Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

December 4, 2005: A hustler plays the Pope

In 1969, Jon Voight earned an Oscar nomination for playing Joe Buck, a male prostitute trying to survive on the streets of New York City in Midnight Cowboy. So it made perfect sense that, 35 years later, he'd play Pope John Paul II in a CBS biopic.

Granted, 35 years is a long time, but it's a juxtaposition that's hard to ignore. It's also fitting with regards to some of the other casting. Carey Elwes, known mostly for humorous roles (such as Westley in The Princess Bride or the title character in Robin Hood: Men in Tights), was cast as the young Karol Wojtyla, and Christopher Lee, whose played baddies from Dracula to Scaramanga to Count Dooku to Sauruman played Polish cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, whose work in conclave led to Wojtyla's election (I suppose he'd be the Ratso Rizzo analogue?).

The movie itself was made with some level of cooperation from the Vatican, as it was started before John Paul II died. It garnered an Emmy nod for Voight, and, not surprisingly, did boffo box office in Poland, where it was released theatrically. Just with fewer propositions than Midnight Cowboy.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 28, 1983: Father Mulcahy gets an unwanted souvenir from the war

Word of an impending cease-fire causes an escalation in fighting, with the 4077th becoming innundated with casualties and prisoners of war alike. It eventually becomes a target, and as bombs fall on the compound, Father Mulcahy runs out to free the POWs, who are at risk as they are being held in an outdoor enclosure. He succeeds, but is felled by a bomb blast. Turns out he has no major injuries, but he is now deaf.

For the rest of the episode, Mulcahy fakes it as best he can, hiding his condition from all but BJ, who diagnosed the hearing loss. With the war over, he plans to return to Philadelphia and minister to the deaf. He apparently doesn't do that for long, as he shows up on AfterMASH to get an operation to restore his hearing, and winds up staying to work with Potter and Klinger at a VA hospital in Missouri.

Book Log 2009 #8: Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux

I've been neglecting to update the Book Log, what with all the Lentorama postings, so time for some catching up.

This book sees Theroux go back through Asia, retracing the route he took over 30 years ago that became his first travel book, The Railway Bazaar. It's not totally exact - he detours into central Asia after he can't get a visa to enter Iran, and he skips other parts of the voyage where it'd be too dangerous (Pakistan) or not of enough interest for him to justify a return.

The resulting voyage is a nice mix of the new (such as his first-hand account of life in Turkmenistan, the former Soviet republic where the leader renamed days and months after family members) and updated looks at some of his favorite places (many of which, to his dismay, haven't changed for the better, if at all).

My favorite parts, though, reveal more about Theroux's personal life. He writes a bit about the circumstances surrounding the original trip and the results of going on it (the end of what was, even when he left, a problematic marriage). There are a number of places where he writes about getting older, and in a few places we clearly see how being older changes the way he travels (for example, he decides not to enter a sex club which he knows, in his younger days, he'd have stopped into). I also think there's less of an edge to the writing, which I ascribe to age-related mellowing.

I enjoyed the return trip immensely, though I did think the return trip through Russia and eastern Europe was too short. Worth a read, though I'd suggest reading The Railway Bazaar first if you haven't yet.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

August 15, 1981: Mother Angelica brings EWTN to cable television

It's hard to talk about the Eternal Word Television Network without talking about Mother Angelica, as without one you'd not have the other.

Ironically for a network that would become increasingly conservative, the idea for EWTN came from Mother Angelica's TV work with Protestants, as she worked on TV shows with both Episcopalians and with televangelists like Pat Robertson and Jim Baaker. Her growing experience with TV led her to want to build her own studio, which she did on the grounds of her monastery in Irondale, Alabama (which she founded after a promise to God when it looked like she may have been permanently crippled in an accident).

The network was originally a mix of religious and secular programming, with the religious programming coming from a variety of Christian sources. Over time, the secular programming was dropped, and the religious programming became more strictly Catholic, including daily mass and other services.

At the same time, Mother Angelica and the network made its conservative shift. The nuns started to wear traditional habits, and the televised mass began to include parts in Latin, and later reverted to having the celebrants face east, with their backs to parishoners, a practice that the bishop of Birmingham banned in a decree that specifically mentioned televised services.

