Sergeant Tony's Blog

I didn’t love Raymond.

I wasn’t a fan of Friends.

I didn’t care for Will & Grace.

And Seinfeld wasn’t much better.

Oh, those shows were funny, no doubt about it. (Seinfeld still kills me in syndication!)

So, why didn’t I like them? Those shows were reflective of the sad state of men on television, “TV males,” if you will.

When I left the country in the late 80’s to live for a decade overseas, there were real men on TV. Funny man Bill Cosby was making us laugh, but still giving out tough love on The Cosby Show. Tom Selleck’s character, a Vietnam vet, sporting Hawaiian shirts and a bushy mustache, was funny and cool. And Jack Arnold, Kevin’s wise dad, was helping his son navigate the coming of age in The Wonder Years.

Fast forward 10 years.

I turned on the television and found 12 different forensic medicine shows and 15 different versions of Law & Order! Say WHAT?? And all of these people are HOT attractive actors and actresses! HUH??? Have you ever SEEN those people who REALLY do those jobs?? Hardly hot.

But then I noticed another phenomenon.

TV runs rampant with male morons, buffoons, and idiots. The TV male is portrayed as a weak, emasculated, bumbling, laughable, little wussy of a man, imprisoned in a dead end job. And the most pitiable of these TV males is the dreaded “married man.” Poor guy. He’s in a marriage from which he’d almost assuredly like to escape. He’s at the mercy of his billigerant, spoiled, and disobedient children who believe he’s the epitome of uncool. He’s continually outplayed, overrun, and controlled by everyone, especially his dominating wife who must often intervene in some rediculous situation that her clown of a husband has created by his incompetence, fear, stupidity, or lack of character. Shows like the canceled Yes, Dear and Still Standing come to mind.

When I returned from Japan I discovered that TV males, particularly in comedies, are mostly just little boys. They’ve got only two things on their tiny infinitesimal minds: sex and beer. Naturally, I’ve got nothing against either, and I must confess that one of my favorite comedies is filled with this typical “TV male.” So I suppose that I’m just a hypocrite.

But what annoys me is that few TV males have any passions or interests in much else beyond the base. Now, I’m no prude, no puritanical zealot, but I’d just like to see some funny guys on TV who I’d choose as friends. Of course, the TV drama males leave a lot to be desired too. They’re mostly super serious, sullen, gloomy, phony tough, one dimensional pretty boys.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just go watch a King of Queens marathon or that hunk, David Caruso, on CSI: Miami.
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