As for KRP - recognizing that Jennifer was as much brains as beauty, she was over-the-top beautiful, if that makes any sense. Also, again, too high-maintenance. Bailey was more my type. Just as beautiful as Jenny-poo, but more down to earth and accessible.
I've never seen the appeal of a "beauty mark." They're usually fake anyway. Mary Ann's face is gorgeous without needing any artificial embellishment, and she's got a decidedly curvier figure. I found Jennifer rather repulsive-looking. Everything about her that was supposedly attractive was totally artificial.
And neither were Johnny, Venus (a schoolteacher, by training, if you recall -- remember his metaphor of the atom as three street gangs in a round neighborhood?), or Bailey. But before Andy showed up, Johnny was completely demoralized, Bailey was completely cowed, Momma Carlson was using the station as a loss for tax purposes, and Venus wasn't around until Andy hired him, leaving Jennifer to keep the place from falling apart completely.
IIRC, it was Johnny who figured out the tax write-off angle in the series finale. He and Mrs. Carlson's butler Hirsch (Mr. AtoZ) were the only other characters who knew that. I think Johnny said something like, "It's so warped, even I get it."
But she was. Watch the body language, listen to the innuendos...& even Jan Smithers had said in interviews that she tried to give hints of this raw sexuality just under the surface of Bailey's outer personality. Remember, it was the late 70s--key parties, "Plato's Retreat", & all that.
Well, let's see what we're talking about here. Urban Dictionary's definition of minx: Does this apply to Bailey Quarters? No. Arguably 6 or 7 might apply to Bailey, but in light of the other connotations of the word, and in the further face of "dirty little", it's impossible not to take it as a backhanded compliment.
Mary Ann, hands down. Under that sweet, downhome, cornfed exterior was a little vixen who would rock your world, and then bake you a pie. Just because. Ginger was way too high-maintenance for me.
Actually, there was a real subtext of an abusive relationship is Darin's treatment of Samantha. Putting aside the fact that he was clearly an alcoholic (between the three martini lunches, the doubles when he got home and the frequent trips to the bar whenever things didn't go well at home), Darin constantly belittled his wife's family and tried to keep them from having contact with her. He treated Samantha like a servant and even sometimes a child. All of which might--might--seem like just a satire of fading 60s pre-feminsim. However, consider this: Samantha had various natural abilities. These were abilities she grew up with and, to her, were every bit as natural as walking or using one's senses. Her husband, however, did not want her using these abilities. He demanded that she literally handicap herself as she engaged in day to day activities. And not simply in the presence of mortals. Darin wanted Samantha to act like a "normal" wife even when no one else was around. Image a man told his wife to clean the house while blindfolded, or cook a meal while only allowed to "walk" on her knees. That's basically the same as what Darin expected of Samantha. And while she didn't always put up with it, it's still a pretty clear case of spousal abuse.
I thought this was about Ginger/Mary Ann? But seriously, Bailey. I had the major hots for Bailey back in the original run. Samantha/Jeannie was never even on the board.
"Dirty little minx" is nothing but a compliment, & entirely not backhanded. Not everyone is vanilla, y'know.
Love this, and I think that it's exactly what was really going on on that show. That's why I've never understood why Sam even stays with Darrin to begin with, or was even married to him. She should have split (pre-babies) and gone off with her mom to experience all that the '60's had to offer.
If this thread were really supposed to be about Bailey or minxes, I'd argue the point further. But it's not....
It seems to have morphed into other TV show beauty competitions, which is fine. If the board software allowed for multiple polls in a thread (thread-line polls) or, heck, if you could easily do multiple polls in one theread it'd be interesting to have gone those routes. But, alas, whatever. Well, we could probably "argue" that Ginger's beauty mark was real given the conditions she was living in. And, really Mary Ann is the "girl I'd settle down with" type of beauty but, there's still just "something" about Ginger that just makes me flutter. Just a smokiness to her. But, yeah, she'd be very high maintenance that's for sure. Agreed, though it's been forever since I've seen any of WKRP. And I agree on G-Man's summation of the Samantha/Darrin relationship. It just seemed terribly controlling on how Darrin treated Samantha but the catch is she did it anyway. Which, as suggested, was likely a microcosm of the Feminist Movement. Women across the country of the time being told to stay home and tend to the house and not try and break out and be their own person and do things for themselves using their natural talents and abilities. Darrin was *supposed* to be kind of an ass because he represented the male mind-set of the time, and times preceding. Hell the drinking with the boss, inviting him over for dinners, all "tropes" of the era. Samantha was the modern woman, breaking out to be her own person and often stepping out of the mold her husband wanted her to be in to do her own thing. (Use magic.) Yeah, it's still a sitcom and not only had to be episodic but also fit a trope and format so Samantha stayed with Darrin no matter what and even seemed to want to not use her magic/obey him. But under it all the show was wanting to be about the feminist movement, though it's up to the audience to decide if they agree with Darrin or Samantha. But, well, can you blame him for being kind of an ass to her family? They were all kind of either idiots are pains in the ass? How often *does* one really have to deal with their mother-in-law anyway and Darrin had to do it in practically every episode. Can you blame the guy for being a bit pissed about it? But Darrin was way more controlling over Samantha than Major Nelson was over Jeannie. Hell, Nelson hardly had *any* control over Jeannie.
In my opinion the Bewitched premise was the classic "fish out of water" scenario, with Darrin being the "fish." Sam was willing to try to fit into the mortal lifestyle, of her own free will, because she loved Darrin and wanted to be with him in his world. That would have worked out nicely if the in-laws hadn't kept popping in. The martini lunch and the evening drinks and the trips to the club were part of the culture at the time. That doesn't make Darrin an alcoholic. If he were having a drink or two on the way home in order to deal with what might be waiting for him is another story altogether.
Darin would walk in the door and announce he needed a martini. As soon as Samantha started to tell him about her day he'd wince and announce he needed a double (sometimes triple). Clearly, he needed "one or two...in order to deal with what might be waiting for him at home."
I wouldn't say he was an alcoholic either. Alcoholics usually have deeper, bigger, problems than a few drinks during the day.
I'd have to take urbandefault's side on this. Darrin drank the way he did because that's just what guys did back then, at least on T.V. And I don't think he was abusive or alcoholic either. Besides: If Samantha had ever objected to how Darrin treated her, wouldn't she simply have cast a spell on him to get him to stop? If she did it right he'd never know it. And Samantha's relatives WERE a pain in the ass, in fact.