Southern TV shows – New South Essays

They’re bearded. They’re quotable. They’re camouflaged. They’re armed. They’re wildly popular. They are the Robertsons.

Unless you manage to completely avoid all media – other than New South Essays, of course – then you have probably seen or heard about the Robertson family. The pride of West Monroe, La., the Robertsons are self-proclaimed rednecks who have turned a duck call manufacturing business into one of the most popular reality shows on television.

From left, Jase, Si, Willie and Phil Robertson are bearded Louisiana rednecks who are ruling the reality TV airwaves.

We discovered the Robertsons last year when my dad turned us on to “Duck Dynasty” while it was still in its first season. Not typically an early adopter, Dad was on board from the beginning after finding their duck hunting show “Duck Commander” on the Outdoor Channel. It seems that while searching for his beloved fishing shows one day, he stumbled onto the wise-cracking Robertsons . Although he cared nothing for duck hunting, he found them so compelling he started watching.

The Robertsons then found an unlikely TV home on the Arts and Entertainment channel when they premiered in March 2012. A little more than a year later, “Duck Dynasty” is A&E’s highest rated program. Renewal for season four is currently on hold until new contracts can be negotiated. The Robertsons are reportedly seeking $200,000 per episode.

The season finale airs this week on April 24 to mark the end of the third season. I’m trying to figure out why “Duck Dynasty” has caught on in the New South like no other redneck reality show, and there are many.

So why are the Robertsons so popular?

Not since The Waltons has a TV family consistently shared a prayer of thanksgiving at meal times. The Robertsons end each episode with a blessing, pronounced by Phil, the patriarch. They are obviously people of faith with their involvement in their church featured regularly on the show.

They also demonstrate a strong commitment to their family. The brothers squabble and their Uncle Si is a foil to all their well-laid plans, but in the end, they embrace, pray and pass the victuals.

Conservative Christians gravitate to the Robertsons because they finally feel represented. A family with their general beliefs is on television, and they are drawn to them.

Truth is, there aren’t many shows that we watch as a family. The kids watch their typical fare of Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon or Disney Channel, but with “Duck Dynasty,” we can and want to watch together. There’s no cursing, and only the occasional expression of marital bliss between Phil and Kay can be considered “adult content.” It may be gross, but there’s a lot worse on television than an affectionate older married couple showing that their love still burns brightly.

The Robertson women, from left, Jessica (goes with Jep), Missy (goes with Jase), Miss Kay (Goes with Phil) and Korie (goes with Willie... or the other way around.) — The Robertson women, from left, Jessica (goes with Jep), Missy (goes with Jase), Miss Kay (Goes with Phil) and Korie (goes with Willie… or the other way around.)

My wife, Carla, fully admits to enjoying the segments of the show that include the younger Robertsons’ wives and children. She particularly likes seeing their homes, their choices in clothing, and how they parent their children, who just happen to be a mix of biological and adopted. She is fascinated by these beautiful, thin, well-coifed women and what drew them to their redneck husbands. Photos are circulating online that prove under their massive beards there are men who were once handsome enough to woo these lovely women.

Despite all these reasons for watching, the real reason for their success is that they are funny. We never fail to laugh when watching the Robertsons. I’m not so naïve as to think everything that happens is unplanned, but even with a sense that scenarios may be contrived, I can’t help but giggle.

Uncle Si trying to earn enough tickets at a local pizza arcade to win a stuffed purple gorilla is funny. Godwin, a co-worker at the duck call plant, shirtlessly scurrying across a path on all fours to see if he resembles a panther from a distance is funny. Willie and Jase taking their wives hunting and Korie dousing herself in doe urine is funny. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

“Duck Dynasty” may not be everyone’s blue Tupperware cup of iced tea, but the Robertsons have become heroes to a segment of the population that can’t find many in the media these days. We can debate whether or not they are role models, but you cannot deny they are trending.

It remains to be seen how many seconds are left on their 15 minutes of fame, but when the season finale airs Wednesday, as Si would say, “I’m down like a rodeo clown, Jack!”

What’s your take on the Robertsons? Do you watch and laugh out loud or do you cringe and avoid them like the plague? If you are a fan, what are your reasons? Leave a comment and make us “happy, happy, happy.”

After just a few whistled notes of “The Fishin’ Hole,” the immortal theme song of “The Andy Griffith Show,” I am transported to the carefree summer days of my youth.

I memorized that tune, gained an appreciation for the show and developed a fondness for the characters watching midday re-runs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Griffith’s passing from a heart attack at age 86 on July 3 put me in a reflective mood.

Pop culture has absorbed few Southern icons the way it has Andy Griffith’s television characters.

There are plenty of hayseeds and hillbillies played for laughs on the big and small screens, but these Southern-fried jesters aren’t elevated to the status of role models. These buffoons are anti-heroes at best, beloved maybe, but not respected.

It is my contention that Griffith will be the only Southern entertainer to occupy that lofty position.

In the 1960s, Andy Griffith and his cast of zany Southern archetypal characters inhabiting the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., became part of American culture. Syndication will keep it that way in perpetuity. Griffith’s character, Andy Taylor, was likable in nearly every way: a widower trying to raise a son, faithful church choir member, shrewd law enforcement officer, dapper and available bachelor, a mellifluous singing guitar player and a patient friend and mentor.

When “The Andy Griffith Show’s” run was over, it appeared Griffith’s life on television was over, so strong was the impact of his portrayal of Sheriff Taylor. Conventional wisdom had it that he would be forever typecast. But Griffith had that quality that could be reshaped with a little aging.

Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock — Andy Griffith as Atlanta defense attorney Ben Matlock

By the time Griffith introduced us to Atlanta defense attorney Ben Matlock in 1986, we were ready for his reinterpretation of another Southern archetype – the wise but gruff older man whose experience gives him the advantage over brash adversaries who underestimate him.

As the nation aged and advertisers aimed their products at the World War II generation and the top-end of the Baby Boom, Matlock captured another zeitgeist and actually had a longer run than “The Andy Griffith Show.”

In the landscape of New Southern culture , there is no emerging replacement for Andy Griffith. This is an era of dark themes and Southern gothic storylines. We have an abundance of such characters as zombie fighters, vampires, detectives and football coaches. Lately, the trend has been toward reality TV shows that put Southern caricatures on display and give legs to negative Southern stereotypes.

But Andy and Ben were characters Southerners could be proud of. Yes, they became clichés in their own right, but being kindhearted, clever and musically talented aren’t attributes we Southerners mind.

These two characters, plus the many other memorable roles Griffith portrayed, will secure Griffith’s place in pop culture. Re-runs of “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Matlock” may even garner a larger ratings share now that Griffith has passed, and he will likely be so ubiquitous on cable that the question “Is Andy Griffith dead?” will be a popular Google search in a few years.

As the Facebook tributes and Twitter odes continue for this son of the South, it’s important to remember that Griffith was a person aside from his assumed TV personas. His passing causes grief, but more than that, it provokes gratitude.

Thanks, Andy, for giving the South – old and new – characters we can be proud of. I will appreciate you in reruns a little more knowing that you’ve left us.

What’s your favorite memory of Andy Griffith on television? Does the whistled theme song evoke childhood memories of eating supper around the television on TV trays on Monday nights? What’s your favorite Andy Griffith role? Were you a Matlock fan? Share your thoughts and memories by leaving a comment below

Tag: Southern TV shows

Robertsons taking the New South by storm

Andy Griffith: One of a kind