Pops Watched TV: RIP Norman Lear

 Growing up in the 1970s, Normal Lear was a huge part of my television experience. Specifically, ALL IN THE FAMILY, GOOD TIMES, THE JEFFERSONS, MAUDE, SANFORD & SON, and ONE DAY AT A TIME. And while at the time, these network situation comedies just felt like regular television to me, as I got older, I realized how much more than typical tee-vee they actually were, and how lucky I was to have experienced them in real time. 

As a middle class, suburban white kid in a mostly-white town, my exposure to other cultures and lifestyles came—for better or worse—mostly through TV. And while it’s easy for a detached 21st century audience too young to remember rabbit ears to dismiss Lear’s shows as exploitative, or offensive, or superficial, I can tell you that they not only taught me about some serious issues such as bigotry, sexism, class warfare, abortion (yes, abortion), poverty, divorce, substance abuse, Vietnam, ageism, rape (freaking RAPE!), and more, they did so in a way that never felt preachy and actually managed to often be biting, touching (without being treacly), and—most of all—hilarious. This was new. Lear’s shows were not the first smart programs on the tube, but the sheer volume and lasting impact of his now-iconic output left a legacy in the medium that few can touch. 

By all accounts, still smart, sharp, and funny right up until the day he died at 101, Normal Lear deserves to be listed as one of the most important and influential humorists of the 20th century.

Originally posted on social media, Dec. 7, 2023