Monthly Archives: November 2009

Fifty years ago today, the first episode of Rocky and His Friends was broadcast on ABC Television. The show would later be known by other names and in other permutations — The Bullwinkle Show, The Rocky Show, Rocky & Bullwinkle, etc. — but it was Rocky and His Friends when it started on November 19, 1959.

I think I was watching that afternoon. I remember discovering the show and being excited about having a new cartoon to watch. At age seven, I was already weary of seeing some of the same cartoons over and over and over and over…so anything different was exciting. I don't think I appreciated at the time how wonderful the show was or would turn out to be. That took time…but that was okay because the show was timeless.

Working with or just being around June Foray, I've really come to appreciate how beloved the series was and is. She can't go anywhere without folks throwing out their favorite lines of dialogue or telling her their favorite Fractured Fairy Tale. It's not just "That was a good show." It's more like "Some of my happiest childhood moments…" or "My whole sense of humor…" or "My desire to become a writer [or artist] came from that series!"

This article celebrates Rocky and Bullwinkle reaching the big five-oh. I'm not sure there will be a lot of others but we know what today means. 11/19/59 was the day television — and therefore, eventually, the nation — got a little hipper.

Did you watch the Lou Dobbs interview tonight on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? Well, whether you did or not, watch the extended version on the show's website. It's a very interesting discussion…on a level one rarely sees on television. Mr. Dobbs comes off much saner, I think, than he ever has in any TV or radio segment I've seen…which is not to say I think he's right. I don't think the anger at Obama is a logical consequence of past actions. I think Mr. Stewart is correct that it's a ginned-up outrage (fanned by folks who think it'll drive votes their way) and a confusion of losing an election with tyranny.

But don't go by anything I'm saying here. Watch all three parts of the video, which you can do by going to the Daily Show website. I'd post a direct link to that particular video but these Comedy Central sites are all configured in a bizarre, user-unfriendly fashion. The URL for this one has errors in it so I can't link you but you should be able to find it on your own.

I like a lot of what Bill Maher has to say about politics, especially when he's talking about the kind of folks — politicians, pundits — that he comes into contact with due to his show and speaking engagements. It's when he gets into talking about nutrition and medicine that he goes all Orly Taitz on us…or maybe worse because Ms. Taitz, at least, has the value of being consistently and obviously wrong. Maher sometimes sounds like he knows what he's talking about with regard to diet and health…and if you can do that and you have a TV show, you can be dangerous.

He's posted a lengthy, rambling blog post about vaccination, trying to walk back some of the stuff he's said about vaccinations, particularly the current flu shots. He says we need to have a discussion about this kind of thing and he's right. I had mine with my doctor. If you have a physician you trust, have one with that person. Don't listen to a professional comedian…or anyone else on TV, for that matter.

Just because someone can get on television doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. Years ago when I worked on a so-called reality show (I say "so-called" because nothing is less realistic than a reality show), I learned about Quote Whores. That's the industry term for them. They are, basically, people with some credentials who'll say darn near any damn thing you want if it'll get them on television. Today, if you and I were producing a show with even a modest audience and we wanted to have someone with a degree and impressive credentials come on and say that eating Tootsie Roll Pops will regenerate a severed limb, we could find one. We could get a doctor or some reasonable approximation of one to come in say that for our cameras.

And of course, even when someone who does know what they're talking about says it on television, that's generic advice they're giving out. It's not meant to apply to you, in particular. Just most people. And you're not most people. You're you. Take a look at your driver's license if you don't believe me.

You may not want to read the Maher piece. If you do, please remember that I'm not linking to it because I think he's right about most things. I just think it's interesting that he's dug himself into a bit of a hole here and he's throwing dirt in all directions, trying to get himself out. In that sense, I guess I respect the guy a lot more than the ones who dig themselves into one of those holes, realize it…and think they can get out by pressing on, trying to shovel their way to China.