# Most right and left wing TV shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476 "2009-08-05T22:18:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/41 "2009-08-06T14:47:42Z")
How would you characterize _The Goode Family_? On the one hand, the Goodes are seen as moronic losers because of their extreme liberal-environmental politics, and their ultra-liberal friends are either evil or laughable. On the other hand, the major conservative character is worse, and the Goodes are portrayed as nice people who are just trying to do the right (no pun intended) thing, and would be great neighbors and friends. So I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/42 "2009-08-06T14:49:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Marshal and Lilly are liberals, to be sure… Actually, I don’t think this is true. They are the definition of posers, I think…they have this idea in their head of how they want to be perceived, but don’t really act that way when push comes to shove. Remember what Lily’s like in the flash forwards? [QUOTE=Death of Rats] 36 posts in and I am the first to mention Murphy Brown as the most liberal? or Boston Legal could be for its preachiness, but loses points for Denny and Brad Chase being conservatives. Pretty much any show with Candice Bergen, actually. [/quote] Yeah, I think _Boston Legal_, especially in the last couple seasons, wins. The viewpoints of Brad and Denny (especially Denny) are never, ever taken seriously. And they even ran Brad off before they went off the rail. I think they removed his character because they knew the direction the show was going to take, and they couldn’t realistically keep the “sensible” conservative around on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/43 "2009-08-06T14:59:00Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > An example of this can be seen in Juno. What does it say that Juno so quickly abandons the notion of having an abortion? Is is American culture? Is it playing safe by Diablo Cody, who dances around a touchy subject? Is it politics? Or maybe it’s just how Juno is. But is moronic to discuss, no matter what? IMO the social conservative bias in Juno was clear. For example, note how the “planned parent” stand in she went to (or was it even a stand in? Was it portrayed as an actual planned parenthood clinic?) was portrayed as cold nasty and uncaring. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/44 "2009-08-06T15:10:12Z")
_Roseanne_ was working-class liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/45 "2009-08-06T15:12:51Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > I have not watched 24 since season 1 so I won’t take shots at that particular series. But at least I disagree that it would be moronic to read politic views into it. Political ideas and culture can seep through the written material even if there are no political ambitions as such. I’m not saying it’s moronic to discuss the ideas. I’m saying it’s foolish to take the show as a straightforward debate on terrorism, security, and torture, or to say that because Jack Bauer tortures people at the drop of a hat, the creators believe people should be tortured indiscriminately. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/46 "2009-08-06T15:25:15Z")
As far as _Juno_ goes, I always felt the clinic scene was pretty cheap and was a halfhearted explanation for why the character didn’t have an abortion, not an indictment of abortion or Planned Parenthood in general. In terms of the story there does have to be a reason that this girl decides not to have an abortion when she has every reason to get one. After that scene, the reason is that nobody cares about her pregnancy except her. The scene is pretty lazy I think it’s typical of _Juno_’s failings. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/47 "2009-08-06T15:41:00Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > A BIG stretch! Besides what other show has a Christian fundamentalist side-character who is treated respectfully and affectionately? Oddly enough, I’d say the Simpsons. As pointed out by another poster, the show is quite liberal overall, and certainly makes fun of Ned Flanders. However, if you take a hard look at what he actually does and says, I’d argue that he comes off as (with the possible exception of Marge) the best person in Springfield. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/48 "2009-08-06T15:47:31Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Who’s the character? I don’t watch the show any more than when the remote gets sat on. Sheldon Cooper’s Mom, played by Laurie Metcaff (sp?) ROSANNE’s “sister”. cjepson- I did think of Flanders, who in the earlier eps was a lot cooler, even brewed his own beer. He’s certainly shown affectionately & is the best person in Springfield- maybe he’s portrayed as respectfully as they show anyone there except for Marge & Lisa, the real “moral centers” of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/49 "2009-08-06T16:20:36Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Actually, I don’t think this is true. They are the definition of posers, I think…they have this idea in their head of how they want to be perceived, but don’t really act that way when push comes to shove. Remember what Lily’s like in the flash forwards? A rich New York liberal? ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/50 "2009-08-06T16:26:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > _King of the Hill_ is often cited as a conservative show, to which I’d say maybe, and Hank Hill as the most conservative man on television, which I think is probably true. Anyone who thinks that KotH is a conservative show is missing the point, I would say. It’s a friendly satire of right wing, middle class America. Despite poking fun at some liberal characters - animal rights activists and so on - the message is generally socially liberal in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/51 "2009-08-06T16:43:51Z")
