TELEVISION

I used to watch a lot more television when I was younger than I do now. I made the decision that TV was not going to run my life and I wasn't going to plan my social activities around which shows I *had* to watch.

When I was a kid, my cousin Shawn and I used to spend every Saturday and Sunday morning watching cartoons (GOOD cartoons, not like the crap on TV nowadays) and talking on the phone to each other for hours until our parents would get out of bed, give us our allowance and then we'd go to the movies or the YMCA. We'd discuss the cartoons we were watching with each other, sing the little commercial jingles to each other and make each other laugh hysterically. There is still nobody that can make me laugh the way he can.

As I grew up, I watched the classic TV shows most people watched: Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Little Rascals,

If I had to choose between the different genres of television and decide which I liked best, I'd probably have to pick sitcoms and game shows. Live is too short to be miserable or think unhappy thoughts so why not watch people laughing and winning stuff?

However, the greatest show ever created has to be Sesame Street. When Jim Henson died, I cried. It was almost like I lost a member of my family. Sesame Street first aired around the time I was born and I grew up with Oscar, Big Bird, Snuffy, Grover, The Count, Guy Smiley, Louise, Gordon, Mr. Hooper and everyone else on the show. Far beyond the stage in my life when watching Sesame Street was "cool", I continued watching anyway. Not only did Sesame Street help me learn my ABCs and 123s but it taught me how to laugh, how to be compassionate, how to recognize "The People in My Neighbourhood", a few words in Spanish (agua, entrada, casa, etc.), the difference between "Near and Far", that "C is for Cookie That's Good Enough for Me", that counting peanut butter sandwiches somehow induces lightning,

Other shows which featured the Muppets like The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock were also favourites. Who could resist the "charms" of Miss Piggy and her karate chops?

My all-time favourite game show is definitely Press Your Luck - (no whammies, no whammies, STOP!) Unfortunately it is no longer currently running but repeats are apparently being aired on the Game Show Network (which I don't get).

There are other game shows which I remember fondly - Match Game, Joker's Wild, Sale of the Century, Let's Make a Deal, Pitfall and my current favourites Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right.

Jeopardy is the only game show I make an attempt to watch on a regular basis.

Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Growing Pains, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Family Ties

Taz Foghorn Leghorn (pic to come later) Sylvester and Tweety

Pinky and the Brain (Itchy and Scratchy?)

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, WonderBug,

Probably one of the most underrated "programs" on TV. Schoolhouse Rocks were not actually programs but more like little "shorts" shown in the place of commercials on ABC. Usually only a few minutes in length each, they made learning fun and taught you something in a few minutes instead of dragging it out and boring you half to death. After over 20 years, I can STILL sing some of the jingles…apparently they had an effect on me!

Some of my favourite Schoolhouse Rocks include:

If it weren't for Schoolhouse Rocks, I may not have learned what a conjunction was. I may not have learned how a bill becomes a law.

I am glad to see that someone out there is smart and started putting some of the schoolhouse rocks shorts back on TV and they've even made a CD available in the record stores called "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks" with current musicians singing some of the tunes. Good Job! (And yes, I own it.)

Star Trek - Original, Star Trek - The Next Generation, Hercules, Xena

There are some dramatic series which I really enjoy. The X-Files is one of them. The premise behind the show is great, not to mention great acting and David Duchovny is certainly not hard on the eyes.

This page last updated 20 March 1999