The most obvious outlet for this change was Mother Angelica's program, as she used her platform to rail against the non-traditional and liberal elements in the church. She's dressed down more than one bishop, and even went after a cardinal, Robert Mahoney, when she felt that a letter about the eucharist that he put out didn't hit on transubstantiation enough. She was pressured to apologize, and did so in a fairly half-hearted fashion.

This sort of thing drew more attention from the Vatican, and in order to prevent direct intervention with the network, Mother Angelica resigned from its board in 2000, leaving the network in the hands of laypeople. As it turns out, this has kind of pissed off the conservative and traditional fans of the network, who find that a more liberal element has crept into some of the programming. Mother Angelica herself no longer tapes new shows for the network, but she appears regularly in repeats.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

January 5, 1964: The Singing Nun appears on The Ed Sullivan Show

Looking back, it's a fairly unremarkable episode of the best-known variety program in US television history. Dieter Tasso performed his juggling and balancing act, Johnny Hart did magic, a flamenco dance troupe did its thing, and Jane Powell did a song and dance routine based on movies. The Count Basie Orchestra and Keely Smith were the big acts of the night, performing solo and with each other.

Tucked into all of that was a Belgian nun, Sister Luc Gabriel, also known as Soeur Sourire or, to Americans, the Singing Nun. She was the time's most unlikely one hit wonder, as her single "Dominique," a tribue to St. Dominic, the founder of her order. While the song had found a niche in the US, it went into heavy rotation in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, eventually landing at number one on the Billboard pop chart, the only song by a Belgian artist to hit number one.

For the show, the Singing Nun did three songs, all taped in Belgium. They almost didn't air, as her mother superior wasn't a fan of the song or of the idea of a singing nun in general. Sister Luc would give up music soon after "Dominique" ran its course on the charts, but would pick it up again and, in 1966, she left the convent and took up music full time. She'd never have the same chart success, and would run into trouble with the Belgian tax authorities, who wanted their cut of her earning, most of which she donated to her former order (but without getting receipts, apparently).

Facing mounting financial troubles and a career that looked to have run its course, the former sister and her partner of ten years both took the ultimate deduction and committed suicide. The sad news got even sadder when the Belgian equivalent of the RIAA announced that she was due roughly $300,000 in back royalties, which would have more than covered her debt. How this never wound up an episode of Behind the Music I'll never know.

I usually post something announcing a Frozen Four pool, but this year opted to handle announcements by email and Facebook, as I figured everyone who stops here would likely see the announcement via one of those avenues. But just in case, if you think you can complete the bracket in the next hour or so feel free to send it along (or comment your picks, I suppose).

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

July 12, 1997: We first meet Oswald State Correctional Facility's resident nun, Sister Pete

I never got around to watching Oz, as we didn't have HBO and I never quite got around to locating the DVDs. In fact, I had no idea there was a nun character on the show, as I didn't really equate nuns with prison sodomy. But there she is, Sister Peter Marie, played by Rita Moreno.

From what I can tell, Sister Pete came to her vocation later in life (she had a husband who was murdered, which gets worked into the plot at some point), and is more of the streetwise nun. She's also a psychiatrist, and provides therapy for prisoners, both in individual and group sessions. Part of her job calls for her to determine if inmates are allowed to have conjugal visits, so there's a nice layer of irony to her work.

She's also against the death penalty, though in at least two cases she argued for a prisoner's execution (once for a prisoner who was sick, the other for a guy who wanted to be stoned to death).  Not surprisingly, she thinks about quitting the habit (you knew I was going to use that pun at some point this week), but sticks with it throughout the series.

Sister Pete is apparently based on Tom Fontana's older sister, a nun who has done volunteer work in prisons.  Holidays must be interesting in the Fontana household.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

January 22, 2006: Gaby Solis and Sister Mary Bernard throw down

In the early days of Desperate Housewives, Carlos Solis went to prison for some financial shenanigans, and secured early release after getting involved in a program for Catholic inmates, through which he met Sister Mary, who as attached to the church in Fairview. After his release, Carlos started to spend increasing amounts of time with Sister Mary due to an apparently genuine interest in religion.

This was not seen as a positive development by Gaby Solis, as it both interfered with Carlos getting back to his highly compensated (and hopefully now legal) and meant he was spending to much time with a "knockout" nun. It's not clear that there was any physical attraction between Carlos and Sister Mary, but she was very skilled at manipulating Carlos for her own purposes.

