Has anyone else been out shopping the last couple days? Was it crowded by you? It was really eerily UNcrowded here.
After I finished my errands at the mall, I headed to the grocery store. You know how I shop when I'm by myself? However I darn well please, that's how! I take exorbitant amounts of time to walk up and down every single aisle. Very, very slowly. I see products I never knew existed when I shop by myself. I can easily get lost for hours if it's one of those super stores. The car maintenance aisle? Sure, why not? I don't need motor oil or tree shaped air fresheners, but I'll check it out anyway. Why? Because I don't have the kids with me and I'm not in a hurry to get back home. Baby food aisle? Bring it on! I don't have any little babies, but I'll check out what new flavors Gerber has come up with. Office supply aisle? I now know how many different types of pencils they sell.
Know another thing I do when I shop by myself? As I move the groceries from the cart to my van, I search for the cookies. Then, looking around to make sure no one is watching me (because that would be embarrassing) I sneak the cookies into the front seat with me. I just know there's a guy watching the parking lot surveillance cameras, laughing at me, and calling his security buddies over, saying, "Check this out! This woman is gonna chow down a whole package of cookies before she's even out of the parking lot! I bet you! Odds are five to one." All the security guards gather round the monitor and slap their money down. Of course I made sure I was out of the parking lot before tearing into the cookies just in case.
I showed my husband that Yo Gabba Gabba video last night. He didn't believe me that it was from an actual show that is on TV. Then we got to talking about old shows that we watched as kids. After digging up the following classics, we decided that Yo Gabba Gabba isn't quite as psychotic as the shows we watched when we were kids! If you have time and are interested, just click the titles of the shows and it'll take you to a YouTube video. Enjoy!
HR Pufnstuff is quite possibly the most warped show of the 70s. There's a kid who runs away from home with his magic flute. He steals a boat. A witch, appropriately name Witchiepoo, tries to get him. A very creepy looking thing (seriously what IS that thing? He's got a collar like Kermit the frog. He's got a tail- Maybe it's a dragon? A dinosaur? He has terrible bags under his eyes- Maybe it's a mom? I have no idea, but it's a wonder more kids of the 70s aren't seriously messed up.
Gigglesnort Hotel. Now here's a show that has everything! Strange crow puppets, a blob of clay that just makes strangled sounds, a puppet who thinks he's W.C. Fields, a dragon who smokes, and other assorted wacko puppets.
And who could forget The Great Space Coaster, Gary Gnu, and Goriddle Gorilla? And look at the end of this clip. There's yet another person dressed up in a creepy looking costume!
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters is another show that follows that simple rule for kids' shows in the 70s - you MUST have people dressed up in creepy costumes. And how can you go wrong when you've got Rip Taylor with green hair and some kid with five foot hair?
The Bugaloos is another great 70s show. It featured 4 kids (or were they bugs) and, of course, the requisite person in a creepy costume. Is anyone else getting the feeling that Sid & Marty Kroft were on some serious drugs when they created these shows?
The New Zoo Review is another show with, yes you guessed it - people dressed in creepy costumes! Check out the spectacular choreography in this clip.
Banana Splits is yet another show with creepy costumed characters. Apparently my generation really got into this. These guys are having fun at an amusement park though, so it's all ok.
The Land of the Lost didn't have any people dressed up like creepy things. Nope, this show had some grade A animation! A bunch of folks go for a river ride (down a very realistic river, I might add) and somehow wind up in a land of dinosaurs. What? It could happen.
And let's not forget all the educational cartoons we enjoyed as kids like Clutch Cargo who taught us that cartoons can be creepy too, what with their human mouths, Speed Racer who taught us that driving really, really fast and hanging out with monkeys is a good idea, Underdog, Magilla Gorilla, School House Rock, Zoom, Hong Kong Phooey, The Jetsons, TheFlintstones, Gilligan's Island, Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, Mr. Magoo, Bozo's Circus, Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Shmoo, Popeye, The Adams Family, and The Munsters, and of course Tom and Jerry. What would cartoon violence be today if it weren't for groundbreaking shows like that?
I never thought Id say this, but Yo Gabba Gabba somehow doesn't look all that bad anymore.
113 comments:
Dawn,
You da bomb, as my teenager would say. You have no idea how much you make smile and think of those shows. Lets not forget Captain Kangaroo, with PING PONG BALLS and all of them fall from the ceiling. 3-2-1 Electric Company that show was bizarre. Ok so now I'm dating myself as well.
