Did T.V. news adequately cover Hurricane Katrina as a disability story? Did Theo Huxtable start a revolution in awareness about learning disabilities? Anyone remember "Cousin Geri" on Facts of Life? What ever happened to the actor who played Corky on "Life Goes On"? Is there any way we can discuss the Jerry Lewis telethon without coming to blows?

Yes, folks, this is your catch-all thread for discussion of disability issues on T.V. Discussion of any disability is welcome, but don't neglect the Mental Health Thread.

Nice thread title beastie!

"Cousin Geri" - she's on "Deadwood" now, isn't she?

Doubt it! ;-)


I'm going to have to think about something more intelligent to say, but for now I just want to cheer the existance of a thread that can include both my complaints about TV coverage (or lack there of) for disability sport and my intense hatred of Bo from "Over There"!

If I remember correctly, at the end of the Hottest Olympians thread there was a post about the Hottest Special Olympians. Go with your first impulse, MeerkatNotMink.

There was this girl in a wheelchair in Different Strokes. She was highly annoying too. I don't remember her name.

The blindness in Little house on the Prairie.

Yep, Geri plays a barmaid on Deadwood, I believe.

I recall way back (it's been 20 years or so now, I guess), there was a shortlived soap called "Capitol" in which one of the characters/doctors used crutches. And he was, of course, always nice, polite, caring and capable of curing everyone. He even invented an artificial heart, although he was an orthopedic specialist or something.

There is Doc Robbins on CSI, who has no feet.

Of course, he doesn't give us any life lessons, other than a crutch can be used to play air guitar.

The fact that he doesn't make that big of deal of having no feet, and that the writers haven't done any thing to make it a very special CSI is sort of a lesson in it's own right.

He's doing personal appearances for (I believe) the Special Olympics... I saw a blurb on the local news not too long ago that said he would be in our area soon.

I always appreciated it on Port Charles when the character of Matt, who was played by Mitch Longley, an actor who's in a wheelchair in real life, would do something like go out for lunch with some friends and he would have to move a chair away from the table to accommodate his wheelchair... it was a simple thing, but in real life you wouldn't conveniently find a table that had room for your wheelchair, right? I thought it was a nice bit of realism that added to the character of Matt and was respectful of the actor's own life experience.

ETA: It's the Downs Syndrome foundation Chris Burke is making appearances for, not Special Olympics.

Bigger than that; he has no legs. There's been one casual mention of it (in the episode with the Buddhist monk mass murder, Doc Robbins mentions that he looked into Buddhism as a means of coping after losing his legs) and a few visual gags (Doc checking out the bottom of his shoe while his lower leg is turned upwards-- at a 90-degree angle).

She is. And that show is interesting because it's devoid of virtually any political or social correctness, and therefore anyone with a disability -- Jewel, or the Rev. with the brain tumor, for example -- has a generally brutal existence and is frequently singled out publicly in vicious, humiliating ways. Any acts of humane compassion are usually small, and private. It's horrifying, yet refreshing.

I think you probably mean Paralympians Bach-us, but anyway, since you encouraged me:

While CBC’s half-hour a night (with occasional extras) coverage of the Athens Paralympics was better than the total lack of US coverage, it still sucked. In that half hour they’d usually just do a short run down of how Canadian athletes did without showing the big events that didn't feature Canadians and never having any depth to any of the coverage at all - and not showing off enough of the winning of sexy Japanese wheelchair racer Choke Yasuoka, but I digress.

They did show some of the wheelchair basketball games in their entirety, but at 2:00 in the morning! It’s not like CBC has such popular regular programming that they couldn’t have preempted something during normal waking hours!

I’m also bugged by the way the coverage of most of the big marathons ignores the (more exciting) wheelchair divisions - except for Boston, for which the coverage is usually quite good (and props to OLN for including a clip of Ernst van Dyk’s 2004 world-record at Boston in their “10 years of great moments” ad).