All this came to a head when Carlos, at Sister Mary's urging, Carlos presents Gaby with an ultimatum - have kids or get an annulment. Seeing Sister Mary's hand in this, Gaby goes to the church, but rather than confront her Gaby winds up in confession, where she tells the priest that Sister May and Carlos are having an affair. Next thing you know, Sister Mary is reassigned to Alaska.

This would be enough for most women. But it's not enough for Gaby. She returns to the church and rubs the transfer in Sister Mary's face. When she gives a parting shot related to Sister Mary's floor scrubbing (more punishment, I assume), Sister Mary snaps and throws her scrub brush at Gaby. Gaby walks back, slaps the nun, and believes that's it. But it's not. The two have a knock-down catfight that results in Sister Mary's arm catching on fire after she's pushed into a display of votive candles. Gaby puts the fire out, which prompts Sister Mary to bite Gaby on the arm. They continue to tussle until a priest breaks things up.

There aren't enough nun fights on TV. You think Fox would have built a show around that.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Televisionb

November 20, 1992: Sister Wendy's first show about art debuts.

Sister Wendy Beckett joined a teaching order of nuns when she was 16, and taught in Britain and South Africa until 1970, when health problems forced her out of the classroom. After spending time translating medeivel texts, she turned her attention to her personal passion, art. She spent the two hours each day when she as not in prayerful solitude working from what resources she had on hand and correspondence with art museums. The articles she produced drew some attention, and in 1992 she aired her first TV series, Sister Wendy's Odyssey, whose six ten-minute episodes focused on hidden treasures in museums around Britain.

The success of this series led to new ones, that saw her travel to continental Europe and the US to talk about specific works of art and painting in general. She developed a loyal following, which expanded greatly when PBS started to air her various series in 1997.

Sister Wendy gained fans for her forthright manner in discussing art and artists, often in terms that traditional art critics would avoid (such as her frank assertion that Da Vinci only ever had emotional attachments with boys). Fans were also drawn to her as an unlikely TV host, between her traditional habit, thick glasses, and prominent accent/speech impediment.

For all of her popularity, Sister Wendy couldn't ignore who she really worked for, and decided in 2001 to return to her contemplative life. She returned to the Carmelite monastery she's called home since returning to Britain, and still writes on art, but is through with TV.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

September 7, 1967: Sister Bertrille first takes to the air

(It's Nun Week here at Lentorama, as all of this week's entries will feature these creatures of habit, real and fictional.)

Elsie Ethrington was the only non-doctor from a Chicago medical family, the source of some friction. When Elsie got arrested at a protest in New York City, there was apparently only one recourse: pack her off to the Convent San Tanco in Puerto Rico to become a nun. The only problem is that Elsie - now Sister Bertrille - only weighs 90 pounds, so when the coastal breezes catch her heavily starched cornille, she lifts off.

Thus was the set-up for The Flying Nun, which somehow milked three seasons out of having a nun solve her problems by becoming airborne. The popularity of the show fell squarely on Sally Field, whose sunny personality and positive attitude wasn't limited to playing Gidget.  

Not that it was always easy. Field was pregnant during the show's last season, a condition not normally seen in nuns. Many of the tricks used today to hide a pregnancy on screen - close shots of the head and upper body, long shots using a double, lots of strategically-placed plants - were also used then.

That the show lasted three seasons was a testament to its writers, who had to scramble to find new ways to get Sister Bertrille into situations where flying would be helpful. They apparently handled the subject with some grace, as the show did get kudos from some Catholic groups for humanizing nuns and the religious life. Of course, this was just after Vatican II, so the plaudits for a lightweight sitcom might not be too surprising.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

April 8, 2008: Rev. David Ajemian pleads guilty to stalking Conan O'Brien

Looking to become O'Brien's version of David Letterman stalker Margaret Ray, Rev. David Ajemian started writing the talk show host in late 2006, and signed at least one letter as "your priest stalker." He also sent O'Brien a DVD and got in touch with his parents.

Which was all well and good, at least until Ajemian tried to actually attend a taping. When his ticket requests were denied, Ajemian continued to write, and eventually took things into his own hands. In November 2007 he tried to force his way into the show, and was arrested. This came not long after Ajemian was removed from his parish posting, which he blamed on NBC's contact with the Archdiocese and some level of continuing surveillance by the network. Not surprisingly, it came out that he was being treated for mental illness during this time.

