Lawrence Welk Is Still On: I Don't Get It

[dtuba]

This was an era when most homes had one TV and everybody watched it together. What's wrong in today's world is the idea that everything on TV must be suitable for eight year olds, church ladies and anybody else with an agenda.

By the same token, must everything on TV be programmed for today's 20-something short-attention-span "Look! A Chicken!" audience? Must every other joke have the word "vagina" in it, or otherwise seem like the writers want to see how much they can make "church ladies" squirm?

This is just one hour of television. I'm really not a prude - for gosh sakes, one of my favorite programs is Family Guy - and I certainly don't advocate for all TV shows to be 'sanitized for your protection' .... but is relaxing amidst the color-coordinated polyester and cheesy music while remembering my grandparents too much to ask?? I'm just glad there's SOMETHING on television aimed at the 'elderly', i.e. over 40, demographic.

--Russell

I think you mean over 60, not 40. I'm an ancient 46, and I take issue with you calling over 40 "elderly".

 

[bpatrick]

You're still in the "desirable" demographic age groups: 18-49
and 25-54. And while it might not make any difference to
advertisers, 70 is now being touted as the new 50.

 

[rwells2265]

....I'm just glad there's SOMETHING on television aimed at the 'elderly', i.e. over 40, demographic.

I think you mean over 60, not 40. I'm an ancient 46, and I take issue with you calling over 40 "elderly".

It's a joke. Just a facetious statement at how most TV networks view someone like me in their obsession with fighting over those coveted 20- and 30-somethings, while throwing away anyone else because of the prevailing view by many in that business that we're "too set in our ways" and thus of little use to advertisers.

*********
BPatrick, I might be in those so-called 'desirable demos', but the offerings are still lopsided toward the low end of that range. I'm 48 years old, and have next to zero in common with someone 28, or even 38. And that's where most - note I didn't say ALL, I said MOST - programs on TV today aim. And occasional scraps aside (SyFy's Twilight Zone, for one), it seems that the phrase 'classic TV' has been redefined as being no earlier than 1990.

Therefore, even though I'll cringe more than once through it, I'll gladly take Lawrence Welk. Please-uh, and dank you.

I'm sure I must come across like a bitter curmudgeon, but so be it.

--Russell

 

[rwells2265]

Well, there are more important things in male/female relationships than pop culture. ;-)

Absolutely, but you need to have something to talk about when you're not horizontal. ;D

--Russell

 

[michael hagerty]

....I'm just glad there's SOMETHING on television aimed at the 'elderly', i.e. over 40, demographic.

I think you mean over 60, not 40. I'm an ancient 46, and I take issue with you calling over 40 "elderly".

It's a joke. Just a facetious statement at how most TV networks view someone like me in their obsession with fighting over those coveted 20- and 30-somethings, while throwing away anyone else because of the prevailing view by many in that business that we're "too set in our ways" and thus of little use to advertisers.

*********
BPatrick, I might be in those so-called 'desirable demos', but the offerings are still lopsided toward the low end of that range. I'm 48 years old, and have next to zero in common with someone 28, or even 38. And that's where most - note I didn't say ALL, I said MOST - programs on TV today aim. And occasional scraps aside (SyFy's Twilight Zone, for one), it seems that the phrase 'classic TV' has been redefined as being no earlier than 1990.

Therefore, even though I'll cringe more than once through it, I'll gladly take Lawrence Welk. Please-uh, and dank you.

I'm sure I must come across like a bitter curmudgeon, but so be it.

--Russell

I can't say it enough:

Demographics are like archery...you aim for the center of the target. For 25-54, that's 39 and a half. For 18-49, 33 and a half.

So, you're right in that even programming designed to deliver 25-54 is aimed at people (slightly) under 40.

 

[FredLeonard]

Even so.... The baby boomers - now well past the money demos - could not stand Lawrence Welk when their grandparents watched it originally. Now they are grandparents and they watch it.

It's one thing for baby boomers to watch shows they enjoyed growing up. That's the whole appeal of Cozi, ME TV, Antenna TV, RTV and This TV. Black and white shows will medicare supplement spots.

And it's understandable that baby boomers would watch those Oldies nostalgia specials during public TV pledge periods featuring 50s and 60s music and performers.

But for baby boomers to watch shows they hated with music they hated - the stuff their parents and grandparents liked - that's curious.

 

[michael hagerty]

Even so.... The baby boomers - now well past the money demos - could not stand Lawrence Welk when their grandparents watched it originally. Now they are grandparents and they watch it.

It's one thing for baby boomers to watch shows they enjoyed growing up. That's the whole appeal of Cozi, ME TV, Antenna TV, RTV and This TV. Black and white shows will medicare supplement spots.

And it's understandable that baby boomers would watch those Oldies nostalgia specials during public TV pledge periods featuring 50s and 60s music and performers.

