So, I’m old. I remember TV shows that are in the history books. Roy Rogers on Saturday morning. Ed Sullivan Sunday nights. The original Captain Kangaroo. Art Linkletter on the rare afternoons I stayed home from school because I was sick. Yep, back in the days when everything was in full black and white.
But those aren’t the shows I’d bring back. People have tried and failed.
The original Hawaii Five-O was interesting, but I haven’t seen the remake. The Rockford Files never really grabbed my attention although I may have had a bit of a crush on James Garner. I certainly had a crush on Dennis Weaver in McCloud. It was the story of a modern western lawman in New York City (horse and all!) Think Longmire goes to the big city. Small town cop out-thinks and outwits both the bad guys and the good guys. It gets extra points because one of the shows even had John Denver as a guest star. So that’s the first show on my list.
The second show I’d bring back is the Smothers Brothers. The show was a mix of comedy, variety and social comedy. Granted, some of the humor went over my head when I orginally watched the show, and I look back at some of the clips and go “My parents let me watch
that?” In some ways, the give-and-take between the two brothers reminded me of my own family. I had a soft spot for one of the continuing guests, Pat Paulson, who ran for president six times, starting in 1968. I’m not so sure he wouldn’t have won this year if he was still alive.
Because I like to do things in threes, I’ll give you one more show that I’d like to see come back to TV. I might even be talked into watching it. I only saw the reruns because the show is older than me but I loved the idea of the noble lawman coming into town, righting wrongs, and disappearing into the sunset, leaving behind a silver bullet. The man behind the black mask was a superhero in his own way, long before Batman came to the small screen. Yes, I’m aware of the various reincarnations of the show, but nothing matches the original.
So that’s my short list. Honorable mention goes to Remington Steele. Although I wasn’t a chold when it was on, and I didn’t watch every episode, I enjoyed the back-and-forth between the two main characters played by Pierce Bronsan and Stephanie Zimbalist. I know other shows have tried (and failed) to emulate that partnership, but I don’t thonk it’s been matched.
So what shows from your childhood would you bring back? Let us know in the comments. And find out what the other authors have to say tn the links below,
December 12 – what television shows from our childhoods would we bring back and why?
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Yes, we had The Rockford Files and McCloud over here in the UK too. I'd forgotten about those. My favourite at the time was Starsky & Hutch.
I remember Rockford Files and McCloud. I liked both of them at the time.
Some great memories P.j. The Lone Ranger, the Smothers Brothers was fun too. Thanks for the memories!