What are some of your happiest memories watching TV as a youth? It could be watching a particular show, marathon, telethon, cartoon etc.

For instance,

I remember being so excited on Thanksgiving mornings waking up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. I would wake up a few hours before the parade started. I remember sitting through the 'Today' show with Jane Pauley just to watch the parade.

I also remember the night BEFORE Thanksgiving and being able to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and the tonight show. That was a special treat. :)

What about you?

Saturday morning cartoons, especially 'The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show' and 'Scooby Doo'

Coming home after school and watching 'The Flintstones', 'Gilligan's Island' and 'The Brady Bunch'

Watching 'Happy Days' and 'Laverne and Shirley' on Tuesday nights.

I remember Saturday Nights (I think) where my family sat around the tv and watched the variety show, 'Sha na na' That was also a happy memory for me.

I remember the agony of having to wake up by 7:00am every morning to get ready for school, but it was no problem at all to wake up at 5am Saturday mornings to watch tv.

I used to get up very early to watch "Peppermint Place", don't know if anyone else remembers this one.





When I was a bit older, around 7th or 8th grade, I used to watch Nickelodeon's SNICK programming Saturday nights.


My favorite lineup was:

8:00pm - "The Secret World of Alex Mack"
8:30pm - "All That"
9:00pm - "Ren and Stimpy"
9:30pm - "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"



Then I waited for "MadTV" on Fox that came on at 11pm.

Then "Tales from the Crypt" right after from 12am-1am.




Those were probably my favorite tv viewings as a child.

I have a lot of happy memories. My favorite ones were when the whole family would sit around the tv and watch. We used to do that quite often. The Sunday Night Mystery Movie was one of my favorite nights. It was the only school night that I was allowed to stay up until 11. :lol: I also remember we'd sit around watching AITF.

Back in 1974-75 My parents and I would go over to their friends house every Friday night. They would all go in the kitchen to play cards and I'd sit in the living room watching Sanford, Chico and the Man and The Rockford Files. I loved those nights.

I also used to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings for cartoons. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. And the fall premieres for the cartoons where as big as the prime-time shows back then. It was a special time.

I also used to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings for cartoons. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. And the fall premieres for the cartoons where as big as the prime-time shows back then. It was a special time.

I Second you on this one!

Fortunately, most of the Cartoons we used to watch on Saturday Mornings are now available on DVD in one form or another. :D If you have kids do them a favor and purchase these sets, them show them what REAL CARTOONS Look Like. :thumbsup:

I Second you on this one!
Fortunately, most of the Cartoons we used to watch on Saturday Mornings are now available on DVD in one form or another. :D If you have kids do them a favor and purchase these sets, them show them what REAL CARTOONS Look Like. :thumbsup:
I'll "third" that too... :D

Saturday morning cartoons and watching ABC's TGIF block every Friday night in the 90's were two of my childhood traditions.

My fondest memories are every friday night watching tgif with my grandma Mary.She was my best friend.I would go over to her house after school every friday and stay the weekend and we would watch tgif.I think the orignal one i remember watching was perfect strangers, full house, mr belvedare ,and just the ten of us.But i can't recall for sure.

Then of course saturday morning cartoons.I loved bugs bunny, coyote and road runner, or daffy and porky pig etc.Then that night it was either golden girls, and empty nest, with grandma or cops with grandpa.Sometime down the road touched by an angel and promised land came on to and we loved to watch those.

We also watched the macy's days parade that was really cool and of course all the christmas shows during christmas time we're great.White Christmas and miracle on 34th street.Those are some of my best memories.That i can think of.

I remember watching all the NASA Gemini and Apollo Launches and Splashdowns on TV, and celebrating when Niel Armstrong became the first Human to set foot on the Moon. I longed for the day I would be in Florida to watch a launch with my own eyes. I finally got my wish in 1977, when I got to see the Voyager II Space Probe launched on a Titan III Rocket. Ever since I moved to Florida in 2000 I've gone to Cape Canaveral to watch a launch every chance I get! :D

BTW The next launch is JUNE 18.

I remember watching all the NASA Gemini and Apollo Launches and Splashdowns on TV, and celebrating when Niel Armstrong became the first Human to set foot on the Moon. I longed for the day I would be in Florida to watch a launch with my own eyes. I finally got my wish in 1977, when I got to see the Voyager II Space Probe launched on a Titan III Rocket. Ever since I moved to Florida in 2000 I've gone to Cape Canaveral to watch a launch every chance I get! :D

BTW The next launch is JUNE 18.



That's very cool.I would love to see a launch someday.I bet it is loud.

That's very cool.I would love to see a launch someday.I bet it is loud.


Here's how loud it is! :lol: LOUD-O-METER :crazy:

:) }-- 1 --------------- 2 --------------------3-----------------4{:mad:

1. - Main Street Daytona Beach during Bike Week

2. - Boeing 747 Taking Off

3. - Rock & Roll Concert

4. - Cape Canaveral Rocket Launch

Nickelodeon in the 80's was a blast. Pinwheel, Today's Special, You Can't Do That On Television, Mr. Wizard and Out of Control were tops for me. There was also Livewire, a talk show for kids and teens, they would also air afterschool specials on Sunday nights, and I think they also aired The Tomorrow People. It was awesome having shows just for you that weren't dumbed down, that treated you like a kid, but a kid with a brain.

I also have fond memories of my grandparents and I watching Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, The Love Boat, The Golden Girls, Unsolved Mysteries, and a ton of other shows together. My grandmother even watched The Incredible Hulk with me and when I wasn't in school, I would watch soaps with her. She was an NBC fan, so it was Days of Our Lives, Another World, Search For Tomorrow (after it moved from CBS), and later, Santa Barbara. There was also a cool PBS daytime block, and when I was in 2nd grade, my teacher Ms. Pelletier would show those to us in the morning.

People get irritated when we get nostalgic, but I have to say television was a lot better back then. I know each decade had their duds, but I am glad I grew up in the era before reality took over.

I had an 8 o'clock bedtime as a young kid in the 1980s but every Monday, my sister and I could stay up and watch "ALF" on NBC.

TGIF was another big part of my TV life. That block of programming grew up with me in a way. When I graduated from high school in 2000, that's when it ended.

I always say (and this may seem kind of sad to others) but my fondest childhood memories revolve around the TV. In 1989, I learned how to use our VCR, so I could record reruns of "Batman" that aired on The Family Channel. I was a big Nickelodeon kid watching such shows as "Hey Dude", "Salute Your Shorts", "Welcome Freshmen", "Fifteen" and the Nick Toons.

Saturday mornings were always big for me. I remember waking up to find my older sister already awake and in the middle of watching "Muppet Babies."

As I got older and was able to stay up later, I'd watch Nick at Nite every night when they aired shows like My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, Dobie Gillis, etc. In fact, I remember the time my younger sister started crawling was when an episode of My Three Sons was on. I don't remember the exact episode but it was a black and white episode that had Uncle Charley in it.

I also have very fond memories of watching The Three Stooges on TV. They used to air on Saturday mornings and later on, they aired on TBS at 6:05 in the morning. So I'd wake up early and record them.

I even went through a phase where I loved infomercials and recorded a bunch of them - just the unintentionally funny ones (that includes those Psychic Friends infomercials, too).

Nickelodeon in the 80's was a blast. Pinwheel, Today's Special, You Can't Do That On Television, Mr. Wizard and Out of Control were tops for me. There was also Livewire, a talk show for kids and teens, they would also air afterschool specials on Sunday nights, and I think they also aired The Tomorrow People. It was awesome having shows just for you that weren't dumbed down, that treated you like a kid, but a kid with a brain.

I also have fond memories of my grandparents and I watching Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, The Love Boat, The Golden Girls, Unsolved Mysteries, and a ton of other shows together. My grandmother even watched The Incredible Hulk with me and when I wasn't in school, I would watch soaps with her. She was an NBC fan, so it was Days of Our Lives, Another World, Search For Tomorrow (after it moved from CBS), and later, Santa Barbara. There was also a cool PBS daytime block, and when I was in 2nd grade, my teacher Ms. Pelletier would show those to us in the morning.

People get irritated when we get nostalgic, but I have to say television was a lot better back then. I know each decade had their duds, but I am glad I grew up in the era before reality took over.


My Grandma loved murder she wrote,Matlock and Golden girls as well.And i am very glad i grew up when i did too.It was a great time with great family shows.

Nickelodeon in the 80's was a blast. Pinwheel, Today's Special, You Can't Do That On Television, Mr. Wizard and Out of Control were tops for me. There was also Livewire, a talk show for kids and teens, they would also air afterschool specials on Sunday nights, and I think they also aired The Tomorrow People. It was awesome having shows just for you that weren't dumbed down, that treated you like a kid, but a kid with a brain.

I also have fond memories of my grandparents and I watching Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, The Love Boat, The Golden Girls, Unsolved Mysteries, and a ton of other shows together. My grandmother even watched The Incredible Hulk with me and when I wasn't in school, I would watch soaps with her. She was an NBC fan, so it was Days of Our Lives, Another World, Search For Tomorrow (after it moved from CBS), and later, Santa Barbara. There was also a cool PBS daytime block, and when I was in 2nd grade, my teacher Ms. Pelletier would show those to us in the morning.

People get irritated when we get nostalgic, but I have to say television was a lot better back then. I know each decade had their duds, but I am glad I grew up in the era before reality took over.
Speaking of that, My Grandmother used to watch Mr. Rogers with me. I used to watch Another World with my Mom in the early 70's and in the 80's I used to watch Guiding Light with her after school. There's nothing wrong with nostalgia. It's part of who we are.

I had an 8 o'clock bedtime as a young kid in the 1980s but every Monday, my sister and I could stay up and watch "ALF" on NBC.

TGIF was another big part of my TV life. That block of programming grew up with me in a way. When I graduated from high school in 2000, that's when it ended.

I always say (and this may seem kind of sad to others) but my fondest childhood memories revolve around the TV. In 1989, I learned how to use our VCR, so I could record reruns of "Batman" that aired on The Family Channel. I was a big Nickelodeon kid watching such shows as "Hey Dude", "Salute Your Shorts", "Welcome Freshmen", "Fifteen" and the Nick Toons.

Saturday mornings were always big for me. I remember waking up to find my older sister already awake and in the middle of watching "Muppet Babies."

As I got older and was able to stay up later, I'd watch Nick at Nite every night when they aired shows like My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, Dobie Gillis, etc. In fact, I remember the time my younger sister started crawling was when an episode of My Three Sons was on. I don't remember the exact episode but it was a black and white episode that had Uncle Charley in it.

I also have very fond memories of watching The Three Stooges on TV. They used to air on Saturday mornings and later on, they aired on TBS at 6:05 in the morning. So I'd wake up early and record them.

I even went through a phase where I loved infomercials and recorded a bunch of them - just the unintentionally funny ones (that includes those Psychic Friends infomercials, too).
I used to watch The Three Stooges after school in the early 70's. Our local channel had it on at 4:00 with The Little Rascals. I used to imitate Curly all the time. lol

Speaking of that, My Grandmother used to watch Mr. Rogers with me. I used to watch Another World with my Mom in the early 70's and in the 80's I used to watch Guiding Light with her after school. There's nothing wrong with nostalgia. It's part of who we are.



History makes us who we are today.And i must confess i used to watch soaps with my mom as well lol.The main one was General Hospital.

History makes us who we are today.And i must confess i used to watch soaps with my mom as well lol.The main one was General Hospital.
I used to watch some soaps during the summer. I watched General Hospital during the summer that Luke and Laura was on the run.

I used to watch some soaps during the summer. I watched General Hospital during the summer that Luke and Laura was on the run.



Yep,I remember that.Luke was always my fav charecthor.Then later on Carly and Brenda we're pretty hot.Sunny and Jason we're cool.

I was a big Nickelodeon kid watching such shows as "Hey Dude", "Salute Your Shorts", "Welcome Freshmen", "Fifteen" and the Nick Toons.

I was BIG on Nickelodeon too. I think my general interest in it faded by the time I entered high school (1999).

I was surprised, and glad, to see that "Hey Dude" has finally arrived on DVD.



I wish they would finish some of the others that never made it to a complete series release like "Clarissa" and "Pete & Pete".

"Are You Afraid of the Dark?" should also be re-released. The DVDs were released throughout 2005 and they are all out-of-print now. They go for over $100.00 each.

Favorite

1. Cosby show on Thursday Night on NBC

2. Monday Night Football......couldn't concentrate in school because I was excited for the game

3.NBA on CBS with Brent Musberger

4. NFL on CBS with Brent Musburger and Greg Gumbel

5. Bugs and Tweety Hour on CBS

How could I forget SCOOBY DOO!!!!

Favorite

1. Cosby show on Thursday Night on NBC

2. Monday Night Football......couldn't concentrate in school because I was excited for the game

3.NBA on CBS with Brent Musberger

4. NFL on CBS with Brent Musburger and Greg Gumbel

5. Bugs and Tweety Hour on CBS
"You are looking live" :lol: I loved it when Brent Musburger said that. Those were the days before ESPN. I had a huge crush on Phyllis George back then too. :lol:

"You are looking live" :lol: I loved it when Brent Musburger said that. Those were the days before ESPN. I had a huge crush on Phyllis George back then too. :lol:


I had a MAN CRUSH on Brent Musburger:lol:

I had a MAN CRUSH on Brent Musburger:lol:


:lol:

:lol:


I was so excited when I saw him on TV:lol:

I used to watch some soaps during the summer. I watched General Hospital during the summer that Luke and Laura was on the run.


