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Carl Reiner explained why Sally Rogers was ''embarrassing'' when looking back on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show''
"It was based on my life."
Not everything ages perfectly. Sometimes, you'll remember a movie or a television show that you loved in your youth, only to rewatch it in the present day to find out that it would have absolutely no chance of being made today. Every entertainment creator is entitled to their fair share of regrets. It doesn't mean that the media you love has become unwatchable; it just means that, like any grown adult, you have to look at it with new eyes.
Carl Reiner, with his multitude of projects, still had his own regrets, despite the tremendous success he enjoyed throughout their career. Reiner spoke to the Garnett News Service and revealed that he considered the depiction of one character, Sally Rogers of The Dick Van Dyke Show, embarrassing, in retrospect. Reiner had his reasons, most specifically because while Rogers was depicted as a funny woman, her love life seemed to suffer as her career flourished.
Reiner acknowledged, "That's sort of embarrassing today." However, he still felt that the qualities of the character were pulled from reality. Reiner continued, "It was based on my life. That's the way women were then."
Rose Marie, who played Rogers, had a very different take on the character. She said, "She was the first liberated woman on TV. She was treated like an equal." Marie also revealed that while Rogers was a fictional character, her impact was very real.
The actor said, "I have women write to me and say because of me they became a writer. They looked up to me."
It's easy to see why women looked up to a woman like Rose Marie, who Reiner knew was the woman for the role at first sight. Reiner said, "As soon as Rosie walked in the office, I said, 'Of course.' She's so glib and forceful. She's a dynamo. And she had a brightness about her. I don't even remember her reading for me. From her bravado and attitude, she was it."
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