Good Seasons and Bad Seasons
Have you ever noticed cable/TV programming seems to be much like a roller-coaster, with lots of ups and downs, some slow starts, as well as some head rushing dives. Year after year, we wait for the perfect shows to fill the fall line-up and tweak our interest, providing entertainment for the cold days ahead. Sometimes, we are pleased, but more often than not, we are disappointed. I don’t know about you, but I gave up on cable and now stream what I watch on TV. I really like Netflix and Hulu Plus, which allow for more variety, even bringing back some oldies.
What happened to all the good old programming from gentler times? Let’s see how many of these “oldies” you remember. Some have been seen as re-runs through the years, even if you were not around at the time they were first aired. I will never forget, “dee plane, dee plane” on Fantasy Island, where your wildest dreams could come true. Pick any place and time in your past and get a chance to relive and fix your mistakes, or something you always wanted to do but couldn’t or didn’t. But we found that sometimes fantasies should remain in dreams. And how about being shipwrecked on an uncharted island with seven individual “characters”, each devising schemes to get back to civilization, but, alas, always foiled by Gilligan, on Gilligan’s Island? Harper Valley PTA was inspired by the hit song by Jeannie C. Riley, where a liberated woman encountered finger pointing for her less than moral standards. This liberated mother pointed out that they weren’t so moral either (they simply hid their indiscretions from others) by exposing them at P.T.A. meetings. The Laverne and Shirley show kept us laughing, with plenty of goofy characters. And speaking of laughter, do you remember Moonlighting, when a successful fashion model’s investment manager took off with all of her money, leaving her with only a house and an unprofitable detective agency? The laughs were ongoing as Maddie attempted to deal with a side of life she had never encountered before.
For Sci-fi fans, the Bionic Woman and the Six-Million Dollar Man kept us wishing for their “parts.” And if horror was your game, the Alfred Hitchcock Hour was sure to please. Hitchcock teased viewers before the actual “horror” struck, and believe me it always struck. I loved Charmed, a show about three sisters who returned to live together in the house where they grew up. They soon found they had supernatural powers, that could be used to fight evil forces, and there were plenty of the spooky forces of evil to fight. One of my all-time favorites was Murder She Wrote, about a famous mystery writer who kept “bumping into” murders and solving the crimes. And who wouldn’t love Columbo, a police lieutenant who seems rather dim-witted, but is really crazy like a fox. Oh yes, the housewife turned spy in The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, watching her beat the trained spies at their own game. And bring back Magnum P.I.! It was relaxing just watching “him” and the beautiful scenery in Hawaii.
Oh well, the roller-coaster rolls on with good seasons and bad seasons… good shows and bad shows… but if I get too bored, there’s always something to stream.