And I say more exciting, because the runners aren’t as fast, don’t tend to win in sprints and don't have the potential for massive crashes.

xii wrote: There was an interesting article about that role on "Deadwood" in Salon a while ago actually: Jewell in the rough

I think I've babbled enough, so I'll hold my "Over There" complaints for later!

As a disabled person, I always thought Joan of Arcadia did a great job with Kevin. He was bitter at times, yes, but snarky about it, too. He progressed and then degressed, had bad times as well as good. I also liked the fact he was so unwilling to do a "gimp story" for the TV because he felt like that they were using him as sob story. Even when he did it, though, it was something I could empathized with, he both wented hope for a cure and was afraid of learning that there was no hope.

beastie:
I definitely did not know what dyslexia was before that very special episode. I learned later that much of Theo, including his dyslexia, had been based on Bill Cosby's son Ennis (who was murdered in 1997).

Her character inadvertently taught us a Very Special Lesson that disabled people aren't all patient angels, and instead can be bossy and abrasive, just like abled folks.

No one has mentioned Carrie Weaver on E.R...

I always thought South Park was unique in its handling of disabled characters (i.e. Timmy and Jimmy). I don't know if I am supposed to be offended by how they are portrayed or impressed by the creator's lack of political correctness.

I did like the episodes where Christopher Reeve was evil, Cartman pretended to be disabled so he could try to win the special olympics, and "Cripple Fight," but maybe there is something seriously wrong with me.

I've always liked the actor, and really enjoyed that character - Port Charles had a nice romance going for a while with his character and Debbi Morgan's Dr. Burgess. I was grateful that he left the show before the vampire crap started though... In any case, Mitch is now being completely underused on the series Las Vegas, as one of the underlings in the surveilance room. I'm glad he's working, but I wish they'd actually give him something substantial to do!

caro51980 wrote: Love that one! Yes, South Park rocks (generally & re: handling of disabled characters)!

tobia wrote: It’s funny, because while I liked Joan of Arcadia I always seemed to have issues with the Kevin plots – everything from his attitude (he was supposed to be two years post-injury but was just noticing things most people would seen in a month), to his ease at finding an apartment, to the fact that he spent the whole first season with armrests.

And I was always weirded out by the scenes of him and Bear together because, even though I like Jason Ritter, when they had shots of him and Mitch Longley rolling down the street together I always had this awareness that one was “faking” and one was the “real thing” (but maybe that’s just me).

I actually have general issues with non-disabled actors playing characters that start any series disabled (like Weaver on ER)– I find myself wondering why they couldn’t have just found a disabled actor.

That’s one of my many issues with Bo on Over There – the actor isn’t particularly good or well-known, so why couldn’t they just have hired an actual amputee actor and spared us all the funny camera angles and digitally edited shots? I don’t think the fact that the character doesn’t become disabled until the end of the first episode as an excuse since the character is only a single below-knee amputee & they can usually “pass” just fine.

That is something mentioned in my house every Wednesday night. I think Bo is a self-centered ass. I don't know if it's the character or actor, but I don't feel any sympathy for him. I wish he would get sent back to combat so they can blow up the rest of him.

But Jewell is very much like everyone else on that show - subject to indignity but able to show humanity. I agree that her existence is shown to be very difficult - Al Swearingen regularly refers to her as the gimp - but the beauty of that character is that she really isn't any different from anyone else in camp. And, despite Al's crudity, he is also protective of her (as is Doc Cochran).

Yes DebraAnne! Yes!

God forgive me, but...for years my best friend and I used to imitae her saying: "I'm not drunk, Blair, I have cerebal palsey".

I'll escort myself to hell, thanks.

It's not just you, I had a boss who would randomly at times just say, "But, Bleah?!!" And because I'm joining you in hell, I laughed every time.

