The series that brought women to the front lines
January 30, 2022 9:24 PM Subscribe
Jenny is normally more borderline-ASMR.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2022
Genius stuff from Jenny, love it.
Did anybody ever actually watch that show? I have vague memories of it but I don't think anybody has referenced it in 25 years. "Interesting" to learn that it was sunk in part due to music licensing issues like WKRP (RIP JF), Wonder Years and Daria. I suppose TV execs are somewhat more hip to this pitfall now (even though syndication is the OG long tail); it does conjure a lovely vision of TV anarchy back in the day when apparently you could just play whatever music you liked on your show, original artists or labels or contracts be damned. Like a season 2 finale of Gimme A Break! that included the entirety of the White Album.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 12:51 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Did anybody ever actually watch that show? I have vague memories of it but I don't think anybody has referenced it in 25 years. "Interesting" to learn that it was sunk in part due to music licensing issues like WKRP (RIP JF), Wonder Years and Daria. I suppose TV execs are somewhat more hip to this pitfall now (even though syndication is the OG long tail); it does conjure a lovely vision of TV anarchy back in the day when apparently you could just play whatever music you liked on your show, original artists or labels or contracts be damned. Like a season 2 finale of Gimme A Break! that included the entirety of the White Album.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 12:51 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Did anybody ever actually watch that show?
Yep. I used to watch it with my mom when I was a kid. I remember it being pretty good but I don't know how it would hold up. Seeing the commercial now made me nostalgic, and made me remember the brief window in time when a bewigged Robert Picardo was presented as a credible romantic lead.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:10 AM on January 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
Yep. I used to watch it with my mom when I was a kid. I remember it being pretty good but I don't know how it would hold up. Seeing the commercial now made me nostalgic, and made me remember the brief window in time when a bewigged Robert Picardo was presented as a credible romantic lead.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:10 AM on January 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
Did anybody ever actually watch that show?
Watch it? This is the first time I'm hearing about it! I must have been absent those 4 years.
I thought Jenny's spoof was very funny, even though I'd never heard of the program. I thought those scenes were outtakes from mash.
posted by james33 at 4:42 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Watch it? This is the first time I'm hearing about it! I must have been absent those 4 years.
I thought Jenny's spoof was very funny, even though I'd never heard of the program. I thought those scenes were outtakes from mash.
posted by james33 at 4:42 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
young me loved that show (and had a mad crushes on Dana Delany and Marg Helgenberger)
posted by kokaku at 5:11 AM on January 31, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 5:11 AM on January 31, 2022 [11 favorites]
Bit of context: China Beach from Jenny's THE Vampire Diaries Video. As discussed previously.
posted by Pendragon at 5:14 AM on January 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Pendragon at 5:14 AM on January 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
i remember my parents were pretty into it, it was a lil too adult-issues for me at the time. i downloaded it a few years ago during an extended bout of insomnia and while i don't think i made it past the acclaimed 2 hour pilot i think it's probably ok. i didn't delete it. i just dont really find live-action tv of any sort very compelling. live-action has to be like insanely good for me to be mildly intrigued. i enjoyed this linked video.
posted by glonous keming at 5:16 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by glonous keming at 5:16 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Love it! Especially the sound effects!
Response from Dana Delany:
Well Jenny, if Warner Bros had just paid the damn music rights, we wouldn’t be here.
posted by Mchelly at 5:40 AM on January 31, 2022 [22 favorites]
Response from Dana Delany:
Well Jenny, if Warner Bros had just paid the damn music rights, we wouldn’t be here.
posted by Mchelly at 5:40 AM on January 31, 2022 [22 favorites]
I'm actually genuinely surprised to learn it's not as big in the US as the way the local pop culture presented it to be?? I was too young for them all, but this was firmly considered primetime tv. heck, i still don't think i ever fully watched an episode, but "Dana Delany" had such a ring to it to my child's mind she was legitimately the only thing I remember about the show.
posted by cendawanita at 6:21 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 6:21 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was a tiny bit too young to be interested in stuff that looked to my tweenage eye as dour adult tv (ditto Thirtysomething), and my mom didn't watch it, so I never saw any of it, but I remember the commercials and could tell you that's what Dana Delaney came out of. Sad that it's another one killed off in popular memory because of music rights. I'm still mad about the tv show Life, and them replacing awesome music with filler stuff because of the same issue, and that was ages later.
posted by PussKillian at 6:26 AM on January 31, 2022
posted by PussKillian at 6:26 AM on January 31, 2022
weird thing is that WB probably owns all the music rights by now for the show they own
posted by kokaku at 6:47 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 6:47 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Like a season 2 finale of Gimme A Break! that included the entirety of the White Album.