Same thing with me and Days of Our Lives, only with Bo and Hope...

Getting up when the sun was rising to watch Lone Ranger followed by Wichell Mahoney Time eating Quisp cereal and then walking to school. I would have liked to just gone back to bed after Winchell Mahoney,but they would not let me.

Getting up when the sun was rising to watch Lone Ranger followed by Wichell Mahoney Time eating Quisp cereal and then walking to school. I would have liked to just gone back to bed after Winchell Mahoney,but they would not let me.


What was Winchell Mahoney?

I was surprised, and glad, to see that "Hey Dude" has finally arrived on DVD.

"Hey Dude" is my number 1 favorite Nickelodeon show of all time and when Paramount started their Nick Rewind sets and announced "Pete & Pete" and "Clarissa" instead of "Hey Dude", I was ticked off. Looking back, it was probably for the best. They would have just released the first two seasons and abandoned it, like they did with "Pete & Pete" and those would be out of print now. Instead, I just had to wait a few years and Shout picked it up and is releasing it. Hopefully, they release all five seasons but with season three coming out in a couple weeks, they're already doing better than Paramount did with it's Nick shows.

Only the greatest kids show that ever was. Paul Winchell and his dummies, Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff. Sad to say that almost all episodes were destroyed so the weasel would not have to pay Paul Winchell.

I use to really enjoy the Jerry Lewis telethon on Labor Day weekends. It was heartbreaking to see the sick children and all, but I loved Jerry Lewis and thought he always put on a great show. I use to keep it on all day and all night even as I slept. lol

My fondest memories are probably the many times I came home from school on rainy or wintery days and watched the afternoon movies... Tarzan, Abbott and Costello, 1950s sci-fi, Marx Brothers, Jungle Jim, Universal horrors, Charlie Chan and that whole crazy mix of vintage fare. Man, that was heaven. Add in some daily reruns of things like Petticoat Junction, Hazel, The Rifleman, Star Trek, and Leave it to Beaver.

Not far behind are my memories of visits to my grandparents, who lived in another locality, and had different tv-stations, including an independent one. It was always fascinating "discovering" the many old shows (reruns) I wasn't familiar with at home... Highway Patrol, Maverick, Fury, Life of Riley, Wagon Train, The Untouchables, Dennis the Menace, and slews of other things, like Bowery Boys movies and Roy Rogers movies. You just never knew what heretofore 'unknown' item might pop up, and that alone added such an invigorating excitement and anticipation.

In the late 90's, every kid looked forward to the 90's answer to "saturday morning cartoons" which was ABC Family's "One Saturday Morning." Recess, Disney's Doug, Angela Anaconda, The Offbeats, MANNY THE UNCANNY. It was five hours of summer once a week, bitches.

I was also super into Teen Nick (or Saturday Night Nick aka SNICK) when it was still good. Are You Afraid of the Dark, All That, The Secret World of Alex Mac, etc. Ahh, and how could I forgot TGIF? Family Matters (I remember doing the Urkel Dance for my friends in 1st grade), Step by Step, Home Improvement and Boy Meets World. I'd watch that every week.

I know I'm the baby here, but the 90's was a cozy, fun time for kid's TV. There's a reason it's still so well-loved among my generation and why they keep trying to bring it back.

I also got into Nick at Nite when I was pretty young as well. I remember the Block Party Summer days. I still have one of the tunes memorized. But honestly, play the Jefferson's theme song and I feel like I'm 10 again.

In the late 90's, every kid looked forward to the 90's answer to "saturday morning cartoons" which was ABC Family's "One Saturday Morning." Recess, Disney's Doug, Angela Anaconda, The Offbeats, MANNY THE UNCANNY. It was five hours of summer once a week, bitches.

I was also super into Teen Nick (or Saturday Night Nick aka SNICK) when it was still good. Are You Afraid of the Dark, All That, The Secret World of Alex Mac, etc.

I know I'm the baby here, but the 90's was a cozy, fun time for kid's TV. There's a reason it's still so well-loved among my generation and why they keep trying to bring it back.




haha i like Doug and Recess.

Ahh, and how could I forgot TGIF? Family Matters (I remember doing the Urkel Dance for my friends in 1st grade), Step by Step, Home Improvement and Boy Meets World. I'd watch that every week.


"It's Friday Night, and the Mood is right, Were going have some fun and show you how it's done, TGIF!!!!...LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPcGE-Z716Q

TGIF Thank God it Friday.My fav 4 would have to be Full house,Step by step,Boy meets world,Family matters.Home improvement is another great show too though.I heard there is a reunion movie in works.

TGIF Thank God it Friday.My fav 4 would have to be Full house, Step by step Boy meets world, Family matters.Home improvement is another great show too though.I heard there is a reunion movie in works?


Somebody stated that on youtube but never backed it up. So I guess we have to wait and see

I can remember coming home from school in the 60s and watching all the afternoon shows on a local channel (channel 48; Sol, if you're reading this) and discovering some for the first time and "rediscovering" some others: "THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB" "THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN" "THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS" "THE MUNSTERS" "THE FLINTSTONES" "McHALES NAVY"

I can remember coming home from school in the 60s and watching all the afternoon shows on a local channel (channel 48; Sol, if you're reading this) and discovering some for the first time and "rediscovering" some others: "THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB" "THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN" "THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS" "THE MUNSTERS" "THE FLINTSTONES" "McHALES NAVY"


I discovered Mchale's Navy on channel 48 in 1979

And I discovered "CPO Sharkey" on channel 48 in 1989


Channel 48 was that special channel in Philly lol

watching the nbc wednesday night lineup that aired during the 1979/1980 season real people followed by different strokes helllo larry and the best of snl that was must see tv for an 8 year old in 1979

I looked this one up to see what was the exact date (It was December 9, 1965) .
I was in the first grade at that time, and I was living in the Detroit Area. My Weekday afternoon "Ritual" after returning home from school was to turn to Channel 4 (WWJ - now WDIV) and tune into the Bozo Show. On this afternoon the forces that be threw a curve at me. Tuning into Channel 4 I was greeted by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was holding a News Conference. :angryfire: What am I going to do, he's on the other channels as well! WAIT! Us kids in the Detroit Area had a little ace up our sleeves, Channel 9. Theis was the Station across the river in Windsor, Ontario CKLW (Now CBET). I tuned to that channel and what do my eyes behold? Puppets operating Spaceships and operating fancy Gadgets. This was my first introduction to the world of Science-Fiction. You know something? I LIKE! :D Goodbye Bozo, Hello Thunderbirds! A year later the T-Birds were taken off the air, :( but my withdrawal was short-lived, as I got word of a new "Space Show" on Channel 4. Tuning to that Station my eyes beheld a Strange Looking Spaceship that looked like something you'd get if you crossed a Flying Saucer and a Jet Aircraft. The Crew of that Spacecraft had a peculiar way of getting to the Planet they were about to explore, they'd go into a room and disintegrate themselves, then reintegrate themselves on the planet! Oh yes, among the Crew was a strange Alien Being, who had "Pointy Ears". :lol:

Life was never the same after that.

I looked this one up to see what was the exact date (It was December 9, 1965) .
I was in the first grade at that time, and I was living in the Detroit Area. My Weekday afternoon "Ritual" after returning home from school was to turn to Channel 4 (WWJ - now WDIV) and tune into the Bozo Show. On this afternoon the forces that be threw a curve at me. Tuning into Channel 4 I was greeted by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was holding a News Conference. :angryfire: What am I going to do, he's on the other channels as well! WAIT! Us kids in the Detroit Area had a little ace up our sleeves, Channel 9. Theis was the Station across the river in Windsor, Ontario CKLW (Now CBET). I tuned to that channel and what do my eyes behold? Puppets operating Spaceships and operating fancy Gadgets. This was my first introduction to the world of Science-Fiction. You know something? I LIKE! :D Goodbye Bozo, Hello Thunderbirds! A year later the T-Birds were taken off the air, :( but my withdrawal was short-lived, as I got word of a new "Space Show" on Channel 4. Tuning to that Station my eyes beheld a Strange Looking Spaceship that looked like something you'd get if you crossed a Flying Saucer and a Jet Aircraft. The Crew of that Spacecraft had a peculiar way of getting to the Planet they were about to explore, they'd go into a room and disintegrate themselves, then reintegrate themselves on the planet! Oh yes, among the Crew was a strange Alien Being, who had "Pointy Ears". :lol:

Life was never the same after that.
We were living on a military base up in Richmond in 1971-72. That was the year I started kindergarten. I remember watching Bozo late in the afternoon there. I don't remember what channel it was on, I remember I'd watch Gomer Pyle and Daniel Boone too. And every Evening you could hear them playing the National Anthem outside.

Man, I haven't posted here in like forever, but I was lurking here, and I saw this thread at the top of the page so I had to add my thoughts here!

Friday nights as a kid on CBS: Incredible Hulk at 8pm, Dukes of Hazzard at 9pm, and Dallas at 10pm. Would watch those shows with my oldest brother and another brother and my oldest neice. Friday nights was mandatory.

In the mid-80s, would come home from school and watch He-Man, GI Joe, and Thundercats! You couldn't move me from the set afterschool.

What are some of your happiest memories watching TV as a youth? It could be watching a particular show, marathon, telethon, cartoon etc.

For instance,

I remember being so excited on Thanksgiving mornings waking up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. I would wake up a few hours before the parade started. I remember sitting through the 'Today' show with Jane Pauley just to watch the parade.

I also remember the night BEFORE Thanksgiving and being able to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and the tonight show. That was a special treat. :)

What about you?

Brian, do you remember when they used to show special new episodes of Saturday morning cartoons on the Friday after Thanksgiving, since they knew kids would be out of school that day? Looking back that was such a charming and quaint move...I remember thinking it was so cool to see those characters (in new eps!) on a different day!

And I did the 'stay up late to watch Johnny' thing before Turkey Day, too! :)

I have a lot of happy memories. My favorite ones were when the whole family would sit around the tv and watch. We used to do that quite often. The Sunday Night Mystery Movie was one of my favorite nights. It was the only school night that I was allowed to stay up until 11. :lol: I also remember we'd sit around watching AITF.

Back in 1974-75 My parents and I would go over to their friends house every Friday night. They would all go in the kitchen to play cards and I'd sit in the living room watching Sanford, Chico and the Man and The Rockford Files. I loved those nights.

I also used to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings for cartoons. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. And the fall premieres for the cartoons where as big as the prime-time shows back then. It was a special time.

Sonny, do you remember the Saturday moring "sneak peak" previews that would air the Friday night before the new cartoon season in September? They always had trendy and/or teen stars to host them, and showed clips along with goofy gags.

Man, what neat memories.

I remember certain lineups so fondly. The ABC Friday Brady Bunch/ Partridge Family/ Room 222/ Odd Couple/ Love American Style was one of my favorites. After that was the local news, then Carson (my parents were OK with me staying up late on Friday nights), and after THAT was usually the local horror movie host, and a scary double feature. I usually went to bed before the second one.

Saturday morning cartoons from 7 AM to 11 or so. Man, I remember getting up at 6:30 to watch Clue Club...laying on the couch with a big green blanket, only getting up to use the bathroom during commercial breaks or to get a snack (usually Tang and/or Oreos). Yes, Mom prepared a nice breakfast at some point but I was allowed some treats, too.

Local programming gave me some great memories too. I live in IL so I had Ray Rayner, Garfield Goose, Bozo the clown, Family Classics, and the Saturday Creature Feature from WGN. Also remember watching tons of Chicago Cubs baseball games with Jack Brickhouse and later Harry Carey with my folks.

And I agree with Sonny that some of the best times involved watching the tube with my parents. It's weird when people say how TV destroys families and conversations because we watched a lot of TV together but we laughed together and talked about the episodes and what we thought of them, etc. For us, it was a bonding force rather than a dividing one.

I could go on and on, but I should stop, lol. Nice thread, Brian!

Does anyone remember on Looney Toons when one of the cartoons would go inside a door and it was a REAL LIFE situation?


I loved that as a kid

And I agree with Sonny that some of the best times involved watching the tube with my parents. It's weird when people say how TV destroys families and conversations because we watched a lot of TV together but we laughed together and talked about the episodes and what we thought of them, etc. For us, it was a bonding force rather than a dividing one.

I could go on and on, but I should stop, lol. Nice thread, Brian!

Thanks Retro :)

I agree about TV back in the day. Things are so much different now. Families just don't connect like they use to with TV because of iphones and ipods and internet and the like.

Does anyone remember on Looney Toons when one of the cartoons would go inside a door and it was a REAL LIFE situation?


I loved that as a kid


I remember those...good times!

Thanks Retro :)

I agree about TV back in the day. Things are so much different now. Families just don't connect like they use to with TV because of iphones and ipods and internet and the like.

Something else that occurs to me, and I'm really not trying to be the cranky old guy here, but when I was young there were so few channels. You would go to school the next morning and just about EVERYONE had watched Happy Days the night before and was talking about the episode. Now you have so many channels that television doesn't provide that kind of binding community factor like it once did. For instance, the day after the Happy Days episode where Potsie was trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by flipping coins off of his elbow, everyone at my school was doing it, too! You would never see something like that today.

Same thing with Johnny Carson, Saturday Night Live and many other shows. I mean, it just seemed like there wasn't ANYONE who wasn't watching those things. They were cultural icons, touchstones.

