Monday, Monday
With Lost MIA, Monday has become my favorite TV night. The NBC lineup has three hour-longs in a row that I watch. (Okay, tape and zip through in about 2 hours while doing other stuff.)
First there's the very silly surprise hit Deal Or No Deal, which the numbers and game-theory geek in me enjoys as a guilty pleasure.
After that there's Heroes, filling my need for fantasy until Lost starts up again. (Never got into 24. Maybe some day with DVDs.)
Then there's Studio 60, Aaron Sorkin's soon-to-be-canceled-so-enjoy-while-you-can lunatic alternate vision of network television.
It got me thinking, what other nights have been my favorite? And it hit me, every night but Monday. (Kids, don't try this at home--watching too much TV is bad for you. Throw out the set and live real lives.)
Tuesday was my favorite back in the 70s when I watched Happy Days and, later, Taxi. (Didn't watch Laverne And Shirley or Three's Company. I think Mork And Mindy, which I liked, might have started on Tuesday.)
Wednesday has been tops lately, with Lost and American Idol results.
Must See Thursday lasted from Hill Street Blues to Cheers to Cosby to LA Law to Seinfeld to Friends (never got into ER).
I outgrew it quickly, but ABC had the original TGIF for kids with The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and so on.
The greatest TV line-up ever was CBS's early 70s Saturday: All In The Familly, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett.
Sunday had been a favorite for a while with various shows, but mostly The Simpsons and, more recently, if you get HBO, or have a friend who does, The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm.)
Which brings us back to Monday. Gotta go and set the VCR. (Yep, also don't have TiVo yet.)
posted by LAGuy @ 12:01 AM
17 Comments:
I agree with several of your choices, particularly the original NBC "must see" Thursday night comedy lineup, 8 to 10pm - "The Cosby Show", "Family Ties", "Cheers", and "Night Court" - each of which I watched (and spec-ed, dammit!) regularly, even though one or two don't stand up at all anymore (hint: "Sit, Ubu, sit.") (Ah! Revenge at last!) (Twenty years late...)
However, to add to the discussion, I have to go off the board a bit; at least, the prime time board.
For the stretch of TV I most looked forword to watching was way back in the 60's: I'm talking about Saturday morning cartoons.
I can't isolate a single network because, even as a kid, I knew how to use a remote control (the mechanical kind that used to *ping* when you pressed one of its two giant buttons), so I wasn't a slave to any lineup. Besides, I had an older brother, so choice was often at the whim of a higher and not so benevolent power.
However, I'll list 3 of my favorites:
1. Jonny Quest
2. The Herculoids (does anybody else remember this show?)
3. The Wacky Races
--and others I'd be even more embarrassed to mention ("Shazzan") (not "Shazam!", mind you, "Shazzan", the one with the giant genie).
Anyway, Saturday morning was my favorite 'night' of the week for TV.
Todd
Don't get me started on cartoons.
I'm sure everyone remembers Jonny Quest. Maybe not so much The Herculoids.
I loved the Wacky Races. I actually used to care who'd win.
I watched cartoons but loved the Saturday morning live action shows like HR Puffinstuff and Lidsville. I'm pretty sure it was CBS that reached an all-time high with the Hudson Brothers show and the Harlem Globetrotters back-to-back. Those may even have led into Captain Marvel and Isis.
And you're right about CBS Satuday nights. Makes me wonder when I found time to get out of the house.
I think it was Sundays even before Simpsons that had The Simpsons as part of the Tracy Ullman show. That was another great night with The Gary Shandling Show and Tracy Ullman. The in-between time was enjoyable with Duet which may have been most notable for introducing Ellen DeGeneres to sit-com world. Heck, Ullman was most notable for introducing The Simpsons. Shandling was the anchor that would bring me in.
I'm very tired, up most of the night with a script due this morning, so this may not all sparkle. The script is in, and look, I still figured out I could post under my name instead of anonymous which I've always posted under before.
Ah yes, cartoons...I also loved Johnny Quest, and I do remember Herculoids, having been reminded recently by my son's love of the Boomerang station, which any self-respecting vintage cartoon lover should have on their cable/satellite line-up (although lately they have tended to show more modern cartoons). The Sid & Marty Krofft live action shows were awesome as well. Does anyone remember the Bugaloos? And later (though not from Krofft) the Kids from C.A.P.E.R.? I remember the theme songs better than the shows themselves. I was also a huge Fat Albert fan (still am).
Cartoons were only the start of the best TV day--as you mentioned, there was the great CBS lineup that night. Later we watched "Emergency" to start out the night (Randy Mantooth was HOT), but I think that was on NBC? I swear that a lot of the success later for "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" had to do with people already having developed the Saturday night TV habit, and having nowhere else to turn. Then again, the guest star appearances gave a sort of "where-are-they-now" snapshot that was mildly interesting.
I recall watching "Welcome Back Kotter" and then "Starsky and Hutch" regularly--was this Wednesday nights on ABC?
This was fun--I'm not sure if it's the TV memories or the recollection of having so much spare time that makes me want to return to those days....
Oh, I forgot to address the issue of Monday nights. For as long as I can remember, Monday nights have belonged to football (still does in our house). After the season ends, Monday becomes an exercise in channel-surfing since no loyalties to Monday shows have been developed (the net result in our house is a default to Animal Planet or some Discovery science show, so I have no idea what's happening on "Heroes").
For women who do not like football, this has been their night for chick-oriented programs, a concept that peaked with the whole Murphy Brown and Designing Women thing. So it's no wonder that you don't remember Monday as a good night for TV, especially if you're a guy.
I watched Lidsville a few months ago and all I could think was--wow, that theme song lasts about five minutes, it's got more information that the opening to Gilligan's Island.
I remember they tried out the Hudson brothers on prime time before moving them to kids' prime time--has that ever happens before.
There was a period when the Harlem Globetrotters was my favorite show. They'd always have a song and my favorite was the one about Meadowlark.
I'm glad bill (whoever he is) is giving his right name now. I was never a fan of Duet--it was all too cute for me. But the Gary Shandling show was amazing. (And note, for a stand-up comedian, he was a much better actor than Seinfeld.)
I certainly remember the Bugaloos--they're in the air and everywhere (which would the air, of course). I never quite got why they were British.
I'm pretty sure Kotter was on Wednesday--another show I watched regularly when ABC ruled the roost.
It's odd how Saturday evening used to be so popular--it's now sort of a graveyard.
I certainly remember Monday Night Football, though even in its glory years, with Howard Cosell, I rarely watched, since my team, the Lions, was almost never on. (And Monday night has not been a TV night for me in over a decade because that's when my book group meets.)
By the way, here's a video of the great song "TV Party" by Black Flag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFF7jzVfSB0
Sunday night in the early mid-70s, I would rush home home from scouts and bother my mm in case the Cowboys game had pushed 60 Minutes back (Man, the Cowboys were good but they could never finish a game on time) and watch the The Six Million Dollar Man ("she's breaking up! she's breaking up!") Watching it on reruns just a few years after its prime, I couldn'y understand its appeal (they made a guy seem strong by having him fight in slo-mo) but in 6th and 7th grade, it ruled
I'm sensing a certain age cohort in the readership . . . HRPuffinstuff indeed.
Our research shows us that Pajama Guy readers are in the top quintile when it comes to intelligence and charm.
Speaking of theme songs, whatever happened to them? Most shows I see just have some sort of short instrumental lead-in, if any. "Friends" is the last show I can think of that had a catchy, sing-along type of theme. Used to be a show's theme song was important; it may have been better than the show itself (e.g. Greatest American Hero), or as bad as the show itself (e.g. Eight is Enough), but it was always immediately recognizable in any context.
A favorite pastime was singing along to TV themes (I still like to try and hit the high note at he end of the original Star Trek theme when the show is on ME-TV or TVLand) and now the best I can do is the Who songs at the beginning of the CSI shows (but those don't count)and the Monday (and now Sunday) night football songs. What's up with Pink and the stupid theme for Sunday? Why couldn't they get Joan Jett to sing it? Or why did they have to do a theme at all if that's the best they could come up with?
I could have sworn that Welcome Back Kotter was on Tuesdays right after Happy Days on ABC.
Also, HRPuffinstuff is the first movie I ever remember seeing in a theater.
Lynette -- Yeah, I don't get the Pink thing at all.
I think I can answer Lynette's question. Years ago, you'd plop yourself down in a chair and not get up until the show--and maybe the next one--was over.
In an age of 200 channels and remote controls and short attention spans, shows have to grab your interest and not let go.
A theme song, even one explaining the show's premise, would be a chance for the audience to check out other channelsl so it's a no-go. The other change is they often have action at the end under the credits.
The most recent significant theme song I can think of is for Family Guy. (It starts with a parody of All In The Family.) The simplest, yet very effective, non-theme is for LOST.
The worst theme in recent years--inexcusable, really--was the adult contemporary Dianne Warren ballad that opened Enterprise. It actually stopped me from watching the show.
A lot of sports shows used to have good music, and my favorite was probably the theme to Hockey Night In Canada. (They may not only date me, but also geographically help locate me.)
When I was in grade school, we played an album from H.R. Pufnstuf all the time--our favorites were "Oranges Poranges" and "Mechanical Boy." I also saw the movie, which, through the magic of obscure cable channels, I saw again last year.
Did you ever see the Mr. Show parody of HF Pufnstuf--it brought out the latent drug humor.
I'm sorry to say I haven't seen the parody. I wasn't even aware of all the drug humor until Jack Wild died and I was inspired to go back and read about the show. My parents exposed me to a lot of different things (George Carlin albums, Mel Brooks movies for starters) but were stone-cold silent when it came to explaining anything.
Oh MAN, I had no idea Jack Wild died! His popularity was probably the reason the Bugaloos were British. I didn't have the Pufnstuff album, but I remember "Oranges Poranges" (who says there ain't no rhyme for oranges?) and "Mechanical Boy" from the episodes. I think the little flute was the inspiration for Mr. Bill. I was oblivious to any drug reference because I was a preschooler when that show was on, and also because my parents probably didn't get it either (my Mom's Pat Boone and Perry Como records never had any such drug references--or DID they?)
Did Jack Wild go the way of Buffy (Anissa Jones) from "Family Affair"? Who else from that era met a similar fate? I'll have to do some research.
Like you, Monday has always been my LEAST favorite night of TV. Seems like growing up, that's where all the crappy shows hung out. A close second least fave, growing up, was Sunday night. As a kid, 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote made it "grandma's night."
As for favorite, you hit the nail on the head w/ the Tuesday line up of HAPPY DAYS, L&S and THREE'S COMPANY. To me, that was the TV zenith of my youth.
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