TV SHOWS: Memory Lane/Current

[wordsmith1223]

Hello!
Any Couch Potatoes out there?
Thought we could talk about favorite TV shows.
What do you like this season that's new?
What's good about your returning shows?
What are shows that should not have been cancelled?
What are your all-time favorites?

Just a lot of food for thought!
I'll be back Friday night with some lists and thoughts!
Cheers,
Lynn

[ACcountryFan]

Well, i'm offering a list of my favorite TV shows. i rarely watch TV anymore unless a singer i like is on a TV show or an awards show. i have eccentric tastes and so this might prove tedious...

1. Hee-Haw: 1969-1992; i watched this show every weekend when i'd spend the night with my grandparent's. i loved the show and i loved the country music.

2. Benny Hill: 1969-1989; this show used to run during late-night; no, not actually a show for children to watch but i discovered the show when i was a teenager during summer break...i was flipping through the channels and came across this guy slapping a bald man on the head in a zany fast-paced sketch similar to the silent films of Charlie Chaplin...so, i kept watching and it was insane but funny {to me} and i've been a fan of Benny's ever since.

3. Jack Benny Program: 1950-1965; i love Jack Benny mainly because of my grandparent's. he used to be shown every Saturday morning on our PBS station. It was his show at 9am followed at 10am by Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner's "Your Show of Shows". i watched all of it. 9-11am every Saturday morning for as long as the PBS station carried them, i watched both show. I've become such a big fan of Jack's that i've went backwards and started buying some of his radio shows from the '30s, '40s, and '50s. "When Radio Was", an old-time radio showcase hosted by Stan Freberg, got me hooked on old-time radio. Jack is the greatest.

4. All in the Family: 1971-1979; i used to watch this show every evening in re-runs. of course, all the humor was dated and it went over my head when i found the show one night but i eventually learned the jokes and now find it hilarious and ground-breaking.

5. The Love Boat: 1977-1986; before anyone gags...i loved this show! it was harmless fun and made people forget real life for an hour. i watched many of the re-runs on TV Land last year.

6. Soap: 1977-1981; this was one of the first TV shows i remember watching. while i was waiting for The Price is Right to come on, i was flipping through the dial {no remotes back then} and saw the red haired woman from "Who's the Boss?" and the father from "Three's a Crowd"...so, i watched the show and although i didn't understand it, it had the nutty element i now look for in a comedy...years later when i got older i realized the kind of show it was...i saw nothing controversial about the show at all...still don't.

i don't know how long the list is suppose to be but i have a ton of favorite TV shows as i said, many of them i discovered in network re-runs or on Nick-at-Night. the last shows a person might call recent that i watched some episodes of were "Seinfeld"; "Frasier"; and "Diagnosis Murder". the last show i HAD to see every week no matter what was "Newhart", 1982-1990. i can't recall when i started watching the show...it must've been the mid '80s somewhere because i can remember like it was yesterday my mom turning on CBS Monday nights and there "Newhart" was...at 8:30.

[lorilovesgolf]

ok, I'm going to age myself but here goes:

The Mod Squad - I was totally, passionately in love with Michael Cole.  I wanted to marry him and have his children.
Of course, I wanted to marry Donnie Osmond and Davy Jones from the Monkees too.  Oh the memories.

[wordsmith1223]

Currently, I love "24" and "The Gilmore Girls," "Everybody Loves Raymond" I've been a fan of since day one, same for "Will and Grace," although I am a little disappointed with the direction the past year or so.
My children and I have watched nearly every episode of "The Simpsons" since it started, and we continue to be huge fans. It is so inventive and clever. Did you know every episode features a movie parody? It can be brief or have a little more substance, but always perfect.
And I loved, loved, loved "Sex and the City" from season three on, although the last episode of Season Two, where they all sing "The Way We Were" and talk about mismatched couples, and compare Carrie and Big to Hubbel and Katie....LOVE that one. And the beach house in Hamptons one.
You know there's a lot of babies being born with the name Aidan, and I think it's from hunky John Corbett being the perfect man those two seasons on Sex and the City.
But my all-time favorite sitcom is "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and my all-time favorite drama is "St. Elsewhere." Runner-up is "thirtysomething" (that show mirrored so much of what was happening in my own life, it was scary!)