Life changes and that's inevitable, but I do think something important has been lost in the process. There is so much diversity that the whole scope and impact of TV has really changed.

Brian, do you remember when they used to show special new episodes of Saturday morning cartoons on the Friday after Thanksgiving, since they knew kids would be out of school that day? Looking back that was such a charming and quaint move...I remember thinking it was so cool to see those characters (in new eps!) on a different day!

And I did the 'stay up late to watch Johnny' thing before Turkey Day, too! :)

My Local ABC Affiliate (WXYZ -Detroit) would run the following on the day after Thanksgiving.

9:00AM - 11:00 AM Rita Bell's "Prize Movie" - The Man Called Flintstone

11:00 PM - 11:30 AM Jonny Quest

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM Hot Wheels

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM The Hardy Boys

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM Sky Hawks

1:00 PM - 1:30 PM The Adventures of Gulliver

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Fantastic Voyage

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Underdog

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM Go-Go Gophers

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM The Flintstones

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM The Jetsons

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM The WXYZ 4:00 Movie - Hey There! It's Yogi Bear!

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Local and National News - Top Story, Playgrounds and Parks turn into Ghost Towns, what happened to all the kids? :lol:

After the 6:00 News they'd show the first two Holiday Specials, then at 8:00 PM they show the original Miracle on 34th Street Movie

Sonny, do you remember the Saturday moring "sneak peak" previews that would air the Friday night before the new cartoon season in September? They always had trendy and/or teen stars to host them, and showed clips along with goofy gags.

Man, what neat memories.
Oh yea. I used to look forward to them every year. Like I said, the premiere of the fall cartoons were as big as the primetime shows...at least to us kids. :lol: Did you ever watch The Kroft Supershow? Man I loved that...Wonderbug...Big Foot and Wildboy, Dr. Shrinker...:lol:

Man, I haven't posted here in like forever, but I was lurking here, and I saw this thread at the top of the page so I had to add my thoughts here!

Friday nights as a kid on CBS: Incredible Hulk at 8pm, Dukes of Hazzard at 9pm, and Dallas at 10pm. Would watch those shows with my oldest brother and another brother and my oldest neice. Friday nights was mandatory.

In the mid-80s, would come home from school and watch He-Man, GI Joe, and Thundercats! You couldn't move me from the set afterschool.


Hey KOOL welcome back!

As for the afterschool cartoons, I agree whole heartedly! They just don't make those shows anymore. I use to love He-man, GI Joe and Inspector Gadget.

I remember certain lineups so fondly. The ABC Friday Brady Bunch/ Partridge Family/ Room 222/ Odd Couple/ Love American Style was one of my favorites. After that was the local news, then Carson (my parents were OK with me staying up late on Friday nights), and after THAT was usually the local horror movie host, and a scary double feature. I usually went to bed before the second one.

Saturday morning cartoons from 7 AM to 11 or so. Man, I remember getting up at 6:30 to watch Clue Club...laying on the couch with a big green blanket, only getting up to use the bathroom during commercial breaks or to get a snack (usually Tang and/or Oreos). Yes, Mom prepared a nice breakfast at some point but I was allowed some treats, too.

Local programming gave me some great memories too. I live in IL so I had Ray Rayner, Garfield Goose, Bozo the clown, Family Classics, and the Saturday Creature Feature from WGN. Also remember watching tons of Chicago Cubs baseball games with Jack Brickhouse and later Harry Carey with my folks.

And I agree with Sonny that some of the best times involved watching the tube with my parents. It's weird when people say how TV destroys families and conversations because we watched a lot of TV together but we laughed together and talked about the episodes and what we thought of them, etc. For us, it was a bonding force rather than a dividing one.

I could go on and on, but I should stop, lol. Nice thread, Brian!
That's the same thing that happened in my family. I remember one summer night we went out to the pool. ( We had a pool in the backyard). We came in and my Mom made icecream and then I sat down to watch Charlie's Angels. I don't know why that memory stays with me but it does. :lol:

Also everyone knows how big of a Dallas fan I am. We all watched the Who Sot JR episode together. Afterward it was the lead story on the local news. You couldn't get that nowadays. :Lol:

Of course times changed and as the 80's came in and we got cable, we all had separate tvs. I had a tv in my bedroom so we didn't watch as much together as we used to but those memories sure last a lifetime.

Oh yea. I used to look forward to them every year. Like I said, the premiere of the fall cartoons were as big as the primetime shows...at least to us kids. :lol: Did you ever watch The Kroft Supershow? Man I loved that...Wonderbug...Big Foot and Wildboy, Dr. Shrinker...:lol:

Yeah, I remember the Kroft Supershow. Bigfoot and Wildboy has to be one of the weirdest shows, ever! I wonder what happened to the two guys who played those roles, lol?

My big Saturday shows were Land of the Lost, and whatever permutation there was of Scooby Doo and the Superfriends series. And whatever Sid and Marty Krofft put out!

Friday nights as a kid on CBS: Incredible Hulk at 8pm, Dukes of Hazzard at 9pm, and Dallas at 10pm. Would watch those shows with my oldest brother and another brother and my oldest neice. Friday nights was mandatory.



I remember that lineup very well. I also remember when Wonder Woman was on first, followed by the Hulk and Dallas! :) I think that was only for one season, though.

The whole Nick At Nite line up when I was a kid was amazing and brings back so many memories but my favorite memory was when they aired Facts Of Life. I was about 10 and I'd watch it all the time. I remember all those yearbook commercials where they'd describe the characters. I'd watch every marathon and was sad when they pulled the show off Nick At Nite & TV Land. Thankfully with youtube, DVDs and The Hub I can rewatch it all again :)

Man, I haven't posted here in like forever, but I was lurking here, and I saw this thread at the top of the page so I had to add my thoughts here!

Friday nights as a kid on CBS: Incredible Hulk at 8pm, Dukes of Hazzard at 9pm, and Dallas at 10pm. Would watch those shows with my oldest brother and another brother and my oldest neice. Friday nights was mandatory.

In the mid-80s, would come home from school and watch He-Man, GI Joe, and Thundercats! You couldn't move me from the set afterschool.


It's funny seeing you post on a TV board since I;m so used to you posting on the Sports board LOL

It's funny seeing you post on a TV board since I;m so used to you posting on the Sports board LOL


How quick they forget. Solomon, when I first got here in 04, I was on TV boards. I didn't post on sports boards until months after. Didn't discover it until then. I was on the 70s sitcom TV boards alot.

Hey KOOL welcome back!

As for the afterschool cartoons, I agree whole heartedly! They just don't make those shows anymore. I use to love He-man, GI Joe and Inspector Gadget.

Thank you.

I noticed everybody started talking about cartoons.Some of my fav we're also inspector gadget,he man and gi joes.Also teenage mutant ninja turtles,tale spin ,darkwing duck,duck tails,rescue rangers,smurfs etc.

As a kid I remember the whole family having a great time watching Barney Miller together. Also have very fond memories of Dad and I enjoying Rockford Files. Still remember my dad's reaction to an episode where Rockford shot down a plane. Also, My sister would make us all watch Little House on the Prairie on Monday nights. Back then I would never have admitted it to her but I slowly grew to like the show. I also used to enjoy watching my dad watch Hawaii Five-O. Personally I didn't care for the show as a kid but my dad got such a kick out of it that it was fun to simply watch it with him.

One thing I also remember. On Sunday nights I would force myself to stay up after everyone else was asleep. Then I would sneak down to the basement at 11:30pm to watch back to back reruns of Star Trek and Mission Impossible (this was before the VCR....or at least before we had one). The danger of possibly getting caught added a whole element of suspense. I remember these nights vividly but have no memory of how I dealt with school the following morning on next to no sleep.

For me, I really think it was the Block Party Summers on Nick at Nite. It would be my family and my cousins and aunt and uncle all together for dinner almost every night and we would just watch whatever Nick at Nite had on. I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, Taxi, Happy Days, etc. I remember they would show Rugrats on a Friday night and I would record it.

I would always record EVERYTHING when I was younger. I started when I was probably 5 or 6. I have great memories of coming home from school and watching Full House and Boy Meets World on my FOX station from 5-6 each weeknight.

Also, I loved how TBS started everything 5 minutes past the hour and remember thinking how cool it was when I noticed it in the TV Guide when I was 6 or 7.

When I was younger my favorite show was Full House and it used to be so amazing when it was on WPIX, FOX, WGN, and TBS all around the same time and you could double or triple up on episodes.

Also, just very distinctive memories of the TBS promos/bumpers + logos. And watching Saved by the Bell every morning was the most fun thing.

For me, I really think it was the Block Party Summers on Nick at Nite. It would be my family and my cousins and aunt and uncle all together for dinner almost every night and we would just watch whatever Nick at Nite had on. I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, Taxi, Happy Days, etc. I remember they would show Rugrats on a Friday night and I would record it.

I would always record EVERYTHING when I was younger. I started when I was probably 5 or 6. I have great memories of coming home from school and watching Full House and Boy Meets World on my FOX station from 5-6 each weeknight.

Also, I loved how TBS started everything 5 minutes past the hour and remember thinking how cool it was when I noticed it in the TV Guide when I was 6 or 7.

When I was younger my favorite show was Full House and it used to be so amazing when it was on WPIX, FOX, WGN, and TBS all around the same time and you could double or triple up on episodes.

Also, just very distinctive memories of the TBS promos/bumpers + logos. An
d watching Saved by the Bell every morning was the most fun thing.



The Summer Block Parties from the summer of 2002 on N@N. You just brought a tear to my eye, Oh the memories

For me, I really think it was the Block Party Summers on Nick at Nite. It would be my family and my cousins and aunt and uncle all together for dinner almost every night and we would just watch whatever Nick at Nite had on. I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, Taxi, Happy Days, etc. I remember they would show Rugrats on a Friday night and I would record it.

I would always record EVERYTHING when I was younger. I started when I was probably 5 or 6. I have great memories of coming home from school and watching Full House and Boy Meets World on my FOX station from 5-6 each weeknight.

Also, I loved how TBS started everything 5 minutes past the hour and remember thinking how cool it was when I noticed it in the TV Guide when I was 6 or 7.

When I was younger my favorite show was Full House and it used to be so amazing when it was on WPIX, FOX, WGN, and TBS all around the same time and you could double or triple up on episodes.

Also, just very distinctive memories of the TBS promos/bumpers + logos. And watching Saved by the Bell every morning was the most fun thing.



I am a big fan of Full house,Brady bunch,Boy meets world and Saved by the bell too.All great shows.

The after-school kiddie fare was top priority in my book as a kid. The Disney Afternoon lineup (although I can't recall which local affiliate had it) was often a hot topic in school. EVERYONE was a diehard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan. I would race home from the bus stop to make sure I caught TaleSpin or DuckTales.

The whole week in television was basically a countdown to TGIF. Our whole family would sit around and laugh together for a couple hours. I remember my dad constantly ruining the jokes and plot points for the rest of us to which he would always exclaim "I could write this show!" after his predictions came true. At the time it boggled my mind how he knew this stuff. I was too young to realize they were extremely predictable old-hat sitcoms. It just annoyed my mother.

My fondest TV memories are from late at night, when everyone else was asleep, I'd often sneak downstairs and tune into Nick@Nite. One night they showed the "It May Look Like a Walnut" episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show I had trouble sleeping. Saturday nights used to be a real treat. SNICK became required viewing to my and my cousins. After SNICK I would furiously check to see if Monstervision was on TNT that particular weekend. Then Joe Bob Briggs started hosting it and it was even cooler. Ah the memories...

My fondest TV memories are from late at night, when everyone else was asleep, I'd often sneak downstairs and tune into Nick@Nite. One night they showed the "It May Look Like a Walnut" episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show I had trouble sleeping. Saturday nights used to be a real treat. SNICK became required viewing to my and my cousins. After SNICK I would furiously check to see if Monstervision was on TNT that particular weekend. Then Joe Bob Briggs started hosting it and it was even cooler. Ah the memories...

I used to stay up late at night to watch some vintage 1950s Sci-Fi Movie such as Earth Vs the Flying Saucers, Them! or The Incredible Shrinking Man. Then along came those :censored: Infomercials :angryfire

Flipper
Lost in Space,
Gilligan's Island,
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.
My Favorite Martian
My3 Sons,
Mr. Ed,
The Munsters,
McHale's Navy,
Leave iit to Beaver,
Bewitched,
I Dream of Jeannie,
The Dick Van Dyke Show,
The Brady Bunch,
The Beverly Hillbillies,
Batman,
The Andy Griffith Show,
Adam 12,
Dragnet

AND MANY MORE!
THAT WAS WHEN TV WAS GREAT!!

Favorite childhood memory is playing Atari 5200.
I was quite good at the video games.
Nowadays, forget it.
LOL

I also remembered my grandparents and I would watch Dynasty, Dallas and Knots Landing. I preferred Knots Landing over the other two because it was more realistic, since not everyone was in ballgowns and tuxedos all the time :lol: My grandfather was a big Hunter and Matt Houston fan, and we never missed those shows every week either.

My best childhood TV memories came from Nickelodeon in the 90's, hands down! I loved Clarissa Explains It All, The Secret World of Alex Mack, All That, Kenan & Kel, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Double Dare, Wild & Crazy Kids, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and many more. Nick at Nite also gave me my first glance at classic TV! The first Nick at Nite line-up I remember and IMO, one of the most memorable featured I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Bob Newhart Show. However, unless we taped it, I had to be in bed right after I Love Lucy on a school night. LOL! I also loved Saturday nights with I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and The Lucy Desi-Comedy Hour. So many great memories!