While out on bail, Ajemian went missing in Boston for a day, using at least part of his alone time to try to get into the studios for WHDH, the NBC affiliate in town. Once located he was hospitalized and observed.

For all the crazy, Ajemian was found fit to stand trial, and (wisely) pled guilty to disorderly conduct, resulting in a fine and a two year restraining order. Priest shortage or not, he's not returned to active clerical duty.

Adding to the fun was the revelation that Ajemian and O'Brien had overlapping tenures at Harvard. And you thought it was creepy when old college classmates try to friend you on Facebook.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 3, 1998: Father Sal Garelli dispenses some Old Testament justice

While the main plot of this night's episode of NewsRadio focused on an election for station manager that neither Dave nor Lisa wanted to win, a subplot involved Joe Garelli and his brothers planning a surprise birthday party for his brothers. Not surprisingly, the Garelli boys like to kid about each other's manhood, which leads to fighting. The solution? Call in the oldest brother, Sal, who is now a priest.

And Sal is an old-school priest, which is obvious in two ways. First, he wears a cassock, which traditionally-minded priests tend to opt for over the more common clerical suit. Second, within the folds of his cassock he carries a baseball bat, which appears to be his atonement instrument of choice. Sal gets his brothers to stop fighting, uniting them in their desire to not get whupped.

(You can see Father Sal in action here.)

Not a particularly important moment in the series, really, but I mention it as Sal is played by Robert Hegyes, best known for playing self-described Puerto Rican Jew Juan Epstien on Welcome Back, Kotter. Hard to pass this up, between the change of religions and getting to mention a second Sweathog this week. Though he'll be the last; neither Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs nor Ron Palillo have taken the collar for television.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television



April 22, 1994: Father Ted debuts on Channel 4

Father Ted was a show about Irish priests, starring Irish actors, created by Irish comedians, with location shooting in Ireland, that was made for and aired on a network in Britain, a country not exactly known for embracing the Catholic faith.

The show followed the exploits of three priests relocated to Craggy Island after each ran into trouble in their previous assignment. Father Ted Crilly was caught using funds meant for a childrens' pilgrimage to Lourdes to pay for a trip to Las Vegas. Father Dougal McGuire, who is kind of dim and not particularly religious, precipitated an unexplained incident involving a group of nuns and a ferry. The elderly Father Jack Hackett was a foul-mouthed boozer with an eye for the ladies, sent to the island after an inappropriate encounter with a bride he had just married off.

Together, the three deal with the requisite wacky locals while trying to get themselves out of scrapes, often the result of Father Ted's schemes to make money or get transferred off of the island. There's also an ongoing rivalry with the priests from Rugged Island, a kind of ecclesiastical version of the Cheers-Gary's Old Town Tavern rivalry.

As is common with British shows, Father Ted enjoyed a very short run, lasting only 25 episodes over three seasons. It was very popular, though, with the last episode becoming Channel 4's most-watched program ever. It would be shown in Australia and (fittingly) Ireland, but it never quite made it across the pond in any formal fashion (as far as I can tell). The show apparently helped further the career of a number of British actors, but the only one I've heard of is Graham Norton, whose talk show currently runs on BBC America. Sadly, the actor who played Ted, Dermot Morgan, never got the same benefit from the show, as he died of a heart attack the day after the show finished taping its last episode. Not the way Father Ted wanted to get off the island, I'd wager.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

November 1, 1987: Father Dowling solves his first mystery

The creation of Notre Dame professor Ralph McInerny, Father Dowling was the ecclesiastical equivalent of Jessica Fletcher, an amateur with a knack for solving crimes. Unlike Fletcher, who was the angel of death in her small Maine town, Father Dowling lived in a gritty neighborhood in Chicago, where crime isn't exactly unknown. The comparison to Murder, She Wrote is also fairly apt as the man tapped to play Father Dowling, Tom Bosley, played Cabot Cove sherrif Amos Tupper.

Father Dowling was assisted in his crime solving by Sister Stephanie "Stevie" Oskowski (played by Tracy Nelson), a streetwise nun who grew up in the neighborhood, and thus knew its characters as well as certain skills, like how to hot wire a car. Father Philip Prestwick (James Stephens) worked for the Archbishop, would often drop in to keep an eye on Father Dowling, often when housekeeper Marie Murkin (Mary Wickes) was serving dinner.

