One of the Best Articles I've Ever Posted, Hits the Nail Right on the Head - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 06-19-2009, 08:38 PM

Memories from Time Gone By

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I miss “Good to the last drop” and “See the USA in your Chevrolet.” I miss “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.” Just one more time I’d like to soak my hands in Palmolive.

Weren’t times grand when advertisers didn’t resort to using bodily parts and intimacy to sell their wares? The most daring commercial in my youth was the Playtex girdle with the woman saying, “My girdle is killing me.” We never saw her in her girdle, however. I am totally sick of the idea that the only way to sell toothpaste is by showing a beautiful woman caressing her toothbrush. Worse yet, I’m sick of those male commercials — you know the ones. Smiling Bob.

I miss funny sitcoms. Sitcoms without laugh tracks that laugh when nothing is funny. Canned laughter does not make me laugh.

Where do producers find these laughing people? I am not swayed by fake laughter at fake humor. I want to go back to no canned laughter and shows like “I Love Lucy” and “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It To Beaver.” Even “Mayberry” still keeps me entertained even though I’ve seen every episode. I miss having a sitcom to watch each night and looking forward to the family sitting down together during that time.

“The Honeymooners” was a good one too. I miss funny sitcoms. I miss Coke. I will never believe that original Coke is the original Coke. Remember when the company decided to introduce the “new Coke”? Remember how up in arms consumers became over the change? Then the company went back, supposedly, to the old Coke. I don’t know what happened in the process, but the old Coke isn’t the same to me. When I am in Austin, Jon (our son) always has a supply of Cokes that are produced in Mexico. I call them Mexican Cokes. THEY are the real thing. I miss Coke.

I miss good actors. There must surely be another John Wayne or another Clark Gable somewhere in the world. Guy has memorized every John Wayne movie and I fell for Clark Gable in “Gone With The Wind.” I’m looking for actors like Jimmy Stewart in “Harvey,” Charlton Heston as Moses, Gregory Peck in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen” and Grace Kelly in “The Country Girl,” or my all-time favorite Spenser Tracy in “Father of the Bride.” Will there ever be classic actors like these? There are a few like Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Steep, Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley McLaine, but they are all over fifty. Who is coming behind them? Tom Cruise? Brad Pitt? I miss powerful movies with good actors.

I miss fun fashions. Remember the three-inch stretch belts that locked in the front with silver buckles? Sack dresses, pop beads and Keds? All of us girls had an elastic belt, usually in black, that accented (or didn’t) our waists and held up our gathered skirts that were made with a waistband and a zipper on the side. We all learned to make them in Home Ec. Classes out of four yards of cotton. Later, the sack dress, made popular by Twiggy, replaced the full skirts. No more standout slips. Pop beads, which came in all colors, accented our sack dresses and also drove teachers crazy.

Sitting in class with a string of pop beads around our neck WITHOUT popping them was out of the question. We all wore white Keds, especially in the summer. I wore them long after they weren’t in vogue. We polished our Keds back then. I miss fun fashions.

I miss heavy-duty cars. Cars that didn’t dent when someone leaned on the hood or propped up with one leg against the door. Cars that don’t scratch when another car door barely touches it. The cars of the 50’s and 60’s could withstand weight — lots of weight. Go through a stack of pictures made back then and you will see relatives sitting proudly on the hoods of their cars. If they tried this today, the hood would cave in. I felt safer riding in my mom’s ‘55 Mercury than I do in the cars of today, even though we now have airbags and seatbelts. With these flimsy cars, we need them. I miss heavy-duty cars.

I miss little things like Sunday dinners with fried chicken, homemade biscuits, and chocolate pie. Chocolate fudge that was usually so runny it had to be eaten with a spoon. Milk in glass bottles left on the doorstep. Walter Cronkite on the evening news, Johnny Carson on NBC every night, Howdy Doody on Saturday morning, and Captain Kangaroo every morning before school. Oh, I miss so much more, don’t you?

