# First socially conscious sitcom episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315 "2014-05-13T01:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/1 "2014-05-13T01:21:07Z")
In the 70s and 80s it was very common for sitcoms to do at least one episode about a serious issue aka the “very special episode”. Think racism, teen pregnancy, AIDS, etc. But I don’t really know of any such episodes in the 50s or 60s. Were there any? And do you think any sitcom of the era could pull it off? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/2 "2014-05-13T02:30:10Z")
A couple of **Dick Van Dyke Show** dealt gently with racial attitudes. Most notibly one where Rob and Laura died their hands black and had to go to the equivlanet of an NAACP meeting. It was difficult to do that sort of theme; advertisers didn’lt like controversy. Of coursem, in the 50s, the advertisers ran the shows, but in the 60s, the networks were skittish. There were a few socially aware dramas in the 60s, like **East Side West Side** and **The Defenders** , but comedies usually staye away from it until **All In the Family** showed it could be successful. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/3 "2014-05-13T02:35:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A couple of **Dick Van Dyke Show** dealt gently with racial attitudes. Most notibly one where Rob and Laura died their hands black and had to go to the equivlanet of an NAACP meeting. I think this one is a _bit_ more notable: [That’s My Boy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3uNYUw5s4s) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/4 "2014-05-13T10:58:21Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I think this one is a _bit_ more notable: [That’s My Boy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3uNYUw5s4s) As soon as I read the thread title, that’s what immediately came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/5 "2014-05-13T11:10:48Z")
Wrong thread! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/6 "2014-05-13T11:21:41Z")
It happened in tiny increments. **I Love Lucy** was, after all, about a mixed marriage. They had a pregnancy subplot one season culminating in the first sitcom birth. **The Goldbergs** introduced Jewish characters to a _goyische_ audience. **Beulah** starred a succession of top Black actresses. **The Dick Van Dyke Show** had a tight office space with a Jew, a Catholic and a Protestant working together peaceably. IIRC, most combat units in 60s war dramas were more integrated than their real-life WWII counterparts. **Love American Style** (which began in 1969) was pretty edgy for its time. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/7 "2014-05-13T13:32:44Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > As soon as I read the thread title, that’s what immediately came to mind. Mine, too. Another one was the Andy Griffith Show episode where Opie killed a mother bird and has to raise the babies. This was well before there were animal rights activists. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/8 "2014-05-13T13:42:28Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I think this one is a _bit_ more notable: [That’s My Boy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3uNYUw5s4s) The main reason I chose “Show of Hands” over “That’s My Boy?” was that “Show of Hands” was explicit in social consciousness: Rob had a line to the effect that “Wouldn’t it be great if someday this sort of thing wasn’t important?” Even more interesting was “Bupkis,” where Sticks Mandalay’s\* race was not commented on. It was one of the first times that a black actor portrayed a character whose race was not an issue in some way. \*Played by Greg Morris of **Mission: Impossible** ; he also played the father in “That’s My Boy?” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/9 "2014-05-13T13:56:46Z")
Dick Van Dyke was as close to a controversial subject as anything I can remember. There wasn’t a lack of socially concious themes, it’s just that none of them would be controversial. All in the Family and it’s spin-off Maude really busted down barriers in the early 70s. But even those were exceptions, sitcoms still avoid controversial subjects, audiences want to laugh at comedy, not learn, which is a shame. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/10 "2014-05-13T14:19:22Z")
I recall the episode in the 1950s to '60s Danny Thomas series [Make Room for Daddy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045410/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1) where he hired a black piano player for his nightclub act and who became a regular on the show. I could have sworn it was Rosey Grier, but looking up Grier’s info, it looks like it wasn’t him. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/11 "2014-05-13T14:35:36Z")
It was nearly the '70s, but don’t forget Diahann Carroll’s 1968 series _[Julia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwMAr4Vh5ao)_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/12 "2014-05-13T21:36:55Z")
A lot of episodes of \*\*\*The Twilight Zone \*\*\*(which ran from, what, 1960-64) dealt with social issues, including racism. “I Am the Night- Color Me Black” comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/13 "2014-05-13T21:47:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A lot of episodes of \*\*\*The Twilight Zone \*\*\*(which ran from, what, 1960-64) dealt with social issues, including racism. “I Am the Night- Color Me Black” comes to mind. Duh- I know that’s not a sitcom. Sorry, folks. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/14 "2014-05-14T01:58:33Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I recall the episode in the 1950s to '60s Danny Thomas series [Make Room for Daddy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045410/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1) where he hired a black piano player for his nightclub act and who became a regular on the show. I could have sworn it was Rosey Grier, but looking up Grier’s info, it looks like it wasn’t him. Rosey Grier was on Danny Thomas’ sequel, _Make Room for Granddaddy_, in 1970-71. **Leave It to Beaver** , of all shows, had an episode where [one of Ward’s friends was an alcoholic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630181/?ref_=tt_ep_ep20) and Beaver led him to Ward’s booze. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/15 "2014-05-14T02:19:49Z")
Would the 1962 episode of [The Defenders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defenders_(1961_TV_series)) on abortion count? All 3 regular advertisers pulled support due to the content, as memorably covered in Mad Men in one of the earlier seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/16 "2014-05-14T02:46:35Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I think this one is a _bit_ more notable: [That’s My Boy?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3uNYUw5s4s) > [@panache45](#): > > As soon as I read the thread title, that’s what immediately came to mind. Forgive me for not watching, but can anyone summarize what makes that episode a socially conscious one? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/17 "2014-05-14T02:58:02Z")
Star Trek (OS) delt with it. One episode did it quite comically so… Remember the dudes that where white on one side and black on the other? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/18 "2014-05-14T02:59:54Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > **Leave It to Beaver** , of all shows, had an episode where [one of Ward’s friends was an alcoholic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630181/?ref_=tt_ep_ep20) and Beaver led him to Ward’s booze. I remember another episode of Leave It to Beaver involved Beaver making friends with a kid who was from a poor family. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/19 "2014-05-14T08:41:13Z")
**Defenders** and **Star Trek** weren’t sitcoms. Dramas were _regularly_ socially conscious–not even just 1960s series, but see almost any of the 1950s live telecast original teleplays (such as on _Studio One_, _Philco Television Playhouse_, etc.) by Paddy Chayefsky, Reginald Rose, Rod Serling, Robert Alan Arthur, and others. Sitcoms were pretty distinct from that genre in those days. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/20 "2014-05-14T09:04:44Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I remember another episode of Leave It to Beaver involved Beaver making friends with a kid who was from a poor family. There was at least one episode of _ **Family Affair** _ where Uncle Bill and Buffy were caught out slumming. Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester on _ **The Addams Family** _) was the guest star that week. There was also an episode of _ **Leave It to Beaver** _ where the Beav experimented with smoking on one of Ward’s pipes. _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _ was a service sitcom that was unrealistically integrated, both racially and in terms of national origin. The pilot episode had a Russian POW at Stalag 13 (played by Leonid Kinskey, Sasha the Bartender in _ **Casablanca** _). HIGHLY unlikely that either he or Sgt Kinchloe would have been held there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315.md?page=2)