Times sure have changed. When I was growing up, we owned a 19" television set and had access to about 8 channels (that included PBS and some fuzzy channels that would come in only when the TV antenna was set just right).
We didn't get cable until 1980 and even then the same 3 movies were shown over and over again. The TV Guide was paper thin, and I don't think we even had a remote. We didn't need to: with so few channels there was slim pickings to begin with. Nowadays the TV Guide looks like a catalog:- it's so jammed packed with program listings. Still, why am I so nostalgic for the television programs of yesteryear?
Saturday morning cartoons-- They used to be a major event complete with Friday night specials every fall which would showcase the new Saturday morning lineup. HR Puf'n'Stuf. Sigmond and the Seamonsters. Land of the Lost. Shazam. Not to mention classic cartoon shows like Scooby Doo's Laff a Lympics and Superfriends. How about The Groovy Ghoulies? Short lived, but still memorable. And I loved that wacky Hong Kong Phooey. Even the Brady Bunch kids had their own cartoon. Back in the day, PBS ruled. I loved The Electric Company and Zoom (I hear Zoom is back but I doubt it's the same).
These days, I'm hard pressed to find any cartoons on Saturday mornings. I subscribe to digital cable and have over 100 channels to choose from, yet I still can't find a decent cartoon on a Saturday morning. Not to say that children's programming of today doesn't have its merits-- my kids love Dora the Explorer, the Backyardigans and Blue's Clues. It's just different today. Children's programming seems to be geared toward preschoolers. I'm not really sure what the 7 to 10 year olds are watching, but I hope it's not MTV.
MTV-- Back in 1981, when MTV braved the airways with their first video, the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", I was mesmerized. I was at just the right age-- high school, and a huge music fan. I was glued to the TV from day one, watching the 5 videos that MTV seemed to own over and over again. Back then they had real VJ's:not like the hosts today that just report the news. The 1981 VJ's--- Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman and Martha Quinn, were so hip! They'd lounge around in colorful studio with a huge mug of coffee, Martha wearing some crazy earring like a huge helicopter in one ear, and they'd chat with you. Like they do on the radio. Now days, MTV is pretty much a succession of reality shows and true life documentaries. You have to be up real late at night to catch any actual music. And when you do catch some, make sure your kids aren't in the room. The videos of today aren't quite as innocent as the Duran Duran clips from the 80's.
Sitcoms: What has happened to the sitcom? Family shows like the Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show? Shows with innocent plotlines and canned laughter. If I could make a wish list of shows I wish they'd bring back, I'd be here all day. Petticoat Junction. Dennis the Menace. Hazel. The Lucy Show. All good, clean, corny fun. With the exception of Friends and the King of Queens, I can't think of a single sitcom today that has really clever writing. Okay, maybe Everybody Loves Raymond:I've never watched it but I hear it's good. The sitcoms today are full of sex and double entendres; the networks seem to think that's what the viewers want, but I know I wasn't polled. I'd rather watch a corny family show like Full House any time.
Police shows-- I love the police and detective shows from the 70's. Starsky and Hutch. Policewoman. Even Miami Vice from the 80's. Nowadays, there's still lots of dramas, most of them starting with the prefix CSI. I'll take a silly police show from yesteryear any time-- bring on David Cassidy Man Undercover (does anyone remember that show? Another classic that saw its demise way too soon)!
The news:Just a few decades ago, the news didn't seem as scary. Sure, the world has been in turmoil all along, but it wasn't always right in our face. An abundance of 24-hour news channels has brought the world's problems right to our doorstep:live, any time of the day or night. Frankly, it's too much. The graphic images, the live footage, the interview after interview of crime victims' family members. It's too much news.
Talk shows: Oh Phil Donahue, where art thou? I loved Phil, and I thank him for opening the door for Oprah Winfrey. I love Oprah. I admit it. But she's been on the air for over 20 years, so she doesn't count. I don't have to mourn the loss of her just yet. What I do miss are some of the fluffier talk shows from the past. Mike Douglas. Dinah Shore. Many talk shows of today tackle serious topics or showcase dysfunctional families who have no business spreading their business on national television: frankly, most of them should be sitting in a therapist's office instead. There are a lot of trashy shows on the air, masquerading as legitimate talk shows. Jerry Springer, you don't fool me for a minute.
Good shows gone too soon: It seems whenever a good show comes on, it ends up being cancelled. About a decade ago, ABC aired a realistic teenage drama called My So Called Life. It starred Claire Danes, Bess Armstrong and Jared Leto. The scripts were lyrically written and believable. The acting was superb. Yet ABC yanked it after only 19 episodes. A darn shame. These days, good shows often get copied and then ruined. Take all of the reality shows, which started with Survivor and now have sunk a slow as Fear Factor (complete with bug and cow brain eating). ABC destroyed the Regis Philbin hit game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, by airing it one too many times in the primetime slot. No longer fresh, the show became stale and predictable. The Bachelor was a decent premise, until we tired of watching strangers make out with each other; then it just became gross and certainly not romantic.
Today, a bevy of channels:There wasn't always a Lifetime Network, and this is where I think television has moved in the right direction. There are so many networks today that everyone can have their own channel. The women get Lifetime and Oxygen. The men get ESPN. The kids have Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. If you love home improvement, turn on the Home and Garden network. If you love to cook check out The Food Network. Looking for documentaries about washed up celebrities? Check out E. Yes, there is a channel for everyone, as long as they're showing what you want to see.
Gone are the 13 and 19 inch TV's from years ago. Replaced with 42" plasma flat screens, televisions from even a few years ago look archaic. The huge new TV's, coupled with the zillions of cable and satellite channels should mean we always have something to watch and we can watch it in style. Sadly, that's not the case. I think we have so much now that we are overwhelmed. Too many choices, too many decisions.
And so, as I sit here and wish for classic shows like Little House on the Prairie Room 222, and Nanny and the Professor I know that I'm not alone. I'm missing television and I'm missing it bad. I think I'll go read a book-- or at least the TV Guide.