My best childhood TV memories came from Nickelodeon in the 90's, hands down! I loved Clarissa Explains It All, The Secret World of Alex Mack, All That, Kenan & Kel, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Double Dare, Wild & Crazy Kids, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, and many more. Nick at Nite also gave me my first glance at classic TV! The first Nick at Nite line-up I remember and IMO, one of the most memorable featured I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Bob Newhart Show. However, unless we taped it, I had to be in bed right after I Love Lucy on a school night. LOL! I also loved Saturday nights with I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and The Lucy Desi-Comedy Hour. So many great memories!

Seconded. This is pretty much all I watched back in the day.

A few more that I got into were "Space Cases" and "Shelby Woo".



My parents used to get mad at me sometimes for only watching Nickelodeon. They were like, "We're paying for cable to have over 100 channels and all you watch is Nickelodeon?!?!"

They didn't understand how great 90s Nickelodeon was for kids.

Watching and getting addicted to daytime soap operas with my mother and grandmother.

It all started with General Hospital. It was on after school, I could watch the whole episode and it was insanely popular during the time I was growing up. I remember my mother watching in the mid-to-late 80's and being addicted with Luke & Laura and their wild adventures, I remember something about them on some sort of wild rapid river. Being forced to watch with her, I easily became engrossed in the characters and stories and wanted to know each and every day what would happen. I fell in love witht he zany antics of Lucy Coe, a comedic goldmine and the vision of her in a red wedding dress haunts me to this day. Tracey's cold indifference to all around her was chilling and the good-nature and heart of Robin kept me glued to my set, when she got diagnosed with HIV i was so sad, and the fact that stone died of AIDS was even worse.

During the summer I was able to watch other soaps, but my mom was an ABC girl so it had to be an ABC series, so because she basically dictated what I watched it was "All My Children".... One look at Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and I was hooked. I came for Erica but stayed for the rich diversity of characters on the show; zany, kooky Opal, an old-school, crystal wearing hippie who owned a beauty shop called the Glam-O-Rama; Refined, elegant and morally centered Brooke English a magazine editor who would rather go to prison than reveal a source and who grieved the loss of her daughter, and who longed for a love who understood and respected her. I loved that this show took on both socially relevant storylines, but also focused on family, love, loss, relationships and matters of the heart. They had the grand scale of soap drama on the series: Psychotic psychos like Janet "From Another Planet" Green, who got struck by lighting; Arlene Vaungh who seduced her daughters husband, Billy Clyde Tuggle and Ray Gardner and Dr. David Hayward, an ego-maniac with a god complex who commanded attention at all times. Dr. Maria Santos Grey a beautiful doctor trying to win the heart of dashing Edmund Grey and struggling with fertility issues, and her crazy family.

I next picked up "One Life To Live" because of the haunting and well-written story of Marty Saybrooke's brutal rape and her subsequent quest for justice. It was a time when soap's were blessed with well-crafted, socially relevant writing, rich tapestry of characters and actors willing to go the extra mile for a scene. OLTL was at the height of a creative resurgance and I was blessed to watch the series as it swept the 1994 Daytime Emmy's, the only time they ever did.


I also got hooked on "Loving" towards the end of it's run, it's short-lived spin-off "The City" which introduced me to Morgan Fairchild a delightfully glamorous actress who took soap opera villainy to new levels, and later i got hooked on "Port Charles", a GH spin-off that never quite found it's footing.


I loved growing up watching soaps, it was a bonding thing and many friendships were formed over my love of soaps and it's unique format both entertaining and informative. I grew up with some of the characters like OLTL's Jessica or GH's Robin who were my age and were allowed to grow up on-screen with the same actress playing the role from adolescent until adulthood.

Now a funny story: Me and Mom were ABC soaps all the way, we only watched soaps on ABC network, they were our shows...

However, now and then we'd get visits from (or go to visit) my grandmother who was strictly an NBC girl, mainly she watched "Days of Our Lives", that was her show... (now and then she'd watch Another World), but "DOOL" was her main show, and we would have a fight, honor Nana and let her watch her story or let us watch our series?

Usually Nana won out and we watched her show, which was also rather addictive. It was at the height of the James E. Reilly era, when the supernatural was taking over and Marlena Evans, the series heroine was possessed by the devil.


Over the years i grew up and matured and changed and the only constant was my love for soap operas. I would venture away from and back to them throughout my adult life, oftentimes checking out "the competition" on CBS or NBC, all had their moments of glory, grandness and moments of insult and embarrassment as budgets were cut, ratings lowered and ultimately quality suffered. I cried when NBC axed Santa Barbara, Another World, Sunset Beach and later Passions. I was full of sorrow when CBS canned Guiding Light and As The World Turns and totally destroyed when Brian Frons cut Port Charles, and then unfortunately my babies All My Children and One Life To Live. I was beyond words.

In Memphis, the CBS affiliate, WREG, Channel 3 had loads and loads of old timey movies and TV shows. The man who was the original owner of WREG bought all the reels of these old films and showed them every Saturday if there weren't sports on (like college football). I got to see all the old Tarzan films with Johnny Weismueller, Laurel and Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle and Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland. As a kid of the 1970's, I was exposed to these films because of WREG.

WREG also showed the early 1950's Superman show with George Reeves which was a pretty good show which held up well enough that a child born almost 20 years after it was on would enjoy it. That show was so old, that it had a 48 star flag behind Superman. Weird when I heard he killed himself, although some say it was murder. Anyhow.

My after school shows were Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. I would get PISSED if CBS ran one of their freaking "Afterschool Specials" in lieu of my two favorite shows. I think CBS called it "Daybreak Special" or something. It seemed they also showed The Beverly Hillbillies every afternoon also on the CBS channel because I saw a lot of it growing up. I also have seen The Andy Griffith Show since babyhood.

Late Saturday morning in Memphis was Mid South Championship Wrestling with Lance Russell and Jerry 'The King' Lawler. It was live violence, stupidity, heros and villians, not to mention hilarious people. These guys were in the film "man on the Moon". I never saw Man on the Moon because I hated Andy Kaufman and do not like Jim Carrey (in anything).

Before wrestling was Pink Panther, my favorite cartoon, followed by a rerun of Sanford and Son (YOU BIG DUMMY!). Pink Panther, Sanford and Wrestling. I was also a Roadrunner fan, but thought Scooby Doo was stupid (except, ironically for Shaggy). When I was a little kid, I also watched The Land of the Lost. If Land of Lost actually had a budget, it might have held up today, but it was cheap even for 1974. But I was 7 then, what do I care?

Saturday evenings at dinner was Hee Haw with Buck Owens and Roy Clark. That show was a classic. I can still sing "Where oh where, are you tonight.....", Hey Grandpa, what's for supper!? The plank that would hit someone in the ass. Bad jokes. Junior Samples. Again, classic.

I also LOVED (and still do) The Gong Show. I really don't understand why people hated that program so much. The show was funny as hell. Chuck Barris was a goof, the unknown comic, J.P. Morgan, the crazy contestants. The 516 dollars and 32 cents. I doubt Chuckie Baby was in the CIA, I think the CIA flew him a lot of cocaine.

Summers/snow days/ when I was sick was Donahue (Phil Donahue's old talk show) and The Price Is Right. Donahue was interesting, even for an elementary school kid like me.

In the evenings with my parents, I was stuck watching whatever they wanted to, which in their defense were mostly good shows. All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Sanford and Son, lots of stuff. I do remember that my parents did not like Carol Burnett. My father couldn't stand her show or humor. They also disliked Lucille Ball.

Like Sat. night was for Hee Haw, Sundays was 60 Minutes, which my father refused to miss, he would stop whatever he was doing to watch that show. What sucked for him was that in the NFL season, 60 minutes would be pre-empted and I had the only father on the street who hated football who would bitch and moan about the "stupid football" and "is my show coming on tonight or what?" Overtimes were painful at home. This was in the 1970's into the 1980's.

I remember when I was in my single digit age, I would love to watch the Miss America pageants. The ladies looked so pretty and poised. I probably watched the pageants for another 10 years and dropped off.

Like Sat. night was for Hee Haw, Sundays was 60 Minutes, which my father refused to miss, he would stop whatever he was doing to watch that show. What sucked for him was that in the NFL season, 60 minutes would be pre-empted and I had the only father on the street who hated football who would bitch and moan about the "stupid football" and "is my show coming on tonight or what?" Overtimes were painful at home. This was in the 1970's into the 1980's.

This was one of my pet peeves as well. I'd tune in to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, only to find the Football Game had overrun its schedule and my show was "Joined in Progress" :mad: If the show was a two-parter we'd see all of one part and none of the other! I remember one two parter where I got to see 15 minutes of the first part and 10 minutes of the last part thanks to Football Overruns, then six months later when they "Reran" that episode a Golf Match went into overtime and the show got cut off again! :angryfire Only recently was I able to see that particular episode in its entirity, thanks to a bootleg DVD! :(

Some other great memoreys i have from my childhood, Watching tv Me my Dad Mom Bro and Sis watching monday night prime time wrestling.I was a huge wwf fan back then.Hulk Hogan,Macho man,Andre the giant,Rowdy Piper,Jake the snake.Those we're the good old days.And last but not least.Actually probably the most important part of it all.Bobby and Gorilla doing commentary.I considered both those guys long distance Grandpas.They we're so funny.

Or sat nights with my Grandma watching portland wrestling,She wouldn't let me watch wwf because of undertaker lol...But portland was pretty cool and,She was a fan of it too.

Lot's of great sports memoreys as well,With my Grandpa or cousins watching the Blazers Bulls finals.I remember being very upset when we lost.We we're way ahead and his airness came back.Blazers Lakers semi finals.Favre and the packers winning there first super bowl.The 9ers Montana Rice Young rice.So many great games.

To expand on that Brent Musburger NFL memory, one of my best (albeit it was a scary one to start with; don't know why) was seeing Jim Nantz present The Prudential College Football Report. I think it was a scary one because while Don Robertson had the same spiel all the way through, from 1985-87, it had pretty scary opening music.

getting up on thanksgiving morning to watch macy's thanksgiving day parade,then we would go to my grandparents house in livonia,god rest them. then on saturday mornings, i would wake up early and watch saturday morning cartoons,after they were over i would watch the abc weekend special and american bandstand. on saturday evenings, i would watch sha,na na and hee-haw with my brother and the baby-sitter. sunday mornings, my family didn't go to church. dad would probably sleep through service:lol: I would watch the abbott and costello movies on ch. 7 wxyz and blondie movies.

another memorie is when I was still a "little shaver":lol: in the early 60s and my brothers, my sisster and me would sometimes get up early on saturday mornings; before my parents and watch cartoons.

I remember when I was in my single digit age, I would love to watch the Miss America pageants. The ladies looked so pretty and poised. I probably watched the pageants for another 10 years and dropped off.
My whole family used to watch the Miss America Pageant. We would root for the women from our home states. Mine was Miss Maryland, My Mom's was Miss PA and My Dad's was Miss NY. :lol: It seemed like we stopped watching after Bert Parks was let go though.

My whole family used to watch the Miss America Pageant. We would root for the women from our home states. Mine was Miss Maryland, My Mom's was Miss PA and My Dad's was Miss NY. :lol: It seemed like we stopped watching after Bert Parks was let go though.


I remember always watching the miss america pageant with my grandma.Ive probably only seen it once since she's been gone though and that's been 15 years.We always watched the winter olympics too.Especally figure skating.

My whole family used to watch the Miss America Pageant. We would root for the women from our home states. Mine was Miss Maryland, My Mom's was Miss PA and My Dad's was Miss NY. :lol: It seemed like we stopped watching after Bert Parks was let go though.


I remember always watching the miss america pageant with my grandma.Ive probably only seen it once since she's been gone though and that's been 15 years.We always watched the winter olympics too.Especally figure skating.

I remember always watching the miss america pageant with my grandma.Ive probably only seen it once since she's been gone though and that's been 15 years.We always watched the winter olympics too.Especally figure skating.
We lived a few states from where my Grandma lived so she only came to visit in the summers. I do remember the last few times I saw her. We would watch the NBC morning game shows. NBC had a bunch of these in the late 70's....Hollywood Squares, Card Sharks etc. Those were Good Times.

watching walt disney world's very merry christmas parade on christmas morning and the miss america pageant.

I remember when Survivor first premiered my family would always sit down and watch it together. Then it turned 9pm and CSI came on, but no matter how much I begged, I was not allowed to watch the show. My parents told me I had to get to bed and I was always mad at them. Thursday nights seemed to be the most hectic thanks to CBS. :lol:

Then there was watching All That, Kenan and Kel, The Amanda Show, and Rugrats with my sister. Oh the good 'ole days of Nickelodeon!!

I remember when Survivor first premiered my family would always sit down and watch it together. Then it turned 9pm and CSI came on, but no matter how much I begged, I was not allowed to watch the show. My parents told me I had to get to bed and I was always mad at them. Thursday nights seemed to be the most hectic thanks to CBS. :lol:



For me, Thursday nights were always about NBC and Must-See TV! When I was younger I had to go to bed at 9pm, so I wasn't allowed to stay up past "Friends" (in the 94 season) and I recall really dying to see ER, So I would crawl out of bed and watch it on the stairs.

When I got older I was finally allowed to stay up for ER!