Before there was **West Wing** there was **Sports Night** EVERY character in that show was liberal and had a running competition on who was holier then thou. The early shows were particularly bad at this. One show involved Dan doing nothing but going around trying to figure out what charity to give to and so each character got a chance to talk about THEIR wonderful charity. I hope I’m not getting confused but I’m pretty sure that’s the one that ends with Dan learning a lesson while sharing a sandwich with a homeless man. Note: I love **Sports Night** btw but it did have some horrible preachy moments. I’d also like to chime in and say I don’t agree about **Juno** either. Just because she doesn’t get an abortion doesn’t make it conservative. That flat doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t really get ‘punished’ for her underage sex. She’s adopting the kid out to a woman who’s getting a divorce. Hardly a bastion of social conservative views. **Dharma and Greg** is a show I used to watch (yes I know it’s crap) and I always felt that conservative Greg usually was the one that had to bend to liberal Dharma on most occasions. Though in that show it wasn’t really about issues then about lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/52 "2009-08-06T16:52:16Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > IMO the social conservative bias in Juno was clear. For example, note how the “planned parent” stand in she went to (or was it even a stand in? Was it portrayed as an actual planned parenthood clinic?) was portrayed as cold nasty and uncaring. I thought that was a balanced scene. Sure, the planned parenthood building was cold and sterile (I’ve never been in one, but the ones I’ve seen do look like that), but the Christian pro-life girl was an idiot spouting off talking points she didn’t even understand. > [@filling\_pages](#): > > Anyone who thinks that KotH is a conservative show is missing the point, I would say. It’s a friendly satire of right wing, middle class America. Despite poking fun at some liberal characters - animal rights activists and so on - the message is generally socially liberal in the end. King of the Hill is a show about real people. Odd that for years the most realistic family sitcom was animated (acknowleding that Peggy survived skydiving with no chute). Most things are more complicated than liberal/conservative. Even in a rapidly growing Texas exurb. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/53 "2009-08-06T21:27:47Z")
I also remember an episode of \*Angel \*in which some guys were infected by a…virus? Something suitably magical, that caused them to, as one character said, “unleash the misogyny inherent in every man.” That statement was left unchallenged, sounds pretty leftist to me. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/54 "2009-08-07T00:30:32Z")
Some mention must be made of the two great dueling 50s sci-fi movies, _The Thing from Another World_ (The alien/Communist menace is a threat and diplomacy is useless! Kill it kill it kill it!) and _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ (The alien wants us to quit our aggression, but we shoot him because we are xenophobes and just _can’t_ get _along_). Of course, there is that authoritarian aspect of TDESS, with the alien willing to eliminate us if we expand our aggression to the interplanetary level and Gort as the interplanetary coalition’s perfect policeman… ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/55 "2009-08-07T00:41:02Z")
Blue Collar anything (comedy tour or the tv show) is something I’d consider pretty right wing… ---
**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:** [August 7, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/56 "2009-08-07T01:38:28Z")
Nah. Some of the humor was from a conservative standpoint, especially Larry the Cable Guy, but most of it was more Good Ol’ All-American Bad Taste. “Pretty right wing” really should only be used to describe stuff Nazis would find funny, except that once you take out the Jew and Slav jokes you’re left with Good Ol’ All-German Bad Taste, like fart jokes. And more fart jokes. Then a beautiful woman comes onstage with her bosom falling out of her top, and farts. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/57 "2009-08-07T02:53:04Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > IMO the social conservative bias in Juno was clear. For example, note how the “planned parent” stand in she went to (or was it even a stand in? Was it portrayed as an actual planned parenthood clinic?) was portrayed as cold nasty and uncaring. The yuppie couple broke up because Jason Bateman was too juvenile for fatherhood and a white-collar job, and it’s presented as a happy ending when Jennifer Garner opts to adopt the baby by herself. That’s not a socially conservative movie. > [@cjepson](#): > > Oddly enough, I’d say the Simpsons. As pointed out by another poster, the show is quite liberal overall, and certainly makes fun of Ned Flanders. However, if you take a hard look at what he actually does and says, I’d argue that he comes off as (with the possible exception of Marge) the best person in Springfield. Indeed, are there any shows in prime time other than _The Simpsons_ that show main characters regularly going to church? ---
**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:** [August 7, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/58 "2009-08-07T04:32:29Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Indeed, are there any shows in prime time other than _The Simpsons_ that show main characters regularly going to church? False equivalence. Saw a bumpersticker today for my my wife and eldest daughter, “Proud member of the religious left.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/59 "2009-08-07T04:37:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Indeed, are there any shows in prime time other than _The Simpsons_ that show main characters regularly going to church? Or have God as a recurring character? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476/60 "2009-08-07T05:11:05Z")
I am still trying to figure out whether the Brady Bunch was left or right wing. On one hand, Mike, the father seemed to make an ungodly amount of money as a regular architect so that he could support eight family members and a live-in maid. They were close to aristocracy and even managed to take fancy vacations. OTOH, the kids were always pulling some type of hippy-trippy crap like forming a band. Don’t get me started on Greg’s Johnny Bravo thing. The real-life cast congealed into a virtual love-fest at some points so this one is a toss-up. The original Scooby Doo is a real contender for the left-wing side. They lived in a virtual commune in the Mystery Machine van. Shaggy was a pothead although it is unclear if Scooby was too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-right-and-left-wing-tv-shows/505476.md?page=4)