantly spying on the Stephens family and witnesses all the strange goings on. I think that we all tried blinking our eyes hoping to make someone disappear.

I Dream of Jeannie, a series about an astronaut Major Tony Nelson, who discovers a beautiful genie named Jeannie in a bottle on a deserted island and brings her home. Captain Roger Healey is Tony's best friend and fellow astronaut is one of the only people who knew Jeannie's secret. Jeannie could grant almost any wish, teleport anywhere, and alter reality. Yet she constantly created problems while trying to help. Jeannie misunderstands ordinary human behavior and uses magic in ways that make situations much worse. I can’t tell you how many old bottles that I rubbed, but Jeannie never appeared.

Here are a few honorable mentions, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy, F Troop, Batman and Hogan’s Heroes.

In the days before the internet, smartphones, and video games, these television shows helped spark our imaginations in ways that are hard to appreciate today. They gave us plenty of "what if" conversations, convinced us that monsters could be good neighbors, horses might talk, and magic could be hiding behind the house next door. Most importantly, they made us laugh.

Let me know what you think.

 

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