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What was the last TV show you watched?

Doctor Strange

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5,246
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
You know, I'm struck by the fact that so much of our tastes, and our parents' tastes, depended on where we grew up. (And when.)

My parents were both born in NYC, and I grew up right over the border in Westchester. My folks were big fans of the live TV dramas in the fifties, and while we watched a wide range of popular shows when I was a kid in the sixties (Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent, Carol Burnett, etc.), they really dug "classier" fare like The Defenders and early (pre-PBS network) public broadcasting/BBC shows like The Forsyte Saga and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

But... they had absolutely zero affinity for country-oriented shows like Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and later, Hee Haw or Dukes of Hazzard. They were urbanites with pretentions to being psuedo-intellectuals, and they felt that the country shows just weren't for us: they were silly, and obviously directed at heartland folks who could relate to those farms, little towns, eccentric characters, country music, and rural humor. So... I never watched any of those shows as a kid. And there was no way that I could get into them later on when I was on my own: they were just totally alien to my experiences (and not in a fascinating way like science fiction, westerns, war stories, period costume dramas, etc.)

Anyway, my point is that the "accidents" of your early locale and mindset have an awful lot to do with what you're exposed to, and what you end up liking...
 

AmateisGal

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Messages
6,126
Location
Nebraska
I spent most Friday evenings at my grandmother's. Every week, without fail, the General Lee would hit the "ramp" of dirt (supposedly a road construction sight) as the great Waylon Jennings would sing "...Fighting the system like two modern-day Robin Hoods" and my grandmother would scream (and I am not exagerating) "OH THEM BOYS ARE GONNA KILL THEMSELVES!!!"
My brother and I would secretly look forward to the outburst all week long.

lol lol I love this anecdote!
 

AmateisGal

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,126
Location
Nebraska
You know, I'm struck by the fact that so much of our tastes, and our parents' tastes, depended on where we grew up. (And when.)

My parents were both born in NYC, and I grew up right over the border in Westchester. My folks were big fans of the live TV dramas in the fifties, and while we watched a wide range of popular shows when I was a kid in the sixties (Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent, Carol Burnett, etc.), they really dug "classier" fare like The Defenders and early (pre-PBS network) public broadcasting/BBC shows like The Forsyte Saga and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

But... they had absolutely zero affinity for country-oriented shows like Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and later, Hee Haw or Dukes of Hazzard. They were urbanites with pretentions to being psuedo-intellectuals, and they felt that the country shows just weren't for us: they were silly, and obviously directed at heartland folks who could relate to those farms, little towns, eccentric characters, country music, and rural humor. So... I never watched any of those shows as a kid. And there was no way that I could get into them later on when I was on my own: they were just totally alien to my experiences (and not in a fascinating way like science fiction, westerns, war stories, period costume dramas, etc.)

Anyway, my point is that the "accidents" of your early locale and mindset have an awful lot to do with what you're exposed to, and what you end up liking...

So true. We were a farm family - farming the land that my great-grandfather had settled when he came over from Italy (my brother is farming the same ground now) and we could relate to those country shows.

We also only got three channels when I was growing up - PBS, CBS, and ABC (we did have NBC for awhile, but then they yanked it). I watched a lot of shows on PBS - cooking, crafting, and travel shows, plus Masterpiece Theater and all those great BBC comedies. I still love the costume dramas and BritComs today.
 
You know, I'm struck by the fact that so much of our tastes, and our parents' tastes, depended on where we grew up. (And when.)

My parents were both born in NYC, and I grew up right over the border in Westchester. My folks were big fans of the live TV dramas in the fifties, and while we watched a wide range of popular shows when I was a kid in the sixties (Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent, Carol Burnett, etc.), they really dug "classier" fare like The Defenders and early (pre-PBS network) public broadcasting/BBC shows like The Forsyte Saga and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

But... they had absolutely zero affinity for country-oriented shows like Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and later, Hee Haw or Dukes of Hazzard. They were urbanites with pretentions to being psuedo-intellectuals, and they felt that the country shows just weren't for us: they were silly, and obviously directed at heartland folks who could relate to those farms, little towns, eccentric characters, country music, and rural humor. So... I never watched any of those shows as a kid. And there was no way that I could get into them later on when I was on my own: they were just totally alien to my experiences (and not in a fascinating way like science fiction, westerns, war stories, period costume dramas, etc.)

Anyway, my point is that the "accidents" of your early locale and mindset have an awful lot to do with what you're exposed to, and what you end up liking...

That doesn't work for me. I have always lived in the city and never had any real country experience. All those shows were just guy shows when we were growing up and it encompassed several generations. Then again, such "longhaired" shows and pretentiously high class things were looked down on.
 
Messages
10,883
Location
Portage, Wis.
Kinda curious where Milwaukee places on the rural/city-scope.

My dad grew up there, and his dad, and his dad. The TV shows at the house, according to my dad, that were regularly watched included Gunsmoke, Hee Haw, Andy Griffith, Sha Na Na's variety show, Lawrence Welk, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Green Acres, to name the ones that come straight to mind. They're the same shows I grew up on, but I grew up on a farm out in the middle of nowhere lol

You know, I'm struck by the fact that so much of our tastes, and our parents' tastes, depended on where we grew up. (And when.)

My parents were both born in NYC, and I grew up right over the border in Westchester. My folks were big fans of the live TV dramas in the fifties, and while we watched a wide range of popular shows when I was a kid in the sixties (Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent, Carol Burnett, etc.), they really dug "classier" fare like The Defenders and early (pre-PBS network) public broadcasting/BBC shows like The Forsyte Saga and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

But... they had absolutely zero affinity for country-oriented shows like Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and later, Hee Haw or Dukes of Hazzard. They were urbanites with pretentions to being psuedo-intellectuals, and they felt that the country shows just weren't for us: they were silly, and obviously directed at heartland folks who could relate to those farms, little towns, eccentric characters, country music, and rural humor. So... I never watched any of those shows as a kid. And there was no way that I could get into them later on when I was on my own: they were just totally alien to my experiences (and not in a fascinating way like science fiction, westerns, war stories, period costume dramas, etc.)
 

Doctor Strange

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,246
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
So true. We were a farm family - farming the land that my great-grandfather had settled when he came over from Italy (my brother is farming the same ground now) and we could relate to those country shows.

We also only got three channels when I was growing up - PBS, CBS, and ABC (we did have NBC for awhile, but then they yanked it). I watched a lot of shows on PBS - cooking, crafting, and travel shows, plus Masterpiece Theater and all those great BBC comedies. I still love the costume dramas and BritComs today.

Hey, even in the NYC region back in the sixties there were only six channels! There were the big three networks, 13/WNET - which would become one of the PBS flagships - and the local independent channels 5/WNEW, 9/WOR, and 11/WPIX.

The entertainment landscape was so much smaller - just vastly different from what nearly anybody under 35 or so (depending on where they grew up) has experienced.
 

Doctor Strange

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,246
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
That doesn't work for me. I have always lived in the city and never had any real country experience. All those shows were just guy shows when we were growing up and it encompassed several generations. Then again, such "longhaired" shows and pretentiously high class things were looked down on.

Well, I was just making a personal observation. I didn't expect it to apply to everyone. We all have different backgrounds and tastes... and viva le differance!

Though neither of my parents had gone to college (they were from poor immigrant families, and both spent what would have been their college years in the service during WWII), they had great respect for and aspired to appreciate those "high class things", and that's what they passed on to my sister and me.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
When I had the satellite repairman out to upgrade my set, he was having a little trouble with programing. He said, "remember when we had three channels," and I said, "and we where happy!" We both got a good laugh. I am down to just over 60 channels on my favorite list, scared to edit any more, probably would be down to only ten or so out of 300 plus!
 

MisterCairo

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,005
Location
Gads Hill, Ontario
Supernatural, season 4, episode where changelings are taking over children in the town where Dean Winchester had a fling with a woman about eight years previously. You have to be a fan, I guess...
 

Gregg Axley

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,125
Location
Tennessee
I'm sure Lisa Todd and Misty Roe were following him around as well. :D
Actually tonight's show should be one of the last with Stringbean.
This series of shows were filmed sometime in late 73, which is when Stringbean was murdered.
Although they weren't shown until spring of 74.
Don Rich (Buck's guitarist and good friend) would die that summer in a motorcycle accident if I remember correctly.
 
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