Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE 5-1-2016 The Lonely Nineties: Visions of Community on Television between the End of the Cold War and 9/11 Paul Andrew Arras Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Arras, Paul Andrew, "The Lonely Nineties: Visions of Community on Television between the End of the Cold War and 9/11" (2016). Dissertations - ALL. 420. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/420 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract “The Lonely Nineties” provides a close reading of six popular series on primetime American television in the 1990s, setting their depictions of community within the context of late 20th century problems and developments in civic disengagement. This dissertation examines Seinfeld, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Law & Order, The X-Files, Touched by an Angel, and The Simpsons within their respective genres, revealing what makes nineties television distinctive, and connecting those distinctions to related developments in American social and cultural history. In the final decade when the medium still offered regularly a simultaneous experience of mass culture, television imagined communities in various states of fragmentation just as America, itself, was grappling with a fragmented age. The Lonely Nineties: Visions of Community on Television between the End of the Cold War and 9/11 by Paul Arras B.A., Syracuse University, 2004 M.A., King’s College, London, 2007 M.A., Syracuse University, 2011 M.Phil., Syracuse University, 2012 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Syracuse University May 2016 Copyright © Paul Arras, 2016 All rights reserved Acknowledgements I could not have completed this dissertation without the many forms of support I received from a cast and crew of friends and family around Syracuse. DIRECTOR: Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn shepherded me from my early intellectual wanderings, carefully read many versions of this dissertation, and made the graduate school experience a complete joy. Most gratifyingly for my soul, she encouraged me simply to keep writing. SHOW RUNNER: Robert J. Thompson, taught me how to read television and introduced me to more TV shows than I ever knew existed. He, along with Mylinda Smith (CATERER), welcomed me and many other scholars into their office every week for good TV, great food, and wonderful company. PRODUCERS: The members of my dissertation committee helped bring this project to completion. Ralph Ketcham and Jeffrey Gonda have both offered invaluable guidance on historical scholarship and the history profession. I would not have added a history major in my undergraduate days if not for David H. Bennett, an incredible teacher, a delightful conversationalist on both politics and SU sports, and a wise source of counsel. PRODUCTION STUDIOS: I am grateful to the Syracuse University Department of History and the Maxwell School for helping me finish this project and generously providing me with financial support for research and conference trips. Jim Steinberg graciously gave me his valuable time and support, reading and commenting on this dissertation. Every single member of the faculty and staff of the wonderful history department influenced my intellectual development in some way, big and small. iv WRITERS: I could not have asked for a more collegial, friendly, and collaborative atmosphere than that of SU’s history graduate community. Sravani Biswas, Alexandra M. Elias, Charles D. Goldberg, Thomas A. Guiler, Yoshina D. Hurgobin, Namhee Lee, Jason L. Newton, Adam Parsons, Matthew D. Stewart, and L. Giovanna Urist all provided company in long seminars, commiseration after hours, and rich feedback on my thinking and writing. KEY GRIPS: The friendships of so many people including, but not limited to, Paul and Lisa Aridgides, Paul and Marissa Coir, and Maarten and Andrea Jacobs kept me grounded and happy through the long haul of grad school. CREATORS: My parents, who read versions of this dissertation throughout the writing process, are a constant source of encouragement. Al Arras has always insisted that I follow my passion, and Jane Arras, a wonderful writer, has loved me no matter what. Daniel Arras (PROGRAM CONSULTANT), a great brother and kindred spirit, cheered me on from afar. STARRING: Henry Arras, the craziest guy I know, arrived in time for the final year of my work on this dissertation, providing a reason to finish. Taylor Arras took care of him and me, and though she herself was lonely at times when I was off writing, she remained ceaselessly upbeat, celebrating every step I took. I have, at times, a wild imagination, but I cannot imagine this project or this life without her. v Contents Introduction: Why Were the Nineties Lonely? 