# What shows were on TV during the dinner hour when you were a kid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984 "2014-08-06T22:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/1 "2014-08-06T22:44:46Z")
When I was growing up, the schedule on the channel I usually watched was: 5-6: Brady Bunch 6: Three’s Company 6:30: Laverne & Shirley 7: Three’s Company 7:30: Taxi This was the Boston area early to mid 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/2 "2014-08-06T22:55:07Z")
_The Tonight Show_. We ate late. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/3 "2014-08-06T22:57:22Z")
Vietnam. We seemed to have the news on then usually. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/4 "2014-08-06T22:59:57Z")
There were no TVs where I grew up. You really cannot grasp that, can you? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/5 "2014-08-06T23:00:24Z")
I just remember the 6:30 and 7:30 showings of MASH. Monday was the best day, because you got to watch MASH three times – two reruns plus a new episode. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/6 "2014-08-06T23:01:54Z")
Mid-'60s. This was long before cable, and my Dad refused to have a rooftop antenna, so our choices were the local NBC outlet or a snowy CBS station about thirty miles away. Thus our choices were the Huntley-Brinkley or Walter Cronkite National news programs. As if we’d ever watch TV at dinnertime, however. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/7 "2014-08-06T23:12:19Z")
I remember a lot of Hogan’s Heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/8 "2014-08-06T23:12:22Z")
We didn’t watch TV while we ate. Even if we had had more than one TV, I don’t think my dad would have eaten with it on. My daughter and I, however, watched TV all the time while we ate because my husband was rarely home. When she was little it was Sesame Street, when she was older Saved by the Bell or some other sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/9 "2014-08-06T23:12:26Z")
_ **Dobie Gillis** _ or _ **Truth and Consequences** _ at 6:00, depending on the year. _ **Combat!** _ at 6:30 on Tuesday nights from October 1962 through the summer of 1967. This was followed by _ **Garrison’s Gorillas** _ in the 1967-68 season and (I think) _ **It Takes a Thief** _ in 1969–70. _ **Batman** _ at 6:30 on Wednesday and Thursday nights from January 1966 through March 1968. _ **Rat Patrol** _ at 6:30 Monday nights from September 1966 through March 1968. _ **Time Tunnel** _ on Friday nights in 1966–67. _ **The Avengers** _ on Monday nights in 1968–69. _ **Star Trek** _ five nights a week starting in 1969; I can’t remember if it was on at 6:00, 5:00, or 5:30. I did have to decide between it and the syndicated version of _ **To Tell the Truth** _. _ **Tic Tac Dough** _ and _ **The Joker’s Wild** _ were on at roughly the same time, too, but in different years. I remember watching reruns of _ **Gilligan’s Island** _ and _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _, but they were probably on earlier (between 4:00 and 5:00). This was in Minneapolis up to the early '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/10 "2014-08-06T23:25:44Z")
None – my father wouldn’t allow a TV in the house until I was about 15. Even then, it wasn’t turned on during dinnertime. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/11 "2014-08-07T00:14:35Z")
When I was younger What’s happening, Welcome Back Kotter and the Brady Bunch were after school shows (also the 4:30 Movie when it was Monster Week or Apes week). Dinner time was usually Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/12 "2014-08-07T00:16:50Z")
Since we couldn’t see the TV from our kitchen eating area (or even the dining room), we didn’t watch TV (it would have been the news anyway, from a choice of three stations). However, the local radio station might have been on, at least until the last weather report before they signed off for the day at about 6:15 PM. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/13 "2014-08-07T00:49:39Z")
We never had the TV on during dinner hour. It’s hard to figure out what was on – before cable, we only got two channels anyway. By 1964, we had cable, so there were more options. Some of the shows I watched before dinner included **Music Bingo** and **The Three Stooges** with Officer Joe Bolton. After dinner, there were various syndicated shows like **Rescue 8** and **The Buccaneers** ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/14 "2014-08-07T01:15:47Z")
No TV during dinner when I was growing up. Dinner time was family time and we talked, to each other. No books allowed at the table either. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/15 "2014-08-07T01:18:26Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > None – my father wouldn’t allow a TV in the house until I was about 15. Even then, it wasn’t turned on during dinnertime. Yes, we didn’t have a TV either. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/16 "2014-08-07T01:29:51Z")
We were very much a family that ate together, but in the living room with the TV. Mostly I remember Hill Street Blues, Star Trek TNG, MacGyver, Magnum PI, and Murder She Wrote. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/17 "2014-08-07T01:50:49Z")
Dinner was promptly at 6:00 almost every night. We got ABC, CBS, NBC (local news) and PBS (no idea what was on), not that it mattered. We weren’t allowed to watch TV during dinner except on a very few special occasions: New Year’s Eve and maybe a few other times during the year. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/18 "2014-08-07T01:55:59Z")
The nightly news, usually CBS (anchored by Dan Rather). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/19 "2014-08-07T01:58:41Z")
Um, Sally Starr with Popeye Theater, the local news, then the national news. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984/20 "2014-08-07T04:35:26Z")
It seems I might be older than some of you. Some of the TV shows some of you say you watched “as a kid” I thought were still on! 😃 I don’t remember watching TV during dinner as a kid, but there were after-school cartoons before dinner. I know I watched Yogi Bear and Top Cat but I may have the time periods wrong. I do remember running home as usual one November afternoon in 1963 looking forward to my usual cartoons and none of them were on. Our teacher had told us that President Kennedy had been killed but it didn’t dawn on me until seeing every channel blanked by news coverage what a big deal this was. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shows-were-on-tv-during-the-dinner-hour-when-you-were-a-kid/694984.md?page=2)