Watching and getting addicted to daytime soap operas with my mother and grandmother.

It all started with General Hospital. It was on after school, I could watch the whole episode and it was insanely popular during the time I was growing up. I remember my mother watching in the mid-to-late 80's and being addicted with Luke & Laura and their wild adventures, I remember something about them on some sort of wild rapid river. Being forced to watch with her, I easily became engrossed in the characters and stories and wanted to know each and every day what would happen. I fell in love witht he zany antics of Lucy Coe, a comedic goldmine and the vision of her in a red wedding dress haunts me to this day. Tracey's cold indifference to all around her was chilling and the good-nature and heart of Robin kept me glued to my set, when she got diagnosed with HIV i was so sad, and the fact that stone died of AIDS was even worse.

During the summer I was able to watch other soaps, but my mom was an ABC girl so it had to be an ABC series, so because she basically dictated what I watched it was "All My Children".... One look at Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and I was hooked. I came for Erica but stayed for the rich diversity of characters on the show; zany, kooky Opal, an old-school, crystal wearing hippie who owned a beauty shop called the Glam-O-Rama; Refined, elegant and morally centered Brooke English a magazine editor who would rather go to prison than reveal a source and who grieved the loss of her daughter, and who longed for a love who understood and respected her. I loved that this show took on both socially relevant storylines, but also focused on family, love, loss, relationships and matters of the heart. They had the grand scale of soap drama on the series: Psychotic psychos like Janet "From Another Planet" Green, who got struck by lighting; Arlene Vaungh who seduced her daughters husband, Billy Clyde Tuggle and Ray Gardner and Dr. David Hayward, an ego-maniac with a god complex who commanded attention at all times. Dr. Maria Santos Grey a beautiful doctor trying to win the heart of dashing Edmund Grey and struggling with fertility issues, and her crazy family.

I next picked up "One Life To Live" because of the haunting and well-written story of Marty Saybrooke's brutal rape and her subsequent quest for justice. It was a time when soap's were blessed with well-crafted, socially relevant writing, rich tapestry of characters and actors willing to go the extra mile for a scene. OLTL was at the height of a creative resurgance and I was blessed to watch the series as it swept the 1994 Daytime Emmy's, the only time they ever did.


I also got hooked on "Loving" towards the end of it's run, it's short-lived spin-off "The City" which introduced me to Morgan Fairchild a delightfully glamorous actress who took soap opera villainy to new levels, and later i got hooked on "Port Charles", a GH spin-off that never quite found it's footing.


I loved growing up watching soaps, it was a bonding thing and many friendships were formed over my love of soaps and it's unique format both entertaining and informative. I grew up with some of the characters like OLTL's Jessica or GH's Robin who were my age and were allowed to grow up on-screen with the same actress playing the role from adolescent until adulthood.

Now a funny story: Me and Mom were ABC soaps all the way, we only watched soaps on ABC network, they were our shows...

However, now and then we'd get visits from (or go to visit) my grandmother who was strictly an NBC girl, mainly she watched "Days of Our Lives", that was her show... (now and then she'd watch Another World), but "DOOL" was her main show, and we would have a fight, honor Nana and let her watch her story or let us watch our series?

Usually Nana won out and we watched her show, which was also rather addictive. It was at the height of the James E. Reilly era, when the supernatural was taking over and Marlena Evans, the series heroine was possessed by the devil.


Over the years i grew up and matured and changed and the only constant was my love for soap operas. I would venture away from and back to them throughout my adult life, oftentimes checking out "the competition" on CBS or NBC, all had their moments of glory, grandness and moments of insult and embarrassment as budgets were cut, ratings lowered and ultimately quality suffered. I cried when NBC axed Santa Barbara, Another World, Sunset Beach and later Passions. I was full of sorrow when CBS canned Guiding Light and As The World Turns and totally destroyed when Brian Frons cut Port Charles, and then unfortunately my babies All My Children and One Life To Live. I was beyond words.
my mom made me watch GH too maybe because it was on after school(in those days, my school left at 1:30 so id have to watch it). became a big fan of GH because of that. i remember when Stone died Robin was so sad i was too!

This was one of my pet peeves as well. I'd tune in to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, only to find the Football Game had overrun its schedule and my show was "Joined in Progress" :mad: If the show was a two-parter we'd see all of one part and none of the other! I remember one two parter where I got to see 15 minutes of the first part and 10 minutes of the last part thanks to Football Overruns, then six months later when they "Reran" that episode a Golf Match went into overtime and the show got cut off again! :angryfire Only recently was I able to see that particular episode in its entirity, thanks to a bootleg DVD! :(
that was a pet peeve of mine too! id want to watch Solid Gold but NBC was showing baseball instead! same thing with the NFL late in the season Saturdays too! use to make me mad:mad: that happened sometimes with On Scene: Emergency Response too and even a few other shows i didn't like sports cutting into my shows back then!:mad: im glad most sports events are now on cable!:crazy:

Watching the prime time specials each Fall advertising the new Saturday morning cartoons, and what would be returning.

Saturday mornings (mid to late 70's/ early 80's) I was glued to the TV from 6:30AM until around 11AM, maybe later depending on the weather. If the weather was nice I be out the door to play with friends, if the weather was bad I'd watch double features of Japanese monster movies.
Then as I grew out of cartoons, Saturdays became my day to watch Commander USA's Groovie Movies - which introduced me to horror flicks like The Children Of Ravensback, Vampire Circus, and Blood Song (with Frankie Avalon).

Weekday afternoons after school during grade school a local car salesman introduced horror films ( I have vivid memories of watching The Shuttered Room with Oliver Reed, Gig Young, and Carol Lynley), that movie freaked me out as a kid.

Watching Dr. Who (Tom Baker version) on PBS with my parents.

After we got our first VCR, my dad would start recording late night shows, I remember watching Bizarre with John Byner (it was the show that introduced Super Dave), Benny Hill re runs, Madame's Place (Wayland Flowers and Madame sitcom)
And my first viewing of Motel Hell was from one of my dad's late night recordings.

Watching Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot during its original airing when I was 9. I was alone in our basement family room, and whenever it got too scary I would turn the channel.

Saturday morning cartoons, especially 'The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show' and 'Scooby Doo'

Coming home after school and watching 'The Flintstones', 'Gilligan's Island' and 'The Brady Bunch'

Watching 'Happy Days' and 'Laverne and Shirley' on Tuesday nights.
Sat. morning cartoons. Watching Ed Sullivan and Hollywood Palace with my parents and Lawrence Welk with my grandmother.

Watching Lawrence Welk with my grandmother.

Are you a masochist? :crazy: :lol: :rotflmao: :rofl: :brent

To expand on that Brent Musburger NFL memory, one of my best (albeit it was a scary one to start with; don't know why) was seeing Jim Nantz present The Prudential College Football Report. I think it was a scary one because while Don Robertson had the same spiel all the way through, from 1985-87, it had pretty scary opening music.
yeah, i remember Jim Nantz and later on Andrea Joyce or Greg Gumbel presenting The Prudential College Football Report before Hee Haw on Saturdays after CFB on my CBS station same thing with Al Trautwig and then Roger Twibell and later on John Saunders before Wheel Of Fortune but it was Prudential College Football Scoreboard instead of The Prudential College Football Report:)

another one:remembering hearing ABC Sports luminaries like Jim Mckay, Keith Jackson, Al Trautwig, Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Chris Schenkel, Paul Page, Bob Jenkins and many others do at the end of any ABC Sports event(up to 1989 and then from late 90s onward)the "now stay tuned for your local news and World News Saturday/Sunday/Nightline, next over most of these ABC stations" that i do remember from watching Wide World Of Sports, Monday Night Football and many other events on ABC. Now sometimes you will hear Mike Breen or Mike Tirico say that on the NBA on ABC but doesn't sound the same as it did back in the 80s i knew when any one of these ABC Sports guys said that, it was time for the local news(and my mom likes to watch the local news herself)

This was one of my pet peeves as well. I'd tune in to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, only to find the Football Game had overrun its schedule and my show was "Joined in Progress" :mad: If the show was a two-parter we'd see all of one part and none of the other! I remember one two parter where I got to see 15 minutes of the first part and 10 minutes of the last part thanks to Football Overruns, then six months later when they "Reran" that episode a Golf Match went into overtime and the show got cut off again! :angryfire Only recently was I able to see that particular episode in its entirity, thanks to a bootleg DVD! :(
up to maybe 1989 i always resented a sports event cutitng into my show. i hated it if a show like Solid Gold or Wheel Of Fortune was joined in progress because of some sporting event:mad: but the 1989 Little League World Series championship game on Wide World Of Sports where Trumbull, Connecticut won changed all that. That game(called by Al Trautwig and Jim Palmer, with Mike Adamle on the sidelines) changed my thinking about sporting events cutting into my shows. i didn't care if i had to miss a few minutes of a show like Wheel or even On Scene: Emergency Response(for the Houston at Denver playoff game in 91, called by Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen on NBC) or the Raiders at Redskins game in 92(called by Don Criqui and Bill Parcells) i an now handle missing a few minutes(or have a delay) of my favorite shows if a sporting event has to run late.

In Memphis, the CBS affiliate, WREG, Channel 3 had loads and loads of old timey movies and TV shows. The man who was the original owner of WREG bought all the reels of these old films and showed them every Saturday if there weren't sports on (like college football). I got to see all the old Tarzan films with Johnny Weismueller, Laurel and Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle and Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland. As a kid of the 1970's, I was exposed to these films because of WREG.

WREG also showed the early 1950's Superman show with George Reeves which was a pretty good show which held up well enough that a child born almost 20 years after it was on would enjoy it. That show was so old, that it had a 48 star flag behind Superman. Weird when I heard he killed himself, although some say it was murder. Anyhow.

My after school shows were Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. I would get PISSED if CBS ran one of their freaking "Afterschool Specials" in lieu of my two favorite shows. I think CBS called it "Daybreak Special" or something. It seemed they also showed The Beverly Hillbillies every afternoon also on the CBS channel because I saw a lot of it growing up. I also have seen The Andy Griffith Show since babyhood.

Late Saturday morning in Memphis was Mid South Championship Wrestling with Lance Russell and Jerry 'The King' Lawler. It was live violence, stupidity, heros and villians, not to mention hilarious people. These guys were in the film "man on the Moon". I never saw Man on the Moon because I hated Andy Kaufman and do not like Jim Carrey (in anything).

Before wrestling was Pink Panther, my favorite cartoon, followed by a rerun of Sanford and Son (YOU BIG DUMMY!). Pink Panther, Sanford and Wrestling. I was also a Roadrunner fan, but thought Scooby Doo was stupid (except, ironically for Shaggy). When I was a little kid, I also watched The Land of the Lost. If Land of Lost actually had a budget, it might have held up today, but it was cheap even for 1974. But I was 7 then, what do I care?

Saturday evenings at dinner was Hee Haw with Buck Owens and Roy Clark. That show was a classic. I can still sing "Where oh where, are you tonight.....", Hey Grandpa, what's for supper!? The plank that would hit someone in the ass. Bad jokes. Junior Samples. Again, classic.

I also LOVED (and still do) The Gong Show. I really don't understand why people hated that program so much. The show was funny as hell. Chuck Barris was a goof, the unknown comic, J.P. Morgan, the crazy contestants. The 516 dollars and 32 cents. I doubt Chuckie Baby was in the CIA, I think the CIA flew him a lot of cocaine.

Summers/snow days/ when I was sick was Donahue (Phil Donahue's old talk show) and The Price Is Right. Donahue was interesting, even for an elementary school kid like me.

In the evenings with my parents, I was stuck watching whatever they wanted to, which in their defense were mostly good shows. All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Sanford and Son, lots of stuff. I do remember that my parents did not like Carol Burnett. My father couldn't stand her show or humor. They also disliked Lucille Ball.

Like Sat. night was for Hee Haw, Sundays was 60 Minutes, which my father refused to miss, he would stop whatever he was doing to watch that show. What sucked for him was that in the NFL season, 60 minutes would be pre-empted and I had the only father on the street who hated football who would bitch and moan about the "stupid football" and "is my show coming on tonight or what?" Overtimes were painful at home. This was in the 1970's into the 1980's.
my mom would sometimes make me watch the "Afterschool Specials" back then too lol but they came on after General Hospital so I had to watch but sometimes those shows could be educational. I think the reason they stopped was because of how popular Oprah was(one time I wanted to watch The Jokers Wild hosted by Pat Finn, but my mom wanted me to watch the "Afterschool Specials" once a month now that did make me mad:mad:) However, the "Afterschool Specials" along with China Beach and On Scene: Emergency Response did give some good ideas about things like for example death, drunk driving, how a helicopter sounds like, and other such things like for example I remember one such afterschool special starring a cast member from Sesame Street about rock music. my mom told me afterwards to believe the lyrics to praise and worship songs in my church and also from watching Jimmy Swaggart( I had a few of his services at that time on VHS) after watching that special I also was taught about a few things like friendship(remembered watching a ep of China Beach where Holly, the dounut dolly and Hang, the Vietnamese girl were performing the song "Blowin in The Wind" and my mom told me that it would alright to have friends but not to trust all the time(this lesson has been with me for years).

yeah, i remember Jim Nantz and later on Andrea Joyce or Greg Gumbel presenting The Prudential College Football Report before Hee Haw on Saturdays after CFB on my CBS station same thing with Al Trautwig and then Roger Twibell and later on John Saunders before Wheel Of Fortune but it was Prudential College Football Scoreboard instead of The Prudential College Football Report:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmc8mGLsKU&t=1h07m09s

Here's Jim Nantz on The Prudential College Football Report from the 1986 season, on a broadcast of Ohio State/Washington. I had originally said that the opening billboard music was pretty scary, but as you'll hear here, it actually was not that scary at all; in fact, it was based on the theme song of The NCAA Today (CBS studio show for the 1982 and '83 seasons w/Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat O'Brien [first two were the announcers on this game, believe it or not]). That NCAA Today theme song is one that I've been wanting a clean copy of for ages, and I'd really like to find one soon, as good as it sounded here.

