I was watching a very special episode of “Small Wonder” the other day, in which our favorite TV family deals with Lyme disease, when I began to wonder just what TV producers are attempting to achieve with these sorts of things.
I think it is a bold move on the part of television producers to take on these tough issues. I am sure there is nothing the intelligent viewing public needs to hear more than the cast of “Full House”‘s take on ethnic cleansing in the Balkans to truly gain an understanding of these important issues.
And what better source for these culturally and politically insightful musings than television sitcoms? They wear their credentials on their sleeves, for all to see. You could trust the producers of “ALF” because you could see the thoughtful way they dealt with the episode in which ALF eats the family cat or the one in which he and Willy get handcuffed together. So when ALF meets a heroin-addicted whore and they take on the tough topic of needle-exchange in inner cities, you say, “Ok, I know I can count on ALF to guide me through this thorny issue.”
At the same time, I feel a little sad for the producers who have the guts to address life-changing topics but get little or no credit. I think we all have been on life-changing trips, read a perception-altering novel, or met an inspirational person. Yet no one has ever come into their office one morning and said, “Last night I was moved so deeply by an episode of ‘Family Ties’ that I am quitting my job and becoming a nun.” I mean, talk about inspirational, huh? And you are a man!
Edward R. Murrow once said of television, “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate, and yes it can inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is nothing but wires and lights in a box.” Now, I don’t know who Edward R. Murrow is, but damn, the man can string together a sentence, huh? Give it up for Eddy Murrow, everyone. (Pause for applause.) Anyhow, maybe we should all take a page from Ed Murrow’s book and get a little more from our idiot box.
Tonight, I am going to take the lessons of television to heart. When I am in a candy factory, I will shove chocolate down my shirt. When I get stuck in an elevator, I will deliver a woman’s baby…EVEN IF SHE IS NOT PREGNANT! And I will never, ever shoplift a new sweater even if it is really, really, really cool because people would be very, very, very disappointed in me–which is far worse than jail time or a fine.
I just felt that I should try to instill in you a sense of how important television is.
Why, you ask?
I was inspired last night by a very special “Becker.”