Television I Loved Back in the Day

I celebrated my birthday on July 27th and it was a milestone birthday. As I was reflecting on my life so far, I started to remember all the great television shows I used to watch. Take a trip into the past a little with me, and see how much you remember.

I was born at a time when televisions were not babysitters and mom stayed home with us while dad went to work. TV was part of our morning and Sunday evenings, but we rarely watched it during the week and never during the day, when there was no school. Our mornings always began with Ray Raynor & Friends and Romper Room. I was sure the tv teacher could see me through her Magic Mirror, especially when she would call my name. Ray Raynor told me what to wear that day; whether it would rain or be cold and blustery.

Sunday evenings began with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, which lead into The Wonderful World of Disney and Uncle Walt. Occasionally, if the weather was too bad to go outside, there was Family Classics with Frasier Thomas. That’s where I was introduced to such wonderful movies such as Robin Hood, starring the very handsome Errol Flynn, Gulliver’s Travels and Moby Dick, with Gregory Peck. It’s where I saw my favorite movie of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird. Still my favorite movie of all time. I wanted to be Sam in Bewitched; I never did get that nose twitching down right. Reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Love Lucy kept us laughing on a rainy day. Star Trek turned me into a sci-fi geek, and The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery gave me my first spider nightmares. Flipper made me want to take up swimming and I did. Just never with the dolphins – yet.

As I grew to teenage years, my television focus switched to no tv in the mornings, (who had time when you could sleep until first bell rang for school!) and weekend viewing only. Ah, those marvelous B movies! Or a good musical on a Saturday night. Most of the time. we’d go to the drive-in theaters (remember those?) for the latest movie. Sunday’s meant the Brady Bunch and my favorite, The Partridge Family. See, I was going to grow up and marry David Cassidy. He didn’t wait for me and I moved on. Shows like Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley took me through my 50’s greaser stage (don’t laugh, you did it too!), Mary Tyler Moore showed me I could turn the world on with my smile too. I was living on the air with Johnny and company at WKRP in Cincinnati, and then there was M*A*S*H.

Tom Hanks was my favorite of the two Bosom Buddies. Cheers, Night Court and Mork & Mindy kept me in stitches and gave me some great quotes to use on my friends. Cagney & Lacey were my favorite girl cops, and Macgyver gave me my first TV boyfriend, Richard Dean Anderson.

I went through a period when television just didn’t exist for me and music was my best friend. So when Friends premiered I could care less. I picked it up much later, probably the last 3 seasons. However, my hiatus didn’t last that long and soon I was hooked on shows like The Pretender and The Profiler, Frasier, Home Improvement, Mad About You, Babylon 5, and for kicks, Mystery Science Theater 3000.

As you can see, my television experience goes back a ways and I’ve dated myself. That’s alright, though, because my early memories of TV are of shows that paved the way for what I watch today. Looking back over this list, my tastes haven’t changed much. I still love to laugh, love to be thrilled and love to be stumped by a good who-done-it. I wonder what television will be like fifty years from now. I wonder how many will read this and remember the shows I’ve listed here. What’s on your list?