Thank you for making me smile.
Kristin
If I am first I just want to be a kid and say that "Dawn loves me more!" Ha, ha. My brother and I were just talking about how we both would say MOM loves me more as kids and I just had to throw it out there in the rare chance I'd be the first!
Dawn, your posts always take me down memory lane. I loved all the shows you mentioned and I am now humming "one banana, two banana, three banana four _ four bananas make a bunch and so do many more...na,na, na...." (theme from the Banana Splits show)
And HOW wonderful that you had a night to shop alone...amazing what you can get done and how LONG it takes to get home, right? ;)
I hope you enjoyed at least half the bag of cookies and called hubby to tell him how terribly CROWDED it was at the mall and that you'd be a little late!
LOL!
http://whosgoingtotellyou.blogspot.com/
What about SPEED RACER??!!!! or WONDER TWINS??!!!!
I loved those shows!!!
I looked for them on YouTube and there was only weird SPOOFS of them!
Ahhhhh the good ole' days!!
I guess I am one of the few who actually *enjoys* Yo Gabba Gabba... and it's precisely because it does remind me of the type of show I might have seen when I was younger, with the goofiness and clips of kids having fun. The messages are simple yet pertinent. *I* thought tummy party was brilliant!
I guess when you put it that way Yo Gabba Gabba IS the crème de la crème of children's education television.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/
Oh Dawn-
Please DO NOT date me anymore than you have to, plleeeeeeaassssee! LOL--just kidding. I remember all those shows and my hubby's favorite was the H.R. Pufnstuf thing. I always thought it rather strange. Oh....the joys of shopping without kidlets. I savor every moment and milk my time!
Shari
Dawn,
I totally take the cookies in the front seat with me also! Sometimes I buy a treat specifically for me to eat in the parking lot before I go home. (The biggest problem is hiding the empty package from the kids)
I think that we are from the same era. I watched most of those shows also. I never liked Land of the lost. Just too creepy. Saturday morning cartoons were great. I loved School House Rock. I got the DVD, and my kids love it too. My oldest memorized his times tables from watching the DVD.
I showed my kids the Yo Gabba Gabba. They were mezmorized, especially the 2yo. He wanted to watch it over and over and over......We even got him to put a green bean in his mouth, but alas, it got spit out and didn't get to go to the party.
I think the stores are not as crowded because everyone was shopping online today.
Jill
I'd say Land of the Lost did have people dressed up as creepy things. Remember the Sleestaks? Former Detroit Piston's "bad boy" Bill Lambier was one of them (it's too late to check spelling, sorry).
Thank a lot Dawn, you just got that song back in my head. "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy so yummy " My 3 year old DD LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba, she even wants to be a DJ, just like DJ Lance. Crazy kid, I just hope that she does not want to dress like him too.
Lol I've watched reruns of The Flintstones...The Addams Family (Gotta luv that show!)Tom and Jerry, Popeye, seen TONS of Mr Rogers episodes (how long has that show been on PBS again??) Yeah old tv shows rock, much better than my generations tv shows....:)
I really enjoy reading your blog, it always puts a smile on my face. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that is kind of creeped out by Yo Gabba Gabba. Sadly, my three year old loves it. If I change the channel, she screams. It's to the point where I try to be out of the house with her when it comes on. I feel like I have my hands full with just my two, I don't know how you do it with all of yours! God bless you!
i'm 27 and i haven't even heard of some of those. im in germany so we dont watch Yo Gabba Gabba but when i saw it on your post the other day i just had to show it to hubby. we were singing the song not to long after. lol. some tv shows are kinda out there for our kids to watch, i agree. I hope your having a great week. My 2 boys are both sick, good thing my 2 girls are well. Well gtg Byes!
~Kristy
www.BooksKidsLove.org
I've been a little freaked out by the non-crowds too. Even on Saturday, I was at a very large mall and the crowd was no worse than on any weekend during the year. Eerie....
Also, Yo Gabba Gabba thoroughly transfixes me. It scares me, yet I cannot look away! And it makes me giggle to think of the party in my tummy being consumed by stomach acid.
You mean, everybody doesn't do that thing with the cookies on the way home from the store?
Oh.
I guess moms with a bunch of kids have to grab their pleasures when they can.
I wanted to thank you for the memory of those t.v. shows. My husband and I was talking about them a few days ago. Nice to see a few.