1 Chapter 1: Seinfeld and the Failure of the Coffee Shop as a Third Place 40 Chapter 2: NYPD Blue’s Detective Sipowicz and the 86 Limits of the Individualist American Hero Chapter 3: Law & Order, the Decline of Radicalism, and the 126 Re-Ascendance of the Justice System Chapter 4: The Truth is Out There… and He Loves You: Depictions of Faith in 164 The X-Files and Touched by an Angel at the End of the Century Chapter 5: Spending Eternity with The Simpsons: 210 Springfield as TV’s Most Heavenly Community Conclusions: TV after the Nineties 257 Viewing List 270 Bibliography 272 Vita 300 vi Introduction Why Were the Nineties Lonely? Tom Brokaw stood on a raised platform with a massive crowd behind him, a hint of joy—or was it smugness?—peeking through the corners of his mouth. The Brandenberg Gate loomed in the night shadows behind his head. A horizontal band of graffiti-covered concrete bisected the backdrop. A few brave Berliners had already climbed onto the top of the wall, ignoring the jets of water aimed halfheartedly from unseen authorities on the other side. It was Thursday, November 9, 1989. The Berlin Wall was coming down. And NBC news alone was on the scene to cover it live.1 A few days earlier NBC’s foreign news chief had a hunch. He convinced Brokaw and the show’s producers to take the Nightly News to Berlin. Thus, Brokaw happened to be at the famous press conference when East Germany’s propaganda minister made the surprising announcement that East Germans were immediately free to travel beyond the Iron Curtain. The minister had jumped the gun, and the border guards were not ready for the crowds that surged to the wall. But NBC was. Even West German networks were slower than NBC in getting their live positions up and running before the guards opened the crossings.2 It was a big Thursday night for NBC.3 Then again, for several years, Thursday night had always been a big night for the Peacock. After Brokaw signed off at 7:00 PM on the east coast, 1 Elizabeth Guider, “Yank Webs Provide Fanfare: NBC, Still Smarting from San Francisco Fracas, is First out of the Gate; Brokaw Made Beeline for Berlin and Caught Other Webs Napping,” Variety, Nov. 15, 1989, 35-36. 2 Bill Wheatley, “‘Good evening, live from the Berlin Wall:’ Persistence, Good Luck Combined to Create Historic Exclusive Broadcast,” NBC News, November 5, 2009, accessed on Oct. 6, 2015, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33590933/ns/world_news-fall_of_the_berlin_wall_20_years_later/t/good-evening-live- berlin-wall/#.VhQXP2u1MzE. 3 It was a big night in terms of journalistic prestige, at least. In fact, NBC’s live coverage of the wall did not help its evening news out of third place, where it was consistently finishing in the late eighties. Bob Knight, “Series Fare Helps NBC Win Again; Sweeps Spex Quiet,” Variety, November 22, 1989, 90. 1 NBC packed up its live coverage for the night. As Berlin’s impromptu freedom party continued through the night, NBC’s juggernaut primetime schedule kicked into gear.4 On The Cosby Show (NBC, 1984-92) at 8:00, Dr. Cliff (Bill Cosby), the patriarch of the middle class, African- American Huxtable family, has a wild dream; Peruvian spores had contaminated the American water supply, impregnating every male. Cliff awakes with a new appreciation for his wife, and the toil of mothers everywhere.5 Next up, at 8:30, was a spin-off of The Cosby Show. A Different World (NBC, 1987-93) followed a group of students attending a historically black college. This episode also explored the theme of parenthood as Ron (Darryl M. Bell) starts dating a young female classmate who has a child.6 Cheers (NBC, 1982-93) followed at 9:00 with the darkly comedic news that waitress Carla Tortelli’s latest husband was killed by a Zamboni. Tortelli, always unlucky in love, discovers at the funeral that her husband had secretly married another woman.7 At 9:30 came Dear John (NBC, 1988-92), the least successful sitcom in the block, about divorcé, John Lacey (Judd Hirsch), who attended a support group for other lonely hearts. In this episode, John reads a self-help book that motivates him to try to publish his own poetry.8 Finally, at 10:00, the lawyers on L.A. Law (NBC, 1986-94) deal with a variety of cases ranging from the serious (a black college professor charged with murdering a white woman who 4 The news did not run past 7:00 that night, other than a few news bulletins throughout the evening. One hour of syndicated programming filled NBC affiliates’ schedules until 8:00. Also note, all times are east coast throughout this dissertation.