In the '70s we had Happy Days, a nostalgic sitcom about teenagers in the '50s. And now we’ve got That '70s Show, about teenagers in the '70s. And they even tried out That '80s Show, though it flopped (either because it wasn’t done well, or because it was just too soon for '80s nostalgia). But we still haven’t seen a sitcom about teenagers in the '60s! Why not? Wouldn’t it strike a chord with millions of Boomers? Perhaps it’s just too hot to handle, even now? What gives?
The Wonder Years?
Doesn’t satisfy. It’s about kids. I mean a show about teenagers. Teenagers and young adults. You know, the Baby Boomers who marched against the Vietnam War, joined communes, partied at Woodstock and Altamont, dropped acid, threw traditional sexual morality over the side, and really believed they were living on the threshhold of The Revolution. Don’t tell me there’s no way a TV network can make all that funny! The question is, can they make it funny without making it too, too disturbing?
You could give Oliver Beene a few more years…
“American Dreams” on NBC?
How about The Patty Duke Show, Gidget and The Monkees.
Who needs That 60s Show? That 30s Show is a laugh riot. Remember that episode where Chauncey put the firecracker in the gramaphone?
I think it would have to be a drama. Frankly, all who lived through 1968 deserve a medal.
Libertarian, were you around in 1968? I was. It wasn’t that different from 1967 or 1969. I know this is heresy, but for most Americans, national news events had little effect on our everyday lives.
Not a sitcom.
Never heard of it. What network is it on? imdb.com (which for some reason tells you everything about every TV show except what network it’s on) describes it as “Set in 1962, Oliver Beene follows the hilarious adventures of a young 11 year old boy and his wacky family.” It also describes it as “in production” – the entry was last updated 4/29/03.
If Oliver is 11 in 1962 then he’ll be 17 by '68 – old enough start worrying about the draft, reading up on racidal politics, experimenting with drugs and sex, flinging self-righteous insults at his parents, and all the rest of it. But I don’t want to wait another six years to see all those things in a sitcom!
Oliver Beene, now in its second season on the Fox network, Sunday nights between King of the Hill and The Simpsons. Set during the Kennedy administration (1961-1963), which in most respects was the tail end of the 1950s.
I was rather activistic. '68 was pretty bad, but the whole period up until May 4, 1970 was just… wild. The sheathe of society was cracking and things quite new and radical were emerging. Racial riots, integration, and civil rights. Marches and protests. The National Guard was being called out to college campuses and city centers not just now and again, but routinely. Vietnam. Political upheaval, assassinations, and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. The emergence of a massive drug culture. The sexual revolution. The NY Times headline “God is Dead”. The musical revolution. Man landing on the moon. Evidence found for the Big Bang. I have to disagree. The effects of the 60s still affect our everyday lives.
There, you see, that’s what I’m talking about! Not that’s quality prime-time entertainment! Are you listening, CBS? NBC? (Not you, Fox!)
Forget “That 60’s Show,” I’m waiting for some network to make “That 90’s Show,” and I don’t mean “Friends.” Something nostalgic that would look back on the excess and political apathy. Not that I would enjoy it. I did most of my maturing in the 90’s and a show like that would make me feel old, at the ripe age of 19.
How about that '90’s show?
The 1890’s?
When Irish Papists move in next door, hilarity ensues. As well as cross burnings.
Any show that is to capture the essence of the 60’s will have to concentrate on the monstrously bloated sense of self-importance that some young people had in those times, and that they carry through now to late middle age. Walloon was right. 1968 had little to differentiate it from 1967 or 1969 for most Americans.
That show is hideously unfunny.
Maybe you really can’t make good “topical” nostalgic comedy. The OP gave the example of “That 70s Show,” but the truth is, TSS isn’t funny because it’s set in the 70s; it’s funny because the characters are appealing and the cast is so good. In fact, since their first season I don’t think they’ve done many “70s” stories at all.
Self-importance? People were much more self-less in th '60s than they have been for the last 20 years or so. What do you mean by self-important?
I mean the “we lived in the most important decade EVER” attitude that seems drearily common amongst a certain subset of aging babyboomers and that has been echoed in this thread.