Why the lack of parents in children's TV shows ?

Fozzydog3

Now I'm not talking about them being off screen I mean proper depressing stories such as:

Rugrats: Chuckie's mam

Sabrina: Cant see her parents , forget why .

Blossom: Mam is dead

Raising dad: Mam is dead

As told by Ginger: Dad left them

Two of a kind: Mam is dead

Drake and Josh : both have one parent out of the picture

Hey Arnold: can't remember

Sister Sister: can't remember

The brothers savage: Mam is dead

Gilmore Girls: Watched it once don't know

Hannah Montana: Mam is dead (wikipedia browsing)

Tucker: Dunno but the dad isn't there

Literally every Disney film ever

now the list doesnt seem too big but upon wiki inspection its about %60 of the programs that'd be based around family i.e sitcoms


So why all the orphans and can you think of anything else ?

Enda Murphy

80% of the teens in home and away over the years have been orphans.

Wetai

Maybe (the kids watching it) don't want to be watching a program with boring parents, when they have enough of that in real life anyways - and the writers/producers think/understand that?

Fozzydog3

LiamN wrote: »

Maybe (the kids watching it) don't want to be watching a program with boring parents, when they have enough of that in real life anyways - and the writers/producers think/understand that?

I know what your thinking but most teen movies just have the parents off screen (ferris bueller cant think of anything else) and cow and chicken parodied offscreen parents with the half parents , why does it have to be so grim ???

VenusPlays

Because how would the central characters get up to all their wierd and wacky adventures with Mom and Dad breathing down their necks?

I blame Enid Blyton, the only parent of the Famous Five you ever heard of was Georges eccentric dad. They were always off camping by themselves and what not. And the Mallory Towers and St Claires books were about girls whose parents sent them off to be raised in boarding schools cos they couldn't be arsed with them.

Dotrel

He-Man : I think he was adopted or something.

Saved by the Bell : I think the mexican guys mother was dead

Spongebob : Unknown but I never saw his parents.

Transformers : Most of the robots had no parents.

joshrogan

The Rugrats really were a figment of Angelicas Imagination.
Chucky died a long time ago along with this mother, that's why chaz is a nervous wreck all the time.
Tommy was a still born, that's why Stu is constantly in the basement making toys for the son who never had a chance to live.
The DeVilles had an abortion, angelica couldn't figure whether it would be a boy or a girl thus creating the twins.

Fozzydog3

joshrogan wrote: »

The Rugrats really were a figment of Angelicas Imagination.
Chucky died a long time ago along with this mother, that's why chaz is a nervous wreck all the time.
Tommy was a still born, that's why Stu is constantly in the basement making toys for the son who never had a chance to live.
The DeVilles had an abortion, angelica couldn't figure whether it would be a boy or a girl thus creating the twins.

Seen a guy post this on FB and it reminded me about my theory that i was meaning to post

mikom

Why the lack of parents in children's TV shows ?

Every kids dream.

Hande hoche!

Destruction of the nuclear family by the leftist media.

castletownman

Cus parents be trippin'

Guill

Hannah Montana: Mam is dead (wikipedia browsing)

Yea right! :rolleyes:

dark crystal

iCarly has her brother watching her, don't know what happened to her parents.

The Suite Life of on Deck - numerous pre-teens are left to fend for themselves on a cruise ship

The Story of Tracy Beaker - the kids are in care.


No parents = less wages spent on actors, I suppose.

Biggins

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

...So why all the orphans and can you think of anything else ?

In reality, from a writing point of view, the absence of a parent or other kin/friend/etc, is usually used as a prop for plot devices and is additionally used in storylines as a further complication for the creation of teen angst and complications in their lives which again by writing, adds to drama and opens doors to later diversification of future events or retelling/explaining of past events that have led up the current moment in any one program your watching.

* It also saves money as a bonus in regards hiring cast!

Short version: Its to add to the drama a lot of the time.

AnamGlas

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

As told by Ginger: Dad left them

Hmmmm...

rockmongrel

Rugrats: Chuckie's mam - She's dead.

Sabrina: Both alive, one lives in a book, the other is a mortal archaeologist.

Blossom: Mam is dead.

Raising dad: Mam is dead.

As told by Ginger: Dad left them, but he stilled appeared semi-regularly, and the parents got back together in the end as far as I remember.

Two of a kind: Mam is dead

Drake and Josh : both have one parent out of the picture

Hey Arnold: Parents died in a plane crash.

Sister Sister: The twins mother is dead, can't remember the father.

The brothers savage: Mam is dead

Gilmore Girls: Both parents are alive, one is a main character.

Hannah Montana: Mam is dead (wikipedia browsing)

Tucker: Parents divorced.

FYP.

Peanuts had parents in em. Course they didn't have faces and swallowed trumpets seemingly.

phasers

Basically it's easier to only write for one parent, and when you run out of material you can do a 'hilarious' parent goes on a date' episode or an emotional 'i miss mommy' episode.

Sabrina's Dad was around, he lived in the spell book. Her ma turned into a ball of wax if she saw her for some stupid reason. in Sister Sister, their dad was a photographer who turned up at the end, one of them went off with him.

Kenan and kel had both parents, so did Clarissa and tommy pickles. And that chick from That's so Raven. And peppa pig. Spongebob does too but he's a grown up so you only see them randomly. Timmy turner had both, and godparents. His friend only had a dad though. Who wore a paper bag on his head.


