Jackie Gleason charged ahead bullishly with his plans for “The Honeymooners,” overstepping the objections of the network and ignoring the slings of critics. He had a good thing going with his weekly TV variety show. Why risk it all on a situation comedy about two poor and childless married couples living in a seedy district of New York? It’s one of the many stories told about the early days of TV in the documentary “Pioneers of Television,” airing locally 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 2-23 on MPTV-10, and 8 p.m. Fridays, Jan. 11-Feb. 1 on MPTV-36.
Produced and directed by the Milwaukee creative team Boetticher Trinklein, “Pioneers” is an entertaining four-part series featuring a profusion of memorable clips from early television, original interviews with surviving stars such as Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Marlo Thomas and Andy Griffith, tied together a judiciously subtle use of historical recreation. The first episode, “Sitcoms,” explores the development of the genre from the advent of “I Love Lucy” (1951) through the final season of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1966).
The prehistory of radio sitcoms is ignored in favor of the Hollywood and standup comedy roots of many TV sitcom stars. Each of the programs focused on for “Sitcoms” offered a distinct window on American life or contributed to the evolution of television comedy. “The Honeymooners” turned the frustration of hardscrabble working class life into explosive comedy. “I Love Lucy” was built around a no-no in American culture, transposing the real-life cross-ethnic marriage of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz into the script. Under Arnaz’s demanding guidance, “I Love Lucy” was especially innovative, even employing cinematographer Karl Freund, who began in German Expressionist films in the 1920s before moving to Hollywood. Danny Thomas put children at the forefront of his sitcom and an episode concerning a family trip down South was spun-off into “The Andy Griffith Show,” which offered a comic yet sympathetic view of small towns. “Dick Van Dyke” crackled with Kennedy era optimism.
What’s remarkable about these shows decades later is how funny the best moments remain, and how slyly adult. The remaining episodes of “Pioneers of Television” concern late night programs, variety shows and game shows.
