Television Shows From My Childhood


Welcome to Monday!

Today, Alana,  our musical conductor for the month of June has chosen the theme of TV or Movie themes from our childhood.

As a child, my daily after school routine would be to make cinnamon & sugar toast (super easy to make - butter your bread, sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon. place on a cookie sheet and pop it into the oven until nicely toasted)  or open faced grilled cheese in the oven, then settle in front of the television for about an hour or so before hitting books and doing my homework.


As I became a teenager, the television stopped working and my parents never got around to replacing it. My time was filled with reading books, doing household chores and babysitting (where I could watch all those shows that I was missing!)

I’m sure there’s going to be quite a bit of duplication from those of us in my generation that are participating in this blog hop today. We only had 4 channels  - ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS to choose from. (and YES, we had to get up and trudge through thick shag carpeting to change the channel manually) I don’t mind the duplication today.  It’s fun being nostalgic.

I’ve included in my setlist today, shows that I could think of off the top of my head. I’m sure there are many more that will come to mind once I start reading everyone else’s posts.


A quick rundown of the shows in my setlist:

  • Laverne and Shirley
  • All In The Family
  • The Jeffersons
  • Welcome Back Kotter
  • The Dukes of Hazzard
  • WKRP in Cincinnati
  • Taxi
  • M*A*S*H
  • Barney Miller
  • The Rockford Files
  • Sanford and Son
  • Dragnet
  • Marcus Welby, MD
  • Room 222
  • Gilligan’s Island
  • Mannix
  • Happy Days
  • Andy Griffith Show
  • The Partridge Family
  • The Brady Bunch




What were you watching as a child? Tell me about it in the comments below.


Hey, before you leave, have you voted in the most recent battle of the bands? The battle is dedicated to the dog lovers. I’d really love it if you stopped by that post and cast a vote. Don’t worry, the link will open up a fresh window so you won’t lose your place here.


Don’t forget to visit the other bloggers in this musical bloghop!






Comments

  1. Mary,

    It comes as no surprise that all of your childhood favorites are some of mine since we're close in age. The Dukes of Hazard is a show I only bits and pieces of during my youth. I'm not sure why unless it wasn't aired in a good slot but I remember Catherine Bach being a 70s hottie. All the guys were nuts over her! I'm glad you refreshed my memory with Mannix and Room 222. I totally forgot about these shows. I know I watched them but perhaps not as much as I did the others on your playlist. Great setlist of TV series theme songs!

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    1. There were so many to choose from in this era. I am positive that I overlooked quite a few - such as the westerns - Gunsmoke & Big Valley. This was a fun trip down memory lane.

      ~Mary

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  2. Very cool, since we are from the same era. I mostly went with movie songs. I should have picked Hill St.Blues and St.Elsewhere. Very nice list.

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    1. Oh wow! I completely forgot about those two! I did watch those as well. And now I'm remembering Dallas & Knots Landing. Fun times.

      ~Mary

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  3. It's interesting, so far I haven't seen a lot of repetition. Mike and I both had "Bonanza," but that's it.

    Like me, you probably remember the days before UHF, when you were limited to just whatever channels 2-13 could give you. We were lucky in Chicago, because we had WGN as well as the networks, so we got a lot of syndicated shows as well.

    Nice choices here!

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    1. John, That is great to hear about the lack of repetition. I haven't made my rounds to others yet (it's been a busy morning) But I am interested to see what others have come up with.

      I do remember the days before UHF. And when television sets practically required rabbit ears to function.

      I'll be around soon, I promise :)

      ~Mary

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  4. Great post, Mary! How about the Addams Family (da-da-da-da, click, click...) and the Munsters? The creepy comedies had their debuts SIX days apart, both ran concurrently, and both were cancelled after two seasons!

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    1. Hey Arn!

      Believe it or not, I didn't watch those shows until I was older. Interesting set of facts about those two shows, though.

      Good to see you around!

      ~Mary

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  5. What a great list of shows! We watched a lot of them as teens. Surprised I haven't seen Dark Shadows on any MMMM blogs today.

