“thirtysomething”

Yuppies existed on prime time television before we had a word to describe them.  Yuppie, of course, is a slang word for young, upwardly mobile professional. Dr. Bob Hartley was a Chicago yuppie on The Bob Newhart Show. Rob Petrie was a television comedy writer yuppie...

The Day the Lone Ranger Lost His Mask

As dawn anticipated breaking over southern California on the morning of August 30, 1979, a man two weeks shy of his sixty-fifth birthday covered his thinning hair with a cowboy hat.  Besides the hairline, age was not a serious opponent.  He was still fit and trim with...

Father’s Day For All the Single Dads

Happy Father’s Day! Since television became a mass medium during the 1950s, the single dad paradigm has been a staple of prime time television. From Mayberry to the Ponderosa, the single dad character has shown courage in the face of adversity, strength in the wake of...