Monday, October 10, 2011

Great Shows From The 70's

By Kym Christie


Imagine a family, all sitting round the TELEVISION, probably the sole TV in the house. Father is holding the RC, which everyone refers to as "the clicker." The remote has only 2 functions. One of the functions turns the TELEVISION off and on. The other changes the channels, all 7 or 8 of them, with a click of a button. Now try and think what that family is watching. Are you imagining them watching one of the classic TV shows from the 1970's?

In the 1970s most families had one, maybe two TVs in the house, and the second television was typically put away in mom and dad's room where they could watch the classic shows the kids couldn't watch yet like Maude or Soap. The TVs in the house could have even shown the programs in black and white.

What kept families glued to these TVs that had only a handful of channels, an ancient clicker, and often no color? The classic TV shows from the 1970s, naturally. There were so many family-friendly shows in a selection of genres.

For families that enjoyed comedies, the 1970s had some of the most notable sitcoms. The families in the '70's learned all about families in the 1950's by watching the wildly popular Content Days and its equally popular spin off Laverne and Shirley. Ecstatic Days also launched the career of comic Robin Williams who went on to be in another spin off the show "Mork and Mindy.

Other family friendly classic television shows of the 1970's include The Partridge Family (with teenager hearth throb David Cassidy), the show that introduced us to John Travolta, Welcome Back Kotter, One Day at a Time, Chico and the Person, The Odd Couple, Fun Times, WKRP in Cincinnati, What's Happening, Three's Company and The Jeffersons.

Families with older children enjoyed comedies with a social conscience like All in the Family, Maude, Barney Miller or Mash. These classic 1970s sitcoms dealt with the social issues of the day in poignant yet comedic way.

Families also had one or two variety shows to choose from for their viewing pleasure. Classic variety shows e. G The Donny and Marie Show and The Sonny and Cher Show had music, comedy sketches and preferred guest stars every week. The Carol Burnett Show brought together some of the 1970's funniest comedians every week and The Muppet Show combined the genius of Jim Henson's superb creations with musical and comedy guest stars sharing the stage with Kermit, Miss Piggy and Animal.

There were masses of sixty minutes family dramas, too. 8 is Enough, Tiny House on the Prairie, and The Waltons were just a few of the classic TV dramas that brought families together in front of the television every week.

There had been also room for crime fighting and action heroes in the classic 1970s TV shows. The world learned what bionics was in The Six Million Buck Man and its spin off The Bionic Girl. Every week families would focus in on see how Lee Majors and Jamie Sommers would use their bionic eyes and ears. CHiPs gave us a glance into the life of California Highway Patrol officers. Starsky and Hutch chased bad buys in their hot rod and BJ and the Bear traced wise guys in an 18 wheeler.

Two other classic television shows from that time that can't be defined by any of these other genres were The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. These shows were the spot for the stars of yesterday and the stars of the existing time to make guest appearances, one or two at a time. For years , families stayed home on Saturday nights just to see who would get off the aeroplane onto the island or turn up Julie the Cruise Director's guest list.

In today's modern times, there are countless hundreds of channels on every one of the four or more TV sets in most houses. Yet, there appears to never be anything to watch, particularly something that everyone can enjoy together. Many of these classic TV shows from the 1970's are now on DVD and can be bought or rented either online or at a store. Why don't you consider getting a classic Television DVD for your family this Friday night rather than the usually family movie?




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