"Twilight Zone" is a classic. Was anyone obsessed with "Dark Shadows" as a teen? My girlfriends and I were all ga-ga over Quentin!

Loved "Cheers," too, and "Murphy Brown," and "Designing Women." "Felicity" had my attention for four years, and then the ending was unsatisfactory.

I will admit to watching "Dawson's Creek," too -- big fan of Katie Holmes (Joey) and Joshua Jackson (Pacey) but found the parents and Dawson himself to be annoying.
Back in the 80s, "Dallas" and "Dynasty" ruled! And of course, Tom Selleck in "Magnum PI" with those super-short gym shorts!!!!

As a kid, I loved "Ozzie and Harriet," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Donna Reed Show," "The Andy Griffith Show" "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "That Girl," and all the Hannah-Barbera cartoons, especially "Jonny Quest" and "Top Cat." Big fan of "The Mod Squad" and "Here Come the Brides" (which is partially responsible for all the boys born Jeremy, Joshua and Jason afterwards!)

On Sunday nights in the early '60s, my grandparents would come over but they'd have to go home in time to watch "Bonanza"! That Michael Landon was such a cutie!

I think I cried every time I watched "The Waltons" and "Little House on the Prairie."

What did we do before VCRs?
Remember when you got your first color TV?
Glad everyone loved the walk down memory lane.

Cheers,
Lynn aka Wordy

[ACcountryFan]

on Sunday nights my parents ran the TV and it they called it family night and we watched whatever Disney movie happened to be on ABC at the time. the shows we all watched together throughout the '80s {not necessarily on a Sunday night} were "Highway to Heaven"; "Family Ties"; "Who's the Boss?"; "Newhart"; and "Growing Pains". And of course every year we all sat around and watched whatever version of "A Christmas Carol" that was aired and of course "White Christmas", "Rudolph", "Frosty", and "The Grinch"...we all watched "Wizard of Oz" and "Annie" every year too.

but in the late '80s we [the kids] all got into pre-teen/teen years and the family night was over {different tastes in TV shows} and everyone did whatever on Sunday nights. 3 TVs in the house. my parents watched one, my 2 sisters watched the kind of shows they liked on another TV, and my brother or i watched the other TV.

ACcountryFan
~Jerry~

[Ilovetowrite]

Well I love to watch
Law and order, ER, Any of the dateline 20/20 shows, Hope and faith,

I know if they showed Law and order 24 hours a day I would watch it. Sometimes they show it on usa and then show it on TNT.

I can remember my mom watching the show Alice, and she loved to watch murder she wrote. The one with the talking car Knight Ryder was her fave.

 

What did we do before VCRs?

I have no idea LOL. I was young when they came out.

Remember when you got your first color TV?

 Yes I for sure do remember I was a adult and I cried like a baby . We always had someone’s hand me downs until my sister bought this house and bought one for every bedroom and the living room. The one thing I notice is the hand me downs was a lot easer to work Lol these TVS have so many different options.

[Claymaniac2000]

My favorite show that is on now is"Doc" on the Pax network at 8 P.M. on Sunday nights.
My favorite comedies are Joey and Will and Grace.

[Clays_Buddy]

When I was a kid, the first show I watched in color was Flipper and The Wizard of Oz.  I flipped when the TV screen was filled with all the beautiful colors when Dorothy appeared in Munchkinland.  

Another favorite show was Dallas.  That Larry Hagman was the best villian back then.  

Green Acres was popular.  When I was young, my dad had to watch the Untouchables, Combat, Gunsmoke, and the FBI to name a few.  When he came home from work, we watched what he wanted to watch.

Does anyone remember "Where the Action Is?"  Loved Paul Revere and the Raiders on that one.  

I am really dating myself.    That's enough reminiscing for now.

Liz

[Prissy]

Wordy,

I think you will find a "few" couch potatoes here!!

