A Little E-Mail
Instead of tackling the important issue of whether or not a 28-year-old woman's forehead can visibly and consistently wrinkle when angry, I decided to share a little e-mail I got from my last Coffee Talk submission. It's in reverse chronological order, like most e-mails.
"Allison Zadorozny"01/07/2008 11:17 AM
Subject FW: Coffee Talk Submission
Hi Paul,
Thanks for contacting us. There are no plans at this time to reconsider the hybrid format. After almost 30 years it is a necessary transition, and we hope people will understand that and allow future generations to enjoy For Better or For Worse.
Enjoy your day,
Allison
--
Allison Zadorozny
Business Coordinator
Lynn Johnston Productions Inc.
353 MacPherson Drive
Corbeil, ON Canada P0H 1K0
Ph (705) 752-4226 Ex: 234
Fx (705) 752-4589
Visit the Patterson family at www.fborfw.com
It’s 2008! Stay up to date with one of our For Better or For Worse calendars! On sale now!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 06 January 2008 17:53
To: Stephanie A. Van Doleweerd
Subject: Coffee Talk Submission
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on January 6th, 2008 at 05:53PM (EST).
name: Paul S
location: Oro Valley, Arizona
question: Lynn Johnston,
I heard the New York Daily News has replaced you with “Chuckle Brothers” and St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press has replaced your Sunday strip with “My Cage”. If there are more papers doing the same, is there a possibility that the hybrid method of doing For Better or For Worse will be reconsidered?
Submit: Spill Your Beans
Not only did I find it interesting that Stephanie would forward this one off to Allison, but I found Allison's response that the hybrid was a "necessary transition" an interesting turn of phrase; mainly because the thought going through my head is "transition to what?" Retirement? Not doing new storylines? Not aging the characters? I suppose we will find out after Lynn finally marries off Elizabeth and Anthony, so we can see what the post-wedding strips look like.
"Allison Zadorozny"
Subject FW: Coffee Talk Submission
Hi Paul,
Thanks for contacting us. There are no plans at this time to reconsider the hybrid format. After almost 30 years it is a necessary transition, and we hope people will understand that and allow future generations to enjoy For Better or For Worse.
Enjoy your day,
Allison
--
Allison Zadorozny
Business Coordinator
Lynn Johnston Productions Inc.
353 MacPherson Drive
Corbeil, ON Canada P0H 1K0
Ph (705) 752-4226 Ex: 234
Fx (705) 752-4589
Visit the Patterson family at www.fborfw.com
It’s 2008! Stay up to date with one of our For Better or For Worse calendars! On sale now!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 06 January 2008 17:53
To: Stephanie A. Van Doleweerd
Subject: Coffee Talk Submission
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on January 6th, 2008 at 05:53PM (EST).
name: Paul S
location: Oro Valley, Arizona
question: Lynn Johnston,
I heard the New York Daily News has replaced you with “Chuckle Brothers” and St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press has replaced your Sunday strip with “My Cage”. If there are more papers doing the same, is there a possibility that the hybrid method of doing For Better or For Worse will be reconsidered?
Submit: Spill Your Beans
Not only did I find it interesting that Stephanie would forward this one off to Allison, but I found Allison's response that the hybrid was a "necessary transition" an interesting turn of phrase; mainly because the thought going through my head is "transition to what?" Retirement? Not doing new storylines? Not aging the characters? I suppose we will find out after Lynn finally marries off Elizabeth and Anthony, so we can see what the post-wedding strips look like.
posted by howard at 11:22 PM
17 Comments:
Oh, that's interesting. I didn't realize that FOOB was already being dropped by major newspapers. I think it's a very interesting development. I know that some major newspapers reran "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Peanuts" after their creators retired/died, and have continued to carry strips like "Family Circus" and "The Wizard of Id" long after they ceased to be funny. It is interesting if FOOB is not being accorded this same leeway.
The question, of course, is what is the reason for this difference? I can think of a couple of reasons:
1. The older FOOB strips really show their age. The white professional husband/housewife married couple with three natural-born children in the suburbs setup was very relatable in the 1970s and 1980s, but it now represents a small minority of households in the U.S. and Canada. Most families have some element of blending (with divorce, no marriage, stepkids, mixed race, adoption, etc.) and most married moms do not have the luxury of staying home (or don't want to).
