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| YOU HAVE JUST ENTERED THE TV ZONE |
| I am a product of the 20th century. (No, that's not Fox.) As such, I have had some exposure to television. This is not entirely bad. TV has been a source of information, entertainment, joy, frustration, and grief. I watched the funerals John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Sr., Martin Luther King, Jr., and Princess Diana on television. It also allowed me to witness Neil Armstrong's first step onto the moon. It was where I first heard Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sing "Happy Trails to You." Quick Draw McGraw and Perry Mason shared air time with Walt Disney and Howdy Doody. |
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| I remember, as a grade-schooler (in Columbus, Ohio, while my mom attended OSU), seeing maps on the evening news. They depicted a strange little country in Asia called "Viet Nam," where they had "guerillas," which were not "gorillas," but were in fact much scarier. My dad, who had been stationed at a Naval hospital in the south Pacific during World War II, wore that expression on his face which I sensed meant worry beneath the appearance of calm reassurance. |
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| Yes, you've heard the news: too much television is bad for you. Agreed. And too much water causes drowning. Learn to swim and take precautions! Television can be hypnotic. (So can your computer!) Take a break. Exercise your body as well as your mind. Don't let the medium turn you into a creature that merely reacts and nothing else. |
| Television, computers, video games, and even books can give you an excuse to be a sloth, a couch potato, a bookworm, or whatever your pet excuse/phrase is. But that is an excuse, remember. Who is in control of your brain? Dust it off and use it! Exercise your body! How boring would it be if everyone on tv just watched tv all the time? Get a life! Talk about books, movies, television shows with friends, family, perfect strangers... well, no one's perfect. But there are clubs and classes for people who have such interests. Join one, even if it's only to listen. It might give you new insights. |
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| In the meantime, O guilty one, go watch "Blue's Clues" or "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" with a kid. "Sesame Street" is great. "Arthur," and "Reading Rainbow." I personally miss "The Electric Company." ("Hey you g-uuuuuys!") Speaking of guys, what about Bill Nye the Science Guy? Wishbone, the Magic School Bus.... There are tons of kids shows. Some of them I've never seen, and they are NOT recommended as baby-sitting devices --- but they are excellent things to share with your favorite small person. |
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| But don't stop there! Watch the news to keep yourself informed. Watch "M*A*S*H" to make you laugh and cry and think, and to remind yourself that the '70s were not a waste of time for everyone. Watch "Tiny Tune Adventures" and "Animaniacs" with your favorite maniacs and smile, because Bugs Bunny's little pals are not only funny, but clever. |
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| Some of my favorite television is represented by the art on this page. I also loved "Lassie," "Bewitched," "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," "My Favorite Martian," "Leave It to Beaver," "Hogan's Heroes," "The Tonight Show," "Designing Women." "Cosby," "Night Court," "McGyver," "Columbo," "Magnum, PI," and others. |
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| I watch daytime television --- a.k.a. SOAPS --- when I get a chance, too. Sometimes they are pure escapism. Wouldn't you love to have a steamy romance like General Hospital's Luke and Laura in the '80s? Well, maybe not really... but it was a great vicarious thrill to hunt for the Left-handed Boy and fall in love all over again in Beecher's Corners. Now friends at work and I enjoy discussing the Ice Princess revisited, with the Spencers and Cassasidines and Webbers all over again. We also catch up on what's up with Sonny and Carly, and what about all the vampires over on spin-off Port Charles? Surely Caleb is really related to Stavros and Helena Cassadine, not to Lucy Coe! |
| At any rate, my very favorite tv show has a page of its own. Well, actually four of them. You can follow the link to read about a science fiction/fantasy show that lasted much too short a time. If you've never seen it before (and this is possible if you are rather young, live in certain parts of the world, or do not get SciFi network), at least you can read about it. It's funny, it's fun, it's relevant; it's historical, entertaining, uplifting, even spiritual. Take a Quantum Leap! Lorilei Lee's Page of Art * |
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