Everything Old Is New Again

Every Christmas, one of our kids puts an oddball item on their wish list. This year, my son is the culprit. He's asked for Everybody Loves Raymond Season 3 DVD set. Apparently, there is a hilarious episode in there about a ping pong game. And maybe 14 year old boys are hard up for entertainment?

This will not be the first television DVD set we've owned. The same son received a Gilligan's Island set as a birthday gift from one of his weird friends a few years back. He'd get up early on Saturday mornings to guffaw at the 1960's humor. His sisters thought he was totally wack. As did his parents.

Last year, Middle Child requested The Cosby Show Season 6 for Christmas. She had an obsession with That's So Raven for years and when she discovered that Raven played Bill Cosby's granddaughter on the show, well, she's been watching it on WGN every day at 3 pm ever since. And darn it if I don't sit there and watch it along with her on most days. It was the Gordon Gartrell shirt episode last Friday and it's still hilarious!

I think with all the reality television, my kids are desperate for a good family sitcom. When college daughter was younger, they were still showing reruns of The Brady Bunch and Growing Pains and she loved to watch those. I'll bet if one of the major networks started showing reruns of Family Ties at 8 pm on a Thursday night, they'd gain a following. Or maybe it would just be me and my kids sitting there, enjoying the antics of Alex P. Keaton.

What shows do you miss?

Comments

  1. RussDecember 15, 2008 at 9:10 AM

    Being the typical male, I was big into the A-team and Knight Rider. (the new KR is just dreadful btw, and I am very curious about the A-team movie.)

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  2. JodyJDecember 15, 2008 at 9:20 AM

    You know you grew up in the 80's when... Yes we L.O.V.E The Cosby Show. There is really something refreshing about a show that you can sit and enjoy with your young children. It still lends itself to life lessons and a good laugh. Roseanne is another show we love and could watch again and again, maybe not so kids friendly but still great laughs are had.

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  3. Desmond JonesDecember 15, 2008 at 10:39 AM

    How can you not love 'Gilligan's Island'?

    'Course, I was ten when that show originally aired, so consider the source. . .

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  4. flutterbyDecember 15, 2008 at 11:21 AM

    Hmmmmm... fond memories of The Flintstones and My Favorite Martian (which I know is really, really, old.) both these shows played on network TV on the lunchroom TV at school everyday.

    Of course, the Cosby Show was a classic, but I also remember watching Rescue 911 and Unsolved Mysteries.

    And, I sheepishly admit that my first crush was on a character, Hawkeye, from the cheesy TV show Airwolf.

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  5. LeslieDecember 15, 2008 at 2:28 PM

    I suppose there are sitcoms on now...but I don't watch a single one. I kinda miss the '80's in that way. In some ways, Bill Cosby is still my parenting-God. At least that is where I figured out that parenting with humor is possible.

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  6. BijouxDecember 15, 2008 at 3:56 PM

    Russ - it must be a guy thing because I never saw the draw of Mr. T!

    Jody - I didn't truly appreciate The Cosby Show till I became a parent. The show spanned my life from a college student to mother of three!

    Desmond - It's nice to know that the show has entertained many a 10 year old. I kind of lump it with Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. Shows when I was little that I slightly recall, but never really watched.

    Flutter - a TV in the lunchroom? College daughter LOVED Rescue 911 when she was a little kid. Has always loved medical drama and that's why she's a nursing major now. I'm going to have to google the Airwolf character because I never watched that show.

    Laggin - Bill Cosby is an American hero, in my opinion. My favorite episode is when Theo tries to tell him he wants to just be "regular folk - like become a bus driver someday" and Bill patiently listens and then says, "That's the DUMBEST thing I've ever heard." His message has always been about being the best you can be, no matter what your race is. He rocks.

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  7. BijouxDecember 15, 2008 at 5:21 PM

    Jody - I lied. Middle Child just told me Cosby Show ended in 1992. I only had 2 kids by that time. DON'T want to be dating myself....

    Flutter - I checked out Airwolf - yeah, nice feathered hair on that dude. Kind of why I was crushin' on Shawn & David Cassidy.

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  8. for a different kind of girlDecember 15, 2008 at 7:16 PM

    I was just thinking this morning that I wished Nick at Night would start airing Family Ties. I LOVE that show! I sometimes watch the early episodes of Roseanne and like them, and I would sit through Growing Pains again in a heartbeat.

    My kids are mad for Full House, and when I watch it with them, it makes me cringe, but I remember always making a point of watching it when I was younger.

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  9. BijouxDecember 15, 2008 at 7:45 PM

    FADKOG - Oh my.....see my first post ever: http://musingsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2008/03/full-house-hell.html

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  10. limeDecember 16, 2008 at 12:31 PM

    my oldest has been fixated on bonanza reruns for YEARS. she was thrilled when we found a DVD of old episodes for her one year.

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  11. Trooper ThornDecember 16, 2008 at 3:20 PM

    Nope, couldn't stand Cosby, but it paved the way for Family Ties, Cheers and Wings on Thursday night viewing.

    Anyone know who to get a DVD set of CBC's "Forest Rangers" from the 1970's?

    Thanks for your comments on my blog. Still no word on whether the Shoe Chucker brought an extra pair.

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  12. AnonymousDecember 16, 2008 at 6:27 PM

    I miss 30-something.

    I get odd-ball requests form my kids, too. One year it was a barrel. This year a cello.

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  13. BijouxDecember 17, 2008 at 7:17 AM

    Lime - I would suspect it wasn't easy to find a Bonanza DVD. Interesting interest!

    Trooper - No love for the Cos?? How very un-American of you -haha.

    Citizen - I loved 30-Something and Once & Again. And what was the barrel for?

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  14. Mama DawgDecember 17, 2008 at 11:51 AM

    I miss all the shows from the 80's and 90's. I would love for them to bring back "Laugh-In". I watched that for the first time on Nick at Night when I was a teen and fell in love.

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  15. FTNDecember 17, 2008 at 2:13 PM

    I'm with Flutterby. Airwolf kicked butt. MacGyver, Greatest American Hero, all that stuff.

    I was also a big A-Team fan. There were some obscure shows I loved that would last half a season, too. How about "Street Hawk" in 1985? Or Max Headroom? Or my personal half-season favorite, "Misfits of Science."

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  16. EmDecember 17, 2008 at 2:46 PM

    Wow, his christmas hopes and dreams hang on a ping pong game on Raymond. What a day he will have.

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  17. BijouxDecember 18, 2008 at 7:16 AM

    Mama - I hate to admit it, but I remember 'Laugh In' from its first run.

    FTN - Max Headroom was just weird. Husband seemed to enjoy it though.

    Em - Amazon finally delivered, so it looks like his Christmas dreams will come true.

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  18. Lil BitDecember 28, 2008 at 4:21 PM

    LOL, Isn't there a timeline for when the cycle repeats itself and things become popular again... every 20 yrs maybe?

    I miss Fantasy Island, LOL!
    "smiles everyone, smiles!"

    ... and Hawaii 5-0!
    "book 'em, Dano!"

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  19. BijouxDecember 29, 2008 at 11:56 AM

    LB - We were just kids when Fantasy Island was on, but I remember thinking it was a "dirty" show! LOL! Compared to today's choices, it was G-rated.

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