While the pilot aired in 1987, the series didn't begin until 1989 due to a writers' strike, and after its first abbreviated season NBC decided to drop it. ABC stepped in and picked it up, giving the show two more full seasons before excommunicating it.

(On a personal note, my dad was a big fan of the show, and today would have been his 70th birthday. Good thing I didn't use this earlier on.)

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 26, 1976: A Sweathog opts for the priesthood

On the last episode of Welcome Back, Kotter's first season, we learn that Vinnie Barbarino has promised his dying grandmother that he'll become a priest. When she finally expires, Barbarino trades in his jeans for a white robe and spends his time blessing and forgiving everyone. He also becomes even less studious, prompting this exchange with Mr. Kotter:

Vinnie: The reason I'm here is to talk to about yesterday's quiz you flunked me in. I forgive you.

Gabe: Don't forgive me, Vinnie, okay? Just study.

Vinnie: Mr. Kotter, the Lord is my shepherd. Do sheep study?

But his piety has its limit, such as when he tries to give his blessing to Bambi rather than ask her out. He cracks, and reverts back to his woman-killing ways, to no one's surprise.

The big surprise of this episode? Its air date. Give how popular Welcome Back, Kotter was, it's a little hard to believe that the season ender was in February. Of course, if it aired now the entire season may be compressed into three months, so perhaps it's not that odd.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

May 13, 1978: Father Guido Sarducci makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live

The gossip columnist and rock critic for L'Osservatore Romano, Father Guido took form early in the 1970s, when comedian Don Novello bought components of a priest's outfit from a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. He would make occasional appearances on Laugh In and The Smothers Brothers Show, but he would make his biggest mark stating on this night when, on an episode hosted by Richard Dreyfuss, he would appear in a skit about how one could pay for their sins. Suffice it to say that there's a price for everything, and it adds up.

Father Guido would go on to make 31 appearances on SNL, the most of any recurring character, mainly on segments of Weekend Update. He would also cut two albums of his own and make spot appearances on others, and popped up in a variety of TV episodes and movies. He's even crossed over into mainstream religious coverage, appearing on Al Franken's radio show to cover the death of John Paul II and appearing on an episode of Countdown to discuss The Da Vinci Code. The comic appeal of a chain-smoking priest wearing tinted glasses never dulls.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

September 18, 1997: Nothing Sacred premiers on ABC

If Robert Blake was an inappropriately violent priest and McLean Stevenson an inappropriately comic priest, then Kevin Anderson would be the inappropriately sexy priest. Anderson, known best for playing Julia Roberts' non-abusive love interest in Sleeping With the Enemy, starred in Nothing Sacred as Father Ray, the new head of St. Thomas parish in an unnamed urban area. He was joined by fellow clerics Father Leo, an older priest who could offer wise counsel, and Father Eric, newly-ordained and not yet wise to the workings of a parish. There was also Sister Maureen, who would later flirt with defecting to the Episcopals so she could become a minister, Sidney, who kept the parish books, and J.A., the youth pastor.

The show was geared to demonstrate the difficulties in running a modern parish, from lack of money to the conflict between the church's teaching and popular opinion on a wide range of social issues. In several cases this involved Father Ray's personal life and his struggles to remain relevant and, on occasion, celibate.

When ratings didn't materialize, two new characters were added. Father Martin was sent by the diocese to keep an eye on everyone due to complaints about the parish's lack of orthodoxy, while Justine Judd was the recently graduated divinity student brought on to run the religious education program. Justine was played by Jennifer Beals, which suggested some further temptation for Father Ray closer to the rectory.

While the show won both a Peabody Award and a Humanitas Prize for its exploration of modern faith, it drew a fair amount of ire from traditional Catholics, who didn't like the equivocation on issues like abortion. Above all, though, the show never drew enough viewers (airing opposite Friends didn't help), and it was cancelled before completing a full season.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

March 29, 1977: Fonzie gets baptized

When Fonzie survives a wreck during a stock car race, he begins to think about what might happen if he were to not survive the next one. He seeks guidance from Al, who suggests talking to his brother, Father Anthony Delvecchio, the preist at St. Barnaby's. Fonzie takes him up on the offer and, after talking with the father, decides it's time to get baptized.

With Howard and Marion Cunningham as godparents (which I assume makes them Catholic, too), Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is given his dousing, after which he makes a small speech. Richie, Potsie, Ralph and Joanie provide musical accompaniment, singing the hymn "Faith of our Fathers."