When I was living in Mayfield Heights:
"Big Chuck and Hoolihan." It was a Friday night movie program on Channel 8.
"Dark Shadows" on weekday afternoons.
"The Odd Couple" on Friday nights.
"Captain Penny" on Channel 5.

Wrestling and movies on weekends.
"Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday evenings on Channel 3.

"Lost in Space."

In Memphis, the CBS affiliate, WREG, Channel 3 had loads and loads of old timey movies and TV shows. The man who was the original owner of WREG bought all the reels of these old films and showed them every Saturday if there weren't sports on (like college football). I got to see all the old Tarzan films with Johnny Weismueller, Laurel and Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle and Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland. As a kid of the 1970's, I was exposed to these films because of WREG.

WREG also showed the early 1950's Superman show with George Reeves which was a pretty good show which held up well enough that a child born almost 20 years after it was on would enjoy it. That show was so old, that it had a 48 star flag behind Superman. Weird when I heard he killed himself, although some say it was murder. Anyhow.

My after school shows were Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. I would get PISSED if CBS ran one of their freaking "Afterschool Specials" in lieu of my two favorite shows. I think CBS called it "Daybreak Special" or something. It seemed they also showed The Beverly Hillbillies every afternoon also on the CBS channel because I saw a lot of it growing up. I also have seen The Andy Griffith Show since babyhood.

Late Saturday morning in Memphis was Mid South Championship Wrestling with Lance Russell and Jerry 'The King' Lawler. It was live violence, stupidity, heros and villians, not to mention hilarious people. These guys were in the film "man on the Moon". I never saw Man on the Moon because I hated Andy Kaufman and do not like Jim Carrey (in anything).

Before wrestling was Pink Panther, my favorite cartoon, followed by a rerun of Sanford and Son (YOU BIG DUMMY!). Pink Panther, Sanford and Wrestling. I was also a Roadrunner fan, but thought Scooby Doo was stupid (except, ironically for Shaggy). When I was a little kid, I also watched The Land of the Lost. If Land of Lost actually had a budget, it might have held up today, but it was cheap even for 1974. But I was 7 then, what do I care?

Saturday evenings at dinner was Hee Haw with Buck Owens and Roy Clark. That show was a classic. I can still sing "Where oh where, are you tonight.....", Hey Grandpa, what's for supper!? The plank that would hit someone in the ass. Bad jokes. Junior Samples. Again, classic.

I also LOVED (and still do) The Gong Show. I really don't understand why people hated that program so much. The show was funny as hell. Chuck Barris was a goof, the unknown comic, J.P. Morgan, the crazy contestants. The 516 dollars and 32 cents. I doubt Chuckie Baby was in the CIA, I think the CIA flew him a lot of cocaine.

Summers/snow days/ when I was sick was Donahue (Phil Donahue's old talk show) and The Price Is Right. Donahue was interesting, even for an elementary school kid like me.

In the evenings with my parents, I was stuck watching whatever they wanted to, which in their defense were mostly good shows. All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Sanford and Son, lots of stuff. I do remember that my parents did not like Carol Burnett. My father couldn't stand her show or humor. They also disliked Lucille Ball.

Like Sat. night was for Hee Haw, Sundays was 60 Minutes, which my father refused to miss, he would stop whatever he was doing to watch that show. What sucked for him was that in the NFL season, 60 minutes would be pre-empted and I had the only father on the street who hated football who would bitch and moan about the "stupid football" and "is my show coming on tonight or what?" Overtimes were painful at home. This was in the 1970's into the 1980's.
I used to have the same issue with The Smurfs when NBC would air Wimbledon tennis. It made me mad that they would show that instead of my cartoon.

This was one of my pet peeves as well. I'd tune in to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, only to find the Football Game had overrun its schedule and my show was "Joined in Progress" :mad: If the show was a two-parter we'd see all of one part and none of the other! I remember one two parter where I got to see 15 minutes of the first part and 10 minutes of the last part thanks to Football Overruns, then six months later when they "Reran" that episode a Golf Match went into overtime and the show got cut off again! :angryfire Only recently was I able to see that particular episode in its entirity, thanks to a bootleg DVD! :(
Regulus, i had the same issue with The Smurfs. Every year. NBC would broadcast the Wimbledon tennis tournament. One of the finals would preempt The Smurfs and that made me mad. i mean i thought it was stupid for NBC to do that!

Well, to be honest some of them were watching wrestling on Saturday morning.
WorldWide Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Superstars of Wrestling and the AWA. Then World Championship Wrestling on Saturday nights.

Also, remember watching the NFL, the NBA and MLB. I also remember watching The Hogan Family, Dallas, ALF, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210.

I liked watching the Moon shots on TV, and I remember staying up past bedtime to watch Niel Armstrong set foot on the Moon. :)

In Memphis, the CBS affiliate, WREG, Channel 3 had loads and loads of old timey movies and TV shows. The man who was the original owner of WREG bought all the reels of these old films and showed them every Saturday if there weren't sports on (like college football). I got to see all the old Tarzan films with Johnny Weismueller, Laurel and Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle and Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland. As a kid of the 1970's, I was exposed to these films because of WREG.

WREG also showed the early 1950's Superman show with George Reeves which was a pretty good show which held up well enough that a child born almost 20 years after it was on would enjoy it. That show was so old, that it had a 48 star flag behind Superman. Weird when I heard he killed himself, although some say it was murder. Anyhow.

My after school shows were Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. I would get PISSED if CBS ran one of their freaking "Afterschool Specials" in lieu of my two favorite shows. I think CBS called it "Daybreak Special" or something. It seemed they also showed The Beverly Hillbillies every afternoon also on the CBS channel because I saw a lot of it growing up. I also have seen The Andy Griffith Show since babyhood.

Late Saturday morning in Memphis was Mid South Championship Wrestling with Lance Russell and Jerry 'The King' Lawler. It was live violence, stupidity, heros and villians, not to mention hilarious people. These guys were in the film "man on the Moon". I never saw Man on the Moon because I hated Andy Kaufman and do not like Jim Carrey (in anything).

Before wrestling was Pink Panther, my favorite cartoon, followed by a rerun of Sanford and Son (YOU BIG DUMMY!). Pink Panther, Sanford and Wrestling. I was also a Roadrunner fan, but thought Scooby Doo was stupid (except, ironically for Shaggy). When I was a little kid, I also watched The Land of the Lost. If Land of Lost actually had a budget, it might have held up today, but it was cheap even for 1974. But I was 7 then, what do I care?

Saturday evenings at dinner was Hee Haw with Buck Owens and Roy Clark. That show was a classic. I can still sing "Where oh where, are you tonight.....", Hey Grandpa, what's for supper!? The plank that would hit someone in the ass. Bad jokes. Junior Samples. Again, classic.

I also LOVED (and still do) The Gong Show. I really don't understand why people hated that program so much. The show was funny as hell. Chuck Barris was a goof, the unknown comic, J.P. Morgan, the crazy contestants. The 516 dollars and 32 cents. I doubt Chuckie Baby was in the CIA, I think the CIA flew him a lot of cocaine.

Summers/snow days/ when I was sick was Donahue (Phil Donahue's old talk show) and The Price Is Right. Donahue was interesting, even for an elementary school kid like me.

In the evenings with my parents, I was stuck watching whatever they wanted to, which in their defense were mostly good shows. All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Sanford and Son, lots of stuff. I do remember that my parents did not like Carol Burnett. My father couldn't stand her show or humor. They also disliked Lucille Ball.

Like Sat. night was for Hee Haw, Sundays was 60 Minutes, which my father refused to miss, he would stop whatever he was doing to watch that show. What sucked for him was that in the NFL season, 60 minutes would be pre-empted and I had the only father on the street who hated football who would bitch and moan about the "stupid football" and "is my show coming on tonight or what?" Overtimes were painful at home. This was in the 1970's into the 1980's.
Living in western North Carolina in the 80s....

the game shows would be the first things id watch. CBS at least locally had Catch Phrase with Art James then Tic Tac Dough with Jim Caldwell then Pyramid with Dick Clark then id watch Sale of the Century with Jim Perry and Summer Bartholomew on NBC then The Price is Right with Bob Barker on CBS. Sometimes id watch Wheel of Fortune with Pat Sajak and Vanna White and Scrabble with Chuck Woolery on NBC instead. sometimes id watch Little House on the Prairie
instead of SOTC or Pyramid, sometimes id watch The Brady Bunch instead of TPIR same thing with My Three Sons instead of TPIR or Scrabble. i hate to say this, but i did watch the Brady Bunch instead of TPIR!

sometimes id watch Classic Concentration with Alex Trebek on NBC then Little House which was on the FOX station. did so during summer of 91. sometimes id watch Kate and Allie instead of Little House or TPIR after Classic Concentration. Trebek also was doing Jeopardy! and To Tell the Truth as well. Still does Jeopardy! to this day. this was back when you might have game shows on two channels, reruns on another and talk shows on another channel in the morning. kind of miss those days i did watch Tic Tac Dough with Patrick Wayne as well on the same station that had CC. didn't really like him, maybe because of his over-excitable hosting style, but he wasn't the worst host ive seen. maybe ive seen worse hosts than Patrick. Always liked Wink Martindale better though, because he was low key. However i did like Larry Van Nuys as announcer. He was one bright spot in that show.

My mom was a big General Hospital fan then and is still watching that show

Now, once a month we would watch the Afterschool Specials. they were quite good

The courtroom shows were popular too back then. It was almost automatic that when my mom would finish watching GH, she'd change the channel to the CBS affiliate to watch Superior Court. The Peoples Court was on back then too, but it was more realistic than Superior Court was.

i liked China Beach but my mom didn't really like that show. maybe because it was about a war but i was a big fan of it. loved Dana Delany as McMurphy. Marg Helgenberger was on that show too. She later on would be on CSI.

On Sunday Nights we would watch Our House instead of 60 Minutes. What made us mad was if NBC's NFL game ran late, it meant that the NBC Sunday Night shows would be delayed, meaning that the shows would start later than what i saw in TV Guide. if the game ran to 7:30, then Our House would start at that time, then Easy Street, Valerie and the Sunday Night Movie That also meant the late news would start late too.

The TGIF lineup was always great. in 1988-90, it was Full House(it aired at 8:30 to begin with), Family Matters, Perfect Strangers(it aired at 8:00 to begin with too) and Just the Ten of Us. in 1991, Step By Step replaced Full House but Family Matters moved to 8:00. those two would be part of my Friday Night lineup for years.

On Saturday Mornings i'd watch The Smurfs. It was 90 minutes until 1988, when it was cut to a hour, after which i'd watch The Real Ghostbusters, but it came on during the last half hour of The Smurfs. I could watch reruns of The Smurfs opposite General Hospital, so sometimes i'd argue with my mom over that! The Smurfs got canceled in 1990, so i watched ABC's cartoons from then on.

a show that was a "reality" show(before that term was defined) was On Scene: Emergency Response with Dave Forman. it was like Rescue 911 but more of a "reality" show than Rescue 911. a couple of their favorite subjects was the Lifeflight helicopter crew out of UC Irvine, another one was the New York Fire Department as well as the Coast Guard helicopter crews. it was syndicated locally before the NBC sitcoms on Saturdays in the early 90s. for a time in 92 it ran against American Gladiators with Mike Adamle which was on ABC locally. AG usually aired late night other than in the spring and summer of 92. saw reruns of On Scene on Discovery People(originally CBS Eye On People) in late 90s/early 00s. have seen reruns of AG on more than one channel in the past. on the same night as On Scene and AG was a drama called Sisters. we loved that show too. Sisters had Swooise Kurtz on it as well as Sela Ward. they were good on that show. another show on Saturdays was Nurses it was funny.

Opposite On Scene(at least locally) was Hee Haw with Roy Clark and a weekly co-host. my folks liked that show maybe because they were big country music fans. They still watch that show on RFD-TV.

Another favorite, was Wide World Of Sports on Saturdays at 4:30 usually with Jim McKay. later on Frank Gifford and Becky Dixon would replace him and sometimes Al Trautwig would too. But McKay would still host some Wide World events like horse racing and figure skating. My mom liked figure skating back then i remember seeing skaters like Jill Trenary, Debi Thomas, Tonya Harding and others thanks to Wide World. and before that bowling with Chris Schenkel and Nelson Burton, Jr. that was a Saturday afternoon tradition for us. Bowling would quite often precede figure skating on ABC back then during winter.

i did watch Sesame Street like every other child did then. Loved that show. some of those songs were cool.
i had a dish too in addition to regular TV. so i could watch a show if it was going to be preempted locally or let's say i wanted to watch a football game that wasn't on regular TV

my folks on my dish always subscribed to the Disney Channel. i remember watching the TV premiere of Cinderella on there. they also had some good shows too back then like Kids Incorporated(my mom never liked the music on that show being that she is Christian and believed even then, that i should listen to Christian music instead.) but i do remember seeing Jennifer Love Hewitt on that show. she was talented for sure!