Marvo301 · 06-19-2009, 09:17 PM

Yes the world has changed since I was a child and not for the better. This article is very poignant!

JAlanRuss72 · 06-19-2009, 09:18 PM

Something is definitely missing now-a-days. Nice article.

Mr. Television · 06-19-2009, 09:21 PM

As Archie Bunker would say, "Those were the days."

catlover79 · 06-19-2009, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvo301

Yes the world has changed since I was a child and not for the better. This article is very poignant!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Janice · 06-19-2009, 10:09 PM

Things change, and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. We have the internet today and modern appliances that they didn't have back then. I think of my poor mother with a big family and no take-out places to speak of, and no dishwasher, cloth diapers, the list goes on. More tolerance, which is good. It is a sweet article. I actually long for the 80s, as that was the best decade of my life. I guess we all have our favorite eras. Who wants to live with no remote, lol.

Doodyville10019 · 06-19-2009, 10:17 PM

That's true. I believe that life has gotten much more impersonal these days. No one on the train/bus/other form of public transportation really talks to anyone anymore; no one actually takes time to try and make a new friend. It's all about "me time", "personal space" and "I really don't want to deal with strangers now - I do enough of that at work".

At work, it's all about image - and time plus speed of getting it done equals money.

Schmoopie · 06-19-2009, 11:07 PM

What a great article! And I LOVE how they mentioned Audrey Hepburn! If only there was a way to take the great stuff from back then and mix it with some of the good stuff of today, wouldn't it be a wonderful world?

Andrea

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 06-19-2009, 11:57 PM

Everyone has their own opinions. To be quite honest, it gets a bit annoying to me when people insist that the "old times" were so much better. I doubt it. Nostalgia does wonders on our minds. If we were to go back into the past we'd be no happier, as there would always be problems of some sort. That being said, each time period has it's good points and bad points. I think TV was better quality in the past, as were many actors. But we have good things now, too. Like Janice mentioned, our technology. And of course the medicine we have now, among other things. If things never changed, we'd be bored out of our minds. But that's what nostalgia is for...to reminisce. To actually have that all back would make it so it's no longer as special.

Zoneboy · 06-20-2009, 12:45 AM

I have to agree that the technological advances are much better today. When I was growing up, I never thought I'd be using a pc to communicate with my friends nor did I ever think I would see music evolve from records and tapes to cd's, downloads etc. My dvd recorders are cool but I still miss my Sony Betamax Hi-Fi VCR, That was the best piece of electronic equipment I ever owned and now I hate I sold it. As far as tv shows are concerned, Give me the classics rather than the crap that's on today. In our household we had a tv that was capable of receiving the 3 networks at the time along with a few independent channels and there was almost always something on to watch. After school meant reruns of many great shows including The Munsters, Gomer Pyle USMC, Gilligan's Island, Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, Batman, Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones and many others and now we have capabilty to receive 200 channels or more thanks to a little dish on the side of our house and most of the time I can't find a damn thing to watch.

catlover79 · 06-20-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

What a great article! And I LOVE how they mentioned Audrey Hepburn! If only there was a way to take the great stuff from back then and mix it with some of the good stuff of today, wouldn't it be a wonderful world?

Andrea

*Singing* "What a wonderful world this would be..." Indeed!!

MickeyMac · 06-20-2009, 12:46 PM

I like that article a lot and have to agree with it but Pleasant does make a good point in her post as well. Make no mistake about it TV was better and the music sure as hell was a lot better but that time (and we can assume we are talking about the 50's and 60's) had its problems too. This country was still segregated (and not just in the south either), the cold war, and the whole trauma of Vietnam, assassinations too. There were some good times back them but some turbulent moments as well.

That said I still would love to go back and check it out first hand if it were only possible.