This episode ended the fourth season of Happy Days, the season which saw the start of the wussification of the Fonz. In this season the Fonz sees a shrink for anger management, is outed as being afraid of beef liver, gets his high school diploma at night, and gets a small white dog named Spunky. From there it's not long until we get the Fonz jumping sharks and working as the Dean of Boys at the George S. Patton Vocational High School.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

October 12, 1964: WIHS-TV airs its first broadcast

The archdiocese of Boston aired its first televised mass on January 1, 1955, celebrated by Cardinal Cushing. This would mark the start of the archdiocese's involvement in television, later formalized in the creation of the Catholic Television Center, originally located on Granby Street.

Looking to get its own air, the archdiocese obtained a broadcast license. When WIHS debuted, it was an early, if not first, Catholic-operated TV station that showed both religious and general entertainment programming.

Two years after its start, though, the license was sold to Storer Broadcasting, who would continue to operate on WIHS's channel but with a name derived from its stock ticker symbol. Thus was born WSBK-TV, channel 38, Boston's first independent TV station and the first widely popular (and accessible) station in UHF.

While WSBK would continue to show some religious programming, the Catholic Television Center would continue to look for its own venue. In 1983 it would move on to cable as Boston Catholic Television (BCTV), and then go for a more national audience in 2006 when rebranded simply as Catholic TV, though it lags behind EWTN in reach. But more about EWTN later.

It' s been a big week for baby news, with today being the fourth day in a row of various appointments.

Monday saw us attend our first birthing class. We're one of six couples, all first-timers, who are looking to get the low down on how this is going to play out. We're the only couple who doesn't know our child's gender, while there's another couple who are the only one going the natural childbirth route.

And by the information imparted in our first class, good luck to them. We didn't even get into pushing and it already looks painful. Suffice it to say that if the purpose of the class is to ease our fears about the birthing process, it's not being wholly successful.

We were also given homework, and what better way to do it than solicit feedback on the Internet? For those of you out there who've been through this, what relaxation techniques or practices did you use during labor?

Tuesday was a follow up visit that I didn't attend.

Wednesday was yet another ultrasound, where we got estimated weight and they did a check on the level of amniotic fluid. Not sure why our doctor asked for that, though given the estimated weight of 3 pounds, 14 ounces, he might have worried about there being enough room. Compare that weight to the average for week 30. Of course, I've also read that fetal weight estimates from ultrasounds can be up to a pound off. Let's just hope in our case it's not a pound low.

I've slowly become resigned to the fact that the ultrasounds are never going to be as clear as I would like. Still, facial features were a bit more obvious this time around, which is something.

Today we're back to our OB (actually the practice's midwife, our doctor is on vacation), and we're apparently moving into visits every 2 weeks now. No surprises expected, but I guess you never really expect a surprise, do you?

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

October 3, 1992: Sinead O'Connor implores us to fight the real enemy

In warm-ups for her appearance on Saturday Night Live, O'Connor performed an a capella version of Bob Marley's "War," holding up the picture of an African child at the end to dramatize the song's stand against racism. But when she performed the song live, she replaced the word "racism" with the phrase "child abuse," held up a picture of Pope John Paul II when singing the word "evil," and then tore up the picture while saying "fight the real enemy."

The changes, inspired by then-current sex abuse scandals in the church (I assume this one, primarily), resulted in a surge of sentiment against O'Connor. NBC, who claimed to not know about her changes, was inundated with angry phone calls, and to this day rebroadcasts of the episode include her warm-up performance (though the picture-tearing version is shown on a DVD compilation of SNL music performances). O'Connor would also encounter hostile crowds at shows, while her act would be fodder for later SNL parody, including Madonna's tearing up a picture of Joey Buttafuco and Jan Hooks playing an apologetic O'Connor.

For all that O'Connor was ahead of the curve as far as sex abuse in the church goes, the incident more or less capped her popular music career, and marked the start of significant personal changes. In the late 1990s she was given priestly ordination by a schismatic Catholic group, and not long after that she outed herself as a lesbian. She would later waver on both accounts, as she developed an interest in Rastafarianism after spending time in Jamaica in 2004, and she would describe herself as only one-quarter gay in a 2005 Entertainment Weekly interview.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

May 15, 2005: Bart Simpson wants to become Catholic

After getting expelled from Springfield Elementary for a prank he did not commit, Marge enrolls bart at St. Jerome's Catholic School. He's resistant due to the school's strict discipline, but comes around after he talks with Father Sean (voiced by Liam Neeson), whose less than ideal childhood and comic books about the lives of saints does the trick. When Homer goes to the school to talk to Father Sean, he winds up wanting to convert as well (such is the power of pancake suppers and Bingo).

