Dumbing Down 50 Years On

[allenlondon]

In an episode of The Sweeney from 1975 the character Inspector Jack Regan answers a villain’s ironic “Drink?” by quoting from Swift (“Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring”), which added a different level to an ‘ordinary’ cops and robbers show.

Just watched a cable TV rerun of that episode. The villain still asks “Drink?”, but Jack Regan’s elegant Swiftian response has been cut to some nonsense like “Drink deep” and nothing else.

Why?

Do they really think the quote that raised eyebrows nigh on 50 years ago would nowadays upset the viewers in some way?

I’ll turn the lights out on my way out.

Allen

[Mamyalynne]

Sometimes there seems no rhyme or reason.

Wasn't it from Alexander Pope?

[allenlondon]

Sorry, Pope, of course.

[allenlondon]

Mind you, in a later scene Regan sneers “Alreddy” in a cod Jewish accent to a character whose ethnicity or Religion are totally irrelevant to the plot - now THAT’s a scene I’d have cut.

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe it gave insight to the character's character. In which case you ought not cut it.

[allenlondon]

See your point, Geezer; I suppose 'decent' coppers were as prone to anti-semitism then as now. But I'd still cut it!

A.

[woofgang]

they may have needed to shorten the program to fit in more ads. Ad breaks are longer now than they were then but the whole program length including ads need to stay the same

[allenlondon]

Well, your optimism always warms my heart, Woofgang, but the saving in this case was about 2 seconds. Cutting out the anti-semitic scene would have saved ten or more...

A

[woofgang]

yes but if you cut two seconds here, two seconds there and so on. I think, as has been said, that the antisemitic comment was intended to say something about Reagan and his mindset.

[ToraToraTora]

Regan's best line, 30 secs in: