Dear Editor Sir, I read ….

Dear Editor Sir, I read your most receny Viewpoint about being “out of touch” with today’s music. I must say that I feel that way about television and movies.Now I am older than you so I might be dating myself but there was a time when there was this idea of “standards and practices” about TV and movies so that you could sit down with your wife or kids to watch a show or a movie and feel safe that it would not be filled with sex and violence and foul language. I am no prude but John Wayne and Michael Landon and Andy Griffith managed to become huge stars without any of that sort of thing. Now, even on prime time regular TV stations like CBS, ABC and NBC there is bad language, sexual content and graphic violence on every show it seems. Guess I can just watch Nick at Nite and relive the days of good television. [ Editor’s Note: Let me first admit that I watch a lot of the shows you’re probably describing. I do enjoy the gritty realism of shows that more realistically depict the world we live in, like “ The Wire,” “ Law & Order,” “ The Sopranos,” “ Justified,” “ Breaking Bad,” or “ True Detective.” I don’t think you could objectively call any of those shows “ bad,” but they are, as it says before the show, “ intended for mature audiences.” Having said that, if you’re older than I am , you definitely qualify as a “ mature audience.” But I think you do make a good point. Just because someone is an adult that doesn’t mean they want to see asult content. And the truth is, I’ve always loved TV and movies and I assure you I would not have enjoyed “ The Andy Griffith Show,” or “ Bonanza” or The Dukes of Hazzard” more if they used bad language or sex ( those “ Daisy Duke” shorts were good enough for me…). But I will say that TV has always been at least in part about pushing the envelope in its content. Even back in the 1970s, shows like “ All in the Family” and “ Starsky & Hutch” turned up the mature content to show more real- life situations. And you mention John Wayne. I’ve heard The Duke drop a few obscenities, nothing too vulgar, but much like my early childhood hero, Alan Alda’s Capt.

Hawkeye Pierce on “ M* A* S* H,” it was used sparringly and for effect. I could probably go on and on about this, and maybe should have saved it for another “ Viewpoint” column, but I will say, there is still wholesome kidand family- friendly TV out there, but you do have to seek it out. Or, if you’re like me and you like to stick with the classics ( I still enjoy “ The Brady Bunch,” for example) streaming services offer them in droves]