All That Glitters

All that Glitters was short lived, but WAY ahead of its time as Norman Lear who's the "king of controversial sit com television" placed this out there for audiences to see. As I was a female young kid at the time, and "women's lib" was supposedly established, here Lear brought it to fruition. A women run society. And the women were as ruthless, sexual and cut throat as men. Boy, did people have a major cow. This show as very short lived.

Between this show and another short lived network show I liked called "Executive Suite", America - even a very small portion of it - wasn't ready for things like women executives, heterosexual male secretaries & interracial pairings, abortion issues. "All That Glitters" focused on the woman dominated society. But that is the history of early television and the masters, male and female, behind it all. And Norman Lear was one of the leaders.

One that that is important to note: there wasn't such thing as "syndication" as we all know it back then. Syndication didn't come into play until the 1980's -- with a block of shows like "Small Wonder", a new life to "It's a Living", "Out of this World", "The New Gidget", etc. that were being packaged and sold to fill time -- and networks were poo-pooing the concepts, but an audience was out there for these shows....AND 50's & 60's actors realizing that their shows were being played ad-nausea on UHF, local channels and the new medium Cable-TV and its "Superstations", and they weren't getting paid! That's when everyone realized that syndication became ... lucrative - but the whole point of this is that Norman Lear took advantage of the medium way early of this to express a broader artistic view of programming. I'm sure he knew the networks were having a cow. But even back then, "All That Glitters" is one of the most controversial programming of that time, even light-years more than his "All In The Family".

But it was brilliant, it was inspired. It was very short lived but again...the talent! Linda Gray, Gary Sandy, etc. Now that DVD and Blue Ray is alive and well, I hope audiences can take another look at this. I'm not sure if it will "hold up through the years" with HD, etc. but the theme and genius of the concept is there.

And I am still waiting to see "that show" and "that acceptance" in which female executives and CEO's run the country ...

What a little wonder this show was!! If you got to see any of it, you are very lucky. So far as I know it has never been shown in any other format than its original one on network TV. I particularly remember Lois Nettleton (a great favorite of mine) and Gary Sandy. Gary as a sexually harassed secretary was funny and pitiful at the same time. I guess it maybe cut too close to home for the network, because it sank with no trace. But, gosh, it was funny.

Isn't it unfortunate that it has not had the same exposure as some of the other, far more familiar, Lear products? If someone is sitting on this little jewel, why don't you put it out there for people to see? I have a feeling it would be every bit as funny as it was almost 30 years ago. Maybe more so.

It is great to have finally found a site that includes some information on "All That Glitters". I was 19 years old and living in New Orleans when this unique show aired late at night after Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I loved it and have always wondered if I imagined it as not one single person I knew had seen it except a few guys who lived upstairs in my apartment complex. Lear was certainly right on with this way ahead of its time show. It would be awesome if TV Land could get a hold of the few episodes and get them repeated. It is a must see for all. The whole premise was terrific but I can see that it might have stirred up the TV censors for its time but would still be relevant now. Let's hope it can make it back on the small screen even if just to acknowledge Norman Lear's brilliance.

I have always been a fan of Norman Lear, with his vision and unique sense of humor. "All That Glitters" was one of his best, and I really missed it when it vanished so abruptly. It's a shame that the networks are so quick to pull shows that are unconventional before they have a chance to prove themselves, despite rabid fan bases. (Examples (in alphabetical order): All's Fair, Early Edition, Earth 2, Family Law, Firefly, First Monday, Freaks and Geeks, Golden Years, L.A. Doctors, Ned and Stacey, Nightmare Cafe, Now and Again, Pretender, Prey, Push Nevada, Reasonable Doubts, Relativity, Space:Above & Beyond, Sportsnight, Strange Luck, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Tracker, Vengeance Unlimited, VR.5, Witchblade, and possibly Mister Sterling) (You can't tell I'm a SciFi fan, can you?)

It's gotten so bad that I won't watch new shows that I've heard are great until it's been on at least 3 seasons - It seems that every time I get hooked on a show, it disappears... Of course, now, I just get the DVDs of the complete series. (That's how I've watched Angel, and will probably watch 24.)

Okay, done ranting now!

This sit com came on the heels of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" -- it "mysteriously" disappeared directly following an early episode which presented an older woman (Linda Gray?) in bed with a buff young black man. Zap. Gone. The network sponsors weren't having it. Most people don't remember the show -- it was canceled so prematurely -- because it touched too many nerves. Racism/age-ism/sexism -- it was incredibly smart. There should be a secret All That Glitters Society --people who "got it." I definitely did -- and I was only 15 at the time.