ETA: MeerkatNotMink, ITA with you that there's no reason disabled characters shouldn't be played by a disabled actor. That being said (knowing nothing about the industry), I was wondering if there are that many disabled actors out there? Not because of any lack of acting ability, but I'd assume they haven't been given much of a chance until very recently (if even now), and that there might be a really small pool who have representation, etc. In which case it might be easier to find an abled actor to play the part. Not that it's right, but wondering if that's the case. Anyone know more about this?

I'm not sure this counts, but I've always loved Joe Dawson on Highlander. An amputee-character played by an amputee actor, but it was never really a plot point on the show, aside from one episode that had to do with an evil immortal/Vietnam army buddy.

Anyway, Joe was just Joe. He had artificial legs and walked slowly with a cane. He was a Watcher who was fond of his charge. He played the blues and had a dry wit and owned a bar. The disability was an undeniable part of the character (and actor), but the character was so much more than just "the disabled guy".

As I recall, he was also on Wiseguy, though it's been years since I've seen it, so I don't remember much there. I don't remember his handicap being much of an issue aside from the fact that he used a wheelchair while doing tech stuff.

I agree with all of the above. The thing is, usually when we see a disabled person being publicly humiliated, it's usually in the context of a Very Special Episode in which we learn an important lesson about respect. In Deadwood, there's no lesson. Life sucks 99% of the time, throwing the occasional acts of humanity into sharp relief.

kalinara wrote: Sure it counts – it’s just that since it was so natural (as with the coroner on CSI), there’s not much to snark on! ;-)

formergr wrote: It’s true that disabled actors haven’t been given too many chances on TV, but from what I’ve read it’s not because they’re in short supply – they just seem to not be hired as often. I remember reading an article a while ago about an actress (a wheelchair user) who found that if she auditioned for non-disabled roles she often wouldn’t even get past the first stage, and that when she auditioned for disabled roles those usually went to able-bodied actors too – even if most of the actors auditioning were disabled (I’ll try to find a link).

Related articles:"Talented, ambitious … and disabled" and "SAG study: Actors with disabilities face job discrimination"

WAY back in the day, Louie Anderson had his own sitcom on CBS. The only notable thing about it also starred Paul Feig and Laura Innes. Anyway, Louie worked at some generic workplace, and his secretary was in a wheelchair. The show didn't last for too long, but I remember that when TV Guide reviewed it, the critic noted that the show consisted of fat jokes but nothing was ever said about the wheelchair his secretary was in, and a few episodes later there was a throw-away joke where Louie put something on a high shelf and told her, "You're gonna need monster truck wheels to get up this high."

This is a great thread. I agree that disabled actors should have priority over non disabled actors when necessary. It drives me crazy when there is a disabled character but we never see the impact of the disability on their daily life. For example Kerry Weaver uses crutches yet she's able to go outside in all types of weather and she never loses her balance. I use crutches and would never go outside in a blizzard or an ice storm. I'm always shocked how accessable tv land seems to be. On tv accessable parking spaces always seem to be available and curb cuts are plentiful. I wish real life was like that. I admire John Hockenberry for spotlighting these issues on Dateline.

MeerkatNotMink, thanks for that. I couldn't remember the post that well and in my ignorance, I get the Paralympics and the Special Olympics mixed up.

Jim Byrnes was on the short-lived Jake 2.0 as some kind of executive officer in an intelligence agency. I don't remember much about that either except how happy I was to see him get more work.

MeerkatNotMink, really interesting articles, thanks for finding and posting them.

KathyK, you make a good point, but I always assumed that Kerry had had the crutch for so long (and as we learned this year, she's been disabled since birth), that she's able to get around no matter what the weather's or walking surface is like. That said, I've noticed that her dependence on the cane varies--sometimes she's practically walking normally, other times it's as though she can barely move without it.

And she's a reverse VSE herself, what with being such a grade-A bitch and all.

Laura Innes once said that she was glad ER doesn't make an issue out of Weavers disability.

I believe (and hopefully I'm not just repeating false info), that the Laura Innes, who plays Kerry Weaver, varies Karry's dependence on the cane on purpose. Innes' theory being that Kerry has good and bad days with her leg depending on weather, activity level, etc.