06-19-2009, 08:38 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,439	One of the Best Articles I've Ever Posted, Hits the Nail Right on the Head Memories from Time Gone By Link I miss “Good to the last drop” and “See the USA in your Chevrolet.” I miss “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.” Just one more time I’d like to soak my hands in Palmolive. Weren’t times grand when advertisers didn’t resort to using bodily parts and intimacy to sell their wares? The most daring commercial in my youth was the Playtex girdle with the woman saying, “My girdle is killing me.” We never saw her in her girdle, however. I am totally sick of the idea that the only way to sell toothpaste is by showing a beautiful woman caressing her toothbrush. Worse yet, I’m sick of those male commercials — you know the ones. Smiling Bob. I miss funny sitcoms. Sitcoms without laugh tracks that laugh when nothing is funny. Canned laughter does not make me laugh. Where do producers find these laughing people? I am not swayed by fake laughter at fake humor. I want to go back to no canned laughter and shows like “I Love Lucy” and “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It To Beaver.” Even “Mayberry” still keeps me entertained even though I’ve seen every episode. I miss having a sitcom to watch each night and looking forward to the family sitting down together during that time. “The Honeymooners” was a good one too. I miss funny sitcoms. I miss Coke. I will never believe that original Coke is the original Coke. Remember when the company decided to introduce the “new Coke”? Remember how up in arms consumers became over the change? Then the company went back, supposedly, to the old Coke. I don’t know what happened in the process, but the old Coke isn’t the same to me. When I am in Austin, Jon (our son) always has a supply of Cokes that are produced in Mexico. I call them Mexican Cokes. THEY are the real thing. I miss Coke. I miss good actors. There must surely be another John Wayne or another Clark Gable somewhere in the world. Guy has memorized every John Wayne movie and I fell for Clark Gable in “Gone With The Wind.” I’m looking for actors like Jimmy Stewart in “Harvey,” Charlton Heston as Moses, Gregory Peck in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen” and Grace Kelly in “The Country Girl,” or my all-time favorite Spenser Tracy in “Father of the Bride.” Will there ever be classic actors like these? There are a few like Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Steep, Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley McLaine, but they are all over fifty. Who is coming behind them? Tom Cruise? Brad Pitt? I miss powerful movies with good actors. I miss fun fashions. Remember the three-inch stretch belts that locked in the front with silver buckles? Sack dresses, pop beads and Keds? All of us girls had an elastic belt, usually in black, that accented (or didn’t) our waists and held up our gathered skirts that were made with a waistband and a zipper on the side. We all learned to make them in Home Ec. Classes out of four yards of cotton. Later, the sack dress, made popular by Twiggy, replaced the full skirts. No more standout slips. Pop beads, which came in all colors, accented our sack dresses and also drove teachers crazy. Sitting in class with a string of pop beads around our neck WITHOUT popping them was out of the question. We all wore white Keds, especially in the summer. I wore them long after they weren’t in vogue. We polished our Keds back then. I miss fun fashions. I miss heavy-duty cars. Cars that didn’t dent when someone leaned on the hood or propped up with one leg against the door. Cars that don’t scratch when another car door barely touches it. The cars of the 50’s and 60’s could withstand weight — lots of weight. Go through a stack of pictures made back then and you will see relatives sitting proudly on the hoods of their cars. If they tried this today, the hood would cave in. I felt safer riding in my mom’s ‘55 Mercury than I do in the cars of today, even though we now have airbags and seatbelts. With these flimsy cars, we need them. I miss heavy-duty cars. I miss little things like Sunday dinners with fried chicken, homemade biscuits, and chocolate pie. Chocolate fudge that was usually so runny it had to be eaten with a spoon. Milk in glass bottles left on the doorstep. Walter Cronkite on the evening news, Johnny Carson on NBC every night, Howdy Doody on Saturday morning, and Captain Kangaroo every morning before school. Oh, I miss so much more, don’t you?
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads. Last edited by Zoneboy; 06-19-2009 at 09:20 PM.

