Turn on, Tune in, Drop by: From Guilty Pleasures to Classic Genre Television

“Classic” television is our topic du jour. I ought to talk about what makes television great. But I’m not. I’m going to talk about what television I loved when I watched television, back in the days when you actually had to get up off your arse, walk across the room, and change the channel manually. Man, was I excited when we got a snazzy push-button television!

No, that’s not my television. Funny thing, when those tv’s were the top of the line, people used film cameras. And somehow, I didn’t want to spend precious film on my television. Go figure. Anyway, as I was saying. In my post last month, I talked about watching Star Trek. No, not the movie with Chris Pine. Star Trek, the Original.

But what else did I love in those days?

Oh, lovely! Gods, I loved that show. I liked this Durwood better, though:

And I loved to hate Mother!

She was delicious. And the costumes they made her wear! Oi. Later, once cable really got going, my grandparents subscribed to more cable channels than we did. I got to see a show with a genie in it!

I probably lose every feminist cred I ever had by admitting that, but hey. I liked what I liked! It wasn’t like there were a lot of shows with strong, independent female characters. Or were there? Bewitched was about a woman with a lot of independence, making the world over in the way she wants it. Same with Genie, too. Sexist, probably, but I would argue that these lead to more feminist characters being visible on television. Xena comes out of the legacy of shoes like that. And honestly, have you seen Aunt Bee?

She was hardly a pushover. Of course, that doesn’t count, since I didn’t get interested in watching that show until a few years ago. What else?

Helloooooooo lunch! Man, did I have a crush on him. Turns out the actor was a chauvinist jerk, but hey. ~shrug~

Hmm. I’m sensing a theme. Stephen J. Cannell (who, sadly, passed away last year) was amazing! I loved his shows. And that brings us to 21 Jump Street!

That was an awesome show. I loved Johnnie Depp’s character, and am happy to say I’m his first fan. Maybe not his biggest, or his oldest, but I like to think I’m the first. Yeah, long shot, I know. Don’t rain on my parade! Three other shows by Stephen J. Cannell that I like are The Greatest American Hero, Hardcastle and McCormick, and Magnum, P.I. One last one:

In fact, I think I’m going to go find my DVD collections. I have some shows to watch. Thank the gods for Netflix!