But I really wanted to thank you for that PARTY IN MY TUMMY. My brother-n-law whos 33 years and servery handicape LOVED it. He like a 3year old you can reason like a 8-9 year old. We now tell him to eat his food so they can go to the party in his tummy. And he does eat. We used to tell him we turn off spongebob if he doesn't eat.
Dawn look on the bright side when he has a temper tamper it's not pretty. We call them hissy fits. Your kids will grow up. He will be a kid forever.
Wow, I can see why you thought you'd slept through Christmas! I would love it if that ever happened around here...fat chance!!
Cartoons annoy me. Of course I really liked them as a child, but now I think they are mostly weird. All the poster above me had to do was mention "party in my tummy" and that annoying song popped back into my head. (yuck)
Because I am British, I thought I would join in and make this all multicultural and stuff. So my UK contribution to the weirdness is The Clangers. Pink knitted creatures that live on their own planet with the Soup Dragon and the Iron Chicken and get involved in adventures like growing music from seed and learning to fly on a rising scale. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_sQgOiX4w
I used to love land of the lost! We let our kids watch the munsters and adams family and now they are hooked. They watch the three stooges with my husband...lovely violence there and they seem to be fine. What about all those great after school specials! (this was said with much sarcasm)
I had to go over to Walmart last night and found myself standing in the cereal isle ALONE! I stopped, looked around, pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and then went on with my shopping. Although, 2 isles down from that I ended up finding myself a foot away from two guys that ended up in a fist fight. The police were called and I ended up having to stay (while my milk and yogurt were getting warm!!) and talk to them to fill out the police report. I'm gonna blog about the whole thing shortly. :) Ahhhh, what a great adventure shopping at Walmart can be!
OMG That was so funny. What a trip, I had completely forgotton the Banana Splits and I think the Great Space Coaster is trying to wiggle its way up in my memory. How can you say that The Land of the Lost didn't have creepy costumes, didn't they have those horrible Sleetstacks (sp?)? Or am I thinking of another horrible show.?
Ummmm, we kids of the 70's are messed up!) There was a lot of "experimenting" with what kids watched on TV and learned in the classroom. I laugh every time I think about some of these shows. Most of us 70's kids stood for nothing and we believed everything that adults told us. I look at kids now with amazement at how so many think for themselves and decide whether or not to believe what they hear. Amazing! Love your blog - your words are perfect. Thanks for doing this.
I think it's funny that we spent so much time watching tv - without our parents present - but now we're not supposed to let our kids watch so much tv, we need to watch tv with them, supervise what they're watching...but I think tv back then was kinder and gentler in some ways than it is now. My personal faves were Wild Kingdom and Wonderful World of Disney. I was a nerd!
Woo hoo! You have just made my day. I can now in all honesty tell my kids that I was not allowed to watch much TV when I was their age, and what I did watch was greatly censored. I recognize very few of those shows. And I'm flattered that you're thinking that I've gotta be so much younger, but I vividly remember Captain Kangaroo and Land of the Lost. I can now use this as ammunition against my kids non-stop TV viewing. mwhahaha
Someone actually gave my 4 boys the box set of HR Pufenstuf a couple of years ago. They love it! They also have the box set of Pee Wee's Playhouse. My husband and I have had conversations about the hallucinogens that Sid and Marty Kroft must have been on! Love your blog. I only have 4 kids, but they are all boys so I figure that is pretty close in craziness to the 6 you have!
Hi Dawn, You asked if the stores are crowded these days? I went out on Sunday and the streets were borderline empty! The store (Meijer's) was the same! Freeky for a Sunday. I did all my shopping via..internet but had to get some stuff for my Christmas tree. I don't know why I put a tree up though..My cat just hurls her body right into the middle of it! I can't wait to hear your Christmas adventures and please take a picture of your tree. I remember having power rangers as ordaments! Kristine in Michigan
Okay, I was thinking that I couldn't remember any of that first set of shows you mentioned except for Land of the Lost. But when I clicked on the links and saw the opening songs, I realized that almost all of them were familiar. And a few of them I actually started singing along to (most notably The Great Space Coaster!)
Wow, how sad am I? We watched some pretty pathetic television back then. At least we had the excuse that there wasn't much else on.
It is funny, the cartoons that we watched as children are still on and my 5 year old loves them!! My 2 1/2 year old can't get enough of Scooby Doo & Tom & Jerry. My 5 yo thinks it is funny that Mommy remembers "his shows"!
Love your post, as always, but one nit to pick - Zoom was not a cartoon! It was all real kids - by kids, for kids.
I was personally a fan of the Japanimation cartoons, too - Star Blazers,Battle of the Planets, etc.
Dawn, How could you mention kroft super show without mentioning Dr. Shrinker! I LOVED Puff n stuff and the new zoo review! Although, I will confess that being a young kid, witchipoo scared me, lol! What about the laugholympics? And how could you for get Captain CAAAVEMAN? lol . Have a blessed day! Gina
The New Zoo Revue used to be my favorite along with Captain Kangaroo! ! Long live the 70's! :)
Ahhh memories! But somehow no one remembers the Magic Garden with Carole and Paula! For a while I thought I must have imagined the whole show with their crazy pink squirrel friend Sherlock and the giggle patch that had such silly jokes! But then I found them! http://caroleandpaula.com/themagicgarden.html ... and I can get it on DVD next year - to torture my kids with of course. We already have Free To Be You And Me with Marlo Thomas! And I'm also planning on getting Really Rosie - sung by Carole King! Mwah ah ah ah! <-- that's an evil laugh if you couldn't tell.
Oh, I am a child of the 70's and I LOVED those shows - Land of the Lost was one of my FAVS!!!!
I really think the shows were so much better back then! Goofy, but usually very innocent, not like some of the so-called "kid shows" I often turn off on my own kids!
Now I have The Bugaloos song stuck in my head for all eternity, thanks Dawn! And I was just talking about HR Pufnstuf the other day - my husband and boys think I am nuts, they have never seen it! Thanks for the memories!
I'm a teenager and I have a DVD of all the schoolhouse rock songs, and I love 'em! So kooky as the shows you mentioned might be, some of them still survive in this generation. ;-) From a fifteen-year-old hoping to be a mommy in later years, thanks for writing this blog and I look forward to future posts!
I looooooooved Puff'n'Stuff!! ..even though I was well grown up lol.....Witchiepoo was a classic
So sad that Jack Wilde died :(
HEY! I didn't see you there yesterday!!! Besides, it was Snickers, not cookies :P
Being a late 80's - early 90's child, I only recognized maybe half of those shows. Anyone up for some Darkwing Duck?
I think the economy has gotten so bad lately that not many people are up to shopping anymore, because they want to hang tight to their money. Know where all the crowds are at? Wal-Mart!
Great - now I've got the Banana splits song in my head. I don't know whether it's an improvement or not - it's kind of replacing the HR Huff n'puff song.
And Wow! Memory Lane! I thought that river was a whole lot more realistic when I was little!
I've heard a person or two say that Barney was weird - some guy dressed up in a purple dinosaur suit. I can't remember who it was, but I think - after seeing these clips - that whoever said it was either very young or had television amnesia! Thanks for the Memories!
Oh, I loved HR Pufnstuff and Land of the Lost. I didn't watch any of the others (some, well, OK, most, were after my time).
I too went shopping yesterday. The Toys R Us was ridiculously crowded, and I got there at 10:30 am. I hate to think what it looked like on Friday. But the other stores were as you described - I was the only one in there for the most part. I chatted with the clerks, looked at stuff I had no interest in buying. Actually I was in stores I don't typically go in because I, too, was kid free for the day. Actually the main reason I was out at all was for doctor appointments, but if you're going to drive 3 hours you might as well get some shopping done at some real stores. Although Toys R Us is a nightmare and the first time I've set foot in the place in 2 years. (I made Scott go last year.)
I must find those miserable little smurfs, Azreal. Find them and rid the forest of their nasty, rotten, wretched little blue hides, once and for all!
That is all.
Oh we are CLEARLY the same age!!! Those were all my favorite shows growing up! LOL
Does anyone remember Romper Room? This was a favorite of ours when we were little. Also loved Land of the Lost. I would like to thank you for providing so many smiles! I start my day off with your blog.