I'll probably think of more.

the groutch

if you don't see the parents it means the kids murdered them

Seachmall

Because people watch TV shows they can relate to, or think they can relate to, and like to think of their favorite character as a reflection of themselves.

Kids see their parents as oppressive and controlling. So the characters the kids can relate to don't have that controlling force, it's fun to imagine a world where you're completely free with no one telling you what to do.

Teen movies do the same with all the sex and drugs and no parents, or at least with the rebellion against the parents.

"Adult" shows like House and The Mentalist also do this.

/pseudo-psychology

scholar007

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Now I'm not talking about them being off screen I mean proper depressing stories such as:

Rugrats: Chuckie's mam

Sabrina: Cant see her parents , forget why .

Blossom: Mam is dead

Raising dad: Mam is dead

As told by Ginger: Dad left them

Two of a kind: Mam is dead

Drake and Josh : both have one parent out of the picture

Hey Arnold: can't remember

Sister Sister: can't remember

The brothers savage: Mam is dead

Gilmore Girls: Watched it once don't know

Hannah Montana: Mam is dead (wikipedia browsing)

Tucker: Dunno but the dad isn't there

Literally every Disney film ever

now the list doesnt seem too big but upon wiki inspection its about %60 of the programs that'd be based around family i.e sitcoms


So why all the orphans and can you think of anything else ?

When I was younger, there were all those Aussie soaps and all the kids in them were fostered. I only found out in the pub one night when I was 35 from a big aussie guy who wasn't too happy when I asked him what it was like to be fostered that this is not the case.

Maybe they are following the Aussie model of years ago.

Ruu_Old

Enda Murphy wrote: »

80% of the teens in home and away over the years have been orphans.

Pippa and Tom done a great job raising those kids! :mad:

mikemac

VenusPlays wrote: »

I blame Enid Blyton, the only parent of the Famous Five you ever heard of was Georges eccentric dad. They were always off camping by themselves and what not.

They stayed with Aunt Fanny too

wolfpawnat

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Rugrats: Chuckie's mam

Dead apparently

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Sabrina: Cant see her parents , forget why .

Dad is a wizard and is in a book, mother is a mortal and if she sees her before she gets her witches licence she will turn into a ball of wax.

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Blossom: Mam is dead

Raising dad: Mam is dead

As told by Ginger: Dad left them

Dunno them

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Drake and Josh : both have one parent out of the picture

Because t does happen that people get married that have children from previous relationships. It is supposed to show they are both brothers and best friends, leading children with subliminal messaging to accept their step-siblings.

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Hey Arnold: can't remember

Kid raised by grandparents, often happens

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Sister Sister: can't remember

twin girls adopted out to two single people, dunno if that actually ever happens!

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

The brothers savage: Mam is dead

Gilmore Girls: Watched it once don't know

????? Dunno them either

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Hannah Montana: Mam is dead (wikipedia browsing)

To strengthen the bond between Hannah Montana and her father apparently

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Tucker: Dunno but the dad isn't there

again dunno

Fozzydog3 wrote: »

Literally every Disney film ever

now the list doesnt seem too big but upon wiki inspection its about %60 of the programs that'd be based around family i.e sitcoms


So why all the orphans and can you think of anything else ?

One Tree Hill, The OC, Every programme really. Because they are the social norms these days, I think it is actually more odd to have your parents together than separated these days!

ejmaztec

I blame all of those programmes for teaching kids to become lone parents so that they could milk the system.

byte

Ruu wrote: »

Pippa and Tom done a great job raising those kids! :mad:

What happened Pippa Fletcher? I don't think she's in it anymore.

Also, I'm trying to think back, but was it Tom who drowned in a river, or somebody who replaced Tom as Pippa's hubby? (also remember Pippa having a Face/Off moment).

sparkle_23

In Gilmore Girls both parents are alive. The mother is a regular character and the dad appears in a good few episodes. The Grandparents on both sides feature regularly too!

The new 90210 is parent free too... The first season they all had parents and then they gradually left :rolleyes::rolleyes:

sparkle_23

byte wrote: »

What happened Pippa Fletcher? I don't think she's in it anymore.

Also, I'm trying to think back, but was it Tom who drowned in a river, or somebody who replaced Tom as Pippa's hubby? (also remember Pippa having a Face/Off moment).

Pippa moved somewhere. She comes back the odd time though! I think the guy that drowned was Michael, her second husband. It was in a flood after the earthquake...he kinda got swept away! Odd I can remember that really clearly and it was years ago!!

Bride2012

*Sparkle* wrote: »

byte wrote: »

What happened Pippa Fletcher? I don't think she's in it anymore.

Also, I'm trying to think back, but was it Tom who drowned in a river, or somebody who replaced Tom as Pippa's hubby? (also remember Pippa having a Face/Off moment).

Pippa moved somewhere. She comes back the odd time though! I think the guy that drowned was Michael, her second husband. It was in a flood after the earthquake...he kinda got swept away! Odd I can remember that really clearly and it was years ago!!

Ya, I think that Zach/Jack tried to save him.

TanG411

Tucker moves in to his aunt's house because his parents got a divorce. I think the mother moved in as well.

Temptamperu

I think its because kids dont really care for parents or parent issues.