February 5th, 1953. Andrew "Andy" H. Brown & Mary Thompson... & Loretta... One could argue that the cultural impact of this little gem is about as high as it's cultural relevance today, which isn't very high if you ask the youngens. They'd be wrong though. Amos n' Andy are among the originals, so in a sense, this is the one that started it all. And to be honest, just having a show that was this culturally "neutral" airing while blatantly racist minstrel shows were still common on the Broadway stages, makes this a show worth mentioning every opportunity one gets. This is the show that gave I Love Lucy a run for it's money for three seasons. It isn't genius, but it is pretty funny and it's just nice to see people in a sitcom, going about standard, ridiculous, sitcom situations without cultural/racial clichés being the ultimate source of punchlines. They're just a black Laurel and Hardy really... At the beginning of the episode Andrew H. Brown gets engaged to "long time girlfriend" Loretta. That same night he meets and falls in love with Mary Thompson. Suddenly all bets are off. At first it all seems simple, he decides to call the whole thing off with Lauretta and he moves forward with Mary. Pretty soon he and Mary are at the Marriage License Bureau getting their names registered and they're all set to live happily ever after. Unfortunately Lauretta's parents, along with her brother, aren't having it. They strong arm Andy into getting an additional license with Lauretta's name on it. By the end of the episode Andy is faced with both women walking down the isle, jockeying each other for forward position, shocking everybody in attendance. The Marriage License Bureau officer, impressed by Andy's busy rascal, "buy in bulk" system of matrimony promises that the next time he comes in, it's on the house. At the conclusion we're surprised to discover Andy just might hold the license agent to that... See it's funny 'cause Andy's always gettin' laid.
Unpublished author, unproduced screenwriter, un-enacted playwright & director for higher (currently waiting by the phone), Guillaume Parisien sometimes writes puff pieces for the pop-culture indulgent in order to support his vices; of which there are many.
