Does anyone recall the very short-lived dramady "Cupid" on ABC, starring Jeremy Biven? I believe his obvious task was often derailed by his own inner-turmoil and affinity for more or more of the characters he was attempting to "assist." His only purely artistic endeavor was that of a Faustian entity..... Darrell M. Newton, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, The Department of Communication and Theater Arts Salisbury University 290 Holloway Hall Salisbury, MD 21801 (410) 677-5060 Office (410) 543-6229 Department http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~dmnewton/ >>> [log in to unmask] 12/3/2004 11:31:34 AM >>> From: Harper Cossar <[log in to unmask]> I'm racking my brain here, but the character that emerges is that of JJ (Jimmy Walker) on the series Good Times. His artwork is often portrayed as a vehicle for transcending the ghetto and the Evans family's poor surroundings. Therefore, while this artist and his art are not at the forefront of the series, certainly there is much commentary and narrative with regard to the importance and substance of JJ's art. Hope this helps ... *************************************************** From: Robert Hunt <[log in to unmask]> I suspect that you're right about artists and writers not being represented on tv. (Tv shows seem to be populated by a lot of people who work on tv). But I'd suggest the very strange and short-lived "Elvis" series from about 10 years ago. It was about Elvis Presley in his youth -a year or so before he made it big. In most episodes, he would have some strange premonition of his later fame.. There was also "My World and Welcome To It", but that was definitely not romantic. The hero was a Thurber-like cartoonist who turned the events of his home life into cartoons... (In fact, there seem to have been more sitcoms about cartoonists than writers....) *************************************************** From: Robert Hunt <[log in to unmask]> Again falling short of the romantic image..., but the animated series "The Critic" is wroth noting as a series in which the writer's work was actually central to most episodes.. -- *************************************************** From: Marty Norden <[log in to unmask]> On Mon, 29 Nov 2004, Robert Hunt wrote: > There was also "My World and Welcome To It", but that was definitely not > romantic. The hero was a Thurber-like cartoonist who turned the events of his home > life into cartoons... (In fact, there seem to have been more sitcoms about > cartoonists than writers....) Another example of a cartoonist is Ted Knight's character on the 1980-85 sitcom TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. He spent more of his time meddling in his daughters' affairs than working on his strip, which had something to do with a cow, as I recall... --Marty Norden ---------------- *************************************************** From: chad <[log in to unmask]> Right off the bat, JJ from GOOD TIMES comes to mind. There are also a few episodes of ROSEANNE where she discusses giving up writing to raise her kids and marry Dan. Joey from FRIENDS and JOEY is a struggling actor. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT has Gob who is a frustrated and somewhat demented magician. SIX FEET UNDER has Claire an art student. Eldon from MURPHY BROWN paints houses instead of canvases. Caroline from CAROLINE IN THE CITY draws a comic strip. Rodney currently on RODNEY is an aspiring stand-up comedian. Finally, NORTHERN EXPOSURE has several characters you might consider Adam, Even and Chris. I'm not sure all of these fall into the tormented/demented category, but at the very least they do seem to be pursuing artistic careers. -chad *************************************************** From: "Larsson, Donald F" <[log in to unmask]> The things that come to mind are critically-acclaimed but short-lived series such as as William Windom doing a Thurberesque writer in MY WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT or Paul Sand as an orchestra cellist in FRIENDS AND LOVERS. Of course, those series were also (mostly) comedies, with artists who were ironic, not Byronic. That the series were short-lived speaks for itself. Aside from forays into high culture as one-shots or anthology series (OMNIBUS, HALLMARK HALL OF FAME--before it produced the video equivalent of greeting cards, MASTERPIECE THEATRE), I doubt that there's too much. At the risk of overgeneralizing, network TV series would seem to favor exterior behavior over interior soul-searching, promote low-brow over high-brow, and have a skeptical attitude toward high culture (which used to be returned mutually). (Consider Ernie Kovacs as Percy Dovetonsils.) There might be more from the BBC or other state-produced TV with an eye on cultural heritage. I do think that some of the impulses found in films and novels about artists find have found relatively successful expression in two series formats: 1) the Byronic hero is morphed into the Liberal Do-Gooder, in shows from EAST SIDE WEST SIDE to JUDD FOR THE DEFENSE and SLATTERY'S PEOPLE, etc., where the hero fights for underdogs of various types while going through his (usually) own torments of the soul (now multiplied in ensemble shows from HILL STREET BLUES to ER and on and on); 2) the Teenager as Artist-Manque: shows featuring young folk who watch their surroundings