Watchdog Group Remains Critical of CBS’ ‘Daisy’

Leaders of a media watchdog group that was opposed to CBS’ showing last Friday of the pilot for a “Driving Miss Daisy” television series because they found the script offensive said Monday that they found the final program to be patronizing and marred by stereotypes.

“I thought the show handled the whole situation in a patronizing manner,” said Sumi Haru, co-president of the Media Image Coalition of Minorities and Women.

“I hate to see a black man portrayed that way on television, especially when everyone is having such a hard time with cultural relations, not only in Los Angeles, but all over the country,” she added.

Group members claimed that CBS had denied their request to view the show before Friday’s broadcast. The comedy, which was based on the Pulitizer Prize-winning play and the Academy Award-winning film, was set in the 1950s and starred Robert Guillaume as a patient chauffeur for a crotchety widow, played by Joan Plowright.

Although Haru said she liked Guillaume’s performance, “I just didn’t like the theme of the show. I don’t think it’s the right time to do this sort of thing. There are many more stories where we can put African-Americans where they’re not the butt of comedic writing.”

Zara Taylor, coordinator for the coalition, said that group members would phone CBS this week to voice their displeasure with the show but planned no further action unless the network approved the series as a mid-season replacement.

CBS officials said there did not seem to be a significant phone-in response during the weekend to the show, which came in second in the 8 p.m. time slot behind ABC’s “Family Matters,” attracting 13% of the available audience to tie with NBC’s “Matlock.”

Guillaume had said in an interview last week that he was proud of the pilot, saying that stories such as “Driving Miss Daisy” needed to be told because Hollywood had historically portrayed blacks during those periods in an insensitive manner.

But Edie Thomas, spokeswoman for the Black Media Coalition, which also belongs to the Media Image Coalition of Minorities and Women, said, “It was extremely offensive to me, and difficult to sit through. I like the movie because I felt the whole thing was played with a little more dignity.”

Thomas and others in the group said that they were particularly angered with a scene in which Guillaume’s character remains silent as a friend of his employer’s refers to Eleanor Roosevelt as a “nigger lover.”

“To see someone not being able to speak for himself--just watch what’s happening with his head down--made me sick,” Thomas said.