Modern TV producers complaining about the skittishness of the broadcast networks regularly claim that if Norman Lear were pitching “All in the Family” today, he could never get it on the air.
True or not (a number of boundary-breaking comedies have made it on the air in recent years; they just haven’t stuck), the point is Lear managed against all odds to land a comedy about a crass, unrepentant bigot in prime time.
“That was my dad,” Lear recalls. He took notes on his conversations with his narrow-minded father and, although the idea for the show originated with the British series “Till Death Do Us Part,” he knew the character well from his own home.
The story of how tough it was to get “All in the Family” on the air — it took three years, three pilots and two networks — is just one of the highlights in the impressive 19-disc DVD boxed set “The Norman Lear Collection,” available Tuesday.
Lear’s seven Emmy-winning comedies — “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “The Jeffersons,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” “Maude,” “One Day at a Time” and “Sanford and Son” — all premiered within a mere six years in the 1970s. They famously tackled racism, feminism, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, cancer and other topics previously deemed too “sensitive” for TV. Groundbreaking, yes, but let’s not forget funny. The messages wouldn’t have beamed through if the comedy wasn’t great.
Bea Arthur braying on “Maude,” Louise Lasser spacing out in the kitchen on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” Carroll O’Connor fulminating as Archie Bunker, Redd Foxx complaining as Fred Sanford — for many of us, these were formative pop cultural landmarks, examples of TV feeling its way out of its repressed childhood.
Lear’s career is saluted in the boxed set ($159.95). He talks on camera in his trademark porkpie hat, and cast members offer tributes and insights. Six hours of extras include interviews with the late Bea Arthur, Rob Reiner, Adrienne Barbeau, Rue McClanahan, Jimmie Walker, Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Mary Kay Place and Lasser. Both never-before-released pilot episodes of “All in the Family” are included.
Suffice to say broadcast television today is a tamer place. The bigotry! The anti-feminist put- downs! The stereotypes and name calling! What sponsor would want product placements attached to all of that?
In one interview, the legendary creator reflects on how he perceived his influence in those days. Lear recalls looking out an airplane window at night, seeing city after passing city lit up below, and thinking that, perhaps, everywhere he saw lights he was a part of people’s lives, in their homes giving them comedy.
He does not say, but it can be inferred, that everywhere he saw lights twinkling on the landscape below him, Lear knew that he was perhaps having an effect on the values, beliefs and cultural awareness of a couple of generations of Americans.
Character actors
“Weren’t you the guy…?” On Tuesday at 8 p.m., Starz premieres an original documentary, “Starz Inside: The Face Is Familiar,” looking at the careers of character actors. Participants include Samuel L. Jackson, Joan Cusack, Stephen Tobolowsky, Danny Trejo, Jane Lynch, Michael Madsen, William Sanderson, Luis Guzman, Veronica and Angela Cartwright, and Missi Pyle.
Tonys on Sunday
Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) will host the 63rd Annual Tony Awards from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday on KCNC-Channel 4. Look for musical performances from the nominated shows “Billy Elliot: The Musical,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Hair,” “Next to Normal,” “Pal Joey,” “Rock of Ages,” “Shrek: The Musical” and “West Side Story,” and from the touring shows “Jersey Boys,” “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and “Mamma Mia.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
