Just a random thought...

one less tv
Originally uploaded by Kevin Steele.

...since I can't seem to think of anything more profound to write about at the moment:

Here's three TV programs I wish they'd bring back in reruns:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show:
I lost my mom when I was a young teen in the early 70s, and I didn't show much grief in front of my friends on the outside, though I was devastated beyond description. The thing that got me through that dark time was being able to immerse myself in the comfort of TV shows like MTM.

The backstory on "Mare" was that she'd been living with a guy, putting him through med school, and then got dumped when he graduated. Pretty risque back in 1970. These and other shows I watched during my "formative years" helped me see what an independent woman could accomplish with or without a man by her side.

In my 80s partying days, they brought back MTM and showed several episodes at, like, 3 am every Sunday night. Many's the time my ex-boyfriend L and I would still be wide awake with the pre-Monday blues, not willing to accept that the weekend was over before finally collapsing after MTM and getting a few hours sleep before work. Ugh.

The Bob Newhart Show (the older one with Suzanne Pleshette):
Another one from the same era. Suzanne as Bob's wife Emily was a great foil for Newhart. His gentle, self-effacing, low-key comedy was also very soothing. To me, Bob and Emily were the perfect childless urban couple--another set of role models for me. I loved their Chicago high rise apartment and the fact that at the end of the day they always snuggled in their big bed with the designer comforter and talked and joked together. If I remember correctly, the same network that showed MTM in the 80s also brought back Bob N--leading to even later Sunday night marathons.

Thirtysomething:
This was a true guilty pleasure for me when I was twentysomething. Now that I'm fortysomething, I'd love to see those shows again. They had a marathon a few years ago one holiday weekend, but that's the last time I've seen it.

L hated that show, and I actually had to turn down the volume when it came on because he detested the opening theme tune so much. I guess it's what you might call "a chick's show," and I couldn't get enough of it, though I had no intention of settling in the burbs and having kids. For me, it was kind of like observing someone's older and more mature brothers and sisters being "real adults." I put myself on a wait list in case the show ever does become available on tape/DVD, but so far no go.

Anyone else out there miss these shows? Or are there any others that you wish they'd bring back?