What?
posted by condour75 at 6:58 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
What?
posted by condour75 at 6:58 AM on January 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Oh, I see now it was meant to be an absurd example.
posted by condour75 at 6:59 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by condour75 at 6:59 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mrs. lhauser and I watched it all the time. I still have crushes on Dana Delaney and Marg Helgenberger.
posted by lhauser at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by lhauser at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think the issue with the music rights for these shows is that you need different rights to include them on DVD than you needed for broadcast. And broadcast rights are relatively easy because of compulsory licensing. And when they were making these shows the market for home video release of a TV show wasn’t a thing.
My mom watched “China Beach”. Per Wikipedia, it had poor ratings but was critically acclaimed. Dana Delaney won two Emmys.
posted by chrchr at 7:15 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
My mom watched “China Beach”. Per Wikipedia, it had poor ratings but was critically acclaimed. Dana Delaney won two Emmys.
posted by chrchr at 7:15 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
I don't get it.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:56 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:56 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I get it, but I'm a fan of Jenny Nicholson and other YouTubers in that area. Otherwise, this doesn't make sense at all. See Pendragon's previously link for context (though, enjoyable as it is, it's a bit of a rabbit hole).
posted by AlSweigart at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by AlSweigart at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
I don't get it.
Have you ever been forced to watch an advertisement enough times that you've not only memorized it, but feel compelled to join in every single time it airs?
Jenny did, and this was the result.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:33 AM on January 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
Have you ever been forced to watch an advertisement enough times that you've not only memorized it, but feel compelled to join in every single time it airs?
Jenny did, and this was the result.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:33 AM on January 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
Have you ever been forced to watch an advertisement enough times that you've not only memorized it, but feel compelled to join in every single time it airs?
Jenny did, and this was the result.
Some of these things are just earworms forever. I don't think I can go more than a week without finding a need to say "it takes a very steady hand..." for some reason, and then once I've made that mistake, it's almost impossible to stop myself from doing the whole thing from the beginning. But I never thought of elevating to to a "cover version."
I can also still recite most of the opening to Bosom Buddies, and I haven't seen that since I was in middle school (?). Why that? Who knows! I'd love those brain cells back!
Our friend Amy said there was a great apartment in her building, dirt cheap. But it's a hotel for women... O-kay.
posted by Mchelly at 10:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Jenny did, and this was the result.
Some of these things are just earworms forever. I don't think I can go more than a week without finding a need to say "it takes a very steady hand..." for some reason, and then once I've made that mistake, it's almost impossible to stop myself from doing the whole thing from the beginning. But I never thought of elevating to to a "cover version."
I can also still recite most of the opening to Bosom Buddies, and I haven't seen that since I was in middle school (?). Why that? Who knows! I'd love those brain cells back!
Our friend Amy said there was a great apartment in her building, dirt cheap. But it's a hotel for women... O-kay.
posted by Mchelly at 10:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
China Beach and Jenny Nicholson! Squee!! Two of my favorite tastes that taste great together. I was delighted to see her return to the China Beach commercial she had talked about in an earlier video. And of course I have thoughts and feelings about the show, which I will now share with you since most commenters so far haven't actually seen any of the series, and might give some context or at least of view of the thing she is making fun of:
Ah China Beach. I was fascinated by this series, it was one of the first media properties I found and loved as an adult and not a teen-- it felt like being a different kind of fan. But I could never watch more than ten or so episodes during the entire run of the series, because I was at a place in my life where work meant I was too busy/out of contact/overseas and couldn't watch a lot of TV. I remember coming back from a deployment with the idea I would finally be able to watch four or five episodes in a row. And seeing Dana Delany on a morning talk show the following day saying, "The only thing that would prevent China Beach from returning next season is if CBS decides to renew Jake and Fatman." And guess what? That's exactly what happened.