It is also notable that the three Patterson kids are remarkably problem-free. Lynn always claims to try to be diverse, but that diversity comes in with the fringe characters. The Pattersons are held up as the ideal. I think that is kind of offputting to people who don't meet that ideal, and don't see it as an ideal.
I think this strip would have had more "legs" if Lynn had tried to more closely represent her own life in it. For example, she could have used it to address issues with blended families, as Aaron was actually the child of her first marriage. Back in the day, Lynn could really write funny--and could have found humor in such sensitive subjects. But instead, she made the Pattersons the 1950s suburban model. She could also have portrayed Elly and John as going through an empty nest divorce, as she is currently doing. Or, alternatively, she could even have killed off John (the average age of widowhood is around 55 or so). Certainly, the John and Elly marriage shows a lot of strain. But instead of exploring that, we are shown them plodding on, staying married. That is just not relatable to most folks today because it is not their experience.
Also, the gender war issues of the earlier strips just do not appeal to people from younger generations. I know that most people of my age would consider a marriage like John and Elly's unacceptable. In fact, I have one friend who strongly considered divorce after her husband pulled one, isolated "John trick" (buying an expensive car without consulting his wife; John did that sort of thing regularly in the early strips). Marriage as an institution has changed a lot in the last 25 years. Most people today look at a John & Elly style marriage as a relic. An ugly relic.
2. The newer strips have had a very soap-opera like format. Too many side characters were brought in. Storylines take weeks to tell. Then, in the last 5 years or so, the story telling became erratic. Soap opera story lines became hard to follow even for loyal readers. This is due to vagueness and lack of follow-up. This sort of writing is unappealing the first time it appears. It is not going to be very appealing now that it is even more broken up with hybrid, leaving readers to wonder, "Where did we leave off? How much time are we to assume has passed? What actions are we to assume happened behind the scenes?" I don't think the earlier soap opera style strips will be viable for rerunning in the hybrid because of their extraordinary length (weeks) and the fact that their appeal lies in the storyline, and not the pathetic one-liners and puns that Lynn came to rely on in later years.
Oh. That must mean that Steph WAS just asking where Lynn said 'Get a life', then. You see, I'd written a submission to CT that said we were just as entitled to our points of view as she was and giving an interview that stated we weren't was bad form. Steph e-mailed me asking when Lynn said that and I told her about the podcast from Vegas. I guess Lynn simply doesn't tell her staffers about things like that.
dreadedcandiru2, I know that Stephanie was aware of the podcast--they had a link to it for a while, and also I asked a question about the podcast, and Stephanie knew what I was referring to.
In your comment, you made a reference to saying "get a life" in a "public forum." I can understand not realizing, off-hand, which "public forum" you meant!
Ah, yes. It pays to be specific, doesn't it? If I'd said the podcast, I wouldn't gotten that alarming e-mail. The little love-note would have been more about the pressure her boss was under due to the messy divorce she was going through.
qnjones
I didn't realize that FOOB was already being dropped by major newspapers.
I wouldn’t have either, except for people on other For Better or For Worse forums mentioning it. The Arizona Daily Star still carries For Better or For Worse.
I know that some major newspapers reran "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Peanuts" after their creators retired/died, and have continued to carry strips like "Family Circus" and "The Wizard of Id" long after they ceased to be funny. It is interesting if FOOB is not being accorded this same leeway.
As for ceasing to be funny, FOOB has had some leeway for awhile. There were a number of newspapers who opted not to carry "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Peanuts" after their creators retired/died, and I think Lynn Johnston would be foolish to think that she will not lose any papers with the hybrid format. My newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star no longer carries those reprints, although it did for awhile. The interesting part to me, and I think the deadly part of the hybrid, is that newspapers may think that For Better or For Worse is like "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Peanuts" and is essentially done with its new stuff and therefore ready for the chopping block. The Arizona Daily Star in particular regularly polls its readers and changes the lineup of strip fairly often. Even "Peanuts" and "Calvin and Hobbes" reprints, which stand the test of time pretty well, were “knocked off the page” as Lynn Johnston would put it; because people like to see new stuff (at least they do in Arizona). The irony of the situation for Lynn is that although her intent with the hybrid is to blend old and new stuff, so that she won’t be “knocked off the page”, her final concluding storylines of her strip may be missed in newspapers unable to draw that distinction.
