Misty Technicolor Memories
Jul 1st 2007
Suzanne EnochOn Writing!
Now that everything in the world is coming out on DVD (i.e. CHiPs), I’ve recently watched some television shows that I loved when I was younger — but now find haven’t…held up over time.
Of course there are also shows that still delight me. I’m a proud owner of all seven seasons of MacGyver, 
and will get the second season of The Muppet Show as soon as it comes out. I’m also working on Moonlighting and own The A-Team.
Which shows did you love when you were growing up? Have they held up over time? Which shows did you look forward to then, that now you look at and can’t figure out what you were thinking (i.e. CHiPs)?
36 Comments »
36 Responses to “Misty Technicolor Memories”
MizMacgyver on 01 Jul 2007 at 8:38 am #
Well, like you C.H.I.P.S. just don’t get it anymore. Not that I still don’t like to look at the bodies but it doesn’t hold my attention anymore.
Bethany Hamilton on 01 Jul 2007 at 9:38 am #
Most of what I watched growing up is still on air now :D, Law & Order (the original), the A&E mysteries (Poirot, etc), City Confidential, and just for something a little different, I watched Gilligan’s Island reruns, and quite a few other oldies in syndication. When TVLand first came out, that was my favorite TV station to watch! Of course, now it’s filled with stuff that isn’t exactly old anymore *sigh* Why do they always mess with a good thing?!?
I think a few went off air, but it was so recent, I think they would be the same for me. Murder, She Wrote, Homicide. (Jeez, do you think I have some infatuation with death? lol)
My grandmother loved crime shows, and so that’s what I grew up watching. Of course, I watched cartoons and stuff too, but those never get better - only worse! The ones I watched fifteen years ago are much better than the ones they have on now!
Julia London on 01 Jul 2007 at 10:08 am #
Charlie’s Angels was big when I was a kid. But I saw an episode not too long ago. The plot holes were enormous. The acting not so great. The angels not really believable as tough as nails do-gooders. And talk about skinny! That may be my permanent obsession with weight these days, but I don’t remember them being that skinny. Then again, I was a lot thinner back in the day
Sabrina Jeffries on 01 Jul 2007 at 10:33 am #
Julia, I’m the same about Charlie’s Angels. Loved it, but can’t watch it now. Miami Vice holds up a little better, but it still seems somewhat cheesy. Actually, although I love TV, I don’t watch many reruns of shows from when I was younger, and I don’t have any seasons of anything on DVD or tape. Go figure.
Suzanne Enoch on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:02 am #
Bethany, you’re obviously too young to remember the classics: S.W.A.T., STARSKY AND HUTCH, THE A-TEAM, STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, IRONSIDE, EMERGENCY!, the one with Mark Harmon & Matthew Perry’s dad (they were a mountain rescue team or something like that)…
There’s one show that I remember that I wish I could find again just to see if it was funny, or funny to an 8-year-old — WHEN THINGS WERE ROTTEN, a Robin Hood spoof from Mel Brooks.
twolilhahas on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:05 am #
I don’t have any seasons of anything on DVD, either. But I will sit through reruns of Full House. I loved the Friday night lineup when I was a kid. Full House, Boy Meets World, Family Matters, Step by Step. I also loved The Cosby Show (and that definitely holds up). I haven’t seen any of them recently except Full House, and I liked it.
Kathryn Smith on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:21 am #
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. Season 2 is coming and I want it — plot holes and all.
Love, love, love MacGyver. Suzie, how does it hold up? I love the Muppet Show too — that’s just timeless. I have the first season and hope to snag the second.
Also, I wish the Bionic Woman would come on out DVD. And the 6 Million Dollar Man. I’m looking forward to NBC’s new take on it this coming season, but I wanted to be Jamie Summers so bad when I was a kid!
Claudia Dain on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:40 am #
Oh boy, now I really feel old! *G*
I think Magnum PI has held up pretty well. The humor is still funny and the pacing works. I used to love Starsky and Hutch, but haven’t bothered to watch it since it went off the air, I think half fearing it would ruin my fond memories of it!