From there, Marge enlists the help of Reverend Lovejoy and Ned Flanders to bring Bart and Homer back to the one true faith (the Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism). She fears that she'll be in Protestant heaven (full of croquet-playing WASPs) while they'll be in Catholic heaven (full of Irish step dancing and pinatas).

The conflict culminates in a showdown at a Protestant youth festival, where Bart brings peace by noting that Christians should be united by their big stupid similarities, not separated by their small stupid differences. Which, a thousand years later, leads to two sects of Bart-worshipers to go to war over his true message: love and tolerance versus understanding and peace. Perhaps not as unlikely an ending as we'd like to believe.

A bit of a Lentorama extra today, as there's word of this report noting that the number of Catholics in New England has dropped quite a bit. Since 1990, there was a 15 percent drop in the number of people who self-identified as Catholics, while in that same time the number of people who didn't identify with any religion went up 14 percent.

Nationally, the number stayed about the same, thanks in large part to Hispanic immigration, which is also considered to be the main factor in the growth of Catholic populations in the south and west. Perhaps I should start doing the Lentorama in Spanish?

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

March 29, 1983: Father Ralph and Meggie break at least one commandment on The Thorn Birds

A multi-generational story of love and loss set (primarily) in the Australian outback, The Thorn Birds focused on the relationship between Father Ralph de Bricassart (Richard Chamberlain), a priest sent into the wild due to past transgressions, and Meggie Cleary (Rachel Ward), the neice of sheep station owner Mary Carson (Barbara Stanwyck).

When Father Ralph rejects Mary's advances, she (seeing his developing relationship with Meggie) leaves her substantial fortune to the Catholic church with Father Ralph as executor. This will secure his rapid advancement, but only if he leaves Meggie behind. His ambition trumps his heart, and he leaves. Meggie would fall into a loveless marriage, bear a daughter, and eventually move away from the station.

Years later, Father Ralph returns and joins Meggie while she is away from home, and at the end of their time together they finally consummate their relationship. Nine months later, Meggie has a son, Dane, who is understood to be Father Ralph's son, although he's not aware of it - even when, as an adult, Dane travels to Rome to become a priest under his father's tutelage.

Not surprisingly, ABC ran into a little trouble with sponsors over the adulterous priest angle of the story, with some sponsors either dropping ads altogether or only advertising during earlier, non-adulterous episodes. That the miniseries aired during Holy Week was also a point of contention with Catholic organizations. And while it wasn't known at the time, you have to figure that a couple people were retroactively irked when Chamberlain finally outed himself.

None of this stopped the viewers from tuning in, as the miniseries averaged a 41 rating and 59 share, with this episode ranking as one of the most-watched broadcasts in TV history. Thus reinforcing the adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

September 20, 1978: McLean Stevenson puts on the collar.

None of the actors who left M*A*S*H early were able to find anything close to that show's success in later projects. About the best any of them did was Wayne Rogers, who found his greatest success not on stage but in the market. McLean Stevenson was no different, as his first post-Henry Blake role, as Father Daniel Cleary in the short-lived NBC sitcom In the Beginning attested.

Father Clearly was a traditional priest who would have much preferred a sedate parish to the storefront church in Baltimore that he finds himself at in the show's pilot. He's teamed with a streetwise nun who grew up in the neighborhood, and for all of her success in dealing with the locals he spends most of his time trying to get out from serving with "Atilla the Nun."

The show lasted a month before getting the axe. It was no Hello, Larry.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

March 2, 1989: Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video debuts as part of a Pepsi ad.

I'm not clear why Pepsi thought a Madonna-based ad airing during The Cosby Show would be a natural fit to begin with, but when you throw in stigmata, burning crosses, and an apparent affair between the singer and Saint Martin de Porres, it really doesn't make sense.

Not surprisingly, the backlash came quickly, leading Pepsi to pull the ad and put the kibosh on the two other ads called for in their $5 million deal with the singer. She got to keep the cash, and the publicity didn't hurt her album of the same name, which sold 11 million copies worldwide.

