TV ‘N Me
Filed Under (Forever Young) by Amy on 03-18-2007
Television has played such a large part in my life. Starting when I was a young girl, TV had me in its clutches. I was a very active child, but my mom said sitting me in front of the TV to watch Sesame Street or Captain Kangaroo was one of the few things that convinced me to sit still. As time went by, I’d be held captive by shows like Electric Company, Land of the Lost, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Alice, Welcome Back Kotter, The Love Boat, What’s Happening, The Brady Bunch, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Family, and Eight is Enough.
I still fondly remember the shows I got to watch when I stayed home sick from school. The Price is Right, Match Game, Card Sharks, The $10,000 Pyramid, and my mom’s soap operas all kept me company as I nursed myself back to health on the couch. Bob Barker and Erica Kane could make everything better in those days. And I’ll never forget the night I was finally old enough to stay up later than 8 pm. The occasion? Watching Dallas on Friday nights. My parents said I could watch only if I was quiet and behaved myself. I was the most well behaved 10 year old on the planet on those nights. Besides, who could talk when J.R. and Bobby Ewing were lighting up the screen on our homemade console television set?
My love for TV and the characters brought to life in my living room hasn’t waned over time. During the 80s and 90s, such classics as Hill Street Blues, Seinfeld, Cheers, Roseanne, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Home Improvement, and The Wonder Years played a big part of my nightly entertainment. And thank God for TV Land and Nick @ Nite who play some of these shows even today. I get to relive the glory days of TV and pretend 20 years haven’t passed since I used to enjoy them.
These days, with the advent of the DVR, TV watching has changed quite a bit. No longer do we have to sit through commercials or even be home when our favorite shows are on. I love my DVR, but dare I say it diminishes the viewing experience of days past. While it’s convenient to not have to rush home on certain nights to see our shows, the sense of community and camaraderie dwindles when everyone is not watching at the same time. In years past, if the phone rang during a highly anticipated episode of Dallas or Hill Street Blues, it was most likely an emergency. Today, the pause button means we don’t just get phone calls for emergencies any more. The time block when our shows are on has become less sacred. Even though I’m nostalgic for days past where television viewing habits are concerned, I still praise and embrace the advent of technology and I love my DVR just as much as the next girl. I can miss the old days and enjoy the present simultaneously – they’re not mutually exclusive.
Tell me your favorite TV show memories. Was it sitting around the TV with your family, munching on popcorn, eyes glued to the screen in anticipation of what the lead character would say next? Or were there specific episodes of shows that really stick out in your mind? Reminisce with me in the comments.
[tags]television, retro television, classic television, game shows[/tags]
I was like you, I just really loved TV. I would watch whatever was on…LOL
This is such a great entry Amy, you can just feel the nostalgia! I came along a little after some of these “glory days” of television, but there are a few things that seem to relive that feeling of the whole country being gathered around the TV…. mainly when long-running, beloved TV shows are airing their finales. There were several that ended when I was in college, and it was so neat to have an entire dorm building crammed into the lobby around one TV, knowing the rest of the dorms, and the rest of the country probably, were doing the same thing.
Did you ever watch Let’s Make a Deal? I LOVED that show!
I know what you mean. There were days I wouldn’t go play with certain friends because they didn’t like certain shows and I didn’t want to miss them. Then when we actually got a VCR that was a huge deal.
My Gran was so excited because she could tape her soaps while we went on holiday. *L*
If you have satellite, you need to watch the GSN channel (game show network). You can watch a lot of the shows you mentioned on there. I like to watch so I can laugh at how the people looked and dressed. :)
Oh my best friend and I loved the Price is Right. All summer we were glued to the TV at 11:00! We’d play along,splitting the contests and keeping score for ourselves. It was quite the complicated thing, now that I think back on it! :)
sitting next to my grandmom in complete silence, watching her reactions to how people were acting on her favorite soaps LOL
Oh my gosh, I used to LOVE watching the game shows when i was home sick…price is right and card sharks were my favorites!
I forgot about all of those game shows. My kids associate Price is Right with lunch. LOL
My favorite TV memories have to be from when I was in junior high school. Tuesday nights meant Who’s the Boss, Growing Pains (I LOVED Kirk Cameron, lol) and then Moonlighting. My best friend and I would hang on the phone for the whole two hours and make comments to each other as if we were in the same room. It was the best!
Back in the day, when my folks still watched football, and my sweet Grandmamom was still alive, and it was a lovely, bright and sunny Sunday afternoon – we had the back door propped open, Mom had made the Rotel cheese dip, and we all just enjoyed each other’s company. I loved those Sundays!
And I detest football, did then, still do now – but, I so loved all of us hanging out together like that!
Ok, now I’m in tears – I’ll get you for this, my pretty!
What a great post. Yes, Sundays were like that in my family too.
I like Italian game shows more than American ones. They sometimes have women in bikinis for no apparent reason and since I don’t know the language, I get to play along at home with a game I call What the Heck is Going On?
Card Sharks! Higher! Lower! Loved that show!
Seeing Nick @ Nite and seeing shows like Roseanne and Fresh Prince and stuff I watched all the time like that makes me feel kinda old! LOL
Land of the Lost, I remember watching that!