What are we talking about today?

I'll get back to theme days once I find a groove of posting regularly. In the meantime, most of my posts are about some variation of books, bikes, buses, or Broadway. Plus bits about writing, nonprofits, and grief from time to time.

This blog is mostly lighthearted and pretty silly. It's not about the terrible things happening in the world, but please know that I'm not ignoring those things. I just generally don't write about them here.

15 April 2011

M is for Memories (or, More Non-Trad Travails)

Okay, I admit it, this isn't a travail. But whenever the conversation turns to childhood television shows, I always feel a bit left out. Apparently there was a complete turnover between the early 80s and early 90s in children's TV (apart from Sesame Street, of course).

After spending a few days trying desperately to find someone else who remembers Square One, I finally struck gold-- by asking another non-trad. Professional Smart Aleck (she said it, not me, and she approved!) not only remembers Square One, but much like myself, she also loved Kate Monday. When they replaced Kate Monday with Pat Tuesday, I was completely heartbroken... only to find out that I like Pat Tuesday just as much. When I shared this experience with PSA, she agreed, adding "Kate Monday was my hero." Yeah. I think Square One was the beginning of all my friends being at least 10 years older than myself.

And then the conversation swung round from Square One to Electric Company (the original one, not the new one). I think I've mentioned before that Morgan Freeman taught me how to read, and finally, I found someone else with the same experience. The regular, 90s-baby students around us tried to make relevant comments by talking about Morgan Freeman's other work, but of course they don't remember the original Electric Company, and they're too old to have enjoyed the newer version. It's rough to be a member of the Millennial Generation.

What's your favourite childhood TV show (or movie-- don't want to exclude anyone here)? Do you have a friendly person to discuss it with when the mood strikes?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my...this is going to date me....captain kangaroo...mr dressup.....and (gasp) black and white micky mouse cartoons. Oh Boy!!

Stephanie V said...

I actually do have friends who remember Howdy Doody and Clarabelle the clown. And they are willing to talk about it!
I did watch a lot of stuff with my kids: Mr Rogers was a big favorite... Mr Dressup and Friendly Giant!

Allison said...

Oh man I LOVED Square One! I loved almost all the PBS shows, but I'd never seen Electric Company! I just read a book about Sesame Street getting started, and it made me want to re-watch it all, plus actually see the Electric Company now.

erica and christy said...

I was a non-trad (by quite a bit) when I went back to school nine years ago...sigh...

The original Electric Company occupied many a latch-key-child-afternoon. I was so excited they brought it back and until the new one sucked. My parents always got me the Picture Pages so I could join Bill Cosby during the commercials, too. (either that or they faked it and said their own were the ones you could buy - not sure now that I think about it).

Su said...

@mybabyjohn: All good choices!

@Stephanie: My parents claim not to remember Howdy Doody. I think they are fibbing.

@Allison: I love that Sesame Street puts out a book for all the major anniversaries. Such a nice trip down memory lane... except, of course, that I want to go bankrupt from buying all the books.

@Erica or Christy: I do love being a non-trad most of the time. :/ My parents refused to buy picture pages... I had to be happy watching Mr. Cosby do them. (And yes... my parents never made us address any grown-up we knew personally as "Mr." or "Mrs.", but Bill Cosby was "Mr. Cosby." I don't think we knew he was actually "Dr. Cosby."

Lisa Potts said...

I loved the Electric Company! Morgan Freeman was my favorite. I can still see him in profile putting together syllables to form those wonderful words.

I also remember watching Little House On The Prairie in the afternoons. I had such a crush on Charles Ingalls.

Anonymous said...

Pete and Pete - like Seinfeld for kids!

Su said...

@Lisa: I loved Andy Garvey. Still do, actually; most of my favourite episodes are from those couple of seasons with Laura, Andy, Albert, and Willie. Such a fun foursome!

@Charlie: Never saw that one, but I love the idea.