I remember on Friday nights my brothers and sisters and me (and sometimes my older brother if he was home) would always get into an argument over whether to watch THE BRADY BUNCH (which they wanted to) or SANFORD & SON (which me and him wanted to watch) Then TBB was cancelled so that ended the argument!:lol: Since my brother & me were the only ones who liked S AND S guess which show always won!! LOL (except for during the summer when both shows were in reruns)
And when ABC moved THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY to Saturdays against ALL IN THE FAMILY on CBS we'd argue about which one to watch, but just every once in a while.

As a kid I remember the whole family having a great time watching Barney Miller together. Also have very fond memories of Dad and I enjoying Rockford Files. Still remember my dad's reaction to an episode where Rockford shot down a plane. Also, My sister would make us all watch Little House on the Prairie on Monday nights. Back then I would never have admitted it to her but I slowly grew to like the show. I also used to enjoy watching my dad watch Hawaii Five-O. Personally I didn't care for the show as a kid but my dad got such a kick out of it that it was fun to simply watch it with him.

One thing I also remember. On Sunday nights I would force myself to stay up after everyone else was asleep. Then I would sneak down to the basement at 11:30pm to watch back to back reruns of Star Trek and Mission Impossible (this was before the VCR....or at least before we had one). The danger of possibly getting caught added a whole element of suspense. I remember these nights vividly but have no memory of how I dealt with school the following morning on next to no sleep.

I didn't watch Little House much, but i do remember seeing it.

I remember watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett show all on Saturday night with my family while eating popcorn. Good times.

Every Thanksgiving I always get up way before the Macy's Thanksgiving Day even starts and watch the Today Show's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade preshow. I don't know when I started doing this but the first time I did this tradition of mine was when I would be sleeping Dad would always go get last minute Thanksgiving Day stuff and Mom would be alone in the kitchen getting the oven ready for the Thanksgiving turkey and be making pies I would get up at 6AM and I went into Mom's bedroom and I would grab Mom's portable emergency television climb under the covers of Mom's bed and turn on the parade preshow and Mom wouldn't know I was up until she heard the sounds of the parade preshow and she didn't know I was supposed to be asleep but the best thing was that I got to get up and watch the parade and Mom didn't mind me getting up early. But it's been a favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition of mine that I love to do every year
Bestie

My parents would *always* watch "The Hollywood Squares" and then change the channel to watch "The Waltons" they did the same thing with "Treasure Hunt" and "Little House On The Prairie" (expect that the latter two shows were on the same station, so they didn't need to change the channel)

As a kid I remember the whole family having a great time watching Barney Miller together. Also have very fond memories of Dad and I enjoying Rockford Files. Still remember my dad's reaction to an episode where Rockford shot down a plane. Also, My sister would make us all watch Little House on the Prairie on Monday nights. Back then I would never have admitted it to her but I slowly grew to like the show. I also used to enjoy watching my dad watch Hawaii Five-O. Personally I didn't care for the show as a kid but my dad got such a kick out of it that it was fun to simply watch it with him.

One thing I also remember. On Sunday nights I would force myself to stay up after everyone else was asleep. Then I would sneak down to the basement at 11:30pm to watch back to back reruns of Star Trek and Mission Impossible (this was before the VCR....or at least before we had one). The danger of possibly getting caught added a whole element of suspense. I remember these nights vividly but have no memory of how I dealt with school the following morning on next to no sleep.
I know one thing: if i was around back then, i would have fought with your sister over to either watch Little House on the Prairie or Monday Night Baseball during the spring or summer on Monday nights:crazy:

I remember watching The Price Is Right when it was still a half-hour show. Other daytime game shows I watched regularly were The Hollywood Squares(Peter Marshall, with Paul Lynde in center square), Pyramid (Dick Clark), Match Game (Gene Rayburn), and Password (Alan Ludden). Later on, when I was a little older, I watched The Joker's Wild (Jack Berry), Card Sharks, High Rollers, The Gong Show, What's My Line, and Name That Tune.

Also I watched a lot of To Tell the Truth with Gary Moore in syndication -- I remember it being on in the evening hours. And I remember Chuck Woollery hosting Wheel of Fortune.

Between game shows and sitcoms, I logged a tremendous amount of TV time!

What are some of your happiest memories watching TV as a youth? It could be watching a particular show, marathon, telethon, cartoon etc.

For instance,

I remember being so excited on Thanksgiving mornings waking up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. I would wake up a few hours before the parade started. I remember sitting through the 'Today' show with Jane Pauley just to watch the parade.

I also remember the night BEFORE Thanksgiving and being able to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and the tonight show. That was a special treat. :)

What about you?

I used to like watching this courtroom drama called Superior Court-real judge, actors as lawyers and litigants. It aired on the CBS station, and i remember having sit through CBS's morning show with Mariette Hartley in order to watch that. I remember the opening..."The following is based on an an actual court case. Only the names and certain incidents have been changed to protect the innocent...and the guilty" The People's Court had something similar: "What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors. They are actual litigants with a case pending in a California municipal court. Both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum: The People's Court."

The People's Court had something similar: "What you are witnessing is real. The participants are not actors. They are actual litigants with a case pending in a California municipal court. Both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum: The People's Court."

Much the same is used on the current show w/Marilyn Milian, except that the "actual litigants" part now goes "with a case pending in civil court." Also, the part about "disputes settled here" now reads "have their cases settled here, before Judge Marilyn Milian, in our forum: The People's Court." Unless I'm mistaken, that's how Curt Chaplin announces the opening on the current show.

Much the same is used on the current show w/Marilyn Milian, except that the "actual litigants" part now goes "with a case pending in civil court." Also, the part about "disputes settled here" now reads "have their cases settled here, before Judge Marilyn Milian, in our forum: The People's Court." Unless I'm mistaken, that's how Curt Chaplin announces the opening on the current show.
The opening i remember was when Jack Harrell was the announcer. I haven't watched that show since the mid-90s, so i didn't realize they had changed part of the opening.

This is what the story totem pole on Sunday Morning (that's what Wikipedia described it as) looked like when Charles Kuralt was on when I was a boy. It looks nowhere near like that now.

Nickelodeon in the 80's was a blast. Pinwheel, Today's Special, You Can't Do That On Television, Mr. Wizard and Out of Control were tops for me. There was also Livewire, a talk show for kids and teens, they would also air afterschool specials on Sunday nights, and I think they also aired The Tomorrow People. It was awesome having shows just for you that weren't dumbed down, that treated you like a kid, but a kid with a brain.

I also have fond memories of my grandparents and I watching Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, The Love Boat, The Golden Girls, Unsolved Mysteries, and a ton of other shows together. My grandmother even watched The Incredible Hulk with me and when I wasn't in school, I would watch soaps with her. She was an NBC fan, so it was Days of Our Lives, Another World, Search For Tomorrow (after it moved from CBS), and later, Santa Barbara. There was also a cool PBS daytime block, and when I was in 2nd grade, my teacher Ms. Pelletier would show those to us in the morning.

People get irritated when we get nostalgic, but I have to say television was a lot better back then. I know each decade had their duds, but I am glad I grew up in the era before reality took over.

My mom would watch the ABC soaps, but i'd try to sneak in Santa Barbara sometimes, since that one was on NBC. Sale of The Century was the other NBC daytime show i liked too.
Now, I'd liked to watch China Beach, much to my dad's dismay, since ACC basketball games were on opposite China Beach. He'd have the same problem with me watching On Scene: Emergency Response instead of Hee Haw. But... everybody agreed that we didn't watch SNL, instead, e watched American Gladiators.

my grandmother would watch CBS in the daytime. "As the World Turns," "Guiding Light," "To Tell The Truth," "The Price is Right," and "Search for Tomorrow." She also used to watch Art Linkletter and also Arthur Godfrey too. I can add "The Waltons" to that list too. She didn't always watch CBS; "Little House On The Prairie," "Wheel Of Fortune," "Let's Make A Deal," "Hollywood Squares," and "Jeopardy!" were the non-CBS shows she liked.

My childhood TV Viewing memories was NBC's sitcoms of the 80's, midday game shows, SatAM, and Mid-afternoon cartoons.

I'd like to see all those shows again...

Watching and getting addicted to daytime soap operas with my mother and grandmother.

It all started with General Hospital. It was on after school, I could watch the whole episode and it was insanely popular during the time I was growing up. I remember my mother watching in the mid-to-late 80's and being addicted with Luke & Laura and their wild adventures, I remember something about them on some sort of wild rapid river. Being forced to watch with her, I easily became engrossed in the characters and stories and wanted to know each and every day what would happen. I fell in love witht he zany antics of Lucy Coe, a comedic goldmine and the vision of her in a red wedding dress haunts me to this day. Tracey's cold indifference to all around her was chilling and the good-nature and heart of Robin kept me glued to my set, when she got diagnosed with HIV i was so sad, and the fact that stone died of AIDS was even worse.

During the summer I was able to watch other soaps, but my mom was an ABC girl so it had to be an ABC series, so because she basically dictated what I watched it was "All My Children".... One look at Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and I was hooked. I came for Erica but stayed for the rich diversity of characters on the show; zany, kooky Opal, an old-school, crystal wearing hippie who owned a beauty shop called the Glam-O-Rama; Refined, elegant and morally centered Brooke English a magazine editor who would rather go to prison than reveal a source and who grieved the loss of her daughter, and who longed for a love who understood and respected her. I loved that this show took on both socially relevant storylines, but also focused on family, love, loss, relationships and matters of the heart. They had the grand scale of soap drama on the series: Psychotic psychos like Janet "From Another Planet" Green, who got struck by lighting; Arlene Vaungh who seduced her daughters husband, Billy Clyde Tuggle and Ray Gardner and Dr. David Hayward, an ego-maniac with a god complex who commanded attention at all times. Dr. Maria Santos Grey a beautiful doctor trying to win the heart of dashing Edmund Grey and struggling with fertility issues, and her crazy family.

I next picked up "One Life To Live" because of the haunting and well-written story of Marty Saybrooke's brutal rape and her subsequent quest for justice. It was a time when soap's were blessed with well-crafted, socially relevant writing, rich tapestry of characters and actors willing to go the extra mile for a scene. OLTL was at the height of a creative resurgance and I was blessed to watch the series as it swept the 1994 Daytime Emmy's, the only time they ever did.


I also got hooked on "Loving" towards the end of it's run, it's short-lived spin-off "The City" which introduced me to Morgan Fairchild a delightfully glamorous actress who took soap opera villainy to new levels, and later i got hooked on "Port Charles", a GH spin-off that never quite found it's footing.


I loved growing up watching soaps, it was a bonding thing and many friendships were formed over my love of soaps and it's unique format both entertaining and informative. I grew up with some of the characters like OLTL's Jessica or GH's Robin who were my age and were allowed to grow up on-screen with the same actress playing the role from adolescent until adulthood.

Now a funny story: Me and Mom were ABC soaps all the way, we only watched soaps on ABC network, they were our shows...

However, now and then we'd get visits from (or go to visit) my grandmother who was strictly an NBC girl, mainly she watched "Days of Our Lives", that was her show... (now and then she'd watch Another World), but "DOOL" was her main show, and we would have a fight, honor Nana and let her watch her story or let us watch our series?

Usually Nana won out and we watched her show, which was also rather addictive. It was at the height of the James E. Reilly era, when the supernatural was taking over and Marlena Evans, the series heroine was possessed by the devil.


Over the years i grew up and matured and changed and the only constant was my love for soap operas. I would venture away from and back to them throughout my adult life, oftentimes checking out "the competition" on CBS or NBC, all had their moments of glory, grandness and moments of insult and embarrassment as budgets were cut, ratings lowered and ultimately quality suffered. I cried when NBC axed Santa Barbara, Another World, Sunset Beach and later Passions. I was full of sorrow when CBS canned Guiding Light and As The World Turns and totally destroyed when Brian Frons cut Port Charles, and then unfortunately my babies All My Children and One Life To Live. I was beyond words.

factsoflife, i watched NBC's game shows- "Sale of the Century," "Classic Concentration," "Wheel of Fortune" and "Scrabble." But when Scrabble got moved to 10am, i picked up "Loving" which aired at 12:30, which led to my moms soaps which were on ABC. I also watched reruns too-"Perry Mason," "Little House on the Prairie" and a few others in between. When "Golden Girls" reruns replaced "WOF", i started watching "The Price is Right."

My earliest memories of TV are watching Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Land of the Lost (I was so scared of the Sleestak), and H.R. Pufnstuf. We also watched Happy Days, and I remember being very scared by a Halloween episode.

A few years after that, we lived with my grandparents for several years, so we watched mostly what they wanted to watch in the afternoons/evenings: The People's Court, Family Feud, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Three's Company, The Waltons, Alice, Happy Days, and Laverne and Shirley. We also watched Little House on the Prairie, and on Saturday mornings, reruns of The Facts of Life. We also watched old reruns of How to Marry a Millionaire, which has become very obscure nowadays, and I Love Lucy. Summer break was nice because we could watch The Price is Right in the late morning.