However, since the "Great Claying" and the addictive "Claymaniacs," I don't watch nearly as much TV as I used to.

My favorite shows currently are MONK, SURVIVOR, and BOSTON LEGAL.  The only soap opera I watch is ALL MY CHILDREN.  Two of my all time favorite shows are COLUMBO and THE NANNY. Runners-up include PERRY MASON and I LOVE LUCY.

I love biographies so I enjoy BIOGRAPHY on A&E.

I have probably forgotten some favorites and will add them as I think of them.

Prissy

[Moonshot]

I was certainly a couch potato...then along came Clay and now I'm a computer potato!

Growing up we watched all kinds of shows together as a family, the list is a long one but it was fun to go down memory lane.

Shows I used to watch:

Hart to Hart - loved Robert Wagner and I thought Stefanie Powers was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen
Love Boat - Have to agree with AC on this one!
Dukes of Hazzard
Who's the Boss
Growing Pains
Donny & Marie
Sonny & Cher
Carol Burnett - oh man, those were good times!
Captain & Tennille
Hee Haw - that was some entertainment right there!
Green Acres
Captain Kangaroo
New Zoo Revue
Electric Company
Battle of the Network Stars
Highway to Heaven
Little House on the Prairie
Family Ties
Quincy, ME - that is who I wanted to be when I grew up, even started out as a pre-med major in college for it!
Knight Rider - who wouldn't want that car?
Alice - I loved when Flo would tell Mel to "kiss my grits!"
One Day at a Time
Happy Days
Three's Company
Laverne & Shirley
Facts of Life
Good Times
Welcome Back Kotter
Gimme a Break
Different Strokes - "whutchu talkin' 'bout Willis!?"
Sanford & Son
M*A*S*H
Solid Gold
Miami Vice - yeah, I know
The A-Team
Rockford Files
Remington Steele - Pierce Brosnan was the man...and still is
Magnum PI
Murphy Brown
Designing Women
Dawson's Creek - yes, I watched every episode and I was a Joey/Pacey fan
Felicity - watched every episode...really disliked the ending, I felt cheated
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - watched the first couple of seasons then missed some episodes then didn't watch again, but I loved it anyway
Kung Fu - can remember watching it with my Dad, can't remember anything else I ever did with my Dad, but I remember Kung Fu and David Carradine
Frasier - watched all the episodes, belonged to a fan mailing list, saw two filmings of the show, had scripts, etc...then along came Clay and I didn't watch one episode of the very last season
Will and Grace - but haven't watched it in several years
Dead Zone
Alias - this show kicked butt...then they had Sidney disappear for 2 years or something and Michael Vartan's character got married, haven't watched it since

Current Shows:

Monk - Tony Shaloub is perfect in this role, I wished that I got off of the computer more to watch this show, it is so well done
Everwood - thought it was a great show but since Clay haven't watched it
Joan of Arcadia - another show I loved..then along came Clay and Claymaniacs
King of the Hill - this show cracks me up
CSI - the original is the best, again, it was something that intrigued me and always has since Quincy.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - ok, so Ty Pennington is hot , but the show is awesome too and I cry every single episode
Sue Thomas FBeye: it's on PAX, I love this show, I need to pull myself away from the computer more often on Sunday nights to watch this show

Sad thing is...I know there are more shows I used to watch...if that is even possible...but I can't think of them right now.

[Prissy]

I saw my first TV when I was about five years old, 1952.  Our neighbor had a TV and the first show I ever saw was DING DONG SCHOOL with Miss Frances.

I remember we had a TV set not too much later, and I remember watching Queen Elizabeth be crowned on TV.  I think that was also in 1952.

It seems like early television had country singing shows and  "the fights," boxing matches.  I remember HOWDY DOODY with Buffalo Bob.  

A digression:  I remember that the Christmas I was about six, my sister closest in age to me and I got Howdy Doody puppets for Christmas.  They were not wrapped as presents;  they were in the Christmas tree!!!  I still have that picture in my mind.  They were not there before Christmas Eve, but there they were:  two Howdy Doodys on branches in the tree!  Years later, as an adult, I got to meet Buffalo Bob and got his autograph. I still think it's fun when "Santa hides" a gift or two in the tree!!   Ah,   fond memories!!

