Randoms by Rach

So Much TV

Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1926 a Scottish inventor named John Baird demonstrated a pictorial transmission machine called the television. Do you remember seeing your first television...the one your parents had when you were a kid? What were some of your favorite shows? Do you still watch any of the old programs you enjoyed as a teenager?

This prompt has sent me meandering down Nostalgia Lane. The first thing I want to say, though, is I really didn't watch that much TV as a kid. Really. I'm going to mention quite a few shows, but that's purely because they have taken up residence in my head and are tugging at my heart to be mentioned. But, for most of my childhood, I was outside playing with my friends. I spent little time at home. And when I was at home, I spent most of my time reading and listening to records on my Dad's old gramophone player. Even so, this list is quite long

I don't remember the first time I saw my parents' TV. I do remember it, though. I remember it having a screen on the left of it, with four knobs on the right side (volume, channel changer, contrast, and on/off). Yes, we had to get up to change the channel. I don't know how we managed! It was colour, and it stood on four thin wooden legs.

Okay, here's another disclaimer. I was an odd child (I guess nothing has changed there). I've never liked cartoons or animations, so most of the shows I remember watching as a child aren't aimed at children. The three that are children's shows are "The Flumps," "Scooby Doo," and "Jamie & The Magic Torch." I loved Scooby. He was so cute and funny, and I loved how the guys drove around in The Mystery Machine solving, well, mysteries. I have to link the theme to "Jamie & The Magic Torch" because, I think, it explains a lot about the kids of my generation who saw this when they were little.



This show was insane. It was psychedelic, and I'm sure whoever wrote it must have been on something. But I loved it. Especially the dog: Wordsworth.

As for the rest of the shows I loved in my childhood, they were all detective shows, or action based shows. These were my favourites, up until the age of about ten or so:

"The Gentle Touch"
"Hart To Hart"
"Cagney & Lacey"
"The Incredible Hulk"
"The A Team"
"Dempsey & Makepeace"
"Van der Valk"
"The Littlest Hobo"
"Charlie Chan Mysteries"

The funny thing is the part I remember most about all of these shows is their theme tunes. I've just watched all of them on YouTube and they all move a part of me deep inside. I could actually feel it turning. Especially The Hulk and "The Gentle Touch." Looking back at the latter, it was broadcast from 1980 - 1984. So I would have been 4/5 - 8/9. What was I doing watching a gritty detective show that dealt with rape and murder? I don't know. But I know I related to the victims. And I know I wanted DI Maggie Forbes to come and save me. Maybe that's why the programme affects me physically today. When I was nine (in February 1985) the first episode of a new British soap opera was broadcast: "East Enders." I remember watching it with my parents. They hated it. I loved it. I still do. It gets a lot of bad press. But it's always people who never watch it who think they are qualified to rubbish it. Anyway. I am a lifelong fan.

Moving onto teenage years, I had a TV in my bedroom. I watched a lot of American sitcoms: "Cheers," "The Golden Girls," "Roseanne," "Charles In Charge." I think I needed programmes that helped me to escape. These did the job really well. I still love these comedies, and I've since added a lot more to my list of favourites. "Miranda" is right up there. I love the bones of that woman!

I have a fond memory of watching "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It used to be on Sunday mornings, and I vividly remember watching it with Dad. I googled the theme tune about a year ago (I can't remember why) and I had the strangest reaction. I started to cry. Like, uncontrollable sobbing. And I couldn't stop for about an hour. David looked kind of scared, if I'm honest. Which is fair enough. But it made me feel so sad. I couldn't explain it. So I don't think I'll be watching that show again.

I still love "Cagney & Lacey." It's dated, but I love it. The other shows from my childhood, I would still watch if they were on. But they are never as good as I remember them. You kind of add a rose tinted filter to happy memories, don't you?

In recent years, aside from comedies, I've discovered some amazing dramas. Unfortunately, most of them have now ended. "Sons Of Anarchy," "The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad," "Law & Order," Law & Order:SVU," "Broadchurch." (The British one - first series.)

You see? I said it would appear I spend all my time watching TV. But I don't. I never have. You have to remember these shows cover forty-one years of life. Oh dear. I'm going to read other people's blogs now, and I'm sure I will find they mention three or four shows. I shall hang my head in shame. Believe me: I shall.