TV Tuesday: Origin Stories

[yourlibrarian]

What is your earliest memory of watching TV? Is it tied to a favorite show or a routine?

Comments

[rocky41_7]

When I was very little (4-5) my dad would bribe me with Star Trek. If I finished cleaning my bedroom by 5 PM when Star Trek Next Gen was on, I could come watch it with him. Obviously I did not understand much, but I liked Data XD Even now hearing the opening theme reminds me of dad <3

[yourlibrarian]

Aw, that's a great memory! Trek was definitely a family affair at my home as well.

[yourlibrarian]

I was not allowed to regularly watch TV as a kid, but there were a few shows I remember seeing. Some of them were the Rankin Bass holiday specials. I also remember watching the Charlie Brown ones (I found them rather boring).

The only regular show I can remember being allowed to watch when younger was Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and I remember being really sad when Friday came around because I wouldn't be able to see him again until Monday.

[jo]

I remember a bunch of morning kids shows on the CBC -- Bobino, Chez Helene, Friendly Giant, Littlest Hobo, Butternut Square... and some animated ones, Mighty Hercules, Rocket Robin Hood. My mom used to say that when I was a baby, she'd plunk me down in my playpen with Mr. Rogers on the telly and I'd be happy as a lamb. I have no memories of that, of course.

[Note: Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers, actually got his start on the CBC]

[delphi]

Aw, I loved The Littlest Hobo. (Also, that song is going to be in my head all day now.)

[delphi]

My earliest memories of watching TV are probably at my grandmother's house as a toddler/preschooler, lying on the orange shag carpet watching The Price Is Right or Days of Our Lives with her.

But my first memory of a capital-letter Appointment TV Event was when Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. That was the first time I remember my parents talking about a show before it came out and making clear plans to sit down and watch it. Neither of them were big Star Trek fans in the scheme of things, but they were just at the right age for it to be hitting that nostalgic place for them. They rented all the existing Star Trek movies for us to watch in the lead-up and accidentally turned me into a little fan for life.

[yourlibrarian]

Aw, what a great beginning!

[mulhollands]

I used to like watching stuff like Kimba The White Lion, Astroboy, various Hanna Barbara cartoons etc. as a kid

[jo]

Kimba The White Lion

An animated white lion rang bells, so I googled. Turns out I used to watch that too, but in French, and it was called Le roi Léo (Leo the King).

[jenab]

Hanna Barbara was great. I loved the Flintstones.

[delphi]

I loved Astroboy!

[jenab]

I remember Mr Dressup and Mr Rogers along with Sesame Street. There was also a show about a giant and another about hamsters but I'm drawing a blank on the titles.

I do remember how the Doctor Who theme song scared me and I couldn't watch the show because of that until the Ninth Doctor came along.

My first soap was Another World because my mom watched it all the time. Sundays was dinner in front of the TV as we all watched the Looney Tunes or Disney.

[yourlibrarian]

Ah, I remember watching Wild Kingdom and Disney on Sunday nights also!

[rogueslayer452]

Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and My Little Pony are the ones that I can think of. Of course I watched a lot of things during that time of early childhood so it kind of blends together, really.

Also, while I didn't necessarily sit and watch it, I do remember vaguely being aware of when my parents would sit down and watch the news at night, although that would be either right before or after going to bed, but it was something that I definitely remember being on the television a lot when it wasn't something that me or my sister were watching.

[yourlibrarian]

Same in our house -- I didn't even think about the news since I only watched it because it was on during mealtime.

[dirty_diana]

MacGyver! I needed permission to stay up and watch it since it was on past my usual bedtime, lol. My love of earnest heroes has persisted to this day.

[yourlibrarian]

The other day Stephen Colbert warned parents that if their kids were watching they had something spicy about to happen. Granted, streaming and recordings means stuff can be on at any time of day. But I also wonder if kids even have set bedtimes these days, because what kid would be up watching Colbert?

[lauramcewan]

Even as a teen I had a bedtime, because my mother needed SILENCE!!! Because she had to get up early for work. But on Mondays, I was allowed to stay up to 9:30 so I could watch M*A*S*H with my dad. I was a M*A*S*H junkie and could answer any trivia question back then. The final episode aired on my dad's 35th birthday (My parents were under 20 when I was born!) and we both were sniffly over it.

[dirty_diana]

That's too cute. My dad was my MacGyver watching buddy also.

[starwatcher]

Saturday morning TV -- Sky King, Sea Hunt, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger. (I wanted to learn to fly and scuba dive so much. Ride horses, too, but that was within reach; flying and scuba not so much. )

After school -- Mickey Mouse club.

Sunday evening -- Walt Disney.

I have no idea which came first; they all overlap, somewhere between 5 - 7 years of age. I'm not sure we even had a TV before I was 4 or 5. I was 5 in 1957; I suspect my parents couldn't afford a TV before then.

[yourlibrarian]

A friend of mine used to watch the Mickey Mouse club regularly, and I remember she had a crush on Tim Considine.

[lauramcewan]

My mother let me watch Sesame Street. She thought it was dumb but then realized I was learning from it. I was born in 1968, and I think it premiered in 1969 was I was 18 mos old, so I was among the first, though I'm sure I was two before she actually let me see it. And probably on a black and white tv! I am old.

[bleodswean]

Yes! Sesame Street was the second thing I ever saw on TV and it was GLORIOUS!!!

[bleodswean]

We were raised on very restricted viewing. But I do remember the first two times I saw it. First was the Moon Landing and a neighborhood watch had been organized. I was perplexed but there was such a huge sense of awe and joy and we kept being ushered outside to look up at the moon.

The second I was at a friend's house and a brand-new show had just debuted. The mother called and asked if I could watch it. It was Sesame Street! I remember every single minute of that episode. The letters, the numbers, all of it. I was AMAZED and DELIGHTED!

[yourlibrarian]

That's neat that you remember the moon landing! I was too young to recall it but I'm sure we must have watched just as eagerly. And yes, Sesame Street was such a change in children's programming!

[bleodswean]

I know so many of us venerate Jim Henson, but it can never be said too many times that the man was a childhood development genius and his gentle nature was exactly what children needed then and continue to be served by.

[lauramcewan]

How neat you remember the moon landing! My mom says she took me outside and showed me the moon and told me men were walking up there.

[bleodswean]

Right?! It's monumental!