The days (and nights) of the great tv shows, that is. The prompt I chose today for Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop is:
1.) A list of 10 old TV shows you’d like to make a comeback.
My brother-in-law and nephew in 1958
In no particular order, here’s my list:
1. The Dick Van Dyke Show This show just made me laugh. I can still hear Laura, sobbing and saying: “Ohhh, Rob!”. There are so many jokes from the show that have stayed with me all these years.
2. The Andy Griffith Show Could you possibly get more wholesome? When the series originally aired, I was probably too young to realize that there was a lesson within each show. Small town life at its finest.
3. The Beverly Hillbillies Most of us from that era probably still remember all the words to the theme song. I remember thinking it was cool that Ellie May talked to the animals, and they seemed to know what she said.
4. The Mary Tyler Moore Show I always wanted a beret to wear at just the right angle like Mary did. Never happened.
5. The Ed Sullivan Show To those of you old enough to remember, don’t you miss the days of a nice variety show? Not to mention, Ed brought us The Beatles!!
6. I Dream Of Jeannie My niece and I used to pretend we were Jeannie. For my birthday one year, someone gave me lilac scented bubble bath (from the dime store, no less). The plastic bottle it came in had a tall neck, and we pretended that was our Jeannie bottle.
7. Happy Days For the music, if nothing more. And just the nostalgia of living in a simpler time.
8. The Rifleman I had a serious crush on his son, Mark.
9. Dr. Kildare There’s only one word to describe Richard Chamberlain: dreamy. Of course, I was merely a child when this series aired, but I think, even at that young age, I realized how easy he was on the eyes.
10. That Girl How many attempts did I make to have my hair “flip” like that before I finally just gave up?
I really miss the old tv shows, when there was no worry of seeing or hearing anything offensive. Guess that’s why my tv viewing these days consists mainly of The Weather Channel and TV Land.
Those really WERE the days, my friend.
these days of mine 
Love this! And all the shows! I remember them all. Those were indeed simpler times. My mom still watches reruns of The Andy Griffith Show!
So neat that you chose the picture of Ed and Eddie playing “shoot-’em-up” to illustrate your blog today.
I don’t watch TVLand that much but I do watch the Western Channel to watch those old ‘violent’ tv westerns…HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, BIG VALLEY, BAT MASTERSON, BONANZA, GUNSMOKE. All children watched them and none of them went out and committed violence on strangers or friends!
Thanks for the memory!
I didn’t realize they were playing “shoot-em-up” – I wondered what Ed was doing with his right hand! Yes, we loved those old westerns!
Loved your list! Your nephew looks just like my brother at a similiar age, but maybe it’s just the black and white. Ahhh, for simpler times.
Love the list ~ I think, of all of them, Mary Tyler Moore was my favorite!
I could never “wrap my head around” the fact that she was also Rob Petrie’s wife….???
Absolutely love this list…every one of them! I guess I watched my share of TV back then. I can still hear Ed Sullivan say “All the way from England…the Bea-tles.” And, interestingly at the time we sailed the boat in the canal and watched “I dreamed of Jeannie”, we lived in Cocoa Beach.
Jeannie, The Fonz, Gilligan, Beaver, Laura Ingals and family, and Bewitched were what my summers were filled with. Thank you Nick for putting all those great shows at my disposal since most of them were already canceled by the time I came along.
oh too funny! i totally crushed on mark too (while my older sis wanted chuck connors…)
Since I had older sisters, it was probably the same way at our house!
Good ones, but being a few years older than you, I’ d have to add My Little Margie, and especially all the Roy Rogers shows. Nice to remember the good ole days.
I remember Roy Rogers, and vaguely remember My Little Margie.
Love your list, and we had most of them in Canada, too.
Can I add “The Carol Burnett Show” to this list? Every time I see a clip of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman I still crack up … fun post
🙂 MJ
Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were hilarious!
You came up with a fantastic list! I’d have to add in Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver and My Three Sons. Carol Burnett was a great add. I am in agreement…I miss the good variety shows like Ed Sullivan.