In later years, after we left our grandparents' house, TV became our babysitter. We watched many, many TV shows, including Rags to Riches (my sister's favorite), Charles in Charge, Cheers, Family Ties, Gimme a Break, Diff'rent Strokes, The Cosby Show, Small Wonder, The Golden Girls, Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us, Mr. Belvedere, Newhart, Who's the Boss, Saved By the Bell on Saturday mornings, and in later years America's Funniest Home Videos, Life Goes On, Roseanne, and TGIF sitcoms like Step By Step, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, etc. We also watched a lot of PBS shows like The Joy of Painting; Bob Ross was amazing. And I watched Doctor Who on Saturday nights: Mom gave me permission to stay up late.

When I got my own TV, a few years later, I started watching The Simpsons and Married with Children, on Fox. The signal from the local Fox station was terrible, usually full of snow. I didn't understand at the time that that station was on a low-budget UHF signal, but I learned quickly!

When we visited our grandparents' house, it was a rare treat because they had cable TV: we could watch You Can't Do That on Television, Hey Dude, etc. Also, reruns of 1950s-1970s TV shows like Gilligan's Island, The Patty Duke Show, Father Knows Best, Mary Tyler Moore, and The Brady Bunch.

My fondest childhood memory of watching television was the annual broadcast of That's Entertainment on KTLA (channel 5 in Los Angeles), or when CBS aired The Wizard of Oz around Easter time. :)

My fondest childhood memory of watching television was the annual broadcast of That's Entertainment on KTLA (channel 5 in Los Angeles), or when CBS aired The Wizard of Oz around Easter time. :)


That's what I was coming to post. Not That's Entertainment because it wasn't made until I was a teenager but the annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz was something I looked forward to all year. That was when all you had was TV Guide so you had to search the schedule. It was always on Sunday evening at 7:00PM. One year - maybe I was 12 - we missed it in TV Guide and didn't realize it was on until it was halfway through. Me being me, I refused to start watching in the middle and waited until the next year. Now that you can see it whenever you want some of the magic is lost.

That's what I was coming to post. Not That's Entertainment because it wasn't made until I was a teenager but the annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz was something I looked forward to all year. That was when all you had was TV Guide so you had to search the schedule. It was always on Sunday evening at 7:00PM. One year - maybe I was 12 - we missed it in TV Guide and didn't realize it was on until it was halfway through. Me being me, I refused to start watching in the middle and waited until the next year. Now that you can see it whenever you want some of the magic is lost.

But you can recreate the magic by watching it at the time you fondly remember watching it, and an added bonus, no commercials! :D

My fondest childhood memory of watching television was the annual broadcast of That's Entertainment on KTLA (channel 5 in Los Angeles), or when CBS aired The Wizard of Oz around Easter time. :)
Oh yea. The same with me. Loved watching The Wizard of Oz every year. It was like a holiday. lol

But you can recreate the magic by watching it at the time you fondly remember watching it, and an added bonus, no commercials! :D


Yeah, but it doesn't have the same urgency. Now I watch it on TCM and if I fall asleep it's no big deal. When VCR's first came out I knew the movie so well that I could pause the recording exactly when the commercials came on and off so I made an almost perfect videotape. As soon as I knew I could watch it any time I wanted it wasn't the same.

Yeah, but it doesn't have the same urgency. Now I watch it on TCM and if I fall asleep it's no big deal. When VCR's first came out I knew the movie so well that I could pause the recording exactly when the commercials came on and off so I made an almost perfect videotape. As soon as I knew I could watch it any time I wanted it wasn't the same.

"Appointment TV" is obsolete. More people record a program before they watch it (and skip the commercials). Still I find it fun to watch certain shows on certain dates. Next up is the week of July 4. I'll be breaking out my "Americana" movies to watch this week (On nights they don't have fireworks displays scheduled). After that is my :santa2: "Christmas in July" :tree: week (A great way to get your mind off the summer heat). :thumbsup:

Is that what is called Appointment TV. Hadn't heard that term. Watching tv with out dvr or on demand. ?? Yeah I agreed 90% of my watching is either DVRd or on demand. Television watching sure has changes since the 1950's.

Is that what is called Appointment TV. Hadn't heard that term. Watching tv with out dvr or on demand. ?? Yeah I agreed 90% of my watching is either DVRd or on demand. Television watching sure has changes since the 1950's.
That is changed.

Watching and getting addicted to daytime soap operas with my mother and grandmother.

It all started with General Hospital. It was on after school, I could watch the whole episode and it was insanely popular during the time I was growing up. I remember my mother watching in the mid-to-late 80's and being addicted with Luke & Laura and their wild adventures, I remember something about them on some sort of wild rapid river. Being forced to watch with her, I easily became engrossed in the characters and stories and wanted to know each and every day what would happen. I fell in love witht he zany antics of Lucy Coe, a comedic goldmine and the vision of her in a red wedding dress haunts me to this day. Tracey's cold indifference to all around her was chilling and the good-nature and heart of Robin kept me glued to my set, when she got diagnosed with HIV i was so sad, and the fact that stone died of AIDS was even worse.

During the summer I was able to watch other soaps, but my mom was an ABC girl so it had to be an ABC series, so because she basically dictated what I watched it was "All My Children".... One look at Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and I was hooked. I came for Erica but stayed for the rich diversity of characters on the show; zany, kooky Opal, an old-school, crystal wearing hippie who owned a beauty shop called the Glam-O-Rama; Refined, elegant and morally centered Brooke English a magazine editor who would rather go to prison than reveal a source and who grieved the loss of her daughter, and who longed for a love who understood and respected her. I loved that this show took on both socially relevant storylines, but also focused on family, love, loss, relationships and matters of the heart. They had the grand scale of soap drama on the series: Psychotic psychos like Janet "From Another Planet" Green, who got struck by lighting; Arlene Vaungh who seduced her daughters husband, Billy Clyde Tuggle and Ray Gardner and Dr. David Hayward, an ego-maniac with a god complex who commanded attention at all times. Dr. Maria Santos Grey a beautiful doctor trying to win the heart of dashing Edmund Grey and struggling with fertility issues, and her crazy family.

I next picked up "One Life To Live" because of the haunting and well-written story of Marty Saybrooke's brutal rape and her subsequent quest for justice. It was a time when soap's were blessed with well-crafted, socially relevant writing, rich tapestry of characters and actors willing to go the extra mile for a scene. OLTL was at the height of a creative resurgance and I was blessed to watch the series as it swept the 1994 Daytime Emmy's, the only time they ever did.


I also got hooked on "Loving" towards the end of it's run, it's short-lived spin-off "The City" which introduced me to Morgan Fairchild a delightfully glamorous actress who took soap opera villainy to new levels, and later i got hooked on "Port Charles", a GH spin-off that never quite found it's footing.


I loved growing up watching soaps, it was a bonding thing and many friendships were formed over my love of soaps and it's unique format both entertaining and informative. I grew up with some of the characters like OLTL's Jessica or GH's Robin who were my age and were allowed to grow up on-screen with the same actress playing the role from adolescent until adulthood.

Now a funny story: Me and Mom were ABC soaps all the way, we only watched soaps on ABC network, they were our shows...

However, now and then we'd get visits from (or go to visit) my grandmother who was strictly an NBC girl, mainly she watched "Days of Our Lives", that was her show... (now and then she'd watch Another World), but "DOOL" was her main show, and we would have a fight, honor Nana and let her watch her story or let us watch our series?

Usually Nana won out and we watched her show, which was also rather addictive. It was at the height of the James E. Reilly era, when the supernatural was taking over and Marlena Evans, the series heroine was possessed by the devil.


Over the years i grew up and matured and changed and the only constant was my love for soap operas. I would venture away from and back to them throughout my adult life, oftentimes checking out "the competition" on CBS or NBC, all had their moments of glory, grandness and moments of insult and embarrassment as budgets were cut, ratings lowered and ultimately quality suffered. I cried when NBC axed Santa Barbara, Another World, Sunset Beach and later Passions. I was full of sorrow when CBS canned Guiding Light and As The World Turns and totally destroyed when Brian Frons cut Port Charles, and then unfortunately my babies All My Children and One Life To Live. I was beyond words.


My mother always watched General Hospital, but i was more into game shows than soaps. Sale of the Century(with the late Jim Perry), Wheel of Fortune(when it aired twice a day in 1985), and Scrabble(with Chuck Woolery, who ironically hosted Wheel of Fortune before Pat Sajak did) were all on NBC.

I'm still angry at NBC because they canceled Santa Barbara, Another World, Sunset Beach, Wheel of Fortune(daytime), Sale of the Century and Scrabble.

I remember before going to school growing up, I used to watch the Saved By The Bell reruns every morning on TBS.

Was the very first sitcom that I was ever introduced to.

This was one of my pet peeves as well. I'd tune in to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, only to find the Football Game had overrun its schedule and my show was "Joined in Progress" :mad: If the show was a two-parter we'd see all of one part and none of the other! I remember one two parter where I got to see 15 minutes of the first part and 10 minutes of the last part thanks to Football Overruns, then six months later when they "Reran" that episode a Golf Match went into overtime and the show got cut off again! :angryfire Only recently was I able to see that particular episode in its entirity, thanks to a bootleg DVD! :(

How many football games have you sat through instead of The Wonderful World of Disney? those games could be very dramatic, with a lot more plot twists and turns than in any Disney movie!

My earliest memories of TV are watching Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Land of the Lost (I was so scared of the Sleestak), and H.R. Pufnstuf. We also watched Happy Days, and I remember being very scared by a Halloween episode.

A few years after that, we lived with my grandparents for several years, so we watched mostly what they wanted to watch in the afternoons/evenings: The People's Court, Family Feud, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Three's Company, The Waltons, Alice, Happy Days, and Laverne and Shirley. We also watched Little House on the Prairie, and on Saturday mornings, reruns of The Facts of Life. We also watched old reruns of How to Marry a Millionaire, which has become very obscure nowadays, and I Love Lucy. Summer break was nice because we could watch The Price is Right in the late morning.

In later years, after we left our grandparents' house, TV became our babysitter. We watched many, many TV shows, including Rags to Riches (my sister's favorite), Charles in Charge, Cheers, Family Ties, Gimme a Break, Diff'rent Strokes, The Cosby Show, Small Wonder, The Golden Girls, Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us, Mr. Belvedere, Newhart, Who's the Boss, Saved By the Bell on Saturday mornings, and in later years America's Funniest Home Videos, Life Goes On, Roseanne, and TGIF sitcoms like Step By Step, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, etc. We also watched a lot of PBS shows like The Joy of Painting; Bob Ross was amazing. And I watched Doctor Who on Saturday nights: Mom gave me permission to stay up late.

When I got my own TV, a few years later, I started watching The Simpsons and Married with Children, on Fox. The signal from the local Fox station was terrible, usually full of snow. I didn't understand at the time that that station was on a low-budget UHF signal, but I learned quickly!

When we visited our grandparents' house, it was a rare treat because they had cable TV: we could watch You Can't Do That on Television, Hey Dude, etc. Also, reruns of 1950s-1970s TV shows like Gilligan's Island, The Patty Duke Show, Father Knows Best, Mary Tyler Moore, and The Brady Bunch.

Mine were American Gladiators, America's Funniest Home Videos, Life Goes On, Roseanne, and TGIF sitcoms like Step By Step, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, etc.

What are some of your happiest memories watching TV as a youth? It could be watching a particular show, marathon, telethon, cartoon etc.

For instance,

I remember being so excited on Thanksgiving mornings waking up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. I would wake up a few hours before the parade started. I remember sitting through the 'Today' show with Jane Pauley just to watch the parade.

I also remember the night BEFORE Thanksgiving and being able to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson and the tonight show. That was a special treat. :)

What about you?

I remember regularly having to call my mother and telling her to please find a channel that didn't have one of those shows on "that's just a lot of grown-ups arguing." She'd change the channel and i'd watch The Real Ghostbusters instead.(it was retitled to Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters later on.)

I can remember when I was growing up in the 60s and watching the reruns of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (which were re-titled ANDY OF MAYBERRY) and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW on CBS on weekday mornings.

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color/The Wonderful World of Disney was appointment TV in our house a brief pause for joyous escape from the real world and a bittersweet end to the weekend (with the unknown horrors of the school week yet to come).

The annual specials were never to be missed, especially The Wizard of Oz, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the Peanuts specials.

Saturday mornings were my private escape and emotional refueling time, led by the sheer joy of The Bugs Bunny Show.

I remember my schedule in the fall of 1988 was Sesame Street, then Mr Rogers, then Square One Television, then Sale of the Century, with Jim Perry, then Classic Concentration, with Alex Trebek then The Price is Right with Bob Barker. (i'm going by the national PBS satellite feed and our NBC/CBS stations in Asheville's schedule.

In 1990, it was Let's Make a Deal with Bob Hilton, then CC then Price. Square One was during the afternoon, after General Hospital or Santa Barbara. In our school, in 1991, we watched both Sesame Street and Square One Television as our classroom had the national PBS feed too.

I remember running home after school to watch Dark Shadows. A bit later, I got interested in One Life to Live at my grandmother's house where I spent a lot of time in the summers.

After school I recall watching The Munsters and Gilligan's Island.

I remember watching To Tell The Truth one day and Alex Trebek's wife had given birth, so creator Mark Goodson filled in, it was the first time i had seen Goodson in front of the microphone on any of his created game shows to my knowledge. But my grandmom said as Burton Richardson introduced Goodson, that Mark had filled in for Bud Collyer in the 60s.

What are some of your happiest memories watching TV as a youth? It could be watching a particular show, marathon, telethon, cartoon etcSaturday morning cartoons. AND GOOD CARTOONS!!!!!!

This world has become crap and its sad :(