Mary Tyler Moore’s
passing made me think of good times from my childhood. Most of what I consumed of her TV show as a
Minneapolis TV woman came from re-runs.
I was 10 when her hit-show went off the air. She made an impression that’s lasted for four
decades. It got me thinking and
wondering: Who are the best fictional
television journalists ever?
Television has had
many depictions of characters who worked for the news media. Lou Grant and Mary Richards were not the
first or last ones to pose as the media. Here’s a fond look back at some true
characters:
·
Clark
Kent, Superman
·
Lois
Lane, Adventures of Superman
·
Peter
Parker, Spiderman
·
Kent
Brockman, The Simpsons
·
Les
Nessman, WKRP in Cincinnati
·
Jack
McGee, The Hulk
·
Oscar
Madison, The Odd Couple
·
Will
McAvoy, The Newsroom
·
Murphy
Brown, Murphy Brown
·
Kolchak,
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
·
Stephen
Colbert, The Colbert Report
·
Fletcher
Reade, The Guiding Light
Hey, fake news is in,
so much so that we may find fictional TV characters, as more believable or
trustworthy than what’s put out by today’s media. Some of the best TV depictions of the media
were funny, such as the sloppy Oscar Madison character in The Odd Couple. Some were
sarcastic spoofs of the media, such as anchor Kent Brockman of The Simpsons or the split-personality
played by Stephen Colbert on Comedy
Central.
Superheroes seem to
be tied to the media. In fact, two of
them were working for newspapers – Superman
and Spiderman.
Both funny but
serious was Murphy Brown, an 80’s
version of 70's Mary Tyler Moore.
I have a few obscure
writers on my list, too. One was
Fletcher Reade, a reporter on the long-gone soap opera, The Guiding Light. Another
was a short lived show from four decades ago, a crime show called Kolchak.
Probably the best
reporter in the bunch was Jack McGee, a tenacious guy who always managed to
track down The Hulk but who could
never capture him in the cat-and-mouse chase.
TV will always have
media-based characters because TV likes writers, the media, and artists. TV is the media, after all. Probably more shows will start to feature bloggers and
podcasters, but they’re still on the fringe of what the public views to be “the
media.” Dog With A Blog is a cute family show, but it is no match for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
We will miss you,
Mary Tyler Moore.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
2017 Book Publicity
& Marketing Toolkit For Writers Of All Genres
How Would Madison Avenue Hawk Your Book?
Author Blogs: What Should They Say?
The Network of Book Marketing For Authors
Which Of These 6 Reasons Inspires You To Write Books?
How To Craft Press Releases That Net Your Book Media Exposure
The right book marketing strategy for you
Overcoming Book
Marketer's Block in 10 Easy Steps
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.