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| BACH: Puts Jessica Simpson to shame |
You
show, the show about a pair of good ol’ boys who run illegal liquor and are
constantly being chased about by a batch of bungling boobs of local cops who
make Barney Fife look like a dedicated law enforcement official.
OF
COURSE, THE car they used in their chases was a bright red Dodge Charger with a
battle flag painted on its roof. The merchandising done off the show included
toy car replicas of that vehicle.
So
with many people amongst official southerndom deciding they now will do what should
have been done a half-century ago (do away with the battle flag in any official
context), the channel apparently didn’t like that flag appearing repeatedly
each and every day.
Personally,
I don’t miss the show. I thought it was nit-witish when I was a kid, and other
than checking out actress Catherine Bach’s long legs and tight tush I’d have no
interest in ever seeing it again.
But
I’m wondering if the show is going to wind up becoming glorified in the public
eye for something it never was – some symbol of southern culture. If anything,
if I were a southerner I’d want to sue someone for portraying the “land of
cotton” as being so buffoonish.
WILL
PEOPLE START missing the show and attributing to it cultural traits that it
doesn’t deserve? Such as what has become of the old Disney film “Song of the
South,” which tells the tales of Brer Rabbit and has Uncle Remus singin’ and
shufflin’ along like a “good little negro.”
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| Just try finding it somewhere to watch these days |
Sort
of how actor Carroll O’Connor’s “Archie Bunker” character would describe all
black people, only to be mocked right to his face by his “little goil Gloria”
for talking so stupid!
The
old racial line of thinking has caused theaters to quit reviving “Song of the
South,” and even trying to buy a copy on video isn’t easy. Which causes some
people to think the film is more deserving of praise than it actually is.
Bo
and Luke and arch-nemesis Boss Hogg probably aren’t even worth the words I’m
writing here. I’d hope it doesn’t get elevated to something it’s not worthy of.
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| Could this place 'Hillbillies' on blacklist? |
BESIDES,
I WONDER if this means people are going to start reviewing all the programs of
the past to see which ones meet a modern sensibility.
Take
“The Beverly Hillbillies,” where I specifically remember an episode where Max
Baer’s “Jethro” character considers enlisting in the army, only to back away
when he learns it’s the “Yankee army” and not the Confederate that he’d be
joining.
I
also found reference to an episode where Irene Ryan’s “Granny” character (who
often touts the political abilities of Jefferson Davis) mistakes a Civil War
film scene being shot for actual battle, and totes her shotgun along to get a
few Yankees for herself.
Do
we wipe out that one-time major hit show? Or maybe the “Andy Griffith Show,”
where I recall an episode where someone tries to cash in a war bond that would financially
bust Mayberry, only to find out the bond is worthless because it was issued by
the Confederate government.
THERE
WAS THAT whole 1960s era when CBS’ weekly lineup was filled with
southern-themed shows. Do we scour “Green Acres” or “Petticoat Junction” to see
which ones are bothersome?
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| Delightful? Or highly unsanitary? |
Although
I think the bigger question that rises from the latter show is one that was
brought up in an episode some three decades later from “That 70’s Show” – How can
they let those women swim naked in the town’s drinking water supply?
Then
again, maybe if Bach’s “Daisy Duke” character had done the same in a few scenes,
TV Land would be willing to keep that show on the air – regardless of what was
painted on that car’s roof?
-30-
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