Return With Us Now To The Days Of Yesteryear
I am a fan of television. Ask anyone that knows me well enough to have ever asked me a question about television, and more than likely I know the answer. I do not know why, but I have a propensity for TV trivia. The depths of my trove of useless knowledge go so far as to knowing things about shows I have NEVER watched. I do not know how this is possible but it is. There are a lot of shows on today that I should be watching regularly that I do not. There are just too many. I enjoy the old days when there were 5-6 channels to choose from.
I like to watch the re-runs of shows from when I was growing up, and even the re-runs of the shows that were re-runs when I was growing up. Nick at night used to be my favorite channel with shows like Car 54 Where Are You, Dobie Gillis, 77 Sunset Strip, etc. Cartoon Network was great for this as well when it first started, playing cartoons like
Funky Phantom, Speed Buggy, Wacky Races before Tim and Eric had an Awesome Show and did a great job. (I still don’t understand that show)
While those channels have gone on to other things and “better” programming, there are still a few places to catch some of that great television of yore. For a while, in Chicago at least, channel 26 The U has been a haven of old programming. It is, at times, a throwback to the classic UHF stations when I was growing up. All they could afford were the 3rd and 4th run programming. They still run The 3 Stooges on the
weekends and let Svengoolie out of his coffin as well.
For cartoons, Boomarang has been good for some of the old classics but unfortunately, I can’t get that. Best I can do is occasionally catch an episode or two of JabberJaw on demand.
There are also 2 other channels in the area that all they do is play the classics. MeTV and MeToo. They have everything from The Addams Family to Wild, Wild West and everything in between. Seriously, you can watch Combat … or T.J. Hooker!
A new station has also entered the mix on the throwback TV bandwagon … HUB. Now, granted, this is a channel for kids, and they have a lot of kid’s programming but … they also play Fraggle Rock, the original Transformers and the campy Batman show with Adam West!!!! Who can’t get on board with that?
It is true what they say, what is old is new again. I am glad that these shows are seeing a new audience. This is from when television is good. These are the originals, not crappy remakes. Speaking of remakes … I was recently watching Galactica 80 on Hulu and I had totally forgotten that they introduced human looking Cylons way back then.
Well, have a fabulous Festihanuchristmakwanzadan everyone and see you next year with the Year in Celebrity Deaths wrap up.
December 23, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Where do I find HUB? I’m so looking for some Fraggle Rock right now.
December 23, 2010 at 1:30 pm
On my Comcast, it is Ch. 130. It replaced Discovery Kids so I think that is where it should be on other Comcast franchises or other providers.
December 23, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Oh, man. Whenever I wear my Scooby Doo tee shirt, kids just freak out. (The shirt is very old.) When I first got it, um… at least 15 years ago, I was shocked by the kids who knew who Scooby was, but thanks to cable, they all know!
December 29, 2010 at 8:44 am
The problem is that they keep making HORRIBLE Scooby Doo movies. I have watched a few…they suck.
December 28, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I lurve me some Dobie Gillis! And the Dick VanDyke show. And who can’t get behind Batman? POW! ZOWIE! Those were the days.
December 29, 2010 at 8:44 am
They were the days, and unfortunately … or fortunately … depending on who you ask … those are still the days in my mind lol
January 2, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Loved Speed Buggy and Wacky Races. I was also obsessed with the Brady Bunch Cartoon. Sat. mornings in the 70’s were epic. Some of today’s cartoons just frighten me. The suck factor is too high to measure.
January 3, 2011 at 7:22 am
I can’t even watch most of the cartoons today. I am not into anime which seems to be EVERYTHING and cartoon network doesn’t even have many cartoons anymore. Very sad state of affairs. My baby girl will be watching DVDs of old cartoons when she is old enough!