DreadedCandiru2,
The little love-note would have been more about the pressure her boss was under due to the messy divorce she was going through.
I would guess not. As near as I can tell, Lynn’s staff stays far away from that subject, and for good reason, all things considered. The only person whose work I have read airing that particular dirty laundry has been Lynn herself.
Of course. It seems far more likely that nothing would have happened if I'd said 'podcast'. Her staffers, like most people, don't go out of their way to make her troubles their business. I do know they aren't ours save as how they might explain some things that troubled us.
Howard,
The fact that your newpaper dropped FBOFW and others have as well is interesting. I was looking at my local paper online today and found out they have a comic section!! Interestingly enough, FBOFW is not listed. (Granted, a lot aren't and FBOFW is still run in the paper.)
Adrianne
Adrianne,
My newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star does still carry For Better or For Worse. It no longer carries the Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes reprints. Some newspapers do an online run of strips, which they don’t print in their paper. Does the Times Union print any of the strips they list online?
The Detroit Free Press has polls about twice each year and I always vote to knock out FBOFW. Unfortunately, it receives tons of votes to stay. It has however moved below the fold on Sunday, I guess that is a step in the right direction.
Howard,
I think you're right that a hybrid strip is a mysterious entity, and newspapers and readers probably don't know how to deal with it. Excellent point.
Anonymous From Detroit,
Are you saying that the Detroit Free Press is also dropping For Better or For Worse and you heard about it on Sunday, or that the Detroit Free Press is dropping For Better or For Worse just on Sundays?
qnjones
I think you're right that a hybrid strip is a mysterious entity, and newspapers and readers probably don't know how to deal with it.
This was the reason for my question on the Coffee Talk. I would think that, after having done all those interviews explaining what was going on with the hybrid, Lynn Johnston might be a little perturbed with newspapers dropping her strip. Clearly, the scheme was to keep newspapers from dropping her strip, as has been done by some newspapers for the pure reprint strips like Peanuts, by proclaiming that there would always be some new stuff in there with the hybrid. If that is not working, then would Lynn think, “Well, I should just go all new and skip this hybrid business until I get the Liz and Anthony story done!” or would Lynn think, “You stupid newspapers! Didn’t you read my interview? Now you’re going to miss the grand finale!”? From Allison’s response to me, it sounds like Lynn has gone with response #2, and they are going to stay the course with the hybrid.
I think Lynn should try a creative solution. When a cartoonist goes on vacation here, the Des Moines Register puts a line above the rerun strip, saying "Lynn Johnston is on vacation this week. This strip is a retread." Why doesn't Lynn request that papers add a line like, "FOOB is a combination of new strips mixed in with older, repeat strips. New strips will resume (DATE)."--? I know, there are probably a zillion roadblocks to doing that. But it's an alternative to getting cancelled all over the place.
I just read some of the "expanded biographies" of the FOOB characters and I'd like to discuss it. They really really bug me. I just wanted to ask if it was okay to hijack your topic and talk about it here? Feel free to say no.
qnjones,
If you want to discuss biographies, feel free.
Howard,
I think Anonymous From Detroit is saying that the Detroit Free Press is placing FBOFW in a less prominent spot on the page; it used to be on the top half of the page (above the fold, where it was more visible) and now it’s been demoted to the bottom half of the page.
Anon NYC
qnjones: I'm not sure I agree with you that the Patterson family structure is a problem with the old reprint strips. I doubt people are reading the strip and saying, "What's this? A strip about a heterosexual married couple with children? How am I supposed to relate to that?" After all, if there are various kinds of family structure, no one strip is going to be able to reflect them all anyway. Besides, the reprint strips are from the late 1970s and early 1980s, so I would hope that readers would give the strip some slack for reflecting its time period.
The problem is that the reprint strips selected so far are not particularly good, and have tended to depict unpleasant aspects of the characters' personalities (such as John calling Elly "rotund"). That would go toward the unappealing "gender war" that you reference.
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