But for baby boomers to watch shows they hated with music they hated - the stuff their parents and grandparents liked - that's curious.

Three things:

Not all baby boomers hated it. I knew kids who liked the show when it aired. They were the squarest kids in school, but they liked it.

For a lot of boomers who didn't like it, it's a reminder of the grandparents they love and miss.

And some boomers have becomed frightened and confused by the world around them and are looking for a safe haven for an hour. The Welk reruns deliver that.

I'm one of the Boomers who hated the show. I don't make it a point to watch the reruns, but if I'm channel-surfing on Saturday night and see it, I'll stop and watch for a minute. Sometimes, it's God -awful dreck like I remembered, but sometimes, I have to appreciate the talent some of the musicians had and the sheer willpower it had to take to be that kind of entertainer week in and week out, especially as the world was changing around them.

 

[FredLeonard]

Well, I suppose there is some perverse pleasure in watching Welk for those of us who knew what "One Toke Over The Line" was about.

I also suppose the right-wing agenda Welk worked into the show - song selections and intro copy - appeals to Tea Party, dittohead and religious right types today. There were a lot of flag waving and religious songs, support the troops and land of opportunity themes in the show.

Too bad we don't have the fairness doctrine anymore so public stations would also have to run The Smothers Brothers.

 

[michael hagerty]

Well, I suppose there is some perverse pleasure in watching Welk for those of us who knew what "One Toke Over The Line" was about.

I also suppose the right-wing agenda Welk worked into the show - song selections and intro copy - appeals to Tea Party, dittohead and religious right types today. There were a lot of flag waving and religious songs, support the troops and land of opportunity themes in the show.

Too bad we don't have the fairness doctrine anymore so public stations would also have to run The Smothers Brothers.

If you had the Fairness Doctrine, Fred, almost half of the rest of PBS programming would have to swing right.

And given that the public projection of Progressives is that troops are to be supported, just not war, that love of country is something held in common with conservatives and that America is a land of opportunity, but it needs to be more inclusive, the appeal isn't entirely to the right.

And from a practical TV perspective, old-fashioned Disney Main Street simply holds up better, even as a curiosity than LBJ, Nixon, Clean Gene McCarthy and Everett Dirksen references would...especially for those who weren't there.

 

[bpatrick]

....I'm just glad there's SOMETHING on television aimed at the 'elderly', i.e. over 40, demographic.

I think you mean over 60, not 40. I'm an ancient 46, and I take issue with you calling over 40 "elderly".

It's a joke. Just a facetious statement at how most TV networks view someone like me in their obsession with fighting over those coveted 20- and 30-somethings, while throwing away anyone else because of the prevailing view by many in that business that we're "too set in our ways" and thus of little use to advertisers.

*********
BPatrick, I might be in those so-called 'desirable demos', but the offerings are still lopsided toward the low end of that range. I'm 48 years old, and have next to zero in common with someone 28, or even 38. And that's where most - note I didn't say ALL, I said MOST - programs on TV today aim. And occasional scraps aside (SyFy's Twilight Zone, for one), it seems that the phrase 'classic TV' has been redefined as being no earlier than 1990.

Therefore, even though I'll cringe more than once through it, I'll gladly take Lawrence Welk. Please-uh, and dank you.

I'm sure I must come across like a bitter curmudgeon, but so be it.

--Russell

Point taken, and hardly anyone in the 18-48 age group knows what I'm talking about when I mention various shows from the '60s and '70s. In fact, if we were to believe TV Land's schedule these days, the ultimate classic show would probably be
"Everybody Loves Raymond," which I watched a grand total of once in all the years it was on CBS.

As for Welk, for some reason I don't think the black-and-white episodes (especially from the '50s) are as cheeky as the '70s stuff; I think they're far more musically straightforward without all the corny skits that seem to be built around each song in the later years.

 

[dtuba]

Too bad we don't have the fairness doctrine anymore so public stations would also have to run The Smothers Brothers.

That would be pretty awesome, actually. How about PBS airing Laugh-In as a pledge show as well?

 

[azumanga]

How about PBS airing Laugh-In as a pledge show as well?

I believe they did at one point, didn't they?

 

[dtuba]

They maybe did a while back, but not in the last five years. Unlike shows like Victor Borge which never seem to go away.

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

Even so.... The baby boomers - now well past the money demos - could not stand Lawrence Welk when their grandparents watched it originally. Now they are grandparents and they watch it... for baby boomers to watch shows they hated with music they hated - the stuff their parents and grandparents liked - that's curious.

No mystery to me. Haven't you ever heard the old anecdote about a child, now grown, approaching his/her parent, saying, "As I got older, you got smarter" ?

 

[boiseengineer]

Being reported on pdxradio.com that Oregon Public Broadcasting has canceled Welk.