The TV era of the 1970s was filled with social issues, bubble gum, and spin offs. It was the time when Aaron Spelling, Norman Lear and Garry Marshall ruled the air waves. Comediennes made their mark. Sports themes would abound. Variety shows flourished. And some Bicentennial moments leading to one heck of a party. Coming out of the psychedelic 60s, The 1970s were an era of social change. It was reflected no better than in its television show of the decade, All in the Family starring Carrol O'Connor as Archie Bunker. The gloves were off and Norman Lear pulled no punches. This was not Jackie Gleason. This was not Robert Young. Here was a bigot of a man speaking his mind and throwing his working man attitude out every week on our TV sets. It covered a lot of social issues that had never seen the light of day in any previous TV or radio broadcast script. There were episodes that covered heavy themes like racism, homosexuality, rape, abortion, draft dodging and more.The popularity of All in the Family led Lear to create a plethora of spin offs during that time. The Bunker's African American neighbors, the Jeffersons, moved on up to the East side and created one of the most popular and long running shows on TV. Edith Bunker's cousin Maude was a liberal frick to stalwart Archie's frack, she got her own show. Maude's maid Florida got her own spin off and Good Times was born. Lear was able to spin off from his original key show and spread his message all across the TV schedule.
The comediennes had arrived during the 70s. Viewers may of had a hard time seeing Mary Tyler Moore stepping away from her Laura Petrie personna to play a single independent career woman, but she took no time in capturing a large audience and go on to create her own TV production company (run with then husband Grant Tinker). The Mary Tyler Moore show was well written and survived spin offs from popular characters like her best friend Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and land lady Phyllis (in a show starring the recent Academy award winning actress Cloris Leachman). Moore's company MTM spawned the Bob Newhart show another popular show of the era keying in on the laid back humor of that comedian. Other comediennes that took center stage were Carol Burnett with her popular variety show along with a supporting cast of crazies and Cher from the Sonny & Cher variety show.
In fact, it was a good time to be a comedian and get a sitcom. The late Freddie Prinze landed in a garage and ended up on Chico and the Man. Gabe Kaplan went back to school in Welcome Back Kotter. Flip Wilson carried the Laugh in tradition on with a more urban kind of variety show.
Garry Marshall stepped from behind the typewriter on Danny Thomas produced shows and started his own legacy with a show like the Odd Couple (straight from the Broadway stage and silver screen) and a little show about the 50s that blossomed into a brand name, Happy Days. Happy Days was a spin off of Love American Style (another 1970s gem) that would run a course over the next decade and more. Happy Days had something that represented a lot of 1970s TV (and future shows), a breakout character. That side character that stepped into the TV viewing audiences psyche and almost takes over the show. While. Mary Tyler Moore had Ted Baxter, the newsman as a popular break out character, Happy Days had Fonzie (Henry Winkler). Fonzie became a television icon.
During the 50s the TV world was saved by Superman. The 1970s hero didn't wear a cape and tights, he wore a leisure suit and he was bionic. The 6 Million Dollar Man (played by Lee Majors) was so popular that it spawned a 6 Million Dollar Woman (Lindsey Wagner). Both shows basically ran their course when it was revealed that their nemesis Sasquatch was an alien. Speaking of aliens, there was no Star Trek in the 1970s, but there was Buck Rogers and Battle Star Gallactica. These were two shows trying to tap into the audience carried over from the big screen Star Wars craze.
Aaron Spelling created jiggle TV with such shows as Charlie's Angels and the Love Boat. Women could still burn their bras as long as they went braless on TV shows that were high on glamor and less on social or political issues.
Speaking of politics, TV covered Nixon's fall from the presidency. He was replaced by Gerald Ford who was lampooned by a new popular late night weekend show called Saturday Night Live. A TV show that broke so many boundaries that it is still popular over 30 years later.
And while the nation was gearing up for a large 200th birthday, TV pitched in with a Bicentennial Minute. Short TV breaks that heralded our history in a lesson that reminded many younger viewers of the CBS Morning cartoon breaks "In the News"!
Olympic coverage in the 70s gave us media darlings like Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci and Mark Spitz. It also revealed to the world that the Arab/Israeli struggle has no boundaries. We had our own terror with an Iranian hostage crisis which still has a place in some of our memories when we hear Tony Orlando sing Tie a Yellow Ribbon.
Soap operas became bigger and more popular with the rise of college student viewers. All My Children and general Hospital were aimed at younger viewers and show like Dark Shadows (a Gothic horror ABC afternoon soap opera) was kitschy TV alternative.
Game shows were the perfect place to watch pseudo celebrity A and B listers. These included Hollywood Squares and the Match Game. The only survivors years later were Jeopardy and the Price is Right with host Bob Barker (straight from his gig as host of Truth or Consequences).
TV was starting to aim at the younger crowd with shows like the Partridge Family and the Brady Bunch, a franchise that would live long in many different incarnations. In fact, TV for younger viewers during the 70s all changed with the advent of PBS' popular Sesame Street. This was no longer a Captain Kangaroo generation. There were in fact now more than 3 networks, and growing.
In sports, the Super Bowl became a mega event in the 70s. There was the Superstars competition (an ABC TV created mini Olympics for athletes from all different sports and that spawned into shows like Battle of the Network Stars and Circus of the Stars. Good time to be a star.
Final recollections include M*A*SH and the Henry Blake episode, the winding down of Walter Cronkite's career, Apollo 13 coverage, the Watergate trials, Nixon/Frost (the real event), ABC's Movie of the Week and the advent of HBO. Quite a mixed bag of memories. Could the 70s TV era ever match the Golden Age of Television of the 50s, no! But it was the last hurrah of the Big Three Networks, all before cable completely took hold and changed our viewing habits forever.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment