COMMENTS

17 responses to “Open Thread Update: Your Must-See TV Favorites”

1. Thanx for the memories!

   Reply to Jean A

2. Oh my…think I could write a book…there were Saturday morning cartoons (followed by a movie at the theater in the afternoon), Fury, My Friend Flicka, Howdy Doody, Uncle Johnny Coons, Ding Dong School, Captain Kangaroo, Kukla Fran & Ollie, Sky King, Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, Twilight Zone, Inner Sanctum, All the TV Westerns of the 60s, Our Gang, Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Cisco Kid, Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers…boy! Lots of TV!

   Reply to Karen Gardner

3. Only being able to watch something at a particular day and time did make it more special. It was family time. Wizard of Oz after Thanksgiving dinner. Weekend shows like Abbot and Costello, Tarzan. So many great shows from the 60’s and 70’s. And you sat and watched it or you missed it.

   Reply to Lori Morel

4. Being a Navy Brat and a latch key kid we couldn’t watch TV until my parents got home because we were actually locked out of the house until Mom got home. So we squacked until we could watch the late afternoon stuff like Mickey Mouse Club, Sky King, Robin Hood, and of course Rocky & his friends when they were aired. I also remember rotating the role of manual remote control between us 4 kids. Some much for homework gettin done:>)

   Reply to William E Smith

5. OMG Virge! The Wizard of Oz after Thanksgiving dinner; The Mickey Mouse Club for sure; Soupy Sales for me also; Sonny Fox; Bozo The Clown; The Million Dollar Movie (movies on repeat, probably regional to NY metro area); and my favorite cartoon – Top Cat.
   Thanks for the memories. I’m sure to enjoy reading everyone’s comments.

   Reply to Cleta Bradwell

   1. I loved Top Cat, too. It was a cartoon perfectly pitched to city kids. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply to Virge

6. There are 3 classic TV shows at Christmas time that I still try not to miss: Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Boris Karloff’s rendition of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “White Christmas”. On rare occasions, I’ll catch the special “John Denver and the Muppet: a Christmas Together”. And I truly enjoy the segment of a Bing Crosby special when he and David Bowie sang a Christmas carol together.

   Reply to Marty O’Reilly

7. Like to see more.

   Reply to Mary

8. I absolutely remember watching Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol every year. In the Philadelphia area, we had Sally Starr, who introduced the cartoons, maybe Bugs Bunny? Friends and I recently traveled down memory lane thinking of old TV shows like My Favorite Martian, Mr Ed, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, etc. And, same as others have commented, we watched Dark Shadows after school. I vaguely remember a show call Gene London’s General Store. How about Walt Disney on Sunday night

   Reply to Dana Meeker

9. The Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Christmas Specials were favorites. Also, in 1968, Apollo 8’s Christmas Eve broadcast while orbiting the moon may have been the best “special” ever.
   Day to day, I have to nominate Rocky and Bullwinkle.
   Saturdays had Sky King, Fury, and the Lone Ranger as well as all the great Looney Tunes cartoons.
   In the summer, daytime TV fave’s were game shows and Art Linkletter.
   I grew up in between Baltimore and Washington, and independent WTTG Ch 5 always had good kid shows.

   Reply to Eric Wallace

10. My brother and I used to watch a show called Wonderama. I enjoyed Sandy Becker, Sonny Fox, and Bob McAllaster as hosts, but Sonny Fox was my favorite. I loved Becker’s silent character, Norton Nork on Sandy Becker’s Fun House. We also watched Shenanigans. When Chuck McCann sang Put on a Happy Face on his show it made my day. I remember The Friendly Giant reading us stories. Then there was Vision On from the BBC. I loved all of these.

    Reply to Virginia S

    1. Wonderama. Yes – I had forgotten that one. Also one of my favorites.

       Reply to Cleta Bradwell

11. We watched Romper Room when very young hoping to hear our name announced! And Captain Kangaroo. After school was Dark Shadows. We watched so many series over the years. Petticoat Junction, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Green Acres, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Maverick and so many more. At Christmas, the animated Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman. Some very good memories.

    Reply to Kim

12. Wasn’t a tv show, but certainly a very special TV memory: The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February, 1964.

    Reply to Anita Coles

13. Wow thanks for the memories! You hit the nail on the head with every comment. Those were the days.
    Precious recollections of the good ole days. I think today’s kids would both enjoy and. benefit from something similar….

    Reply to Janice Messinger

    1. Some mentioned are before my time. I did partake of the early morning cartoons and loved Dark Shadows as a teen, even though it scared me to death! I remember the first big, clunky VCR which I loved because I could record my soap operas. Remember when Dallas came out? That’s one of the first shows I remember that everyone had to be home in time to watch. Other memories: Mr Ed (the talking horse), American Bandstand, Captain Kangaroo and as a young girl I bet I watched Cinderella a hundred times!

       Reply to Debbie Salyer

14. Winky Dink encouraged kids to draw on the TV screen–that’s why you did it. The game came with a sheet of translucent green plastic that a child could attach to the TV without needing glue or tape. Then the Winky Dink program flashed bits of a drawing for you to trace until–magically!–a coherent image emerged. I loved this! You must’ve lost the screen at some point but not your eagerness to play!

    Reply to Ellen Leopold