80s Television and The War on Some Drugs
Not quite as memorable as that episode of Diff’rent Strokes where Dudley got molested, but remember that episode of The Facts of Life (you’re welcome, that song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day) where Natalie bought the candy dishes that turned out to be bongs?
Boy, Natalie and Mrs. Garrett would have sure been surprised had DEA agents burst through the door and thrown them in jail for paraphernalia err user specific products.
Dean has a rundown on this frightening trend.
Update: Suddenly, all those campy sitcoms in the 80s addressing complex social issues are coming back to me. Remember that episode of Too Close for Comfort where the guy contemplates buying a gun and then doesn’t because he almost beats his daughter with a golf club? Good times.
Oh, and speaking of Good Times, remember black Jesus?
What was your favorite complex social issue tackled by a sitcom?
May 19th, 2004 at 11:58 am
My favorite was the Punky Brewster about playing in the refrigerators, and how it’s alright to do so long as somebody who knows CPR is around to help you out.
At least, that’s how I remember it.
May 19th, 2004 at 1:35 pm
BSTommy:
I remember that one!
Uncle:
Actually, All in the Family (I know, 70’s, not 80’s) routinely tackled complex social issues, and did a good job of it. It was the show’s raison d’tere.
From the campy side, I remember an episode of Welcome Back Kotter where Horschack (sp?) gets all strung out on drugs, and it’s up to the other sweathogs to clean him up.
May 19th, 2004 at 2:41 pm
I remember when I was *really* young (maybe three or four) watching that episode when it ran in prime time. My parents had specifically told me *not* to watch Sweathogs that night before the babysitter arrived (I guess because of the drug references), but I watched it anyway, not realizing that Sweathogs was the same thing as Welcome Back, Kotter. I also remember not really knowing what it was about. For some reason, the other guys were worried that Horshack was taking “vitamins.”
Man, it’s weird the things you remember.
May 19th, 2004 at 3:15 pm
Family Ties had a similar “gun episode”. The peaceniks Steven and Elise Keaton bought a gun to keep in the house and when one of the girls came home late, they show Steven reaching for the gun in the dresser drawer, but when he confronts his daughter, he’s holding a tennis racket instead.
They of course opt to rid themselves of the evil killing machine in the end.
May 20th, 2004 at 7:50 am
tiz grate that sumbidy is keepin up with the slow rapid eroshun of our rites. thankee!
May 20th, 2004 at 8:13 am
Or GI Joe cartoons always had a moral at the end: “…And KNOWING is HALF the battle!” I guess that isn’t a sitcom tho. Hmmm… But they, like the A-Team, always demonstrated how to safely use guns by shooting a million bullets and never hitting anything important.
May 20th, 2004 at 9:04 am
All in the Family and Maude had tons of this kinds of stuff.
All in the Family had lesbians, female impersonators, and Edith getting raped.
Maude had bankruptcy and Maude getting an abortion. Cheery, huh?
May 20th, 2004 at 10:03 am
I don’t know if this counts as a social issue, but I remember the “Very Special Episode” of Happy Days where Richie bought a motorcycle and promptly wrecked it, landing him in the hospital in critical condition. The Fonz cried, and talked to God – in the end giving Him the thumbs-up-“Aaaaaayyy!” when Richie wakes up from his coma.
Heavy stuff for the late 70’s 😉
I also remember the 2-parter of Family Ties where Alex stole Tracy Pollack from her fiance. That had special resonance at the time, simply because a similar circumstance was happening to me then.
May 19th, 2004 at 3:21 pm
Mr. T and the scabs
Say Uncle wrote a nostalgic post about 80’s sitcoms dealing with touchy political issues, like drugs and guns. It reminds me of the A-Team episode where Mr. T and company are called in to break the backs of labor agitators. The labor organizers were de…