Some episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" are timeless...and some are terribly dated. Such is the case of the dated "My Mother Can Beat Up My Father"...an episode you really couldn't make today.
The story begins in a hospital room and Rob is in traction. He then recounts to the nurse a long story about how he got injured. It seems that he and Laura went out to dinner and an annoying drunk jerk kept bothering Laura. Rob threatened the guy...and ended up getting punched in the nose by the guy. Laura responds by doing a judo move on the guy and takes him out.
Following this, Rob's fragile male ego is REALLY fragile....so fragile that it makes him out to be a total jerk. He cannot get past that Laura is supposedly tougher than him...and he even learns a bit of judo himself and then challenges her! Naturally, she flattens Rob...but this isn't how he ends up in traction. It eventually occurs because Rob simply cannot let it go...and ends up hurting himself trying to assert his fragile masculinity.
Rob is a jerk in this episode...period. He is even jerkier when he blames all his own problems on Laura! I didn't find this funny...just annoying. I am sure folks back in 1964 thought it was funny but today it will be seen differently...especially when Rob suggests they fight to see who is tougher! Disturbing and unfunny.
The story begins in a hospital room and Rob is in traction. He then recounts to the nurse a long story about how he got injured. It seems that he and Laura went out to dinner and an annoying drunk jerk kept bothering Laura. Rob threatened the guy...and ended up getting punched in the nose by the guy. Laura responds by doing a judo move on the guy and takes him out.
Following this, Rob's fragile male ego is REALLY fragile....so fragile that it makes him out to be a total jerk. He cannot get past that Laura is supposedly tougher than him...and he even learns a bit of judo himself and then challenges her! Naturally, she flattens Rob...but this isn't how he ends up in traction. It eventually occurs because Rob simply cannot let it go...and ends up hurting himself trying to assert his fragile masculinity.
Rob is a jerk in this episode...period. He is even jerkier when he blames all his own problems on Laura! I didn't find this funny...just annoying. I am sure folks back in 1964 thought it was funny but today it will be seen differently...especially when Rob suggests they fight to see who is tougher! Disturbing and unfunny.
