Pam was more than mildly ditzy although not as manic as Lucy. For one thing she spent money like it was going out of style, to her husband's misery although he admitted he liked the results. When I run the prices through the inflation calculator I see why he was so upset. (She didn't need expensive classes on poise. She needed classes on self-defense.)
She dragged him into danger, seemingly lacking all caution when her curiosity or sympathy was aroused, even when all he wanted was a quiet evening. She thought she was an amateur detective. He thought the police should handle most of the crimes.
His publishing business did provide a host of oddball types with a tendency to off each other. He was always willing to launch into a fight to save her, even if it left him bloodied with torn clothes. She needed a lot of rescuing by both him and the police, with whom they had a close relationship. She would speak right up to anyone, which often caused trouble. He had to trick her now and then in order to go off without her. Subtle, she was not, which worked for her in the long run but in the short run got them into life threatening situations.
Both of them put pieces of the crime's solution together but she was more apt to have the final piece. He was the sensible one and she was the impetuous one. I can see why she would get on a viewer's nerves. She could get on the nerves of everyone she knew, too. She could be immature, jealous, and demanding.
On the whole, tv shows in the early days that had transitioned from radio were much more adult-oriented than the later "family" shows that were self-consciously child-safe. Therefore, we saw that Mr. and Mrs. North were hot for each other, single beds notwithstanding. We also saw plots that involved adult crimes.
I wouldn't liken them to Nick and Nora Charles. They remind me much more of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, with a large dose of George Burns and Gracie Allen mixed in.
I wouldn't say that all characters from that era would look ridiculous today. The ditzy ones do. That was the humor that leavened the murder and mayhem of a detective show like this. Old shows that don't lose their appeal are called classics. There are shows on tv now that will be classics in the future.
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