"Night Court" and the Backlash of Conservatism

One of the benefits of having digital cable is that I'm able to relive many of my favorite childhood programs. Ok, so I didn't used to watch "Banacek," but golly, that George Pepard is such a charmer. And who doesn't love re-runs of "Alf?"

Though of all my rekindled television flames, the standout is "Night Court." Set in New York, "Night Court" (1984-1992) chronicled the antics of an off-beat judge and his cast of sarcastic clerks presiding over Manhattan's most bizarre petty crimes. It's where Harry Anderson (and Richard Moll) made names for themselves. Oh, and it has one of the best instrumental theme songs ever.

But I never realized how overtly conservative the themes in the show are. In the first episode I watched, a non-English speaking Russian man, threatened with jail time, pours gasoline on himself and holds the court hostage. Judge Harry talks the guy down, in the process pointing out how awful things must be where he's from. Can you say Cold War?

The 1980s also saw the birth of the "Say No to Drugs" campaign. "Night Court" mirrored the efforts of Nancy Reagan by showing various misuses of substances lead to disaster. Characters end up climbing walls, licking tables, passing out in the hallways, and generally make asses of themselves and end up either feeling really crappy or saying, "Boy, I'll never do THAT again."
The theme of capital gain equalling happiness is a frequent one. The characters often pine after winning lottery tickets or even lucrative class action suits. In one episode Dan Fielding even goes so far as to say, "Money can't buy happiness... it buys the things that make happiness." Incidentally, he also mentions getting investment advice from Dick Cheney.

Dan Fielding embodies everything sleazy about the 1980s. Mostly it's womanizing, as he constantly objectifies the female form. In one episode, he refers to a woman as "Mrs. So and So," and the woman corrects him by saying, "It's Ms. (pronounced Miz)," to which Dan replies, "Oh, my mizzzzzstake!"

But Dan's not the only one dishing out the sexism. Harry and Bull also use the terms "broads," "chicks," and "babes," with frequency. Not only that, the female characters are patronized by the writers, painted as soft defenders of humanity with raging emotions, always quick to cry or slump down defeated. And temporary! The show went through 4 female public defenders before Christine Sulllivan, 3 female bailiffs before Roz (ok, Selma Hacker died, it's still a statistic), and about 300 different girlfriends for Harry Stone. If they were too emotionally stable, for example a successful musician or writer, Harry usually dumped them, saying his work in law came first.

The liberal politics of the 1970s led to a massive backlash of conservatism in the 1980s, and I'm realizing now that "Night Court," for all its hilarity, is often just a thinly veiled vehicle for that. Will social consciousness overtake my nostalgia? My DV-R argues the statute of limitations has run out on this one.

Stave it Off, 1, 2, 7

This is my seventh foodless day of the Master Cleanser fast. And the lemonade is starting to get incredibly boring. I actually look forward to those times in the morning when I have to drink a quart of salt water to flush my system, or nights when I arrive home at 2am to make my cup of herbal laxative tea, just for the variant in taste. And I dread those days when I have to visit the grocery store to purchase more spring water or maple syrup, and am forced to pass up fresh baked breads, artisan cheeses, and hell, even uncooked Pop Tarts are looking pretty great right now.

The first question people ask when they hear I'm doing this is not "why" because people in Los Angeles are so used to insane diet and health regimens that to not be flushing or peeling or expunging is abnormal. Instead, people ask, "How do you feel?" I think they expect a one-word answer, like "fine" or "shitty," which is why I like to keep people off-balance by elaborating. Because deep down, I know you really care about how I feel. Thus:

My energy level is pretty normal. I am lucid throughout the day, but I don't really do anything strenuous for fear of overexertion. The book says you can work out; I'm actually going to try that tomorrow. I'll be going to the gym mainly to see how much I weigh. My guess is I've lost about 15 pounds so far, which if you've ever hugged me or seen me in profile, you know to be substantial. My steam trails off a bit in the mid-to-late afternoon like most people, but I've found that it really ramps up around 6pm, so much so that I'm almost jittery. When I go to bed, I sleep very soundly.

The thing I notice most is that my senses feel heightened. I walked past a guy at work yesterday and asked, "Did
you have a cheesesteak for lunch?" He said, "Yeah, how did you know that?" "I'm Jesus," I replied. Then, "Just kidding. I'm God. Don't drive a car tonight." In general though, I'm very alert. So I'm going to test it at MOCA's Ecstasy exhibit to see what sort of inter(re)action happens.

That's how I'm feeling. How are you?

A Test of Your Pedante Broadcast System (PBS)

Mostly this is just to find out if anyone would actually read a blog I made. Because let's be honest - I don't have time for your disinterest. So if you think you'd read about me (and yes, this can substitute for having to talk to me), let me know. But I might as well say something useful since we're all here.

For those of you that don't know, I'm currently on The Master Cleanser. The Master Cleanser was developed by a guy named Stanley Burroughs back in the early 1940s as a way to eliminate toxemia, which from a holistic perspective is the build-up of toxins that inevitably cause illness and disease. The basic idea behind the cleanse is that by eliminating foods for a short period of time, you make your body's digestion energy available to the process of detoxification.

Basically it's like a low-brow colonic (which Burroughs says are really bad for you). You drink only lemon water with organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper in it for 10 days, along with salt water and laxative teas to flush your system. At the end of the fast, you've kind of zeroed out your colon, and you can ease back into your normal diet, or become a vegan or raw foodist like Burroughs suggests.

Rayjax and I embarked on this together. He'd done a shorter version before and liked it, so I said ok. Mostly I am doing this to see what my mental and physical limits are. There are many things I'd like to accomplish this year, and if I can not eat for 10 days (PS eating is my absolute favorite thing to do), I am capable of doing it all.

Right now it's day 3 of 10, and I'm not really that hungry, but the desire for a different taste in my mouth in strong. I actually drooled on myself this morning when a Jack in the Box commercial came on. And I have a bowel movement tally that is staggering. I'm losing weight surprisingly fast, and if I keep it up, I may start to look like Christian Bale in The Machinist - 30 pounds of head on a wiffle ball bat. But more importantly, I might start to go a little crazy, as I've read some people have coming down off the fast. I'll keep you posted.