I would see this show on the educational network years after it had been cancelled.
Regina Taylor, as the maid, Lilly Harper, would essentially steal the show. Long after all the critical acclaim had died down, I would watch this show to see how it was.
Basically inaccurate in the truest Hollywood sense. While Taylor would manage to still depict the behavior of a Black woman in the sixties, still segregated and supressed, there would be other moments that had to ring of defiance, where the audience could cheer for the bold Black character.
Typical television, but pure make-believe.
To make matters worse, the show would have the Precocians; those darling little children that seem to infiltrate everything HOllywood.
Our eldest child would be gorgeous and naive, but ready to learn about the outside world.
Our middle child, a girl, would be worldly beyond her years (they always were) and would call a spade a spade.
By far the worst moment was when the 'older woman' neighbor lady would speak to these two children who were sitting in the front yard.
The girl would whisper to her brother 'she wants your body'. Utterly revolting dialogue and plot development.
Sam Waterson was Hollywood's poster child for his heart on his sleeve. You could see his pain all over his face. Nice to make his character usually leaning in the right direction by having nearly 25 or 30 years history to his advantage.
The youngest child was the most innocent, who would ask those questions that you couldn't answer.
"Why is our skin color different? How are we different?"
the remarkable thing about this show was the understanding of Taylor. As hard as I tried to discredit the depiction of the maid and how she spoke to him, I never could.
Perhaps if I saw the show again and paid attention to it more, I could notice some discrepancies, but at the time I grew bored with it for its teen aged angle with the older son, his friends and his football training.
You sat watching all of this carrying on at night with the coach wondering what in the world is going on?
HOllywood generally does depictions like this because if you say you understand nothing, then you are admitting some level of narrow-mindedness, but looking back, there wasn't much I recall from I'll Fly Away that made sense.
They were just people walking through a situation most of the time.
About the time I'll Fly Away would go off the air, Picket Fences would begin on CBS. I'll Fly Away had been on NBC.
Picket Fences was again the same Hollywood formula, bit heavier on the laughs now with its Jewish lawyer, but the same lineup in those kids.
I think the daughter now became the oldest one, the middle boy was full of information and the youngest was the innocent moppet,this time fair-haired with ears sticking out.
Now Kathy Bates would be doing the Same Waterson bit. Talk about Hollywood Rehash.
Regina Taylor, as the maid, Lilly Harper, would essentially steal the show. Long after all the critical acclaim had died down, I would watch this show to see how it was.
Basically inaccurate in the truest Hollywood sense. While Taylor would manage to still depict the behavior of a Black woman in the sixties, still segregated and supressed, there would be other moments that had to ring of defiance, where the audience could cheer for the bold Black character.
Typical television, but pure make-believe.
To make matters worse, the show would have the Precocians; those darling little children that seem to infiltrate everything HOllywood.
Our eldest child would be gorgeous and naive, but ready to learn about the outside world.
Our middle child, a girl, would be worldly beyond her years (they always were) and would call a spade a spade.
By far the worst moment was when the 'older woman' neighbor lady would speak to these two children who were sitting in the front yard.
The girl would whisper to her brother 'she wants your body'. Utterly revolting dialogue and plot development.
Sam Waterson was Hollywood's poster child for his heart on his sleeve. You could see his pain all over his face. Nice to make his character usually leaning in the right direction by having nearly 25 or 30 years history to his advantage.
The youngest child was the most innocent, who would ask those questions that you couldn't answer.
"Why is our skin color different? How are we different?"
the remarkable thing about this show was the understanding of Taylor. As hard as I tried to discredit the depiction of the maid and how she spoke to him, I never could.
Perhaps if I saw the show again and paid attention to it more, I could notice some discrepancies, but at the time I grew bored with it for its teen aged angle with the older son, his friends and his football training.
You sat watching all of this carrying on at night with the coach wondering what in the world is going on?
HOllywood generally does depictions like this because if you say you understand nothing, then you are admitting some level of narrow-mindedness, but looking back, there wasn't much I recall from I'll Fly Away that made sense.
They were just people walking through a situation most of the time.
About the time I'll Fly Away would go off the air, Picket Fences would begin on CBS. I'll Fly Away had been on NBC.
Picket Fences was again the same Hollywood formula, bit heavier on the laughs now with its Jewish lawyer, but the same lineup in those kids.
I think the daughter now became the oldest one, the middle boy was full of information and the youngest was the innocent moppet,this time fair-haired with ears sticking out.
Now Kathy Bates would be doing the Same Waterson bit. Talk about Hollywood Rehash.