and reflect on their place in life, nostalgically, ironically or otherwise--I REMEMBER MAMA, DOOGIE HOUSER, MY SO-CALLED LIFE, etc. Of course, there's always the mystery-writer show--ELLERY QUEEN, MURDER SHE WROTE, etc. Don Larsson *************************************************** From: Ian McKay <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Authors and Artists on Television Shows Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 With regard to UK television: You could start with the British TV series "Brideshead Revisted" (Granada Television, UK, 1981). The character Charles Ryder is not exactly a tortured artist but certainly, in the first episode, one who is at odds with much around him. I mention this largely for its timeliness with regard to your publication. I believe production was to start on a cinematic version a few months ago. Both are obviously adapted from the Evelyn Waugh novel. There was also an episode of Roald Dahl's "Tales of the Unexpected" (Anglia Television, UK, 1979-1988) which - if my memory serves me correctly - featured a stereotypical 'mad' sculptor. Not sure how you'd go about sifting through the many episodes however, or if they are available at all even. Finally, Jack Gold's "The Naked Civil Servant" (Thames Television, UK, 1975) dramatises the early art school years of Quentin Crisp along lines that might prove worthy of investigation. Ian McKay *************************************************** From: Jesse Kalin <[log in to unmask]> Jeremy--There is, perhaps foremost, Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective", about a writer (perhaps it doesn't count for your purposes) since it is a mini-series rather than a season-series. (If it does count, there was the 6 part adaptation of Sartre's "Roads to Freedom", though its hero--Matthieu--is more suspended in mid-course or distanced than tormented.) Jesse *************************************************** From: david tetzlaff <[log in to unmask]> The absence of tormented artists on TV hardly reflects a lack of influence of Byronic Romanticism in American culture. I think Don Larsson is on the right track in noting this perspective morphs into something else. I wouldn't say it's a trope, the harried liberal professionals and angst-filled teens of 'quality tv' are not metaphors for artists. For even if the creators of these shows are working out their own demons, they don't necessarily see themselves as artists, but more as harried liberal professionals and angst-filled aging teenagers. So I think what we have here is a kind of blending of the Byronic with a less Romantic strain of good old fashioned American individualism, in which we see that being that unique individual has its dark side along with its upside (genius!). Even in movies, tortured artists are generally only the subject of films for the art house crowd, not really the sort of mass audience fare one typically expects on broadcast TV. Artists are, after all, like intellectuals the sort of effete Euro-types mainstream American thought tends to denigrate. Even when the Romantic artists morphs into something else and/or mates with the rugged individualist the result still seems more appropriate for the movies than for TV, where the old dictum of 'the people have to want to invite the character into their home every week seems to apply.' Nevertheless, tormented geniuses of one age/occupation do pop up on TV now anad again: for example 'House' currently on Fox. One show that featured creative workers and angst was 'thirtysomething', though I don't think its view was all that Romantic, though one might analyse the characters, especially Gary, as deflations of the Byronic ideal. *************************************************** From: Susan McLeland <[log in to unmask]> Perhaps the reason you're having trouble finding these characters is that you're only looking at leads and continuing characters. I can think of dozens of examples where romantic artist-types have been brought in for guest shots on popular series--particularly comedy series, where their moodiness and highfalutin rhetoric is inevitably punctured by the "regular folks" of the recurring cast. In particular, remember the experimental filmmaker who was a friend of Rob Petrie's on The Dick Van Dyke Show? The faux-Gaugin painter who the castaways found in residence on Gilligan's Island? Any number of pretentious art-world denizens who met their comeuppance on The Beverly Hillbillies? You might be more likely to find such romantic/byronic/artistic characters on teen serials (wasn't David on 90210 a musician?) or other soap-y fare (and I use the term lovingly, not disparagingly) since these characters can come in, entangle a more stable lead in a destructive affair, and then exit without significantly changing the structure of an ongoing ensemble. Susan McLeland *************************************************** From: Jesse Kalin <[log in to unmask]> Then there's Lisa Simpson--smart, intellectual, a muscian, a romantic at heart, and tormented. Jesse Kalin *************************************************** Jeremy Butler [log in to unmask] ======================================================== Resources for film/TV educators and students: www.ScreenSite.org Television: Critical Methods and Applications: www.TVCrit.com ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu