The "What Ever Happened to Good TV?" Story
It was an ordinary day. We are returning from supper in Germantown. Carol and I are visiting our daughter and granddaughters while our son-in-law is out of town giving a presentation on football strategies. Brynn has a minivan and I decided to sit in the way back, behind Courtney and Camille. The three of us are watching Tom and Jerry on the minivan's small color monitor. I haven't seen Tom and Jerry for years and am really enjoying it. "Keep the noise down back there," they yell from the front seats. "You're having too much fun." Yep, that's it. TV used to be fun long ago. Later that night I started to think of all the really old and not so really old TV shows that I used to watch. Not the "reality TV" that all channels have today. I guess all forms of TV have been exhausted, so they have hit the bottom with Reality TV. I do enjoy the Travel Channel, Home and Garden Channel and The Food Network, but that and the Phillies are just about all I watch. I'd rather read than watch most of the shows on TV today. Do you remember any of my old all time favorites? Such as Covered Wagon Theater which was on every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 8:00 AM. This was in the early 50s and was naturally in black and white and was a series of westerns which depicted life in the old west. Not sure of any of the actors, but certainly was plenty of gunfights and killing. Other favorites were the Lone Ranger which aired from '49-'57 and featured Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger w
ith his horse Silver and Jay Silverheels as Tonto, his longtime Indian friend who rode Scout. Originally in black and white, but I still watch reruns and some feature John Hart as The Lone Ranger and are colorized. Now John Hart just isn't The Lone Ranger. He's just a faux imitation. Other childhood favorites were Superman whichstarted with.....Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! "Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! This aired from '52-'58 and featured George Reeves as mild mannered Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet. Only thing that could hurt Superman was Kryptonite. First two seasons were in black and white with the last four in color. In the mid to late 50s I was in the St. James Boy's and Men's Choir and my Dad and I would go to practice on Thursday nights from 7:30-8:30 PM. Always got home by 9:00 PM so I could watch my favorite Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford as Dan Matthews who was an overweight, tough talking cop. Only night of the week I was allowed to stay up past 9:00 PM. Oh, the things you remember! This show ran from '55-59. Then came Dennis The Menace from '59-'63 featuring Jay North as Dennis and Joseph Kearns as Mr. Wilson. Along with these was perhaps my favorite "Family Show" which was Leave It To Beaver. The Beaver was played by Jerry Mathers and Tony
Dow played his brother Wally. My favorite episode and the most expensive one to create was "In The Soup" where the Beaver got stuck in a big soup cup on top of a billboard. I'm sure you remember that one, don't you! Maybe you're not old enough to remember. I was in my early teens at the time. This show was picked as one of TV's Best 100 shows of all time. It featured only 1 African American in a one episode non-speaking part and 1 hispanic, Beaver's friend "Chuey" in one episode. Then came the science-fiction shows, Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas and The Invaders featuring Roy Thinnes as David Vincent. The invaders were aliens who had no pulse, could not bleed and had a mutated fourth finger on both hands. Carol and I always watched this show with my Mom and Dad at their house. Years for this show were '67-'69. For years I kept my eyes open for people who had their little finger off to the side. Ma
tter of fact, I still do! Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas featured Admiral Nelson and Commander Crane who searched for the guest monster of the week in their ship, The Seaview. This show ran from '64-68. Carol and I watched this show every Sunday night in the den of her parent's home. It counted as a date! Shows I watched after this were Hawaii Five-O which aired from '68-'80 and was filmed in Honolulu except for 4 of the shows. It featured Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett and James MacArthur as Danny Williams. "Book 'em Danno!" was how the show always ended. We also loved watching "The Love Boat" which was on from '77-'82. It was considered a sit-com and was filmed on a cruise ship. Most shows were on the Pacific Princess and was on network TV on Saturday Night. We are now in the process of making plans for a cruise and hitting some of the same port-of-calls that were in this show. Now that was good TV. I actually watched a soap opera. Prime time show "Dallas" was a favorite for Carol and me. It aired from '78-'91. The Ewings lived on Southfork Ranch in Texas. The show was about wealth, sex, intrigue and power. Just like my household. Show which ended the '80 season was the most famous: "Who shot JR!" You HAD to have seen that episode!! My favorite quiz show has to be Jeopardy. Ran from '64-75 during the day with Art Flemming as host and from '84-present with Al
ex Trebek. I've watched it for so long that I know every single question on the show. One of my students at MTHS, Brad Rutter is the biggest winner of all time on the show. He won the Ultimate Tournament of Champions and two Chevy Camaros for a total of $2,115,000 and I didn't see a penny of that for all I taught him. Finally, I had three favorite sit-coms. The Bob Newhart Show which ran from '72-'78 and featured Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette/Newhart which featured Bob and Mary Frann which ran from '82-90. Also enjoyed Cheers with Ted Danson which aired from '82-'93. If you are reading this story, I'm sure you must have watched this show! Based on the Bull and Fi
nch Pub which is located at 84 Beacon Street in Boston. When our daughter won a prize in the Scholastic Arts Photo competition we traveled to Boston for the opening of the art show and naturally had to stop at the Bull and Finch Pub on Beacon Street. You know "It's the place where everybody knows your name!" The last show I've got to mention is the show that TV Guide voted as the "Greatest TV Show of All Time." It's my all time favorite. I watched it starting in 1989 until the last episode in 1998. I still watch at least one episode every night, two if I don't like the House Hunters International show that is on opposite it. Any idea? My favorite episodes of the show are "The Soup Nazi" and "The Contest." You gotta know by now. Jerry, George, Ela
ine and Cosmo Kramer. You got it!! I just finished watching "The Race." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
It was an ordinary day. We are returning from supper in Germantown. Carol and I are visiting our daughter and granddaughters while our son-in-law is out of town giving a presentation on football strategies. Brynn has a minivan and I decided to sit in the way back, behind Courtney and Camille. The three of us are watching Tom and Jerry on the minivan's small color monitor. I haven't seen Tom and Jerry for years and am really enjoying it. "Keep the noise down back there," they yell from the front seats. "You're having too much fun." Yep, that's it. TV used to be fun long ago. Later that night I started to think of all the really old and not so really old TV shows that I used to watch. Not the "reality TV" that all channels have today. I guess all forms of TV have been exhausted, so they have hit the bottom with Reality TV. I do enjoy the Travel Channel, Home and Garden Channel and The Food Network, but that and the Phillies are just about all I watch. I'd rather read than watch most of the shows on TV today. Do you remember any of my old all time favorites? Such as Covered Wagon Theater which was on every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 8:00 AM. This was in the early 50s and was naturally in black and white and was a series of westerns which depicted life in the old west. Not sure of any of the actors, but certainly was plenty of gunfights and killing. Other favorites were the Lone Ranger which aired from '49-'57 and featured Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger w
ith his horse Silver and Jay Silverheels as Tonto, his longtime Indian friend who rode Scout. Originally in black and white, but I still watch reruns and some feature John Hart as The Lone Ranger and are colorized. Now John Hart just isn't The Lone Ranger. He's just a faux imitation. Other childhood favorites were Superman whichstarted with.....Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! "Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! This aired from '52-'58 and featured George Reeves as mild mannered Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet. Only thing that could hurt Superman was Kryptonite. First two seasons were in black and white with the last four in color. In the mid to late 50s I was in the St. James Boy's and Men's Choir and my Dad and I would go to practice on Thursday nights from 7:30-8:30 PM. Always got home by 9:00 PM so I could watch my favorite Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford as Dan Matthews who was an overweight, tough talking cop. Only night of the week I was allowed to stay up past 9:00 PM. Oh, the things you remember! This show ran from '55-59. Then came Dennis The Menace from '59-'63 featuring Jay North as Dennis and Joseph Kearns as Mr. Wilson. Along with these was perhaps my favorite "Family Show" which was Leave It To Beaver. The Beaver was played by Jerry Mathers and Tony
Dow played his brother Wally. My favorite episode and the most expensive one to create was "In The Soup" where the Beaver got stuck in a big soup cup on top of a billboard. I'm sure you remember that one, don't you! Maybe you're not old enough to remember. I was in my early teens at the time. This show was picked as one of TV's Best 100 shows of all time. It featured only 1 African American in a one episode non-speaking part and 1 hispanic, Beaver's friend "Chuey" in one episode. Then came the science-fiction shows, Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas and The Invaders featuring Roy Thinnes as David Vincent. The invaders were aliens who had no pulse, could not bleed and had a mutated fourth finger on both hands. Carol and I always watched this show with my Mom and Dad at their house. Years for this show were '67-'69. For years I kept my eyes open for people who had their little finger off to the side. Ma
tter of fact, I still do! Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas featured Admiral Nelson and Commander Crane who searched for the guest monster of the week in their ship, The Seaview. This show ran from '64-68. Carol and I watched this show every Sunday night in the den of her parent's home. It counted as a date! Shows I watched after this were Hawaii Five-O which aired from '68-'80 and was filmed in Honolulu except for 4 of the shows. It featured Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett and James MacArthur as Danny Williams. "Book 'em Danno!" was how the show always ended. We also loved watching "The Love Boat" which was on from '77-'82. It was considered a sit-com and was filmed on a cruise ship. Most shows were on the Pacific Princess and was on network TV on Saturday Night. We are now in the process of making plans for a cruise and hitting some of the same port-of-calls that were in this show. Now that was good TV. I actually watched a soap opera. Prime time show "Dallas" was a favorite for Carol and me. It aired from '78-'91. The Ewings lived on Southfork Ranch in Texas. The show was about wealth, sex, intrigue and power. Just like my household. Show which ended the '80 season was the most famous: "Who shot JR!" You HAD to have seen that episode!! My favorite quiz show has to be Jeopardy. Ran from '64-75 during the day with Art Flemming as host and from '84-present with Al
ex Trebek. I've watched it for so long that I know every single question on the show. One of my students at MTHS, Brad Rutter is the biggest winner of all time on the show. He won the Ultimate Tournament of Champions and two Chevy Camaros for a total of $2,115,000 and I didn't see a penny of that for all I taught him. Finally, I had three favorite sit-coms. The Bob Newhart Show which ran from '72-'78 and featured Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette/Newhart which featured Bob and Mary Frann which ran from '82-90. Also enjoyed Cheers with Ted Danson which aired from '82-'93. If you are reading this story, I'm sure you must have watched this show! Based on the Bull and Fi
nch Pub which is located at 84 Beacon Street in Boston. When our daughter won a prize in the Scholastic Arts Photo competition we traveled to Boston for the opening of the art show and naturally had to stop at the Bull and Finch Pub on Beacon Street. You know "It's the place where everybody knows your name!" The last show I've got to mention is the show that TV Guide voted as the "Greatest TV Show of All Time." It's my all time favorite. I watched it starting in 1989 until the last episode in 1998. I still watch at least one episode every night, two if I don't like the House Hunters International show that is on opposite it. Any idea? My favorite episodes of the show are "The Soup Nazi" and "The Contest." You gotta know by now. Jerry, George, Ela
ine and Cosmo Kramer. You got it!! I just finished watching "The Race." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Cousin, we too watch Seinfeld most every night. It still makes us laugh even if we did see it 10 times before.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we were on a plane coming home from Curacao on the night 'Who Shot JR?' was on. The captain made the announcement as to who did the shooting! Everyone on the plane had wanted to know the answer that night. Carry on. S