A Stroll Down Television Memory Lane

At long last, it's fall television premier time...and just in the nick of time, at least for me. I don't think I can stand one more dreary night of reruns or those awful filler shows. But I started thinking back to a time when Beloved and I had routine shows that we watched and couldn't miss...back when we were newly married, had young babies, and free entertainment was really important!

Back then our tv was a large cabinet affair in the downstairs basement family room--ughh, I still hate basements! Our Friday night routine was to put the kiddies to bed by eight and the steaks on the grill by 8:30. At 9:00 sharp we were sitting on the floor eating on the coffee table with this family.

I couldn't wait to see what mischief JR and Bobby were up to each week. I eagerly awaited the fashions of Sue Ellen and Pam. And, of course, seeing Miss Ellie was like having a visit with your own mom. They were an interesting, if dysfunctional family.

But they were not the only dysfunctional family I loved to watch! Do you remember the tv show where this matriarch held court?

Jane Wyman was the mistress of "Falcon Crest" which showed us the not so pretty underbelly of a family winery. It's hard to believe this conniving woman was ever married to that sweet mild mannered Ronald Reagan :)

On Saturday nights my favorite sound (besides the gentle snoring of sleeping children) was "da plane da plane!", followed by that deep voice of Ricardo Montelban bidding me "welcome to Fantasy Island". Of course, we also loved to travel to and each week we did.

We went to exotic places with a wonderful crew and quirky new passengers each week! But the eighties were not without serious moments and some social conscience.

I loved "Thirty-Something"! The characters seemed just a little older and much more worldly than I....not to mention their lives were a little more sophisticated and complicated! And some things I watched purely for ummm...... educational reasons.

I thought Harry Hamlin and Corbin Bernsen in "LA Law" were two of the most educational men I'd ever seen :) So this week and next, I'll be looking for some old favorites--"House","Brothers and Sisters", all the "Law and Orders", and "CSI Miami" to name a few, but I'm looking forward to a couple of new ones too.


The "Good Wife", starring Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, is about a politician jailed in a sex and corruption scandal. Margulies, the "good wife", is forced to carry on and return to a legal career to save her family...wonder how they came up with this novel plot ? On a lighter note, "Glee" looks like it might be a winner to me. It is billed as a musical comedy with an ensemble cast.

Maybe "Fame" and "Happy Days" all rolled into one! Anyway, thanks for strolling down memory lane with me. These are "Three or More" of my old favorites. What was your favorite show of the eighties? Join Tam, our gracious hostess, at The Gypsy's Corner at http://thegypsyscorner.blogspot.com/ for more collections and lists! Thanks Tam!