I liked how China Beach tried to show how incomprehensible different cultures could be to each other without education/preparation, although the episode with the stew meat in the local market should definitely carry a content warning today. And to me, it was one of the first examples of how creators were able to react in close to real time and adjust the show based on analytics and audience reactions-- a very young data science in the early 90s. It was originally meant to be a female ensemble show, but the other two main characters, played by Nan Woods and Chloe Webb, were gradually sidelined and eventually eliminated as it became clear that this was going to be the Dana Delaney Show. Not that I complained, I was also one of the people that thought her portrayal of McMurphy was terrific and had a crush on her. Although they did keep Marg Helgenberger's character around because she was such a great narrative and dramatic foil.
I don't think the show has aged particularly well, today it feels a bit male-gazey, and I have a vague discomfiting sense that the creator John Sacret Young really leaned into sexualizing protagonist McMurphy's pain in a way that 50-year-old me is like OH HELL NO. But, the show was rare for the times in having a female lead, and in trying to address the trauma of war and the divisions Vietnam in particular had caused in American society. And for all of its primetime soap opera trappings, it made serious attempts in later seasons to examine the lives of the characters after the war once they returned home, which is something you almost never see in any war media. (Trying to think of some more, "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Home Front" and... what else? Almost nothing.)
And as strange as it seems, 15 years later it was the memories of that TV show and those characters that was one of many things that helped me realize I had my own serious issues with combat related trauma that weren't going to go away, and were affecting me and the people I loved. So this silly drama series was one of the things that finally let me ask for help from the VA, and I'm not sure I'd be alive to today if I hadn't done that. In a weird way, I went from having a crush on McMurphy to actually being McMurphy.
So yes, my history with the show is complicated, but not enough to prevent me from enjoying Jenny Nicholson's fantastic humor. It was lovely, smart, and hilarious-- my reaction to most of what she does.
posted by seasparrow at 10:06 AM on January 31, 2022 [27 favorites]
Ah China Beach. I was fascinated by this series, it was one of the first media properties I found and loved as an adult and not a teen-- it felt like being a different kind of fan. But I could never watch more than ten or so episodes during the entire run of the series, because I was at a place in my life where work meant I was too busy/out of contact/overseas and couldn't watch a lot of TV. I remember coming back from a deployment with the idea I would finally be able to watch four or five episodes in a row. And seeing Dana Delany on a morning talk show the following day saying, "The only thing that would prevent China Beach from returning next season is if CBS decides to renew Jake and Fatman." And guess what? That's exactly what happened.
I liked how China Beach tried to show how incomprehensible different cultures could be to each other without education/preparation, although the episode with the stew meat in the local market should definitely carry a content warning today. And to me, it was one of the first examples of how creators were able to react in close to real time and adjust the show based on analytics and audience reactions-- a very young data science in the early 90s. It was originally meant to be a female ensemble show, but the other two main characters, played by Nan Woods and Chloe Webb, were gradually sidelined and eventually eliminated as it became clear that this was going to be the Dana Delaney Show. Not that I complained, I was also one of the people that thought her portrayal of McMurphy was terrific and had a crush on her. Although they did keep Marg Helgenberger's character around because she was such a great narrative and dramatic foil.
I don't think the show has aged particularly well, today it feels a bit male-gazey, and I have a vague discomfiting sense that the creator John Sacret Young really leaned into sexualizing protagonist McMurphy's pain in a way that 50-year-old me is like OH HELL NO. But, the show was rare for the times in having a female lead, and in trying to address the trauma of war and the divisions Vietnam in particular had caused in American society. And for all of its primetime soap opera trappings, it made serious attempts in later seasons to examine the lives of the characters after the war once they returned home, which is something you almost never see in any war media. (Trying to think of some more, "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Home Front" and... what else? Almost nothing.)
And as strange as it seems, 15 years later it was the memories of that TV show and those characters that was one of many things that helped me realize I had my own serious issues with combat related trauma that weren't going to go away, and were affecting me and the people I loved. So this silly drama series was one of the things that finally let me ask for help from the VA, and I'm not sure I'd be alive to today if I hadn't done that. In a weird way, I went from having a crush on McMurphy to actually being McMurphy.