Charlie’s Angels…I was IN COLLEGE when that was popular and we’d gather around the single sorority TV to watch it as a group, laughing the whole time at how stupid it was. But the clothes were cool.
I just don’t enjoy watching old shows. New, new, new! I’m all about what’s happening now. Am I the perfect consumer or what?
Never saw the attraction of Chips or Erik Estrada. He acted with his teeth. LOL I was married with children when MacGyver came out and we LOVED to watch that as a family. I can’t imagine that show wouldn’t hold up, though my feeling is that most shows of even 10 years ago feel slow today. The pacing on everything has just zoomed to warp speed, which I totally like.
Jami Alden on 01 Jul 2007 at 12:06 pm #
Dukes of Hazzard, anyone? Even as a kid I never understood why Daisy wore those thick skater pantyhose under her shorts, and now it’s even more baffling. Lately though, I’ve been noticing this phenomenon more with books than with TV shows. I recently tried to read a new book by an author that I absolutely adored when I was a teenager, only to find that I couldn’t deal with all the overwrought emotion and overuse of exclamation points. It kind of made me sad, like when I tried to eat a twinkie after not having had one for over a decade. Instead of luscious sponge cake and creamy sweetness, all I got was a mouthful of processed chemical nastiness.
Lismore on 01 Jul 2007 at 12:28 pm #
Oh gosh, I loved Emergency! Huge crush on Randolph Mantooth who played Johnny Gage (okay, I had to google it to remember the names
Wild Wild West. I would rush home from school to watch it.
Petticoat Junction. Anyone remember that show?
Ah, memory lane.
Bethany Hamilton on 01 Jul 2007 at 1:07 pm #
I LOVE PETTICOAT JUNTION!!
That was one of my favorites when TVLand first aired. I can still sing the theme song
Suzanne, I like Mathew Perry, does that count? lol Although…even he’s a little old for me
I will say I like the older shows MUCH better than the junk they are putting out today. The only really good shows I like, that are still putting out new episodes, are CSI, and FBI Files. I don’t even like the CSI spinoffs, only the original.
I’ve noticed that alot too, every since I’ve started taking my writing seriously and have really started to learn the craft, alot of my once favorite movies are falling very low on my list. Quite a few of them don’t even have solid GMCs!
It’s funny how the more you know, the more critical you become.
Suzanne Enoch on 01 Jul 2007 at 1:15 pm #
LOL, Jamie — Daisy Duke’s shiny legs.
One show I never liked, even though it was highly praised at the time, was ALL IN THE FAMILY. I just never “got” it, I guess. And I think the only episode of DALLAS I ever watched was to find out who shot JR.
Oh, and I remembered the name of the Harmon/Perry show. It was 240-ROBERT. Hah. I have a memory like a steel trap. *g*
TheNightPoet on 01 Jul 2007 at 2:23 pm #
I watched Full House, Family Matters (Urkel anyone? lol), and Home Improvement. I don’t really have a show that I watch on a regular basis now. I watch re-runs of Full House and Family Matters every once in a while and once Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ character, Randy, was written off Home Improvement (so J.T.T. could go to college), I tried to watch the show afterwards, but it just wasn’t the same. So I stopped watching it. I miss good wholesome family shows like those that I grew up on. There’s not much like those shows on tv now.
Andrea
Brandy on 01 Jul 2007 at 2:37 pm #
Does anyone remember the show, I can’t remember the name, about the guy who has a watch that takes him and a teenage boy through time? THAT I remember watching, along with the A-Team when I was young. And Charlies Angles, The Fall Guy and Chips. But now? I find the shows unbelievable and hard to watch.
Sabrina Jeffries on 01 Jul 2007 at 3:02 pm #
I still like Cosby show, too, twolilhahas. And Home Improvement, too.
Jami Alden on 01 Jul 2007 at 3:24 pm #
Brandy - that was Voyagers, starring Jon-Erik Hexum, who tragically died when he shot himself in the head with a prop gun. I loved that show!
