One Latino Appears On Time’s List of “The 100 Best TV Shows,” And He Says You Got Some ‘Splaining To Do!

The one TV critic at Time magazine, bespectacled and five o’ clock-shadowed as his kind usually are, has meticulously amassed a list of “The 100 Best TV Shows.” Not surprisingly, the one Latino-centric show to make the cut is “I Love Lucy”–thanks to Desi Arnaz:

The sitcom that by now is almost a synonym for “classic” got that way by doing all the things that everyone at the time knew you weren’t supposed to do. You couldn’t have a female star who was both attractive and funny. You couldn’t have her male lead be an urban Latino—playing those devil conga drums at that!—whose Cuban accent was thicker than a platter of ropa vieja.

While we agree with James Poniewozik’s rationale and sharp use of racist sarcasm, we can’t help but scratch our heads at the fact that, like, 80 years have elapsed since the “Lucy” finale and all we’ve got to show for it is “CHiPs” and “That 70’s Show.” (Okay, okay: we have to admit that, for its premise alone, “Chico and the Man” was the shit.)

One guideline of his, the ‘one-year rule’ mandating that Poniewozik only consider shows that debuted before 2006 for the sake of staying power, disqualified that bastion of positive Latino portrayal known as “Ugly Betty.” Guess we’ll have to wait another couple of years before it and “Cane” can land on the list for assimilating us brown folk.

I Love Lucy [Time]
How I Chose the List [Time]
Complete List [Time]
Image [Google]
Earlier, If This Is It, Please Let Us Know: Assimilated Latinos Possibly Come Of Age On TV