Time and time again, on television, they dredge up shows I hated back in the 60s, 70s and 80s and replay them, claiming gleefully that these are ‘OUR FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOWS’.
Whose? Not mine. I like to think that even back then, I did not suffer from brain rot. AND I don’t like being told that these mouldy reels are MY favorite shows when they are not. So, I’ve decided to compile a list and welcome any additions you, who probably by being on the SDMB, have above average opinions, would choose to made.
I (DO NOT!!!)** Love Lucy**. I hated Lucy and her inane, annoying ‘WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!’ and the STUPID things she did.
The Brady Bunch. (Oh PLEEEAAAAASSSEE give me a BREAK! Far too nicey-nice. BOORING! One season was enough, but they BROUGHT THEM BACK - again and again and again!)
The Partridge Family. – (A bit better than the Bradys, but ONE season was enough.)
Speed Racer — (ACK! BLEACH! I hated that cheap, Japanese/English dubbed cartoon from the very beginning! IT’S BAAACK! The Cartoon Channel has either a VERY low budget or morons select the reels. It should have been tossed into the garbage when it first appeared.)
Bewitched – (One season was quite enough, thank you. Ever wonder why Darin was such a noodge about Samantha using her powers to improve THEIR lifestyle? Especially with his excruciatingly annoying boss, Larry pestering him most of the time?)
By the time the 90s rolled around, I figure the reruns of these shows probably sold at a penny a reel, which is why some channels started buying them up and informing us that they are ‘OUR’ favorite TV shows. (Not mine! Maybe yours?)
Hey, I agree with you except about Speed Racer, which I don’t remember well enough to have any opinion on. Your comment about Bewitched struck a cord with me - what kind of a stupid mortal would forbid witchcraft? I mean, bring on the nose-wiggling, baby! Clean up the house, fix the garage, repaint … no, scratch that. Turn the house into a mansion.
Anyway, I like to take a deconstructionist approach to the show. To wit: the show was actually a highly subversive reflection on gender relations in the 50s and 60s - women had fabulous powers, but men were so threatened by them that they were willing to hurt themselves and their families to prevent those powers from being used. Samantha Stevens is the ultimate valium-laden Stepford wife; she can only use her magic on the sly, yet she is inexplicably cheerful and sated about her marriage to a thoroughly mediocre male. Her daughter shares her limitless feminine powers, yet has not the world experience to understand those powers. Her abilities are treated only as a novelty by her parents, not as a serious path to the future. The experienced mother / mother-in-law is powerless to affect the nuclear family, except in temporary and superficial ways.
But you can disregard all that if you don’t like deconstructing sitcoms.
That which does not kill me just makes me really irritable
Your comment about Bewitched struck a chord with me. Not a cord. Cords do not respond. Or if they do, it’s cause you kicked them out of the wall, and you computer dies, and you have to cold boot and re-write your dissertation.
Gilligan’s Island and Three’s Company have always annoyed me. I’m willing to suspend reality for a good concept, but Gilligan was just soooooo bad! Which confuses the hell out of me, because that is exacly why I like Speed Racer!
“The large print givith, and the small print taketh away.”
Tom Waites, “Step Right Up”
I’m with ya Rainbow! Well, except for Speed Racer. I actually liked that cartoon. It was the first taste we Americans got of anime, even if it was crap. It also was about a race car driver, which is inherently cool! All the others can go straight in the trash as far as I’m concerned though. Then again, I say that about almost any sitcom, old or new. I didn’t even have cable until I decided to invite people over for NYE and thought it would be mean to deprive them of watching the ball drop. Now I’m addicted to TLC, Discovery and the likes.
oh, lordy, i agree on all of them (except for ‘speed racer’, which i only vaguely recall. must have been a a guy thing.)!
then add:
carol burnett
red skelton
lawrence welk (my parents loved that show. big surprise, huh?)
miss america pagents
every damn jerry lewis telethon ever
all the oscar/emmy/golden globe/whatever award shows
this is your life w/ ralph edwards (my mom’s all-time fave)
johnny carson
sky king
all daytime soaps & talk shows ever (aren’t people embarassed to watch that shit?)
every game show ever–including jeopardy. jeez, get a life.
{gag, strangle, gag} please, no one ever bring any of 'em back in re-runs. pretty please.
I really thought I liked Speed Racer, watching it in the late 70s. Looking back on it all now, I think I smoked way too much grass in college. If the Cartoon Channel had existed back then, millions of us would have never graduated, sparing our great country, and society, from our twisted career paths.
I liked Speed Racer when I was a kid, but I have some vague memory fo my mom not letting me watch it. I don’t remember why. I’ll have to ask her.
I still like SR, but his brother and that monkey make me crazy. And can anyone help me out here–did Spped racer ever find out the truth about Racer X???
Hey! Watch your mouth about Speed Racer – you’re talking about the man I love! (Not to mention the subject of my first erotic dream. I was like 5! Whadda you expect?)
Marge: “You know, Homer, it’s very easy to criticize.”
Homer: “Fun, too!”
Bewitched is fun to watch just for the rampant sexual harrassment, especially among Darrin’s “clients”. Seems like there was always a drunk trying to get in Samantha’s pants, or a sleazy woman after Darrin. (Clueless, huh?)
And talk about a long suffering woman! Both Darrins treated her like a piece of furniture.
That series just cries out for a spoof, or a re-make.
The best episodes had Sam giving some snotty bitch her comeuppance. Even if it was just a piece of spinach on the teeth.
Every episode I ever saw of Speed Racer, I always wanted to yell at the TV “Speed,you stupid asshole! Those stupid fucks Spritel (sp?) and Chim-chim are in the trunk again!! You never check, jackass! And while we’re at it, are you ever going to nail Trixie or what?”
Reading it over, this is a pretty disturbing post. Oh well, I always rooted for the Coyote, too. Don’t get me started on that.
Speed Racer and Bewitched are two of my favourite TV shows, but…
I have to agree with the people who said Spridle (Speed’s li’l brother) is an annoying little sot and Darrin is a twerp. (Why do I like Bewitched if I dislike Darrin so? ::Shrug:
I hated Speed Racer – with the conversation going like 3,000 miles an hour because the dumb Japs initially made it for Jap TV. (Curious though, the characters were Caucasian in looks.) Speeds’ little brother needed to have his ass kicked thoroughly and that monkey needed to be shoved in a cage.
Carol Burnett was awful! With her crew of assholes, they bored the piss out of me and one of her character spin-offs. ‘MOMMA’ is on even now, creating a whole new level of nausea for the television generation!
I really got pissed off at most of the cartoons of the 60s when they went to that cheap WB animation, where you could always tell which part of an inanimate object, like a tree branch, was going to drop off because it WAS PAINTED A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT COLOR! Plus the animation became sucky. Curious to note here, the old, good cartoons were made by, like, 6 people. The 60s ones were made by, like about 100 and today’s computer graphic assisted animations come with a whopping 250 or more names attached! (Most are Japanese or Korean.)
Speaking of cartoons, whatever happened to the cool MTV late night ‘weird’ cartoons, like ‘Oddities’ and such? Now all they play is that shitty, black rap video crap.
All the others can go straight in the trash as far as I’m concerned though. Then again, I say that about almost any sitcom, old or new. I didn’t even have cable until I decided to invite people over for NYE and thought it would be mean to deprive them of watching the ball drop. Now I’m addicted to TLC, Discovery and the likes.