Let's Talk T.V.

After dinner, families used to gather around a board game or a puzzle, but today, families gather around a T.V. that not only has thousands of channels, but has Netflix, Hulu and Youtube built in, so you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want to. I walked into the kitchen this morning and heard the theme song to The Odd Couple. I turned around and saw my daughter watching Oscar and Felix eating dinner in their apartment. I couldn't help but smile. My daughter was watching a show that my 12 year old self loved. T.V. has changed so much since the 60's. Now, if you want to watch one of your favorite shows, you don't need to wait an entire week for the next episode. You can just stream it to your T.V.

This got me thinking. How has T.V. really changed since I was a kid?

First of all, there are not a lot of sitcoms left. Growing up I watched Leave it to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, Bonanza and Columbo. There were variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Carol Burnett Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Today, theres reality T.V. Everywhere you look theres an advertisement for a new reality show.

There was also no cursing on T.V.! Listen, I'm not against swearing, but there was a nice sense of wholesomeness from the television shows of my day. Maybe a little to wholesome. Today, there is so much vulgar language and ostentatious behavior on television.

The 70's was the decade of spin-offs. Laverne and Shirley came about after they guest starred on Happy Days and Maude was a spin-off of All in the Family. Every show seemed to be a spin-off of another show.

There was also a big family presence in every show on the air in the 60's and 70's. There was always a family scene, or a family riff that resulted in a big group hug.

If you miss those days of innocent television and aimless comedy, I'm right there with you. The good news is that you can watch them over and over again on Netflix. The shows of my generation will never die, because I can constantly relive them.