My World and Welcome to it

Every once and a while I revisit an old TV show or movie that I loved as a child or a teen, to see if it is something that would still appeal to me as an adult. Usually, I am disappointed. Sometimes I am disappointed because the show was childish, and never was very good. Other times the show might have been okay for the time, but now is very dated or has cheap production values. With this in mind, I recently rewatched the pilot episode of My World and Welcome to it which aired in 1969.

I remember liking the show and remember being disappointed when it was cancelled after only one season. The show was loosely based on the life of James Thurber and starred William Windom in the lead as a cartoonist named John Monroe. Monroe has a vivid imagination which is displayed for the audience as Thurber cartoons. My wife was watching the episode with me (she remembered it too and also liked it back in the day). At one point in the episode, my wife and I uttered at the same time, “They wouldn’t allow this stuff today.” Monroe is a curmudgeon, who rails against his wife, his daughter, and women in general. At one point we see an imagined illustration of his wife hanging from a noose. In another he is lustily chasing a pretty school teacher around his house (in his imagination). In another scene, we see his daughter, 11 year-old Lydia, getting ready for bed. She strips out of her clothes down to panties before putting on her pajamas. That scene would not be allowed today simply because of the societal awareness of pedophiles.

All that being said . . . I found that I did still like this show (at least the first episode), though it might make me cringe from time to time. As the story unfolds, we see that the portrayal of the misogynistic curmudgeon is really just an act. Perhaps it is what he tells himself, but we see from example that he really does love his wife and his daughter. It is actually kind of moving. Not something you expect from a 1960’s sitcom with a laugh track. I can’t say exactly what it was that drew me to the series as a child. Was it the cartoons, or the unusual snarkiness of the main character? All I know is that I liked it at the time. I was not alone. After it was cancelled, Windom won an Emmy for his portrayal of Monroe and the show itself won the Emmy for best comedy series. But then, as now, quality does not guarantee success in Hollywood.

Star Liner

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