Conference taveng::bagels

    Re: Ratings for "Chicken Soup"..
    
    ABC covered it this morning and I believe they said the
    rating was 23rd. I don't know what rating scheme
    was involved.

    I only watched it once.  Actually, I only watched part of it.

    Re: .0
    
    Mason is not significant enough to upset people like Dinkins, or Blacks
    for that matter. Guiliani (sp?) was far more upset that Dinkins could
    ever be.
    
    If you are looking for someone to blame for Mason's demise, you might 
    want to start with Johnny Carson. He made a number of jokes regarding
    the apparently physical incompatibility between Mason and Redgrave.
    
    Mason made references to this on the Arsenio Hall show. Arsenio was the
    only talk show host that would invite Mason. Arsenio happens to be
    Black....
    
    To try to blame Blacks for Mason's cancelation, is a bit much. You might 
    try and blame "GREENS", dollars that is. If the show had been at all 
    funny, it would have still been on the air.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

.3

I don't think that "blaming the Blacks" was the intention of .0.  That was
certainly not the impression I got.  Rather, I would see it as blaming the
network and its advertisers that were afraid of being associated with
something that MIGHT bother the Blacks.  The networks are in the business
of making money.  If the advertisers whose money supports a show withdraw,
ratings or no ratings, the show is history.  I also suspect that much of
Jackie Mason's humor was of the "either love it or hate it" variety and too
many people were in the latter group.

So yes, I am inclined to think the Jackie Mason offended the GREENS.

Gavriel

	Sorry, I watched most of the shows, understood all of the 
	jokes, related to some of the stories, and I did not find it 
	particularly good.  The show was just not that interesting and
	it lacked the chemistry. Why would a saleman want to become 
	a social worker?  Salesman are taught that it is cruel world
	out there and that you have to fight for yourself. 

	Although it was ranked 23rd, it followed immediately after 
	Roseanne, the number #1 show.  The Dinkin comments may have even 
	helped draw more of an audience. 

	The best reason for cancellation was that it was not entertaining.
	On top of which, some of the stereotypes were not flattering,
	both the Irish and the New York Jewish. 

	When asked about the cancellation, Jackie Mason replied "Well,
	at least 20 million gentiles now know what a Jew is like." 

	I rest my case. Sometimes, this type of humor tends to polarize
	ethnic groups more than helps. It is fine on the Borscht circuit
	because we are laughing at ourselves. However, do you want the
	rest of the world to think that Jews always talk with their hands
	and say "Oay" all the time. 

	Just my opinion. 

	Thank you. 

					Steve Simmons

According to the _Boston Globe_, "Chicken Soup" was canceled because its 
ratings were poor relative to its Number One rated lead-in, "Roseanne".

Millions of viewers were switching channels or turning their televisions
off after "Roseanne".  This was the kiss of death.

    Re all:
    
    I should mention straight away that there were aspects of the show that
    bothered me too. I thought Lynn Redgrave was miscast and that showed
    in her portrayal of her character. And I also thought that Mason's
    Borscht Belt humor was a bit much at times along with some of his
    comments (especially one particular comment in his closing monologue
    this past Tuesday). I too was worried that it would reinforce stereotypes.
    However, I tend to enjoy Borscht Belt humor which is why I used to
    watch the comedians of the old school (Myron Cohen for example and
    Jackie Mason for another) on the old Ed Sullivan Show.
    
    Enough about me.....my other concern is that there seems to be a
    trend in some (not all) black music today that apparently reflects
    a Jessie Jackson perspective on Black-Jewish relations. I thought
    perhaps Jackie Mason's situation might be a reflection of this larger
    problem, that is a general deterioration of Black-Jewish relations
    especially when compared to say 25-30 years ago.
    
    I don't know for sure though. I ran those ideas up the flag pole
    to see if they were saluted and to get a discussion going.
    
    Mark
                                                   

    Why is it that most depictions of Jews in the popular media show
    Jewish men infatuated with non-Jewish women?

    Re .8:
    
    Heck if I know.....it's not clear to me whether the media is responding
    to what they think (from surveys or whatever) the public sees as a
    "marketable" story line or whether they're motivated by some other
    factor (like "The World According To Me" was successful so let's
    cash in on a good thing).
    
    Mark

    re: .8
    
    In this diaspora anyways, many Jewish men are attracted to non-Jewish
    women for reasons that can be attributed to assimilation.  You know the
    desire for tall blond, blue-eyed, "quiet" women, etc.
    
    --David (someone will flame me, but I don't care) 

    As a woman, I thought Jacki Mason looked hideous.  And his humor
    was really lame.  He looked like he was embalmed or something. 
    Neither looks like or sounds like any Jewish men I know.  Maybe
    they were making a point about Jewish men being attraced to non-Jewish
    women, but who could be attracted to such a shell of a man?  And
    Redgraves character looked ok but was irritating.  Good riddance
    to the whole mess.  Another forgettable bit of tv trivia.

    Re .10:
    
    The blonde, blue-eyed Swede I'm married to is anything but "quiet"
    - she speaks her mind and has no compunction about telling it like
    it is (sorry for the dated expression)! :) :) :)
    
    Re .11:
    
    As to Jackie Mason's age, I would have to guess he's in his fifties.
    I was pretty young (12 or so) when I saw him make his last appearance
    on the Ed Sullivan Show which would have been 1963-1964 or thereabouts.
    
    Mark