Old TV Shows

Last night was a show on TV about unforgettable moments in TV history.  Several shows I remember were mentioned.  DALLAS with “Who shot J. R.?”  St. ELSEWHERE when the good Dr. Westphall dropped his pants and told his supervisor to “Kiss my Ass, Pal.”  There was much emphasis on Archie Bunker, SEINFELD, MARY TYLER MOORE, and WILL and GRACE.

I thought the theme leaned a bit much on Relationship shows, where people have to learn to get along with others, and it’s all about acceptance.  There was no STAR TREK from any of the series, and there were 5 of them, if I counted correctly.  In fact, I’m thinking no science fiction at all.

So I thought I might write a bit about my memories of TV shows.

Romper Room and Miss Rose Marie.  What was I? age 4?  She would look through the magic mirror and say Hello to everyone by name, just like she was looking right at Me through the television. 
It truly was magic, until my mom sent in my name so that I could be on the show.  That meant I had to get up really, really early, and go over to the studio and then I was one of the children walking past the big electrical cables for the huge TV cameras.
I saw Miss Rose Marie before she got her hair fixed pretty, and the boy sitting next to me kept kicking me in my ankle because he wanted to be sitting where I was with the plastic pieces, and not where he was with the string and nails in the board.  The lights were too bright and I got too hot riding the stick pony.  Being on the show took away the “magic” for me, but my little sister liked to watch.

The horse FURY and the dog LASSIE.  Captain KANGAROO and Bunny Rabbit.  Animals could be so Smart.

Mister Rogers in black-and-white and before his show went national.  I loved the trolley and Lady Elaine.

HAWAII-FIVE-0.  The music, the ocean waves and surfers were so very different from the hills and mills around where I lived. The guy with the great hair saying “Book ‘im, Dan-o” with such authority.  No one on my street could say anything that came close because it was a working class neighborhood and everybody’s job was as an underling.  No one whose job was to be a Boss lived on my street.

HERE COME THE BRIDES There were guys in flannel shirts and work boots.  They needed women, so there was a sailing ship sent to fetch some.  My first screen star crush.  Bobby Sherman.

The BRADY BUNCH Marcia Brady and her lovely, beautifully long hair.  And a housekeeper, Alice.  I never saw Marcia with split cuticles from doing dishes.
The MOD SQUAD another gal with great hair.  Plus two good-looking guys and equal job status.

For several years, what was on television was not my focus.  I was in school, I was working shifts, life got too busy.

GRIZZLY ADAMS a Guy with great hair, and a hairy bear, and the mountains and campfires and the bad folks are the losers.

The FACTS OF LIFE with a bunch of spoiled girls whining around a redheaded dorm mother.  Girl bonding, and quite different than what I had with my sisters and friends.  It always seemed odd to me, yet I know someone who says she loved that show, she felt like she was watching her best buddies.

HILL STREET BLUES came along just about the time I had a baby and had time to sit while nursing him.  Plus, Husband Loved the show, so it gave us time to be together and have something to talk about.  Some great lines we still remember all these years later.  “Put ayer head down, you do look tired.”

CAGNEY and LACEY  Women detectives, one married, one not.  I changed my schedule to be home for my TV show.  Those were the days before a VCR, although in one episode, Lacey got a new microwave oven.  Her husband didn’t like the flavor of the food that came out of it, tho.

DWEEBS….BEAUTY and the BEAST….PARKER LEWIS CAN’T LOSE….THIRD ROCK from the SUN….CHICAGO HOPE….MAX HEADROOM….HARD TIME on PLANET EARTH

NORTHERN EXPOSURE  They had me with the moose walking down the street and the radio DJ reading poetry over the airwaves.  Then the writers throw in a one-line-per-show Eskimo lady as the receptionist, plus some Alaska scenery and it’s a show to call my own.

Last favorite show I had, and re-arranged my schedule over, was for JUDGING AMY, yet it has been cancelled.
 
That’s probably just as well, I’m going to the community college full time this Fall semester and my study habits need much much work.

Maybe this brought up a memory or three for you.  I sure had fun saying what was on screen in my day.
~~love and Huggs, Diane

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