Kay on 01 Jul 2007 at 6:06 pm #
The Muppet Show still ROCKS! My Dh and I love it. I bought the first season as soon as it came out.
I loved Mork and Mindy, but haven’t seen it in years. I would love to see it again, to see if it held up.
WKRP anyone?! We just got the first season. THEY CHANGED THE MUSIC!!! Something to do with copyrights. AHHHHHHH.
IT’s still a hoot, but very dated. We watched the Thanksgiving episode several times,a nd still laughed our a**** off.
Sabrina Jeffries on 01 Jul 2007 at 6:43 pm #
My dh and I LOVE WKRP, but haven’t seen it in years. I loved Cheers, too, and still watch it if I’m desperate. Oh, I would love to watch Mork and Mindy. I was a huge fan.
Suzanne Enoch on 01 Jul 2007 at 6:49 pm #
Kay, I totally remember the Thanksgiving episode of WKRP. “Who knew that turkeys couldn’t fly?” (That was after they tossed them out of a helicopter as a publicity stunt for those of you who never saw it.)
I’m curious to see MORK AND MINDY again, too. It was so great when it first aired — or I thought so, anyway.
Brandy on 01 Jul 2007 at 6:57 pm #
Does anyone remember the episode of WKRP where Johnny and the other DJ were doing a public service thing about drinking and driving and how reflexes are slower, but Johnny kept getting better and better the more he drank and the Trooper who was running the test was flabergasted?! I LOVE THAT EPISODE!
I introduced my 5 year old Son to the Muppet Show, he adores it!
lisapbailey on 01 Jul 2007 at 7:42 pm #
When I was a young girl I think the big Friday night treat was The Brady Bunch and then some other night we’d watch the Rockford Files. I’m not saying I’d like to watch multiple reruns of either of those now but I’d watch a few episodes for kicks!
I can watch the John Belushi, Gilda Radner era of Saturday Night Live over and over!
Bethany Hamilton on 01 Jul 2007 at 7:49 pm #
I liked All in the Family (obviously one of the many shows I watched in syndication). Maybe I just liked the whole political thing, and I could relate to Archie arguing with EVERYTHING Michael said. Reminds me of my father…even when he’s dead wrong, if I say it, he’s gotta argue.
I never cared at all for those brady bunchish shows. Full House, Home Improvement, didn’t like any of them. I think they were just too cheesey for my tastes :D.
Karen Hawkins on 01 Jul 2007 at 7:56 pm #
I loved SNL! It doesn’t seem as fresh to me, although Will Ferrell revived it. And I’ll forever be a Muppet Show fan. (Suzanne E, you have EXCELLENT taste in shows!)
My dad was a huge mystery fan when I was growing up. He loved The Rockford Files and McMillian and Wife. Now he’s all about CSI.
Karen Rose on 01 Jul 2007 at 8:47 pm #
Oh, the Hardy Boys mysteries. I had such a HUGE crush on Shawn Cassidy. His was the first (and only) poster I hung on my bedroom wall. He wore this little cap and his hair … oh his hair was perfection! I used to make up excuses to stay home from church on Sunday night to catch my Hardy Boys fix. (Nobody tell my mother.) He used to shake that cute butt and sing Da Doo Run Run. Those were the days.
One that had us rolling in college, but that hasn’t held up is SCTV - Second City TV, the original TV forum for John Candy, Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone) and Andrea Martin (Fat Greek Wedding). DH and I went back and watched and it’s really cheesy - although they did this thing with finger puppets featuring Julia Child and King Friday from Mr. Rogers that still has me chuckling.
WKRP and the turkeys - I lived in Cincinnati for 15 years and everyone I knew LOVED that show - for the turkeys alone. Of course Lani Anderson’s assets didn’t hurt, I imagine.
Karen Rose on 01 Jul 2007 at 8:49 pm #
My favorite though was TAXI and the episode where Jim was trying to get his drivers license.
