Lord help me. The new tv season has started and I find myself waking up and thinking, "What show is on tonight?" I don't know when my addiction to tv started, but I can remember excitedly watching it as young as 5 or 6 years old and I've never stopped. The earliest show I remember was called Romper Room. I also watched a local show called The Wallace and Ladmo Show at a pretty young age. Does anyone remember Captain Kangaroo (and his friend Mr. Greenjeans)? Then there were the wonderful cartoons like The Flinstones and the Jetsons. I loved the campy show Lost in Space (danger, danger, Will Robinson) and classic shows like The Brady Bunch, Bonanza, Bewitched, The Big Valley, The Partridge Family....ohhhh, the list goes on and on. I have a vivid memory of going to bed when I was in about 5th grade to the opening of The Perry Mason Show (duhhhh duhhhh duh duh. duhhhh duhhhh duh duh duh. do do do do do do do do do...) Speaking of theme songs I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling that comes over me when I see the opening sequence to The Brady Bunch where they show a far away shot of the front of the Brady house and play cool intro music. We all know that song meant happy things were happening inside the house (except when Marsha got hit with the football before the big dance!) I think one of my favorite theme songs was to a show called Growing Pains ("show me that smile again; don't waste another minute on your crying...") I was a little taken aback the other day when my dear, sweet niece couldn't readily identify Mackenzie Phillips because *I* was quite grown up when I was watching One Day at a Time. (I've noticed that as I age I am occasionally slapped up side of the head with these types of reminders that my tree stump has really acquired some rings). Anyway, fast forwarding to present day I watched one of the funniest sitcoms I have seen in ages (at the recommendation of the previously mentioned dear, sweet niece) called Modern Family. It is funny (with a capital 'f') so that would make it Funny! It is a bit off color so don't tune in if you would be offended by a grampa's reference to his new Vietnamese granddaughter as a 'pot sticker'. I wasn't, because he clearly adored her. The best line of the whole show was when this new baby girl's uncle asked, "Her name is Lily? Won't she have a hard time pronouncing that?" (am I the only one laughing here?) Okay, so now I will be hooked on that this season. Add it to the following list of shows I record on a regular basis:
Project Runway
Amazing Race
Survivor
Top Chef
Flipping Out
Rachel Zoe
America's Next Top Model
American Idol
The View
The Dave Ramsey Show
(what did I watch before reality tv?)
and...
The Office
I could feel guilty right now for all that wasted time, but I know how the rest of my life is and I think it all balances out just fine. Besides, with DVR I can zip through commercials at lightning speed, reducing my viewing time to practically nothing.
At least that's what I tell myself. ;)
