Television shows stick with us. I can't name a single favorite, but I can think of shows that meant the most to me; the memories they created; and their place in my life.
The first show I associate with childhood was already in re-runs by the time I was watching it, Gilligan's Island.
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Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip,
that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship...
When I played basketball in sixth grade practice started at 5:30, so mom made an early supper I ate in front of TV while watching Gilligan, Skipper, Ginger, Mary Ann, Mr. & Mrs. Howell, and the Professor try to escape their deserted island. It takes me back to my seat on the floor, leaning against the couch with a footstool across my lap as a miniature TV tray.
The Waltons was a staple on CBS and a favorite in our house. The story of a family weathering the depression in the hills of Virginia offered wholesome entertainment. My parents were fans, so I was along for the ride.
Monday Night Football began in 1970. I wasn't watching much as a six-year old, but as I got older my treat was getting permission to watch the first half of the game in my parent's bedroom. You have to understand that in the 1970s there were only two or three college games on TV Saturday afternoons and two games Sunday. That's why Monday Night Football was so attractive to this 6 - 7 year old boy.
It was a different world when I went to college. Cable TV was in its infancy - instead of 500 channels with more options online (which didn't exist) there were three networks plus PBS and some independent stations. ESPN didn't start until 1979.
Most kids didn't have a TV in their dorm room instead we gathered around a set in a room downstairs tuned to MTV which back then only played music videos.
When I worked overnights at WHO; I woke up to Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show. I loved the show, which always put a smile on my face.
Moonlighting debuted March 3, 1985 on ABC and immediately hooked us. Bruce Willis (before Die Hard) and Cybill Shepherd were dynamic stars as mismatched private detectives. Writing made the show with a rapid and intricate dialogue which was a combination of mystery, drama, comedy, and romance. Sadly, Moonlighting isn't available on any streaming service.
Quantum Leap picked up where Moonlighting left off as a science fiction mystery and crime-fighting show about a man who could through time to resolve crimes before they happened. It was weird with a sense of humor.
E.R. took over the living room next as appointment television as we watched the tense drama unfold in County General Hospital in Chicago. We were big fans, but the show ran 15 seasons and we checked out before the plug was pulled.
Cheers and Night Court provided comic relief for ten years stretching from 1982 to 1993. I loved the characters on Night Court as Judge Harry, the Bailiff, prosecutor, and defense attorney fought their way around and through the characters traipsing into court. Cheers went in a different direction with a collection of misfits that found their missing pieces while gathered in a neighborhood tavern.
West Wing (1999 - 2006) worked because of the brilliant scripts spun by Aaron Sorkin that took real and imagined current events then wound them around and through the personal and professional lives of the men and women who worked 24/7 serving their President and the country. It came from a definite point-of-view, but we loved it.
Mad Men (2007 - 2015) captured our and the nation's attention with a stylized look at a New York City ad agency from the end of the 1950s into the changing times of the 60s. The show didn't produce many episodes when compared to typical network programs, but its 92 shows were the definition of appointment television.
Just two programs qualify as my favorite "reality" shows, Deadliest Catch on Discovery and American Pickers on History Channel. I can't imagine surviving a three-hour cruise on a crab boat or being one of the photogs on a crab boat, but it's riveting. Pickers seems like something anyone could do, but few do at a high level. The idea of "rusty gold" in the basement or garage is everyone's dream.
I was too young to see The Andy Griffith Show and Dick Van Dyke Show when they were on network television, but both hold up fifty years later as excellent. I'd argue they are as good as anything on TV today.
Maybe this is why Baby Boomers are sometimes referred to as the TV Generation.
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