06-19-2009, 09:17 PM	#2
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	Yes the world has changed since I was a child and not for the better. This article is very poignant!
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

06-19-2009, 09:18 PM	#3
JAlanRuss72 Eternal Member Eternal Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 22, 2006 Location: Cookeville, TN Posts: 488	Something is definitely missing now-a-days. Nice article.
	__________________ Jeff Russell Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/Jrussell1972

06-19-2009, 09:21 PM	#4
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	As Archie Bunker would say, "Those were the days."
	__________________ Sonny

06-19-2009, 10:17 PM	#7
Doodyville10019 Meet my new friend Sparkie! Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 08, 2008 Location: Competition Square, located in Doodyville Park Posts: 877	That's true. I believe that life has gotten much more impersonal these days. No one on the train/bus/other form of public transportation really talks to anyone anymore; no one actually takes time to try and make a new friend. It's all about "me time", "personal space" and "I really don't want to deal with strangers now - I do enough of that at work". At work, it's all about image - and time plus speed of getting it done equals money.
	__________________ Hi! Hey! Hello again, here we go again!

06-19-2009, 10:09 PM	#6
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Things change, and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. We have the internet today and modern appliances that they didn't have back then. I think of my poor mother with a big family and no take-out places to speak of, and no dishwasher, cloth diapers, the list goes on. More tolerance, which is good. It is a sweet article. I actually long for the 80s, as that was the best decade of my life. I guess we all have our favorite eras. Who wants to live with no remote, lol.

06-19-2009, 11:07 PM	#8
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	What a great article! And I LOVE how they mentioned Audrey Hepburn! If only there was a way to take the great stuff from back then and mix it with some of the good stuff of today, wouldn't it be a wonderful world? Andrea
	__________________ In memory of my wonderful husband. I love and miss you more than words can say, but I will always and forever keep you in my heart. September 23, 1961-January 14, 2019

06-19-2009, 11:57 PM	#9
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	Everyone has their own opinions. To be quite honest, it gets a bit annoying to me when people insist that the "old times" were so much better. I doubt it. Nostalgia does wonders on our minds. If we were to go back into the past we'd be no happier, as there would always be problems of some sort. That being said, each time period has it's good points and bad points. I think TV was better quality in the past, as were many actors. But we have good things now, too. Like Janice mentioned, our technology. And of course the medicine we have now, among other things. If things never changed, we'd be bored out of our minds. But that's what nostalgia is for...to reminisce. To actually have that all back would make it so it's no longer as special.
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

06-20-2009, 12:45 AM	#10
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,439	I have to agree that the technological advances are much better today. When I was growing up, I never thought I'd be using a pc to communicate with my friends nor did I ever think I would see music evolve from records and tapes to cd's, downloads etc. My dvd recorders are cool but I still miss my Sony Betamax Hi-Fi VCR, That was the best piece of electronic equipment I ever owned and now I hate I sold it. As far as tv shows are concerned, Give me the classics rather than the crap that's on today. In our household we had a tv that was capable of receiving the 3 networks at the time along with a few independent channels and there was almost always something on to watch. After school meant reruns of many great shows including The Munsters, Gomer Pyle USMC, Gilligan's Island, Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, Batman, Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones and many others and now we have capabilty to receive 200 channels or more thanks to a little dish on the side of our house and most of the time I can't find a damn thing to watch.

06-20-2009, 12:46 PM	#12
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,008	I like that article a lot and have to agree with it but Pleasant does make a good point in her post as well. Make no mistake about it TV was better and the music sure as hell was a lot better but that time (and we can assume we are talking about the 50's and 60's) had its problems too. This country was still segregated (and not just in the south either), the cold war, and the whole trauma of Vietnam, assassinations too. There were some good times back them but some turbulent moments as well. That said I still would love to go back and check it out first hand if it were only possible.