How well has the show dated?

Message

Jay-Firestorm · #1 Post by **Jay-Firestorm** » Sat May 09, 2009 1:48 pm

I've been a huge fan of MPI ever since I first got into it many years ago now. And re-viewing the episodes to review them, I'm amazed as to just how well the show holds up.

I'm a fan of many old shows, but many of them are badly dated. MPI does indeed have things that date it, but nothing really severe IMO.

The main thing, as has been mentioned on other threads, is the lack of cell phones, which would alter a lot of the stories. Technology has also obviously moved on a lot, but seldom (with a few exceptions) does this affect stories.

I also find most of the stories much more sophisticated than many of the other shows from the time; in fact, some of the stories are just as sophisticated as things on TV today, sometimes even moreso.

The fashions are the mian things that have changed, but on the whole, the show is still as relevant today as it was back in the 1980s. I think it's one of the qualities that makes the show so popular.

Thoughts?

Little Garwood · #2 Post by **Little Garwood** » Sat May 09, 2009 4:44 pm

More than anything, it's those wretched 1980s fashions that date MPI. Women did their level best to look like men and cover their features with severe shoulder pads, high necklines, big oversprayed hair, and garish makeup. That's probably why I haven't contributed to the hottest babe on MPI thread!

Other than that, I'm fine with it, and the dated technology is charming.

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Mon May 11, 2009 2:01 pm

Obviously the technology and fashion have changed, but I think everything else from the show holds up pretty well.

lutherhgillis · #4 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Mon May 11, 2009 3:15 pm

Jay & others,

You have hit on a fantastic topic. MPI holds up precisely because it is not a show about technology, fashion, politics, or anything else other than adventure, friendship, loyalty, and the pursuit of life. This is why it stands up today. There is also the element of the carefree lifestyle, the car, the estate, and so forth. Who would not want to live like the Mag for a while?

Carry lads and lasses...

Jaybird · #5 Post by **Jaybird** » Mon May 11, 2009 6:51 pm

Luther, you are so "right on" with your post. It holds up because of the acting and the interactions the characters have with each other! Plus, I think MPI might have been the 1st TV show to deal with issues the plagued Vietnam vets. Some give that credit to China Beach but I hold that it was MPI.

When you think back, it was less than a decade from the end of that war to the debut of MPI.

Yeah! MPI holds up quite well despite the fashions.

lutherhgillis · #6 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:08 pm

Jay,

You are dead on target. China Beach was a good show but MPI began about 10 years prior and MPI was absolutely the first show to give a realistic and positive portrayal to Vietnam. They not only showed action from the jungles but they also dealt with the effects of the war on the psyche, the turmoil felt by the combatants, the loyalty of the troups, the betrayal by the guys who used the war as an excuse to profit from guns and drugs, and the endless struggle to find a new life after the war was over.

In the US media, it was often overlooked that we were the good guys in that war!!!! I love how MPI showed that the vietnam vets were mostly honorable and generally good people who were thrown into a bad situation. The war protestors, draft dodgers, smugglers, crooks, and con men were shown in bad light on MPI. There was no honor for dodging the duty to serve...

Enough from my soapbox.

Little Garwood · #7 Post by **Little Garwood** » Wed May 13, 2009 3:42 am

I should mention that I absolutely LOVE "dated" shows/movies/music. I don't understand why that appellation is viewed in a pejorative context. If the stories, dialogue, performances etc. are all top notch, it really doesn't matter if the slang, fashions. music, or cars are of a specific time frame. The only time something is truly "dated" is when the story is no longer relevant, and a program can still be entertaining. An example is H.G. Wells' book, First Men on the Moon; great story, but scientifically way off the mark (helium balloons to get to the moon), yet it's still an entertaining book. Certainly not up to the level of The Island of Doctor Moreau or War of the Worlds, but it's still a story well told.

Shows like Hawaii Five-O were often ahead of their time in terms of their subject matter, but I think MPI is even stronger in that the plots are timeless. They were relevant then, now, and probably will be in twenty years. Of course, this site most likely won't exist in twenty years, so no one will be able to prove me wrong!