Right On Maude!

I recently had to go exchange my old cable box for the newer version, in order to take advantage of their new OnDemand feature. With OnDemand you can watch movies and your favorite shows whenever YOU want to watch them. Think of it as Pay-Per-View without the hassle of additional cost or time schedule.

So, with this new feature, there is a category called Tube Time and it offers classic TV shows. Well, one of them happens to be one of my all-time favorites: Maude! For those who may not be familiar with the show (though I know most of my readers are), Maude was a spinoff of All In the Family, starring Bea Arthur. Think of it as the polar opposite of All In the Family, where Archie was the bigot with a heart of gold, Maude is the well-meaning liberal with a heart of gold. Some of you may know of Maude because of the "controversial" abortion episode, where Maude finds out that at the age of 47, she's pregnant. And, as she puts it "At the age of 62 I'll be the mother of an Eagle Scout!" After much deliberation, she opts to have an abortion.

I've already exhausted all 19 episodes of the entire first season, and I'm watching them again. Bea Arthur is the queen of the deadpan look. I just love her. Dave over at Blogography has Betty White, but Bea Arthur is my favorite Golden Girl. I was interested to see just how long the show actually ran, so I checked IMDB. I was a little surprised to see that it ran a whopping 7 seasons! That gives me a lot to look forward to, providing future seasons get released to OnDemand or hopefully on DVD.

I've read some reviews that feel the show is dated. I have to disagree. On the contrary, I was surprised just how current, now more than ever, some of the episodes were. Many of the issues/topics dealt with on the show are still more than relative today, what with the Bush administration in office and their Christian agenda of moralizing America. Conrad Bain's ultra conservative, pro-big business character is just as current today as it was 30 years ago. Personally, I love the fact that the show would be considered politically incorrect by today's standards, but then what isn't these days? I also love that in every episode everyone is drinking. And when I say every episode, I mean every episode.

And of course, you gotta love the theme song:

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider
She didn't care if the whole world looked.
Joan of Arc with the Lord to guide her
She was a sister who really cooked.

Isadora was the first bra burner
Ain't you glad she showed up. (Oh yeah)
And when the country was falling apart
Betsy Ross got it all sewed up.

And then there's Maude.
(Chorus) And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
(Chorus) And then there's Maude.
And then there's Maude.
(Chorus) And then there's Maude.
And then there's...

Bad on compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing,
Right on Maude!

One of my favorite scenes takes place in the episode where Maude's daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau) receives flowers from an admirer. Maude answers the door and tells the delivery man:
Maude- "Here, and thanks for your trouble." (::hands the man a 50¢ tip::)
Delivery man- "50¢? Some thanks."
Maude- "You don't like it? Here, let me see it." (::pretends to scrutinize the money, while rifling through her pocket::)
Maude- "I like it."
Maude- "I'll tell you what, since you don't like it and I do, why don't I just keep it." (::slams door in shocked delivery man's face::)

ROTFLMAO! I thought I was gonna die. It was hilarious. They just don't make TV like that anymore. If you have cable and your cable company offers OnDemand, I encourage you to tune in and enjoy some hilarious, edgy, classic television.