Watch TV for Grist!

Tell us when green bursts from the screen

Posted by Katharine Wroth at 8:24 AM on 14 Feb 2007

Read more about: greenwashing | shameless self-promotion | TV | consumerism

For the second time in two nights, I was innocently watching bad TV when a green theme popped up. A gal can't get a break from her day job these days with so many producers rushing to prove their eco-cred. So how far-reaching is this trend?

Figuring that out will either require me to watch way too much TV or it will require your help. Loyal Grist readers, I ask ye: please think of Grist each time green creeps into one of your favorite shows, and report it here.

I'll get our little wiki started, though my colleagues will soon lose faith in whatever intellect they might once have thought I possessed:

Two and a Half Men. Oh yes, that's right, I'm a sucker for this raunchy "comedy," and only partly because I have a tenuous connection to one of the bit players. Aaaanyhoo, on Tuesday Charlie Sheen's character kicked off the show by saying he hated electric cars. Seems his date that night had been disrupted by the woman's husband arriving home in his all-too-silent Prius! "If he hadn't stepped on the cat, I'd be dead." Har Har! (Not laughing: advocates for the blind who are asking that hybrids be louder.)

Later on, I swear I saw two (count 'em) bottles of green-branded dish detergent on Charlie's kitchen sink.

Boston Legal. Last night this show -- which has dipped its toes in green waters before -- pulled out all the green stops, with a plot revolving around William Shatner getting sued for selling body fat to make biofuels. Not only did James Spader's closing argument -- about the foolishness of relying on oil and spurning alternative energy sources including biodiesel, ethanol, and methanol, with a nod to the demise of the electric car -- last a full three minutes, but the two returned to the topic in the closing moments of the show. During their weekly bonding session, they discussed our planetary plight and agreed that they should eat more and get fatter, all for the cause of fighting climate change.

Don't even get me started on the cringeworthy eco-Earl episode a few months back ... any other examples? You think about it while I go read War and Peace.

For story: Watch TV for Grist!
7 Comments | Post a Comment

A friend ...

... told me that one of the main story lines on O.C. this season revolves around formerly ditzy Summer finding her purpose by dedicating herself to environmental issues. It's also seen the introduction of Che, a rather caricatured dirty hippie that is nonetheless one of the funniest characters that show's had on in a long time. So my friend says.

grist.org

by David Roberts at 9:14 AM on 14 Feb 2007

Simpsons Rule

I watch two things regularly; the weather channel, and the Simpsons. For many years, I was disgusted by the Weather Channel's total silence on Global Warming. I learned later they were owned by staunch conservatives. Recently, they've started a regular show that covers the issue. Even though there's always a little room left for 'doubt', they deserve credit for finally coming around.

The Simpsons, amazingly a FOX network show, hits a true note on current politics (ugly Americans seeking world domination) or environmental issues, nearly every episode. Yes, they absolve Americans for ignorance, greed, and violence, as if it were just cute and normal, but it helps me to laugh about things that would otherwise give me nightmares, and my (nearly adult) kids seem to 'get it'. I conclude that the network exec's just don't watch it (see no liberal, hear no liberal, do no liberal)- it brings in money, which trumps their values.

a liberal in redsville

by birdboy at 11:59 AM on 14 Feb 2007

Mayan pyramids and plaster...

I recently saw a show on the history channel (I think it was "Digging for the Truth" hosted by dashing archaeologist Josh Bernstein) which said that one of the primary reasons for a certain period of Mayan civilization collapsing out was that they burned all the trees in the area in order to make plaster to decorate their pyramids. This in turn led to erosion, which in turn led to clay encroaching on the fertile soil (dredged from a marsh) leaving them unable to grow crops. I knew that the collapse of their civilzation was due in large part to deforestation, but I didn't know it was to make plaster for the pyramids!

by Roz Cummins at 12:44 PM on 14 Feb 2007

God is Green

A show aired on UK tv Monday night called 'God is Green'. It asked the question - why are religions silent on climate change? A well-made and interesting programme.

by TubbyC at 12:29 AM on 15 Feb 2007

The five goliaths

Green strikes again! And yes, I watched too much TV this week.

The Office. Last night, Michael gave a presentation to a grad-school economics class. While defending Dunder-Mifflin's David vs. Goliath odds, he railed about the "five goliaths" the U.S. faces: "al Qaeda, global warming, sexual predators, mercury poisoning ..."

Not one but two green nods. And he didn't even make it to five.

by Katharine Wroth at 7:11 AM on 16 Feb 2007

HG TV

There's a show on Home & Garden network (I think it is) called Living With Ed. Ed is a total eco-geek and his wife is always arguing with him over his latest thing. I've only seen the show a couple of times and although I wouldn't want to live with Ed, that has nothing to do with his lifestyle. Ed probably seems eco-extreme to most tv watchers but there's some good ideas and it's interesting to see what one family can do, when convenience is not your main concern.
Katherine, I'm a sucker for Two and a Half Men, too. It makes me laugh for some strange, perverted reason . . .

by SMLowry at 12:59 PM on 16 Feb 2007

Behind the scenes with Ed

Check out Sarah's great interview with Ed Begley about his show.

by Katharine Wroth at 1:30 PM on 16 Feb 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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