The doctor from CSI doesn't have legs? I had no idea that was his specific disability. Thanks to google, I now know he was in a car accident and that's when he lost his legs.

IRC, it took several years before they ever even mentioned the reason why she used a cane.

My favorite person with a disability on tv is Dr. Robbins on CSI. I didn't know until recently that Robert David Hall is a double amputee IRL. He is one of my favorite characters on CSI (after my beloved tv boyfriend George Eads)

But why not discuss Kerry's disability? ER had no problems dealing with Kerry's sexuality. My guess is that Kerry was so afraid of being needy that she pushed away anyone who tried to help her. I know that when I was in school I studied extra hard so that people wouldn't think I got in by special favors. I loved Resonable Doubts with Marlee Matlin. Here was a charachter who managed to have a good job and romantic relationships while dealing with her deafness.

I also loved Reasonable Doubts. I read that the role of Tess was originally written for a hearing actress, so I doubt that they would have changed the part if another deaf actress had expressed an interest, instead of Marlee Matlin. But, I liked that it wasn't made too much of an issue or not enough. Tess had problems with her husband (did he cheat on her?) that didn't concentrate on her deafness, but I remember it being mentioned that he never learned how to sign. Another thing I remember is Tess actually using her deafness one time when she got uncomfortable in a conversation with Dicky (Mark Harmon's character). He was talking, the conversation gets to an uncomfortable moment, and she does the simple act of turning her back to him. It was just a small thing, but it was one of the scenes that stuck with me.

I wonder if anyone had any idea what Kerry's disability was beyond "she uses a crutch" when they created the character.

The British series Metrosexuality included Mat Fraser, an actor with phocomelia of the arms resulting from thalidomide, as the older brother of one of the main characters. His character didn't exist as some kind of "noble gimp" who was there to teach a moral lesson; he was actually a drug dealer. And his disability wasn't made into some kind of melodramatic "problem" for his character to deal with, either -- it was simply a visible but not overplayed part of who he was.

It might be a bit off-topic to suggest examples from reality TV, but both Big Brother and Survivor have had amputee contestants.

Oh, and then there's Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye. I never saw it, so I don't know if it was a positive portrayal or not.

And does Linda Bove on Sesame Street count?

ETA yet another comment: is it telling or just purely random that a lot of the American television series (Wiseguy, CSI, Sue Thomas, etc.) that have actually featured well-rounded characters with disabilities have been either shot in Canada or created by Canadian production studios?

If I recall correctly from what I read when the Kerry Weaver character was introduced, TPTB deliberately were not specific as to the nature of her disability - just Kerry uses a crutch, for want of a better way of phrasing it. I imagine it was intended to provide them with the widest scope for plot and character development.
I remember being shocked by an episode not long after Kerry was introduced - this was long before she became the conniving super bitch she has been in the last several seasons. Kerry had annoyed a couple of the regulars (I think she was just trying to be efficient) and they were bellyaching about her in the staff lounge. They started mimicking her voice and then Dr. Ross began limping around the room to mock her further. Kerry then walked into the room and saw what they were doing. The participants apologized to her for their behaviour and that was the end of it. I was dumbfounded to see professionals behave in a fashion that would not be tolerated in a junior high school and my respect for Doctors Ross, Lewis and Greene was considerably lessened.

Regarding Kerry's differing use of the crutch - I have used a cane to get around for the last fifteen years but my use varies according to severity of discomfort, tiredness, time of day, etc. I don't think it is at all unusual for people to use their assistive devices in different ways.

I don't think so, because Laura Innes used to say in interviews that she thought Kerry had had polio but then TBTB apparently (haven't actually watched ER in a while) decided to use hip dysplasia instead (weird choice given that it makes most people - or me anyway - think of German Shepherd Dogs).

Honestly, I think it just reflects the fact that a lot of U.S. shows are filmed in Canada. Are you suggesting that something Canadian has rubbed off on CSI?