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    1. Wow!

      I completely forgot about that show. I'm willing to bet that others simply forgot as well. Although, I wasn't allowed to watch it when I was younger - so that might account for why I didn't think about it.

      ~Mary

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  6. I remember all of those TV series and theme songs. Childhood for me was a decade earlier, though, with shows like Bonanza, Leave it Beaver, The Addams Family, Bewitched, etc.

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    1. Oh yeah.. I used to watch Bonanza as well. And I loved Bewitched (hated when they switched Darrens though) Can't believe I forgot about Bewitched!

      ~Mary

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  7. I love the ones you have here and I had to listen to Mannix and Room 222 and forgot how much i know these. Brings back fond memories. I'm glad you have Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family. I just watched a documentary about David Cassidy in his last year making a CD in honour of his dad...very sad. I would add Bonanza, High Chapparel, My 3 Sons, Mary Tyler Moore, The Carol Burnett Show, Lost in Space and The Land of the Giants

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    1. Nice Additions, Birgit!

      Of these, I watched Bonanza, My 3 Sons, Mary Tyler Moore, and The Carol Burnett Show.

      ~Mary

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  8. >>... and YES, we had to get up and trudge through thick shag carpeting to change the channel manually

    Ha!-Ha! Yip! That's right. And it was 18 miles and uphill in each direction.

    The Andy Griffith Show, All In The Family, and WKRP In Cincinnati are still amongst my Top Ten favorite shows in TV history and I own them on DVD.

    A few others on your list, while not Top Ten, would still rank highly on my All-Time Favorites list -- such as Taxi, Rockford Files, and Barney Miller. And, I confess, I'm still hot for Susan Dey! ;^)

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'

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    1. And don't forget having to stand in exactly the same position without moving or the antennae wouldn't work properly!

      insert sarcasm WHAT?!? no M*A*S*H on your list of favorites?

      ~M

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  9. I know the shows and the themes but I didn't ever watch most of these. During that television era I wasn't watching much TV. For years--until I was in high school--we only had a B & W TV with a 21" or less screen. Didn't know much else and it was fine at the time.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Lee,

      While I watched some tv, it didn't rule my life. We were encouraged to spend our time outdoors.

      A little known fact about me - a second cousin to one of my ancestors was a Scottish engineer and one of the inventors of the mechanical television. When I was 10, my parents moved to Rigby, Idaho - the place where Philo Farnsworth invented the first fully functioning all-electronic television.

      Even with these influences in my life - I only watched tv for maybe an hour or two and didn't go to many movies. I think I turned out alright as well :)

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  10. What a trip down memory lane your playlist was. It went through my childhood and early adulthood and included several of my favorite TV shows - All in the Family, M*A*S*H (especially once it hit its stride) and Room 222. All of these series made you think - something more of us could use more of (thinking) nowadays.

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    1. Thanks Alana! This was a fun theme. Nice choice :)

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  11. Hey Mary,
    Wow, it's Saturday already! And I'm just now finding time to make the rounds. I doubt I'll have time to do the Monday freebie...
    I for sure remember all these shows. Most of them I incorporated into my 2016 A-Z when I did the Classic TV Theme Songs collection. That was such a fun trip down memory lane.
    Did you know that Room 222 is still airing? At least it was a few months ago. I actually caught a few episodes of it and it was wonderful to see that innocent age again...

    Have to run and make the rounds. Sorry this is so short...

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. Hey Michele!

      I didn't know that Room 222 was still airing. Of course, I haven't really watched much tv in the past decade.

      This week has gone by far too quickly. I just barely slapped together my post for Monday myself.

      There's still time to get your vote in for the battle :) I'm not posting results until Monday.

      Thanks for dropping by!

      ~Mary

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  12. Even though I was born in the late 80s, my favorites were a combination of new and old shows. For example, I liked Brady Brunch, Jetsons, and Flintstones but also like shows on PBS (Wishbone and Carmen Sandiego) and Fox (Power Rangers).

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