META TELEVISION
META TELEVISION
I don’t know if it started with the Newhart series finale where it turned out the show was all a crazy dream by the Bob Newhart show’s crazy physchiatrist… nah, that’s much more in the crossover genre, a la Spin City’s former deputy mayor, Michael Flaherty commenting that he’d met Family Ties’ Alex P. Keaton in D.C. or Ally McBeal kissing Bobby Donnell.
So maybe it started with the Simpsons riffing on the Cosby Show in the episode where Bleeding Gums dies or Murphy Brown watching the real-life Dan Quayle accuse her eroding family values at a press conference. TV characters commenting on television happenings was certainly in full bloom by the time Jerry Seinfeld was hooked up to “Polly” when his date didn’ t believe that he’d never watched ‘Melrose Place.’
And this past week it’s just been all the rage. First Junior Soprano imagines that ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ is about him when he flips past it, while scanning the television’s offerings. Then Karen and Jack despair about losing Sex and the City, but comfort themselves with the knowledge that they’ll always have ‘Fraiser’ and ‘Friends’…until they realize, they won’t.
The toungue-in-cheek, wink and nod definitely gets the quick laughs from those in the know. Television junkies are rewarded with a nationally watched head-pat for their commitment, not just to one show, but to all of television.
It’s a tricky trick to pull on viewers. I mean if Karen and Jack are watching Friends, what comes on after it in their New York City? If Junior gets HBO how has he managed to miss the reelentless blitz of On-Demand Sopranos?
OK, so it’s not a serious issue like whether President Bush can make fun of the MIA WMD, but it really makes you think.
After all, it’s television.
(Though I am looking forward to more on-air Simpsons/South Park anifeuding.)
P.S. How is it that the 8 p.m., Sunday night Simpsons can get away with several man-on-man open mouth kisses, but the 9 p.m., Thursday night Will has to give the shoulder to shoulder camp counselor hug to his boyfriend?
March 26th, 2004 at 5:59 pm
Are you saying that you’d like to see open mouth kisses from Will? Who are you and what have you done with Dawn?
March 26th, 2004 at 6:00 pm
P.S This is the ad at the bottom right now: Dawn’s Nook
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You think it’s there because your name is Dawn too?
March 26th, 2004 at 6:11 pm
Ideally.
March 26th, 2004 at 6:15 pm
Also, I never said anything about my “see”ing them. Just that I know I’ve FF’d through them on the Simpsons and was all prepared to do the same last night during the bar scene — when *suprise* camp counselor hug. (FYI this has nothing to do with the fact that these are same sex couples, I have the same long-standing, non-discriminatory policy with respect to all on-screen PDA.)
March 26th, 2004 at 6:57 pm
Just before that Sopranos episode aired, I was talking about how I’d like to see some HBO crossovers. I still think it would be cool for Tony and the gang to take a trip out to LA, where one of them would “meet an unfortunate accident,” and the Fisher family (Six Feet Under) is hired to prepare the body and ship it back to NJ.
March 26th, 2004 at 7:56 pm
yeah… “accident.”