Sunday, August 01, 2004

Clerical Family Ties

One of the great shows of the 80's was Family Ties. The original concept was brilliant: married hippies end up with a son who is supremely conservative. The parents and son, Alex P. Keaton, have a love for each other that transcends their ideology. Their different outlook on life lent itself to comedy -(when the show got serious it bombed - remember Alex's torment over the death of a friend that had never been mentioned before?) Well, perhaps the time has come for a similiar show based on the situation in rectories today. (See the article A New Breed of Priest (via ut unum sint), or the classic Young Fogies by old priest Fr. Greeley)
The show would take place at a suburban rectory and show what happens when a recently ordained 20-something is assigned to a parish with an aging ex-hippie type priest. Look at how each deal with engaged couples, Liturgy, busybody parishioners, finances, politics, etc.. This show could have potential if it were done correctly - both priests would have to be stereotypes but still be good guys. They couldn't hate each other but simply see things differently, and each would learn a bit from each other.

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