Another memory:  When Sister and I were very young, we were on a local kid's TV show.  I remember we sat on animal seats of some kind.  When the host asked what I was going to be when I grew up, I said, "A Cowboy!"  My grandfather was a cowboy and had a horse.  Sister and I always wore jeans and Cowboy hats when we were small, and we all lived with my grandparents for our first few years.  (That's really stereotyping Texans, isn't it!)

Moonshot,  I started a thread on MONK AND OTHER TV SLEUTHS a while back.  I have noticed that MONK is repeated during the week at different times on USA.

Great thread, Lynn,
Prissy

[Moonshot]

Moonshot,  I started a thread on MONK AND OTHER TV SLEUTHS a while back.  I have noticed that MONK is repeated during the week at different times on USA.

Wonderful, thank you. I'll check it out.

[wordsmith1223]

Hey, Liz -- "Where the Action Is! -- whoa -- I was certain I was going to marry Mark Lindsay!
I saw Paul Revere in concert a few years ago with a different guy singing for M.L. Wasn't the same!
Remember "Fang?"

Prissy and Moonshot -- I agree with most of your choices. Some of the shows I've not seen but I know I would love them, like Monk. I am a big fan of Tony Shalhoub -- such a great character actor!

This will be fun to walk down Memory Lane -- Prissy I remember all the oldies you mentioned!!!
And AC knows of them.

Moonshot -- we have a lot of the same taste!!!

Cheers,
Lynn

[Beth]

I don't have much time these days to watch what I like! I usually end up watching NOGGIN or TOON DISNEY.  Of the new shows this season, I like LOST, DESPERATE HOUSEWIFES, AND BOSTON LEGAL.  

When I do watch TV, I like

Law and Order
Crossing Jordan
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Wife Swap
Charmed
Still Standing
Everybody Loves Raymond
My Wife and Kids
George Lopez
According to Jim
NYPD Blue
Lost
Joey
Will and Grace
CSI
Without a Trace
All My Children
One Life to Live
General Hospital
Oprah
Good Morning America
Regis and Kelly
Ellen
The View
Wheel of Fortune
Entertainment Tonight.

As a kid, I liked Sigmund and the Sea Monster, Land of the Lost, H R Puff n Stuff, Captain Kangaroo.

As a teen, I liked
 
The Dukes of Hazzard (I loved John Schneider)
CHiPs (I loved Erik Estrada)
Facts of Life
The Love Boat
Hart to Hart
L A Law
Dallas
Falcon Crest
Murphy Brown
Desiging Women
Evening Shade
Who's the Boss
Growing Pains
Newhart
The Nanny
Gimme A Break
Alice

and so on and so on.

[KSChristian4Clay]

Currently I like to watch:
7th Heaven
ER
Oprah
American Idol (when it's on - even though Season 2 was my favorite!)
Cold Case
Little House on the Prairie (re-runs)
Bold & the Beautiful
As the World Turns
Young & the Restless
Dr Vegas
Saturday Night Live

I used to also watch:
Guiding Light
Growing Pains (my first look at Leonardo DiCaprio!)
Dawson's Creek
Friends

~Meesa~

[ACcountryFan]

KSChristian4clay: i don't know how old you are or anything but i'm a Guiding Light fan...but i use that term loosely.

I watched the show on and off since 1983 but stopped watching it earlier this year when they wrote that Maryanne Carruther's story that re-wrote the character history of Ed, Alan, Josh, Billy, and Buzz. Since the storyline ended, i hadn't watched a single episode since that time. then i heard the great Peter Simon {Ed Bauer} was tooken off the show again!! i still have my memories though...of all the greats that passed through the show.

ACcountryFan
~Jerry~

[KSChristian4Clay]

I'm 24 - I remember when Reva and Josh first were together and all that, too. I think the most strange story was the Brent/Marian/Lucy story. I taped it and kept it, because it was so strange!