What do you all think of Locke on Lost. In general, I'm a tad annoyed by miraculous recovery plots (and now we've had two), but they're less irksome in a show that's more generally supernatural.

Edited because Lost and Alias are not the same show. [And edited again because apparently my brain shuts off at 7:00 PM)

Well, CSI is produced by Alliance Atlantis...

My take on Kevin is a bit different because my life experiences are different; I respect yours just as well, though. I've been disabled my whole lif and sometimes, I still have days when I want soo bad just to be like everyone else, so I could also buy Kevin's flashes of bitterness. Also, Kevin's life was pretty much being an athlete, so I guess I can see being more bitter about it.

IIRC, they said the reason they didn't hire a disabled actor to play Kevin was that they built flashbacks into the show.

Word on the lack of paralympic coverage. It pisses me off to no end.

He was Lifeguard, Vinnie's contact with the FBI.

I watched a few episodes, and my impression was she was too perfect. Did she have any faults at all?

Word on the utterly aggravating lack of Paralympics coverage. Boy howdy word.

And I wish nasty things on the buttwipe at the National Pest who actually wrote last year that Canadian athletes' astonishing performance at the Paralympics (72 medals!) was insignificant next to the fact that we only won 12 at the "real" Games.

If we can extend the discussion to issues that aren't exactly disabilities, but still touch on representation of people with physical differences, let's mention Peter Dinklage in Threshold. I haven't seen the show, but his character is described as a "brilliant but troubled linguist and mathematician who is also a womanizer with a drinking problem". Dinklage, if you don't know of him, is 4'7" and freely accepts the label "dwarf". He got his big breakout role when a friend who shared his frustration at not being able to get roles that matched his talent wrote a movie for him called The Station Agent.

My first thought is that since Hollywood usually plays the dwarves and midgets for comic relief on the rare occasion that it gives them any visibility at all, it's great to see one playing a meaty, complex and three-dimensional character instead of a Mini-Me. My second thought is that it's even better to see one playing a character who, by virtue of being a "womanizer", actually gets to have romantic and/or sexual encounters.

And my final thought is that if we're not seeing the kind of disability representation in the media that we'd like, maybe we should take a page from Dinklage's book and create the kind of representation we'd like to see. Easier said than done, I know. But hey...dream big.

Whenever I think of disabled people on t.v. the first thing that pops into my head is the Indomitable Spirit sketch from Mr. Show. The drummer didn't have any hands and played with his elbows, the flautist was only a head, the guitarist didn't have arms and played with his feet, and the lead singer was a woman.

I don't know if she counts but Kathy Lamkin did an outstanding job on last week's Nip/Tuck as Momma Boone. The woman hadn't been off the couch for three years because she'd gotten so big. I remember seeing the previews for it and being sort of grossed out but KL did such a wonderful job of portraying the character that I truly felt for her. She was the nicest lady!

On House, House's disability is an essential part of his character, but thankfully it doesn't solely define it. When asked last season what kind of person House was before he was injured, his ex said he was pretty much the same misanthropic grouch as he is now. While there have been episodes in which his disability is addressed, the show has never gone down the "I'm disabled, but there are so many things I can do!" route. In his case, House's disability more than anything provides a visual representation of his equally painful inner turmoil.

As far as introducing a character for a random lesson in tolerance, the worst instance that sticks in my mind is the episode of 90210 where some guy (cousin? friend? I don't remember) is introduced and becomes a love interest for Kelly.

So, naturally, they all go to a party that happens to be in a house on a hill will about a gazillion stairs, then the guy spends practically the entire party sitting in the corner.

IIRC, Kelly flirts with him, and the rest of the gang chide her for using him, or something. it is a little hazy, but I don't think the guy showed up again.