So yes, my history with the show is complicated, but not enough to prevent me from enjoying Jenny Nicholson's fantastic humor. It was lovely, smart, and hilarious-- my reaction to most of what she does.
posted by seasparrow at 10:06 AM on January 31, 2022 [27 favorites]
Have you ever been forced to watch an advertisement enough times that you've not only memorized it, but feel compelled to join in every single time it airs?
I think I could do this with the damn Liberty Mutual commercials, although God knows I hate them.
I feel like I instinctively remember the rhythms of these old Time/Life style commercials, though. Today, it's hard to imagine how long it took to cut together all that air time for one show, and the attention spans that would watch it. Ads are horrible now, but at least they're shorter. (Unless they're on Youtube and you can't get to the button for some reason.)
posted by Countess Elena at 11:10 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think I could do this with the damn Liberty Mutual commercials, although God knows I hate them.
I feel like I instinctively remember the rhythms of these old Time/Life style commercials, though. Today, it's hard to imagine how long it took to cut together all that air time for one show, and the attention spans that would watch it. Ads are horrible now, but at least they're shorter. (Unless they're on Youtube and you can't get to the button for some reason.)
posted by Countess Elena at 11:10 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of the commenters mentions the compilation CD China Beach: Music and Memories, which I've never heard of before today. It has some interesting covers.
posted by box at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2022
posted by box at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2022
Trying to think of some more, "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Home Front" and... what else?
Lest we forget.
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 2:09 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Lest we forget.
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 2:09 PM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Once comment and one reply deleted. Commenting on a woman's voice and saying what they should do is not OK.
posted by loup (staff) at 2:10 PM on January 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by loup (staff) at 2:10 PM on January 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
Did anybody ever actually watch that show?
I watched every episode when it aired. It was the first show my mother managed to dependably record, so if I had a night exam on a Wednesday, she'd record it, mail it to me at college. I'd get it by Friday and watch it a special video library on campus that had a VHS machine students could access.
I watched the reruns many times through when it was on Lifetime. I can probably repeat a ridiculous bit of KC's, McMurphy's, and Cherry's dialogue, and it was the first (but not the last) time a ship broke my heart. I dated a guy just because he told me I looked like Colleen McMurphy. Damned straight I watched it.
And seasparrow, any time you want to chat about Home Front, I'm your MeFite.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 4:20 PM on January 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
I watched every episode when it aired. It was the first show my mother managed to dependably record, so if I had a night exam on a Wednesday, she'd record it, mail it to me at college. I'd get it by Friday and watch it a special video library on campus that had a VHS machine students could access.
I watched the reruns many times through when it was on Lifetime. I can probably repeat a ridiculous bit of KC's, McMurphy's, and Cherry's dialogue, and it was the first (but not the last) time a ship broke my heart. I dated a guy just because he told me I looked like Colleen McMurphy. Damned straight I watched it.
And seasparrow, any time you want to chat about Home Front, I'm your MeFite.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 4:20 PM on January 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
I dated a guy just because he told me I looked like Colleen McMurphy
That's a niche compliment but when it lands, it lands EXCEEDINGLY WELL.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:37 PM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
That's a niche compliment but when it lands, it lands EXCEEDINGLY WELL.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:37 PM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
China Beach aired while I was in college, and I didn't see commercials for it until I went home for summer.
My first two thoughts were :
"So, M*A*S*H but depressing because Nam ?"
"Hey, it's David Addison's noir ex-girlfriend!" (SLYT whole episode.)
---
And a couple years later, Dana Delany got name-checked in the Animaniacs opening credits as an ending rhyme. With eyebrow wiggle.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 8:21 AM on February 2, 2022
My first two thoughts were :
"So, M*A*S*H but depressing because Nam ?"
"Hey, it's David Addison's noir ex-girlfriend!" (SLYT whole episode.)
---
And a couple years later, Dana Delany got name-checked in the Animaniacs opening credits as an ending rhyme. With eyebrow wiggle.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 8:21 AM on February 2, 2022
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posted by chimpsonfilm at 9:47 PM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]