What Shows Should Be Added to the TV Land and Nick at Nite Lineups?
How often have you heard the phrase: "TV just isn't what it used to be"?
Usually that's a line you hear from parents and grandparents, but even as someone who is obsessed with TV and in their twenties, I still utter that line quite often.
When I was growing up, although shows like Punky Brewster and Boy Meets World were frequently on my TV screen, my television was mostly tuned to Nick at Nite (and now TV Land as well). Actually, I'll let you in on an embarrassing little fact - my Bat Mitzvah theme was Jacki at Nite. Oh yes, every table was a different show. There was Mary Tyler Moore, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, I Love Lucy, Welcome Back Kotter, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Happy Days and The Munsters. I was obsessed then and I'm obsessed now. Sure, I love Lost and Law and Order: SVU, but nothing compares to those old shows.
So here are my two questions that I pose to all you readers:
1. What TV shows that are on television today should one day get the honor of being on TV Land or Nick at Nite?
2. What TV shows from years past should currently be on TV Land or Nick at Nite?
I strongly feel that not just any show should be on these networks. Nick at Nite and TV Land honor true television classics, and they need to remain with such high standards.
The shows and actors on these classic networks have lasted throughout time. Sure there are actors today like Jack Nicholson and Lauren Bacall, but I truly believe they're in the minority. The celebrity world is so different these days, as people go in and out of fame as quickly as hairdos go out of style. If I saw Teri Hatcher on the street tomorrow, I admit I'd get star struck, but it would only be a couple of seconds before I remembered that she really is just like any other person. However, a couple of years ago I saw Marlo Thomas at the New York Museum of Television and Radio. Embarrassing fact # 2 of this column: the second I saw her, tears welled up in my eyes. She's iconic. She's That Girl. These are the stars that last.
Happy Days first aired in 1973, and 34 years later, everyone, whether or not they watched the show, knows who Richie Cunningham and Fonzie are. I promise you that if you went up to a group of people on the street and asked them who Jake and Eric Green are, very few would recognize them as being in Jericho, even with all the crazy publicity lately. The classic TV shows have stood the test of time.
More so, people of any age can enjoy the shows. There was nothing too risqué in them, and so today, an 8-year-old can watch them with their grandparents. Plus, the storylines are all still adaptable. Sure, kids today may not be going on dates at Arnold's Drive-In, but all of the same emotions are still there. Younger siblings can still relate to Jan Brady, and all girls can relate to Marcia's insecurity in the episode where she gets hit in the nose with a football. And while things have changed - belly buttons can be shown on TV - the playfulness on I Dream of Jeannie is still fun to watch today.
Aside from all of the other impressive qualities of these classics, another reason why they survive is because they are truly great comedy. Viewers can watch excellent comedy over and over again. I love Grey's Anatomy, but I don't want to watch the same episode twice. By now everyone knows what's coming in the I Love Lucy Vitameatavegamin episode, but we can still watch it because it makes us laugh every time. The majority of these classics were comedies, and comedies barely exist today, so really, are there any current shows that deserve to be on TV Land or Nick at Nite in the future? Will Seinfeld, Friends or The Simpsons make the cut? Are there any timeless dramas? Comment below!
Take a look at the classics on TV Land: The Addams Family, All in the Family, The Andy Griffith Show, Bars and Tones, The Brady Bunch, Bonanza, Good Times, Green Acres, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, Jeffersons, Leave it to Beaver, Little House on the Prairie, M*A*S*H, Munsters, Sanford and Son, Star Trek, Three's Company and Whats Happening Now!!
... and Nick at Nite's classics: The Cosby Show, A Different World, Designing Women, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Full House, Mad About You, Murphy Brown, Newsradio and Roseanne.
Should Salute Your Shorts be on that list? Punky Brewster? He-Man? Or should shows like Mary Tyler Moore and Welcome Back Kotter be put back into the rotation?
Be sure to leave your comments!
Bottom line is this - the shows on these classic TV networks may have ended their runs a long time ago, but they are just as worthy of airtime today as they ever were. Tune in to TV Land and Nick at Nite to relive the memories and be reminded of what good TV really is.
I would love to see Family Ties, ALF, and the Commish. They are just solid good shows and one is just fun.
Posted by: Chandra at June 21, 2007 11:10 AM
I want to see a one "nite" a week devoted entirely to the classic 70's variety shows: Sonny & Cher, Donny & Marie, Captain & Tennille, Tony Orlando & Dawn. Today's public wants entertainment shows (music and dance)witnessed by the phenomenons known as American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
Posted by: anthony at June 21, 2007 03:49 PM
I would love to see Alf, Family Ties, Gimme a Break!, It's Garry Shandling's Show,and Empty Nest. As for today's shows, I vote for The Simpsons, 7th Heaven, and Ugly Betty.
Posted by: Becky at June 21, 2007 04:25 PM
There's really no point. TV Land has abandoned classic shows for reality programming in the future. Nick just runs Roseanne and Fresh Prince ad nauseam. The ratings are too important to them to expand their classic shows.
Posted by: Kambiz at June 21, 2007 05:27 PM
Life Goes On and Dougie Howser
Posted by: Tori at June 21, 2007 05:27 PM
I'd like to see Lassie, Whirleybirds, Sky King, Superman (50s and 60s).
Posted by: Fred Goodwin at June 22, 2007 11:51 AM
Fred, are you still among the living?
Posted by: Louie at June 22, 2007 06:29 PM
I would like to see old Saturday morning TV shows, specifically, "Fury" with Peter Graves and Bobby Diamond, and "Sky King".
Posted by: Cathy at June 24, 2007 12:23 AM
Hi!
A show I used to watch quite a bit was My Three Sons...especially liked the ones where Chip had white hair and was getting into the hipster scene. Funny that you never hear much about that show anymore. Wasn`t it one of the longest-running tv family-oriented comedies?
Posted by: Claude at June 26, 2007 11:02 AM
I always got a kick out of Bosom Buddies, Tom Hanks was great!
Posted by: LoriAnderson at June 28, 2007 02:53 PM
Any of the Irwin Allen shows, LOST IN SPACE, TIME TUNNEL, etc, or perhaps MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., I SPY and ROOM 222!
Posted by: Brian at June 28, 2007 04:46 PM
Hi Jacki,
I am also "obsessed with TV and in their twenties", and I love the question you are posing here. I have thought about this many times.
In regards to today's shows that should make it to Nick at Night and/or TV Land, I vote for "30 Rock", "Gilmore Girls", "Ugly Betty", "Brothers and Sisters", "The New Adventures of Old Christine", "The Loop".
For classic TV shows, I loved some of the black and white programs like "I Married Joan", "The Donna Reid Show", and the original "Dennis the Menace". Others would include: "3rd Rock from the Sun", "Everwood", "Growing Pains", "Silver Spoons", "Saved By the Bell", "In the House", "Dawson's Creek", "Felicity", "Alf".
Posted by: Ali at July 3, 2007 01:29 PM
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