HORRIBLE show!! The whole Deaf issue is much more complex than issues dealing with other disabilities. In the case of Sue Thomas, opinions in the Deaf community were mixed. Many Deaf people didn't give it a chance because she was an oral Deaf character and didn't rely on ASL to communicate most of the time. Some Deaf people liked the show because they thought it was a positive portrayal of Deafness. As an interpreter and wife of a Deaf man, I thought the show was utter crap and I only watched it because a teacher I interpreted for was friends with the lead actress and liked showing episodes to her ASL classes. In other words, I had no choice. *cringe*

Yes, the actress was Deaf, but the first time I watched it I couldn't even tell who the Deaf person was supposed to be because she was actively engaged in a in a group conversation no Deaf person in the world would be able to follow. Lip reading is one thing, but following conversation from person to person--even people behind you--is an amazing skill! I would have to assume, by watching that, that she was mildly hard of hearing at the most, but the technology she used seemed to indicate that her hearing loss was severe. Also, she had that stupid dog with her all the time to...hear for her? I interpret at a government agency in Washington, DC and I have never seen one Deaf person here going to work with a Golden Retriever. And here's another peeve of mine...why the fuck didn't she ever have an interpreter there with her? She just lipread everything and--for realism's sake--missed a word here and there but she got the content. They even had cases involving other Deaf people who didn't speak, but did the FBI bring in real interpreters for their interviews? No! Sue Thomas did all the interpreting because she's just that good. That was, to me, the single most unrealistic thing about this show. If there's one thing the Federal government abounds in, it's Sign Language interpreters. We're everywhere! Every agency has us because THE LAW REQUIRES IT! If Sue Thomas was supposed to be that Deaf, she should have at least had interpreters for meetings and group conversations. My husband can hear well enough to have decent one-on-one conversations with hearing people and his speech is clear, but he still uses an interpreter for classes and meetings.

The fact that the actress portrays a Deaf person who speaks is fine with me. Unlike many Deaf people out there, I have no problem with that. I know the Deaf community has criticized Marlee Matlin for speaking in some of her roles, but I think she has every right to do that if she likes. Many Deaf people go back and forth between ASL and English and that's realistic. What's unrealistic is the way they have Sue Thomas understanding everything. She was based on a real woman who did work for the FBI, so some people think that makes this authentic. But the real Sue Thomas worked largely on her own, going over surveilance tapes to find things hearing people would miss. THAT'S realistic. Real Deaf people don't speak like her. The writing had her expressing things in a way not natural for a Deaf person and she always sounded like she was trying to use someone else's vocabulary. I'm not saying Deaf people don't have good vocabularies, I'm just saying that the way they wrote her sounded very HEARING to me and you'd only know what I mean by that if you're familiar with Deafness. There are certain kinds of phrasing and particular word choices Deaf people wouldn't use, usually because they are often picked up by hearing people but missed by Deaf people altogether as they grow up. Also, Sue Thomas always seemed to catch all the cutesy wording the writers used to fill the mouths of all the other characters. When someone gets too "clever" in their wording with my husband, this throws him because it's not how something is generally expressed. He gets a confused expression on his face and the person usually knows to re-phrase it into more common terms so he will get it. He usually does get it the second time, if it's in context. And he's about the best lip-reader I've ever seen.

The problem my husband has with this kind of portrayal of Deafness is that it gives hearing people unrealistic expectations of what a Deaf person should be like. It makes them think that, just because he speaks clearly to them, that he will then be able to understand everything they say back and that simply isn't the case much of the tiime so he prefers to just pretend he can't talk and resorts to writing back and forth rather than face the embarrassment of having to look clueless in front of people.

Other problem with the show? Boring, stupid, and predictable. I'm so thrilled it's off the air.

Sorry for the rant, but when Deafness comes up, I get going.

I thought The West Wing handled Joey Lucas pretty well. She read lips, but the other characters made an effort to speak clearly, and directly to her. There were a couple of times when I thought too many people were speaking at once for her character to reasonably follow, but overall I thought it rang true.

The blind, gun-toting cop in that other show? Not so much.

What about the blind girl on Early Edition? Or was I the only one who watched that show?