Jim: What do you do at a yellow light?
Bobby, whispering: Slow down.
Jim, slowing down: Whaaat do you dooo at a yelllow liiiight?
Bobby, hissing: SLOW DOWN.
This went on for five minutes and DH and I still roll when we see the reruns. Latka and Louie and the hairdresser who messed up Elaine’s hair? That’s classic TV.
SuzyQ on 01 Jul 2007 at 9:28 pm #
My favorite shows to watch were the re-runs of I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. I still love to see those shows today. I also used to watch the re-runs of The Munsters, and Gilligan’s Island.
LOL Karen - Jim’s character was the best.
Another of my favorites that I can still watch today (and it still makes me laugh) is the Carol Burnett show. I think these are out on DVD now.
Stacy ~ on 01 Jul 2007 at 10:58 pm #
Oh yeah Emergency and 240-Roberts. Loved those shows. And the Dukes of Hazard. V. Growing Pains. Boy Meets World. Life Goes On. My So-Called Life. X-Files. Dawson’s Creek. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Beauty and the Beast. So many I want to get on DVD, so little money….
Sandi on 02 Jul 2007 at 6:49 am #
I have tons of television on DVD. I have Roseanne, The Cosby Show, I Love Lucy, Golden Girls, Friends, Cheers, Frasier, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Munsters, Addams Family. Do you see my addiction?
I love old tv…always have and probably always will!
When I go to bed I often pop in an I Love Lucy DVD and yell to Sally, the dog…Sally it’s I Love Lucy time, and she comes running.
Sandi
cail on 02 Jul 2007 at 7:41 am #
Home Improvement, Step By Step, Boy Meets World, Hey Dude, Salute My Shorts…
all great shows.
elsiehogarth on 02 Jul 2007 at 9:10 am #
The Box sets I have that I watch over and over again are:
Remington Steele, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Laverne & Shirley, Odd Couple, the Munsters, Mork & Mindy, I dream of Jeannie, Beauty & the Beast & Bewtiched.
Karen Hawkins on 02 Jul 2007 at 10:08 am #
Do you all remember the Emergency show where the woman was stuck in her girdle? And when it came off finally (off camera, of course) it snapped into John’s face?
I loved that show!
colinfirthfan on 02 Jul 2007 at 1:10 pm #
Admitedly, I have only seen these shows on videos but I used to love watching Starsky and Hutch and The A-team.
Still like The A-team. Haven’t watched Starsky and Hutch recently. Used to also watch Hunter and Heart to Heart(?)
One of my all time fave shows is MIND YOUR LANGUAGE (1977 - BBC). I watched this in the late 80s when I was 15 and loved it.
Another one is - DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (again 1970’s BBC) watched only in the late 80s but I loved it then and I am dying to get my hands on it now.
BethanyHamilton on 02 Jul 2007 at 1:16 pm #
How could I have forgotten all of those hysterical BBC shows??
The Bucket Woman still cracks me up :D.
Are You Being Served was another good one…the movies was an absolute classic! There’s was another one…with the old lady and old guy in the nursing home. Can’t remember the name, but that was another great one
Aemelia on 02 Jul 2007 at 10:02 pm #
Little House on the Prairie was my favorite show…I still watch it, and cry…or laugh, depending on the show. I used to pretend to be Laura, I even had bonnet & dress like she wore to play in!
Bethany Hamilton on 02 Jul 2007 at 10:27 pm #
I used to play as Calamity Jane (The musical with Doris Day) My mother bought me an outfit, right down to the shoes and toy cap gun. Cowboys and Indians was so much more fun than Cops and Robbers. Oh what an unPC world we all grew up in!
Karen Hawkins on 04 Jul 2007 at 3:04 pm #
Oh my gosh, I looove ARE YOU BEING SERVED!
And ohhh, how I loved Remington Steele. She was so CUTE and so EARNEST and he was so SEXY and CHARMING! Makes me think of Suzanne Enoch’s contemporaries, in a way, those two.