What years in television history would you have loved to experience first hand?

[Crusinforabrusin]

I would've loved to been around when All In The Family premiered so I could experience first hand how people viewed it and all the controversy and criticism that came along with it.

How about you?

[PhoenixAcres]

It would have been nice if I was around in the '60s when escapist TV kicked into overdrive. Lots of fun and creative shows in this time period. Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Green Acres, etc. Being there when they were making new episodes would have been amazing to experience.

[factsoflife]

1994-1995, I was too young to really understand or appreciate just how unique the explosion of popularity that NBC had with Friends, ER, Frasier, Seinfeld, Mad About You really was.

[pkripper001]

From 1975 to the start.The DuMont Television Network dumped there kinescope films,three truck loads worth,in the East River,so there is no second hand viewing to be had. You either experienced it first hand,or before they dumped it all in the river,or not at all.

[AMackII]

1984 to 1999: I would have see every cable channel in each of their own prime years because each of their respective programming schedules were better back then than they are right now.

[JJM]

The mid 1970s, tv at this best!

[Retro4Life]

I think I was very lucky in terms of age when it comes to TV viewing. I was 7 years old when All in the Family premiered and the whole decade that followed is just unequaled in overall quality, IMO.

I think it would have been neat to be around in the 50's when TV was just beginning, though. All the sketch comedies like Milton Berle, Your Show of Shows, Abbott and Costello, etc. would have been great to see (and I think many were live). It also would have been great to see drama like Playhouse 90, Twilight Zone, etc. You'll never see that type of television again.

[factsoflife]

1979-1985 for Daytime Soaps. This is generally considered the time frame in which daytime soaps were reaching their peak popularity and were at their best. I would have liked to be old enough to remember it. Ditto for the fantastic nighttime soaps of the same era.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

1979-1985 for Daytime Soaps. This is generally considered the time frame in which daytime soaps were reaching their peak popularity and were at their best. I would have liked to be old enough to remember it. Ditto for the fantastic nighttime soaps of the same era.

I think you are right about that time period for soaps. At that point I was watching ATWT and Y and R in the daytime, and Dallas, Knots Landing and Dynasty at night. And they were really cooking with gas at that time. I don't think that soaps ever were or have been better.

[icecream]

I would have liked to see classics like American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show live. Those will never be aired today because of music rights.

[broadmoor]

No question. I would have liked to have witnessed the beginnings of television as it grew out in the medium-to-large sized cities in middle-America in the early-1950s. The programming itself might not have been all that stellar, compared to a few years later, but what I would find so richly fascinating is how the burgeoning stations were so reflective of their localities. Local hosts and sponsorships, spread all over the place... Kids shows, cooking/housewife shows, music-talent shows, news shows, and live remotes. All coming from down the street, so to speak. Regional supermarkets and downtown furniture stores, all with live commercials, hosting old-movie reruns in the afternoons and late-evenings. The national networks were present, but just hadn't engulfed the medium. Early television was was more a part of the community, and wasn't yet so 'national' in its scope.

That's what I would have liked to have experienced first-hand. There was a distinct thrill and excitement over those very first, formative years, and it has always come through when I've discussed it with those who were adults back then and remembered it.

[factsoflife]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

I think you are right about that time period for soaps. At that point I was watching ATWT and Y and R in the daytime, and Dallas, Knots Landing and Dynasty at night. And they were really cooking with gas at that time. I don't think that soaps ever were or have been better.

and over at ABC there was the explosion of the Luke & Laura phenom on "GH" not to mention Frisco & Felicia and the entire Robert/Anna/Holly stuff. And Tiffany and Sean! On "All My Children" Erica Kane was in her full glory; Adam Chandler and his twin brother, the mentally challenged Stuart were in full force; Angie and Jesse were the hot couple on the block; Greg and Jenny were the teen love story of a generation and Brooke and Tom were a couple.

On "One Life To Live" you had the glory era of Judith Light as Karen Wolek, Robin Strasser's fantastic work as Dorian opposite Anthony Call as Herb Callison. You had Erika Slezak doing her career-defining work as both Victoria Lord and her alter-ego Nikki Smith. You had the well legendary introduction of the Tina Lord character.

Not to mention the glorious work being done on "Ryan's Hope" and to a lesser extent "Loving."


In Primetime you had Dynasty, Dallas, Knots' Landing, Falcon Crest, Paper Dolls, Bare Essence and numerous others.

[Mace Dolex]

Maybe I'd like to have been old enough to experience Dallas' "Who shot J.R.?" phenomena, I was a kid so obviously my entertainment was cartoons and sitcoms I didn't care for adult dramas.

And the M*A*S*H finale and undertand why so many viewers were glued to their sets watching this, I mean no offense to M*A*S*H's fans but I just don't understand how you can find humor in a war setting?

[UMFaninMD]

1960-1979. I would have loved to see all the great crime dramas live, like Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones, Streets of San Francisco, Mannix, Ironside, Cannon, Kojak, etc. I've been fortunate to see them when they ran in syndication in the 80's and 90's, and on YouTube before the copyright police yanked them. Those were also great years for suspense and horror, with The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, the obscure horror series Ghost Story/Circle of Fear, and all those inventive made-for-TV horror movies that are now considered holy grails. Soap operas were also must-see at this time too. I would kill to watch the early 70's era of Edge of Night, I hear the storylines at the time were cracking.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

I think I was very lucky in terms of age when it comes to TV viewing. I was 7 years old when All in the Family premiered and the whole decade that followed is just unequaled in overall quality, IMO.

I think it would have been neat to be around in the 50's when TV was just beginning, though. All the sketch comedies like Milton Berle, Your Show of Shows, Abbott and Costello, etc. would have been great to see (and I think many were live). It also would have been great to see drama like Playhouse 90, Twilight Zone, etc. You'll never see that type of television again.

I think we grew up at the best time for TV. We had the great TV shows of the 70's at night and we had reruns from the 60's airing in syndication during the day. It was the perfect era for a TV lover. I really miss those days.