Ah, yes … the days before the “reality show.” 🙂 Must’ve been awesome! If anyone wants to remember some of these shows again, even if it’s just to hear the intros, try YouTube if you haven’t already. Almost EVERYthing is there – Perfect picture for today, too !!
I whole-heartedly agree with many on your list – but especially The Andy Griffith show – still watch it when I can find it…..and,I love the Dick Van Dyke show so much, we got them on Netflix and used them for family movie nights with the kids. I love that even my little ones laugh when Dick trips over the foot stool in the opening credits!
Andy Griffith … he always reminded me of my dad … or maybe the dad I wanted! LOL!
That picture is just beyond perfect for this!
Some of those great shows you’ve listed I remember, some I don’t but I want to add one…The Wild Wild West with Robert Conrad! Oh! And another…Bonanza! Nice well kept horses. 🙂
I remember watching the shows in black and white and was so thrilled when color came out! I liked Mary Tyler Moore, her apartment looked so cool and I wanted one exactly like it. The Wild, Wild West was another good one because I had a serious crush on Robert Conrad! There’s so many I wish could come back that were so much more entertaining than the fare that’s shown now. In fact, I hardly ever watch tv anymore because there’s nothing on that interests me. Once in a while I watch HGTV or the news. Or an occasional movie.
What a wonderful list and descriptions!
I used to watch the Beverly Hillbilies, Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, and the Rifleman with my daddy as a little girl. In reruns of course, but still good times.
Wow! You went way back! I watched the Beverly Hilbillies or Nick-at-Night as a kid. Loved Granny! Oh and Dennis the Mennace was charming 🙂
I wish they’d bring back some wholesome family programming like those shows!
Still can NOT figure out why anyone would watch a ‘reality’ show. I’m at the point that I usually watch documentaries…sometimes over and over just to have the noise since I’m usually knitting or crocheting at the time~ Remember when all the shows on tv were the westerns….Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Have Gun Will Travel….you always knew the good guys would win and they did it without a swear word!!!
great list. Can’t wait to see any one of them.
I loved many of these shows too even if they were mostly reruns by the time I was watching them. Love that old pic!
I love I Dream of Jennie!
i used to always flip my ponytail like Jeannie!
I had forgotton all about “the Andy Griffith” show and “I Dream of Jeannie” were a ton of fun. The others, unfortunately, I have not seen, but I have heard wonderful things about them and you are right. All of them are very good about presenting a wholesome message and encouraging being away from the TV and playing outdoors as well as family fun and unity.
Great trip down memory lane, back when shows were truly entertaining.
Granted that my idea of ‘old tv’ is a bit different from yours, but I miss The Wonder Years, but, like often happens to shows about kids, the actors grew up and last that magic. Sigh.
Lost that magic*
I liked six out of your 10 (first 4, the Rifleman and Happy Days. There were many good shows over the years–clean, wholesome ones with no smut or sexual inuendos.
Here’s my list: http://zemeks.blogspot.com/2011/07/karens-top-10-tv-shows-writers-workshop.html
The best thing about these shows is that the humor is still (mostly) relevant. The writing was so good and intelligent. Adults enjoyed it but it wasn’t inappropriate for the kids.
Granted, Jeannie did have a little issue with showing some skin…but really, compared to NOW??? I’d love to be limited to that much raciness.
Oh man, that’s quite the list…and the picture is so cool! Andy Griffith is actually on my “glad it’s gone” list. I remember cringing when the whistling would come on because that meant I couldn’t watch Flipper or Lassie for at least another 30 minutes.
What a great list of shows. These are the kinds of programming that you can’t get today anymore.
I remember and watched each of those shows. Those were the times for GOOD tv. Thank the Lord for re-runs!!
Oh, I loved all these shows! When I was little, I loved Carol Burnett so much that I wrote her a letter. My mom helped find the tv studio address, and she actually wrote me back! The envelope and stationary had her official letterhead on it, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The Flying Nun was another one of my favorites.
What about ‘I Love Lucy’? without whom my pups (Lucy and Ethel) wouldn’t have names LOL. and later: ‘LaVerne and Shirley’ (I patterned myself after LaVerne)
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