"Fringe".
A quick synopsis of each episode includes a B&W comedic episode of "Leave it to Beaver", where Beaver has a poem due for a class assignment. Beaver's father goes a little too far in helping him with his assignment by ultimately writing the entire poem for him. Beaver wins an award for "his" poem and his Dad feels guilty. His father has a meeting with his teacher to explain the circumstances, and Beaver's teacher is very understanding allowing Beaver a second chance. Beaver writes his poem and shares it at the dinner table believing it's good enough to hold on to that award:) It was a pretty funny poem...
"The Andy Griffith Show" came a few years after "Leave it To Beaver" and is a color TV series. In this episode Andy's family asks if they can watch their baby for a week while they are away. Andy is EXTREMELY hesitant, however Aunt Bea is very persistant about not letting down family, and is overjoyed about the possibility of caring for a baby. Andy reluctantly gives in stating he doesn't want to have to take care of the baby at all during it's stay, and Aunt Bea graciously understands. There's only one small problem that gets in the way when the child is dropped off, the child cries hysterically whenever Aunt Bea holds it. Aunt Bea does everything to try and cover this issue up as she is torn up inside, and doesn't want Andy to know she doesn't have everything under control. After numerous insane attempts to cover up the problem, Andy finally figures everything out as Aunt Bea is unable to hide it anymore. Andy feels bad for her as he sees how badly she's upset by this issue, and tries to be helpful. The children however, end up sneaking upstairs and feed the baby blueberry pie filling when no one is around. When Aunt Bea sees the baby's blue mouth, she panics and scoops the baby up to try and get help. After she's made aware of what happened, as she's in hysterics, Andy brings to her attention that the baby is in her arms and not crying. He points out that she was so worried about making sure the baby was comfortable when it arrived vs. now when she's holding it confidantly to protect it, the baby was able to tell the difference. Therefore, the baby didn't hate Aunt Bea after all. As I'm sure you all can guess, Aunt Bea was just ecstatic about this realization which came conveniently before the childs parents came to pick her back up to go home.
"Fringe" is a relatively new dramatic science fiction TV series. In the episode I watched, there was a bio-terrorist threat which could potentially cause a horrific death to all exposed. Exposure to the chemicals would mutate a human being into a grotesque monster which was ultimately it's demise, along with all that encountered it. A booked airline flight were the first victims which fell to the chemical weapon, becoming an alert for what was to come if not stopped. A team of FBI agents, along with other's, all whom have their various pro's and con's about them make it their responsibility to see to it that this doesn't occur.
As far as differences go between "old" TV and "new" TV go, this is what I noted:
* Clarity of picture - Whether it's B&W or color, "new" TV shows are very crisp in comparison to the fuzzy pictures shown in both "Leave it to Beaver" and "The Andy Griffith Show".
* Dress code and setting - All are representative to their timeframes and the genre they were televised in.
* Dialogue - The English language and the way it's used has continuously changed, and this change is greatly seen between the TV series watched. Again, it is relevant to the timeframe televised, and the audience targeted.
* TV series motive - I don't really think "motive" is the correct word, however, the complexities of TV shows today and what the "drama" is that creates them is so different. Instead of having a TV show about human beings morphing into monsters through bio-terrorism, we had shows about homework assignments, and taking care of babies. Life through a TV just seemed so much simpler back then, as was life in many ways.
* Audio - The Audio in the older shows seemed to have a bit of an echo to it.
This is all I could think of as far as vast distinctions I noticed between the two, but I'm sure there are plenty more. It is amazing how far TV has come in such a short time!
This post is excellent. It's very informative. To be honest, I've never watched "Leave it to Beaver" or "The Andy Griffith Show" but I can the definate differences that you are trying to point out. Great Work on this!
ReplyDeleteGood points all. I'm glad you included a plot synopsis, because I hadn't seen any of these shows.
ReplyDeleteInstead of having a TV show about human beings morphing into monsters through bio-terrorism, we had shows about homework assignments, and taking care of babies.
Well, you're comparing two very different genres. People-turning-into-monsters has been happening on television since at least 1953 with The Quatermass Experiment, possibly earlier. In fact, the Star Trek episode "Miri", about a created disease that causes mutants, was shot on the same set as The Andy Griffith Show.