Lessons from TV's Past

By Bryan Cain-Jackson

Do you remember the time when TV and the shows that were on it had a point? No? It seems as though it has been so long ago that it’s hard to even imagine that TV had a point at one time. Well yes indeed it did.

We are in a time where we are so desensitized to what is on TV that if it doesn’t show a lot that it seems dull, bland, and uninteresting. That is not always true. Sure, it might be something that is cheaply made which is why it cannot be more extravagant. Then there is that old fashioned mentality that existed once called “less is better.” Whatever happened to that?


I had to pick and choose very carefully as to what I would use to illustrate my point that TV had a point once. I wanted to pick two shows that are memorable and that everyone would be familiar with, you don’t have to have watched these to know what they are.


The first show that I have chosen was a hit show with kids and adults alike. It is still a hit in reruns; it will continue to be for generations to come. As times continue to change, it will serve as a window to a time long since passed.

“Bewitched,” starring Elizabeth Montgomery was a show about a marriage between a witch and a human being. Montgomery played Samantha Stephens, a witch who was all powerful with parents that were as theatrical as Shakespeare in the park. Samantha, being an all powerful woman in a time where women were subservient to their husbands was not a married woman nor was she seeking that. She met and fell in love with a young, hot shot advertising executive named Darrin Stephens (played by Dick York in seasons 1-5, and Dick Sargent in seasons 6-8.) They fell head over heels in love and got married.


Darrin was constantly the subject of ridicule from Samantha’s parents, he was turned into a werewolf, a guppy, his ears were enlarged, he was given a high pitch voice, shrunk to the size of an ant, threatened to be turned into a 170 lb artichoke, and many other things over the course of the show’s run.


Many people, especially those of us today chop this off as silly, cheesy, and pointless writing. This was not truly the case for “Bewitched.” When at its creative peak in the first three seasons of the show, it was meant to be a metaphor for mixed marriage.


Remember, “Bewitched” was not made at a time when the mixing of the races and any other racial references could be made on TV. Therefore, instead of doing a show about a white man marrying black woman they made the different races be a mortal and a witch. Samantha’s family and friends were made of witches and warlocks (males and female witches) that always expressed a sincere regret and dismay with Samantha’s decision to engage in what they referred to as a “mixed marriage.”


So, the next time you watch “Bewitched” you will see that it is actually about a lot more than you ever gave it credit for. That is of course unless you already knew that.


The second show that I chose is a worldwide phenomenon that has spawned half a dozen TV series’ and nearly a dozen movies and is a cult hit.

“Star Trek” was unique in the fact that it was the first to achieve many things. It was the first multi-racial cast on television, and it was the first show on television to feature an interracial kiss. To many, this is just a “boring” science fiction show about spaceships and aliens. This could not be further from the truth. When at its creative peak, this show talked about things going on in our everyday life that were not allowed to be discussed on TV at the time.


Science Fiction often used fantasy to mask out the reality in the topics that it focused on. The reason it had to be masked is because strict censorship of TV at the time did not allow various social and political taboos to be discussed or depicted on TV at the time.


“Star Trek” focused on race, war, poverty, religion, and civil rights during a time where all of these topics were in the news of our country every day. It was discovered by many at the time that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found this to be an exciting program that he showed his children every week. He wanted them to see that in the future his dreams would come true, that there would have been answer to his call for unity.



We have lost site of the importance of what TV can do to stimulate the intellect of its viewers. Also, it can be said that TV’s viewers have gotten lazy minded and no longer want to think. They would rather be entertained at the site of someone’s humiliation on “Jerry Springer.” Or they can always turn on “American Idol” to tune into someone with little to no talent at all humiliate themselves on national TV just to say they were on it.


Reality TV is the thorn in my side and consists of 99% total smut. It is like the dirt underneath one’s fingernails and we just tune into it. It is nothing but mind numbing, puerile entertainment with no intellectual value whatsoever. In fact, I think it dumbs us down each time we tune into it.


I think if TV were to revisit its roots with a few modern updates, it could be something once again makes sense.






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