Yes, It’s Cheesy. That’s the Point.

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Every time I post a clip of Farrah Fawcett appearing on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Brady Bunch Hour, or Donny & Marie, the same comment always shows up: “It’s so cheesy.” That observation is entirely correct — but it is also the point.

1970s variety television was never meant to be gritty, ironic, or emotionally restrained. It loved sequins, feathered hair, theatrical lighting, choreographed numbers, and skits full of exaggerated charm. These shows were colorful, stylized, and unapologetically theatrical. Above all, they were meant to entertain.

For example, in one appearance on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Farrah and Cher played department store mannequins, committing to exaggerated stillness and stylized poses in a sketch that fully embraced the absurd. At one point, Farrah playfully quipped, “This month I’m that dizzy blonde from Charlie’s Angels, you know her name, Farrah something.” The line gently poked fun at her own television image while joining right in on the silliness around her. The humor was broad, self-aware, and delightfully over-the-top. It was not aiming for subtle realism; it was leaning into spectacle — exactly as variety television was meant to do.

Some viewers also point out that certain sketches include sexual innuendos or humor that feels dated by modern standards. That is true too. Variety television in the 1970s often relied on playful flirtation and double entendre as part of its mainstream appeal. But looking at those moments without considering the era they came from can flatten what was really going on. What plays differently now was, at the time, part of the larger entertainment language of the period.

Standards evolve. Humor shifts. Cultural expectations change. That is not controversial — it is inevitable. But judging every archival clip by present-day standards misses what these programs were trying to do: deliver spectacle, lightness, and shared amusement in a format that had more in common with a stage revue than prestige drama.

When Farrah stepped onto those stages, she threw herself into the choreography and theatricality without apology or self-conscious irony. The flirtatious tone that sometimes surfaced was part of the format, not something unique to her. She met it with ease and confidence, participating in the fun rather than being overshadowed by it.

Calling something “cheesy” often just means it no longer matches current taste. Every era has its own visual grammar. The 1970s variety format favored brightness and exuberance over subtlety. Audiences tuned in for glamour, humor, and escapism.

Farrah’s willingness to embrace that format so fully is part of what makes those appearances last. They capture a moment when television felt less guarded and more earnest. The choreography may seem heightened now, and the innuendos may feel quaint, but the goal was entertainment — not transgression.

Fun is not a flaw. Historical context is not endorsement; it is understanding. And sometimes what we call “cheese” is simply joy presented without irony.
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If those performances still prompt a smile — even one paired with a modern raised eyebrow — then they are still doing exactly what they were meant to do.