6 shows 4 sentences 1 decade 1 Piece o' Fluff

The Waltons

Possibly the most disappointing show growing up because it teased you with joy only to consistently deliver melancholy. The cranky grandparents were no fun and somebody was sick all the time. The good times were never that good. It may have been "real" in its portrayal of life, but it was a major downer and was a sort of televised punishment for being home sick from school.

Little House on the Prairie

Also a downer, 19th Century-style. I remember an episode where somebody is blind (probably Laura Ingalls, maybe not) and there's a big brush fire. It was scary and scared me away for good and I never returned. No amount of Michael Landon's tenderness could bring me back.

All in the Family

I didn't get it. Probably well done given those involved, but not entertaining for my young self. Everybody fighting does not equal entertainment. However, "Meathead" remains a great nickname.

CHiPs

Inspired some very deliberate bike riding. I'd go outside during commercial breaks to pretend I was a highway patrolman, and I had the suberbike from that superbike epsiode, even though that bike wasn't all that super. Also, the show almost always featured the cheesy smile freeze frame at the end... a huge plus. Extra bonus points for having Leif Garrett featured in one episode.

Emergency

This was very much in the vein of ChiPs. I had an Emergency 51 fireman's hat that was sweeeeet. This show also had the trademark cheesy endings = great tv. I think they did a couple crossover episodes with ChiPs, or, in my head they did, and those were doubly good.

Mork and Mindy

Another comedy that was more sad than happy for me, perhaps an indication of child-onset Robin Williams Fatigue Syndrome. I was most enthralled by the cool attic room, not unlike our bedrooms growing up. Mork did inspire us to sit on our heads, which was cool. Nannoo nannoo was fun to say.

I think this is a solid (though shallow) concept to return to on low content blog days in the future. No overblown digression or analysis, just a quick romp through our televised past, this time a few choices from the 70's. I encourage this to be used as fodder for debate or further examination, but can just as well be, for now, just fluff.