In my lifetime a lot has changed in TV. The first TV I had as a kid was one of the old consoles, which meant it took up a lot of space in depth as well as width and height compared to the size of the screen. It was black and white, and we certainly had no more than the three channels that everyone else had.
When we were transferred to Germany, we left the old behemoth behind and for the 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 years away from the US had no TV of our own. At Ramstein, friends of ours had a TV similar to the one we had in Ft Walton Beach, and it was there that I saw the late night show that was celebrated just a while ago: The Beatles "landing in America". When we moved out to Wernau, our neighbors the Zinns had a similar console TV and I recall seeing a show called "Orion 7", which was perhaps one of the first space adventure Sci Fi shows. Also, my Uncle and Aunt the Bayer's had a TV and I recall seeing American movies there including Fort Apache, and wondering how the Native Americans and the cavalry troops spoke German. We also saw German programing including I think soccer, thus making that fine sport likely the first I saw on TV. Good times. When we returned to the US, moving to Albuquerque, we stayed with friends en route the day after we landed in New York, and I think that may have been the first color TV I saw, and the show we saw after all us kids were sent downstairs was one of the Star Trek episodes. Not long after buying our house near the Sandia mountains we bought a color TV, and the first thing I remember watching was my first football game. It was the Rams, back when they were still in Los Angeles and had the Fearsome Foursome and Roman Gabriel on the team, making me a long time fan of that team until they left LA. Back in those days there were regular hockey games on, and I recall becoming a fan of the Montreal Canadians and their stars such as The Pocket Rocket Henri Richard and The Roadrunner Yvan Cournoyer. Watching these games brought my Mom's memories of her time in Montreal back to her.
Over those early years, Sis and I were not allowed to see a lot of TV. Cartoons were considered a waste of time and possibly even harmful (I think due to just being a waste of time), and the emphasis was always schoolwork and doing things like playing outside or with toys rather than just watching TV. We did see shows in the evening, including the news, and I keep the impression that there was far less negative news, that indeed the journalists of that time were not nearly as partisan as they are now. But I could be wrong, as I was younger and perhaps less observant in those days. The shows tended to not try and solve social issues, which while making them simple to the point that many today think of them as lame also kept them from heading off into political correct stupidity which is one reason why many current shows have problems, in my opinion. There were game shows, but none of the so called "reality shows" that are no more real than "Orion 7" but are often crass and a waste of time. Life was good even without the garbage we are offered on so many of the dozens of channels that have sprung up since that time.
One of the things that I like about the old shows is that they often emphasize respect and understanding for elders. Now, you might think those ideas are outdated and have no value, but think a moment: Someday you will be old, and you will realize how often you were incredibly wrong or at least left others with no choice but to think that you were. And you will realize at some point that if you had had a good person with some wisdom to help point you in the right direction, or if you had followed that persons advice, that life would have been far better off. I do miss my parents, even now, and ask "what should I do Dad or Mom?" more often than I care to admit. We see it at times here in the family. A young un thinking he or she has everything under control only to need a retreat and restart after mistakes are made. And yet no one blinks an eye when a show features the college aged daughter giving her parents a lot of grief because they do not trust that she is doing anything to secure her future. To follow on that, the show decides to make her look like the smart one and her parents look like they were dolts when they try to help get her on track and it turns out that she really has been doing something all this time that was not leading to her demise as a useful person. Perhaps a touch of the world of reality would be good with the parents stopping her temper tantrum by saying something to the effect that she had shown no evidence of working on her future, and that if she wants people who care about her to believe in her that she needs to talk to them instead of just assuming that they will see that she has things under control?
Overall, there are enough shows that are worth watching to keep me entertained, but just barely. Good crime dramas head the list, and some decent comedies fill in much of the rest. Most of us in the house like NCIS, and CSI, which for the last few years have been the top shows of their type on US TV. Bones, Castle, Elementary, The Mentalist, and the excellent British show Sherlock all provide good entertainment in that genre. Longmire seems to have fallen off the schedule which is to bad since we liked it enough to consider checking out Wyoming as a possible retirement destination. Add The Walking Dead for zombie drama and a great chance to wonder how any of the characters survive, except Michonne who has both a true warrior spirit and the brains to not make laughably bad decisions. Also add pure humor from Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory (although we are not nearly as fanatical about TBBT as we were in the earlier seasons). A few home improvement/ home search shows are fun, and some of the family enjoys a go at The Voice for some reason that escapes me since few of the songs are worth even one listen and most of the singers are barely better than the sorry crop of mainstream pop tartlets who have so little talent beyond shaking their booty and other assets. Perhaps the most fascinating channel we watch is NHK, a Japanese channel produced for the US audience. A lot of good shows come out of NHK. To be good, in my not so humble opinion, you need to stay away from politics and political correctness, unless you show each side equally.
