Rick Liblong: When I was a kid …
Nostalgia. Memories. Looking back. We all participate in it. Every one of us has our own “When I was a kid” stories. For some, being a kid wasn’t that long ago. To some of us, it seems like it was before the Civil War.
In my case, as a Baby Boomer, childhood was the Eisenhower calm of the 1950s and early 1960s. And lucky for us kids, and our mostly stay-at-home moms, television had been invented and was affordable enough for most households to have one.
Mom was very happy to plop us little rug rats down in front of the “boob tube” where we would be safe, and not get into or cause any trouble for a while.
Television networks and local stations were happy to provide programming suitable for us youngsters and advertisers bombarded us with things to pester our parents to buy for us.
My favorite show, or earliest I really remember, was “The Howdy Doody Show”, which I wrote about in a recent column. Millions of us followed the antics of Buffalo Bob, Howdy Doody and their pals daily and shared what we saw, heard and learned with our playmates.
My next favorite show was “The Mickey Mouse Club,” which I also wrote about. The Mouseketeers sang and danced their way into our hearts and taught us many of life’s lessons. They were so cool wearing their mouse ears and sweaters with their names printed on them. I liked them all, especially Annette Funicello.
There were countless other shows we watched, as well. Shows like “Romper Room,” “Kukla, Fran and Ollie,” “Ding Dong School,” and locally on Detroit’s WXYZ-TV, “Lunch with Soupy Sales.”
Just for fun I asked a few friends what their favorite show was as a kid.
Chris H., John F. and Tim J. all mentioned “Davy Crockett.” That was a three-part series on the “Disneyland” TV show in 1954-55. In fact, Ellen W. and Kieth J. said the “Disneyland” show in general was their fave.
“The Roy Rogers Show” got two happy trail riders in Steve F. and John W. Dave F. chose “The Beverly Hillbillies,” while Rick B. liked “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Bob R. joined me in liking Howdy, and Bruce K. also liked Soupy. Judy K. was a Mouseketeer fan like me as well.
I don’t have kids or grandkids so I had to Google what TV shows kids watch today. Actually, I’m a little surprised that kids still watch TV with all of the options they have. Here’s what Google told me:
- “SpongeBob SquarePants”: A long-running, iconic animated comedy about a sea sponge living in an underwater pineapple.
- “Bluey”: A massively popular, gentle animated series about an energetic Australian Blue Heeler puppy and her family.
- “CoComelon”: A mega-hit preschool nursery rhyme and educational show dominating global streaming platforms.
- “Avatar: The Last Airbender”: A critically acclaimed animated action-fantasy series following Aang on his quest to master the four elements.
- “Peppa Pig”: A globally recognized preschool show following a cheeky little pig and her daily family adventures.
- “Phineas and Ferb”: A beloved comedy about two stepbrothers inventing and building massive summer projects.
- “Sesame Street”: The historic, pioneering educational puppet series that has taught generations of children basic counts and the alphabet.
- “Paw Patrol”: A rescue-adventure series starring a pack of heroic rescue pups led by a boy named Ryder.
- “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood”: A modern, low-stimulation PBS animated series focusing on emotional development and social skills.
- “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”: A popular interactive Disney preschool series featuring early math skills and classic characters.
Looks like a pretty good line up. Maybe I’ll have to tune in. How about you? What was your favorite TV show as a kid?
