# 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:** 2
**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, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/21 "2014-05-14T09:09:48Z")
Another episode of _ **Family Affair** _ had a kid in leg braces (remember _those_?) who was being smothered by his overprotective mother. Of course, Bill, Buffy, and Jody taught that family the true meaning of life (“Run, and if you fall, pick yourself up again”). ---
**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, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/22 "2014-05-14T09:11:59Z")
An early episode of _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _ (1970?) dealt with anti-Semitism, as directed against Rhoda. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/23 "2014-05-14T11:26:42Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Rosey Grier was on Danny Thomas’ sequel, _Make Room for Granddaddy_, in 1970-71. I wonder if that’s how his daughter Marlo met Grier and got him involved in her _Free to Be…_ project; or, conversely, she already knew Grier and suggested to he father that he include him on his show. Anyway, sorry for the hijack, carry on…interesting thread, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/24 "2014-05-14T11:48:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > There was at least one episode of _ **Family Affair** _ where Uncle Bill and Buffy were caught out slumming. . . . Was that the one with the kid screaming ‘I want some bread and buttah!’ Mother yells back ‘We don’t have any buttah!’ Kid screams back 'Then I want some bread and shugah!" That’s one of the few fragments I remember from that series. ---
**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, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/25 "2014-05-14T12:14:56Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Was that the one with the kid screaming ‘I want some bread and buttah!’ Mother yells back ‘We don’t have any buttah!’ Kid screams back 'Then I want some bread and shugah!" That’s one of the few fragments I remember from that series. Yep. All they had to eat was bread and sugar and (at the party at the end of the show) baloney sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/26 "2014-05-14T12:17:01Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Was that the one with the kid screaming ‘I want some bread and buttah!’ Mother yells back ‘We don’t have any buttah!’ Kid screams back 'Then I want some bread and shugah!" That’s one of the few fragments I remember from that series. LOL! I do recall the kid as more polite “Can we have some bread and buttah?” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/27 "2014-05-14T15:47:05Z")
In 1967, Opie had a black football coach on _ **The Andy Griffith Show.** _ The coach was a smart and cultured guy who also played the piano very well. They never made a big deal of a cultured, educated (“uppity”) black man who “talked white” coaching white kids on the show, though such a thing surely WOULD have been a big deal in most small Southern towns in 1967. ---
**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, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/28 "2014-05-14T18:35:51Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > 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. Did you recognize the actress who played the young woman? She also played this character: [http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005745/?ref\_=nm\_flmg\_act\_70](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005745/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_70) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/29 "2014-05-14T18:41:23Z")
> [@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 was going to post that. Also another had Beaver smoking, although it was played for light laughs. Opie spent a whole very early ep of _ **The Andy Griffith Show** _ saving his money to buy his “girlfriend” a present. After Andy got done being mad (that Opie wouldn’t donate any of his money to Sunday School, or something), he found out that Opie was planning to buy the girl a coat, since her family couldn’t afford one. Does that count? Probably not, but I’ll leave it out there. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/30 "2014-05-14T19:42:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Forgive me for not watching, but can anyone summarize what makes that episode a socially conscious one? Rob finds out that there was another couple that had a son at the same hospital on the same day their son was born. For some reason, he begins to suspect that the two babies were switched and they have the other couple’s son. The punchline is he finally invites the other couple to his home so he can confront them and when they arrive it turns out the other couple is black. So not really confronting any social issue other than the acknowledgement that other races exist. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/31 "2014-05-14T20:16:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Rob finds out that there was another couple that had a son at the same hospital on the same day their son was born. For some reason, he begins to suspect that the two babies were switched and they have the other couple’s son. The punchline is he finally invites the other couple to his home so he can confront them and when they arrive it turns out the other couple is black. > > So not really confronting any social issue other than the acknowledgement that other races exist. They had similar last names. “Why didn’t you tell me over the phone?” “And miss the expression on your face?” ---
**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, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/32 "2014-05-14T22:24:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Rob finds out that there was another couple that had a son at the same hospital on the same day their son was born. For some reason, he begins to suspect that the two babies were switched and they have the other couple’s son. The punchline is he finally invites the other couple to his home so he can confront them and when they arrive it turns out the other couple is black. > > So not really confronting any social issue other than the acknowledgement that other races exist. At the end, Rob mentions that the two kids are in the same school and the other kid gets better grades. Ergo, the school is integrated. Doesn’t sound like much now, but an integrated school back then was unusual. ---
**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 15, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/33 "2014-05-15T02:17:08Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Rosey Grier was on Danny Thomas’ sequel, _Make Room for Granddaddy_, in 1970-71. Yes, but it’s definitely not the sequel I’m thinking of. It was definitely Thomas’ first show. Thomas was still young, it was B&W — _I_ was still very young, whereas I was a teenager by the time of the sequel. I was so sure it was Rosey Grier that I’m wondering if it got left out of the Imdb listings somehow. It could explain why he went on to appear in the sequel series. Anyway, in 1970 or 1971, there wouldn’t have been such a big deal made anymore out of hiring a black pianist. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/34 "2014-05-15T03:10:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > At the end, Rob mentions that the two kids are in the same school and the other kid gets better grades. > > Ergo, the school is integrated. Doesn’t sound like much now, but an integrated school back then was unusual. 😕 Mine was. In Virginia. It was the 60s, not the 40s, and they lived in New Rochelle, NY, not Klansville, AL. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/35 "2014-05-15T03:13:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Anyway, in 1970 or 1971, there wouldn’t have been such a big deal made anymore out of hiring a black pianist. Not even a really big black pianist? I guess that was a few years before _Mandingo._ :eek: ---
**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 15, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/36 "2014-05-15T03:25:29Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Not even a really big black pianist? I guess that was a few years before _Mandingo._ :eek: Not to the extent it was made a big deal of in that episode. You would have thought that Danny Thomas was Abraham Lincoln. Anyway it was B&W, which was unheard of by 1970. It was the original series. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/37 "2014-05-15T06:40:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **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. Right, no racial stereotyping in _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _, no siree bob! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/38 "2014-05-15T08:23:30Z")
Didn’t [The Jack Benny Program](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jack_Benny_Program#Racial_attitudes) have all of these others beat by several years? Or decades, if you count the radio program. ---
**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 15, 2014, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/39 "2014-05-15T10:47:39Z")
In broad terms, _ **Gilligan’s Island** _ was socially conscious, as it was meant to portray a microcosm of American society. Of course, if it were to be remade today, there would be at least one gay and one black on the island (if Schwartz’s estate didn’t own the characters, that is). The same could be said of _ **The Brady Bunch** _, which was inspired by a contemporary newspaper article on the trend toward “blended” families. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315/40 "2014-05-15T11:35:25Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > At the end, Rob mentions that the two kids are in the same school and the other kid gets better grades. > > Ergo, the school is integrated. Doesn’t sound like much now, but an integrated school back then was unusual. That’s not true- schools in my area (Western NY) were integrated as far back as the early 50s when my sisters went, and probably earlier. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-socially-conscious-sitcom-episode/688315.md?page=3)