# What Was A "TV Event" When You Were A Kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299 "2011-04-30T17:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/1 "2011-04-30T17:05:15Z")
Once again, I find myself living in the past 🙂 Anyway when I was a wee little shaver, we didn’t have VCRs or Tivo or even Cable TV so TV shows that aired rarely were BIG events. My question to you is what was a BIG TV event when you were a kid? For me it was, _the Wizard of Oz_. Also _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_ and a _Charlie Brown Christmas_ were also big. If you missed those you had to wait a WHOLE year. And not just a regular year but a KID year which is longer than 365 days, or at least seems that way. Also Miss America was pretty big in my household as were the Grammy and Emmy Awards. (My family didn’t go to movies much so the Oscars weren’t a big deal). I remember for those special TV events you had to have special junk food, like Red Hot Potato Chips or Nacho Cheese Doritos and Hawaiian Punch, or Dolly Madison Snack Cakes in case of _a Charlie Brown Christmas_. So what were big TV events in your household, “back in the day”? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/2 "2011-04-30T17:08:28Z")
Definitely the Grinch and Charlie Brown - also Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman. It seems to me like the broadcast of “Roots” was a big deal, too, which is why it was so funny when, on “That 70’s Show,” Kitty got so mad at Red when he managed to screw up the brand-new VCR so they missed it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/3 "2011-04-30T17:30:41Z")
I was born at the dawn of the VCR age (we didn’t get one until 1988), so to me it was still a big deal when they ran feature films on network TV. I remember getting pretty excited when they showed the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. I actually cried one year when I had to miss Superman II, because a storm had knocked out the station’s transmitter. I’d also get pretty excited when one of the big three (for years we didn’t have cable either) showed Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/4 "2011-04-30T17:33:25Z")
The Moon Landing. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/5 "2011-04-30T17:51:32Z")
Just to make everyone feel old: the final episode of Seinfeld. I was seven, my whole extended family (grandparents, aunts etc.) came over, it was a massive deal. Never before or since have we actually gathered to watch something on TV like that - there would be times when we’d all be sitting there watching something (one of the big episodes of Australian drama Blue Heelers comes to mind) but that’s because we all happened to be together for dinner or whatever. Seinfeld finale was pre-organised, important, serious business. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/6 "2011-04-30T18:00:17Z")
I was in 7th grade when the final episode of MASH aired, and it was a huge deal to just about everyone I knew… ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/7 "2011-04-30T18:00:57Z")
Space launches were always very exciting. Miss America. The national Republican and Democrat conventions (when announcing their candidates). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/8 "2011-04-30T18:02:49Z")
I was born in 1980, 4 siblings followed so most of the “big events” that you mentioned, mom recorded. In fact, to this day, my sisters (who still live at home) will pull out those old tapes and watch them from time to time, compete with vintage 1985 commercials (for Chic Jeans). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/9 "2011-04-30T18:12:59Z")
Born in 1971. Like you noted, _Wizard of Oz_ was huge. Anything that followed the [CBS Special Presentation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W9V9SZPHAY) blurb, usually Charlie Brown or a Rankin/Bass Christmas special. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/10 "2011-04-30T18:16:13Z")
“North and South,” the civil war mini series based on a novel. Also I remember the first time they showed “Top Gun” on TV, it was a big honkin deal (I knew a few people with VCRs, but they weren’t very common yet). ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/11 "2011-04-30T18:19:52Z")
Ditto to space launches. Anything Mondale-Ferraro. Every single night, McNeil-Lehrer. (Sidetrack: These days, every night is Jeopardy! I rarely watch, but my parents tune in every night, in the next town over, and I sometimes tweak them by texting the answer to Final [when I can get it right].) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/12 "2011-04-30T18:21:13Z")
Long before VCR, most certainly Wizard of Oz. We planned our day around the show. Also, as a kid, it was always great to stay home from school if you were sick so you could see re-runs of I Love Lucy. Then of course there was the JFK assassination where all three (the only three) stations carried nothing but that news for three solid days, and I happened to be watching when Ruby was shot. Wonder if that was the only live shot of a murder on TV? Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/13 "2011-04-30T18:27:14Z")
The Kennedy Weekend of November, 1963. Before that, probably Elvis on Ed Sullivan. For the record, we didn’t even have a TV until I was 13, so the “kid” thing has to move into teenage years. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/14 "2011-04-30T18:27:24Z")
I don’t remember Ruby being shot new conspiracy theory ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/15 "2011-04-30T18:50:53Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Then of course there was the JFK assassination where all three (the only three) stations carried nothing but that news for three solid days, and I happened to be watching when Ruby was shot. Wonder if that was the only live shot of a murder on TV? Hmm… If you count a suicide as a murder, Budd Dwyer can sit beside Ruby on that shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/16 "2011-04-30T19:00:48Z")
Not so much films or series but my whole family watching as an event are - The first space shuttle launch & landing; The BBC showing the full Thriller video. Still at my folks The Queen’s Christmas speech, every Christmas Day at 3pm. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/17 "2011-04-30T19:09:24Z")
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, and an atom bomb test at around that same time. For my family, it was _The Ten Commandments_ at Easter time. It was my late husband’s favorite movie. Later it was the premiere of the _Thriller_ video. Didn’t MTV show it all day long? The miniseries of _Rich Man, Poor Man_ was a big deal. We rescheduled scout troop meetings so the scout leaders wouldn’t miss it. Also _Roots_. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/18 "2011-04-30T19:20:08Z")
Even though I can’t remember it at all, not the teams, not the venue, whether college or pro, I would think that whenever I saw my first football game on TV it would have been an event. I saw some baseball games, but remember even less about them. Can anybody identify the first televised football game in the USA? When, which network, which teams? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/19 "2011-04-30T19:28:26Z")
In the earlier seasons, I scheduled my life around new episodes of the Simpsons. eta: Oops, I wasn’t a kid, but I’m sticking with it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299/20 "2011-04-30T19:32:02Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Even though I can’t remember it at all, not the teams, not the venue, whether college or pro, I would think that whenever I saw my first football game on TV it would have been an event. I saw some baseball games, but remember even less about them. > > Can anybody identify the first televised football game in the USA? When, which network, which teams? Never mind: it was before I was born: [http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first\_televised\_game.aspx](http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1930s/first_televised_game.aspx) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-a-tv-event-when-you-were-a-kid/580299.md?page=2)