The video would debut on MTV the following day (the network being immune to backlash, as it's clearly run by heathens), and would go on to win the Viewer's Choice Award at that year's VMAs, and would later crop up on pretty much every list of the greatest/most daring videos of all time.

I would like to think that I had something to do with this result. Well, something more than just voting for it several times.

I will say that I'm surprised that ten times as many people voted for the memorial than Old Ironsides. That just seems wrong. I would be interested in seeing the complete vote totals, though they don't seem to be available on the state's website.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 5, 1953: Bishop Fulton J. Sheen wins his first Emmy Award

For someone working for one of the least progressive organizations, Bishop Fulton Sheen had a keen sense of how technology could impact religion. Well known for his studies in theology and philosophy, Sheen supplemented his teaching work with a radio show, The Catholic Hour, that ran from 1930 to 1950. In 1951, when he was made auxiliary bishop of New York, he decided to move into the new medium of television.

His show, Life is Worth Living, saw him discuss religious questions and issues of the day, all from a Catholic point of view. He quickly became one of the best-known figures on the DuMont Network, and even after its collapse he found a home at ABC, where his program aired until 1957. He would have his own syndicated show in the 1960s, using basically the same format.

But back to his Emmy win. He won the Emmy in 1953 for Most Outstanding Personality, beating out Lucille Ball, Jimmy Durante, Arthur Godfrey, Edward R. Murrow, Donald O'Connor, and Adlai Stevenson (who apparently couldn't beat anybody), which is a pretty impressive group of people.

On the down side, Sheen did popularize the use of television to prostelytize, opening the door for anyone who could figure out a way to use Bible quotes to get viewers to send them money. Not everyone is holding this against him, though, as there's a movement afoot to canonize Sheen. I assume the miracles credited to him will involve fixing wonky vertical holds.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

January 20, 1999: Josiah Bartlet is sworn in as President of the United States

Bartlet was born to a Protestant father and Catholic mother, and raised in the latter's faith (apparently to the dismay of his father). He bypassed Harvard to attend Notre Dame, as he was interested in the priesthood. While at Notre Dame he met Abigail Barrington, which put an end to his clerical plans. They would marry and have three daughters, while he would go on to become an economist of note (sharing a Nobel Prize), professor, and eventually entered politics (a not surprising choice as he is related to the New Hampshire signatory of the Declaration of Independence of the same name).

Bartlet's faith was best seen more in personal moments than in policy, though you could argue that his interest in promoting and protecting human rights was influenced by it. While not strictly Catholic, perhaps the best moment showcasing religion was his clarification of the First Commandment (about halfway through the clip).

While there's a common sentiment that The West Wing and Bartlet were popular because they gave us the President we wanted rather than the one we had, you can also make an argument that they gave Catholics the follow-up to JFK that we wanted rather than the ones - John Kerry and, egads, Pat Buchannan - we could have had.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 12, 2009: Callie Torres offers an unexpected lesson in praying

In case you didn't see the big Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice cross over event, it centered on Addison's brother, Archer, needing surgery to remove a number of worm-filled cysts that were in his brain. In the course of things, she wound up in the chapel but found herself unable to pray because, as a WASP, she only goes to church on Christmas.

Enter Callie Torres, who kneels down and prays out loud as an example to Addison. The content, however, is about the kiss she shared with pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins, and how she'd like to see where it might lead, except that Arizona's hotness is countered by her perkiness and proclivity for wearing scrubs with butterflies on them. So Callie asks God to help her get over the butterflies (both the ones on the scrubs and the metaphorical ones that have kept Callie celibate since Erica's abrupt departure).

I'm not sure how you balance the example with the content, but I think Aquinas wrote something on prayer and hot lesbians.

Lentorama 2009: Great(?) Moments in Catholics on Television

February 16, 2004: Mel Gibson gets theological with Diane Sawyer

In an interview promoting The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson went on Primetime Live and talked about his personal struggles with addiction, his faith, and the movie, which was about as interesting as you might expect. At least until he mentioned that is was possible for non-Christians to get into heaven, which you think would be at odds with his Traditionalist beliefs, which look to roll back much of what was put in place after Vatican II.

Gibson also got to stick it to the Vatican a bit over whether or not the pope had seen the movie, which I guess would make him feel better for making All Dogs Go to Heaven that much closer to a documentary.