So I actually wake up every morning and read ur blog b4 I bring my 7 year old to school I think you are hilarious I only have 2 children both girls Sierra (peanut) 7 and Trinity (booger) 2. don't ask me why I nick named them that but it is what it is anyways I don't know how u manage with 6 I'ld probably crawl on the roof top and jump off with so many but I think it's awesome that you are a good parent and enjoy it all. I too went out on Monday and no body was out either it was kind of weird not to have people bumping into you and running over your feet with strollers. Although we can not have any more children (or boys)I do still find myself venturing down aisles just to have a little more time to myself when i do go out alone. Unfortunately that's not often my fiance and girls go everywhere with me. The odd thing is when we do go out I become the (typical male) and just want to go and get what we came for and get out. Wellll that doesnt work so well with my fiance b/c he is just like the girls and has to look at and touch all kinds of stuff, race buggies, play the video games for 30 minutes u see where i'm going with this right?? Anyways sorry bout that rant I think your blog is a good thing and when I think my day is hectic I can always remember that I'm not alone. Much love from Texas. By the way the cookies are so much better when we get to eat them in the car ALONE and not having to share with everyone that comes into contact with you lol.... Sasha
Ah, those golden days of watching psychodelic and violent (Tom and Jerry, Road Runner, Popeye) shows on TV. My kids watch WordWorld, Super Why and Yo Gabba Gabba.
My husband never understands why it takes me over an hour just to run one little errand when I'm by myself, LOL.
Lisa
Yesterday was Cyber Monday, the beginning of the online shopping season. Everyone must have been home shopping on the internet. :)
I almost freaked out that I had slept through the 70s because I did not recognize any of the shows you mentioned until you got to the Land of the Lost. Now that one I remember. Have a great day!
Sherry
LOL! I think Tom and Jerry pretty much tops the violence list and yet I still let me dd watch. Crazy, huh?
Oh My Goodness! It was like being back at Mom and Dad's house watching all those shows! Thank you for finding all of them, I wouldn't have remembered half of them!! (now I have to email your blog to my sister to make her laugh!)
Ok. Now I feel really old. When you talked about the shows you watched as a kid, my first thought was "Hey, my daughter watched those shows!" and then I realized that you and my daughter are about the same age. Big DUH moment. When I was a kid our shows were Leave It To Beaver, I Love Lucy, and the Saturday morning shows were mostly cowboys (which I didn't watch) but I DID love Sky King. Loved those airplanes!!
And lucky you to get out without the kids. I did some serious shopping with the 4 and 6 year old grandkids this weekend and it reminds me of how glad I am that my kids are all grown up!! Although I have to say that my daughter and son-in-law have done a great job-these two were really good in the stores and other than BEGGING for Silly Putty (which I didn't buy them) they didn't ask for much. We were shopping for Angel gifts for our church and they were seriously into helping others in the stores.
And, like you, on SATURDAY, I too thought we'd somehow slept through Christmas. We got to the mall at 10:30 and the place was next to empty. By noon though, everyone had awakened and you could barely move. The first 90 minutes was a shoppper's dream!!
Chris
In my neighborhood, we not only watched the Bugaloos, we played the Bugaloos. The one boy in our neghborhood always got to be Courage (see, I DID watch the show!) The rest of us, all being girls, fought for the prized character of Joy.
"I'm Joy 1!" (It's always about being first, isn't it?!)
"I'm Joy 2!"
And the slowest to respond was always like Joy 5 or 6. That's about all I remember of it. I don't remember our plots, only that Courage probably saved us from something. We might even have thrown Witchiepoo in from Puffnstuff, for a requisite bad guy.
Anyway, thanks for the laughs.
KR
Oh wow..now I feel OLD LOL I loved Land of The Lost, Sigmund, the Bugaloos (reminds me of the Wiggles) and the New Zoo Review!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
HR Pufenstuff just scared me. I did enjoy Land of the Lost though.
I love your blog I have never laughed and smiled so much since my husband changed his first diaper! As for TV shows what about the magic garden now come on 2 stoned girls on swing talking to a pink squirrel lets talk about serious drug us lol... those shows were the best! keep up the great work you are an inspiration.
We went to Toys R Us Monday around 11 am, and there was hardly anyone there! I guess they were all worn out from the weekend.
I remember New Zoo Review and, of course, Land of the Lost! There actually WERE creepy people dressed in costumes on that show--the Sleestacks (sp?)!! They were so scary!
Wow! Thanks for the 'trip!'
I loved the walk down memory lane - I remember almost all the shows you mentioned, and I watched a few of the YouTube clips of some of my favorites. HOWEVER, I now cannot get the Sigmund the Sea Monster song out of my head!! Arg!!!! Make it stop, please!!!
Thanks again for your good writing. I am looking forward to your book. We need a "modern Erma Bombeck", badly!!!
Hey Dawn,
I thought that I'd prove how culturally isolated I am.
1) I've only even HEARD of a few of those shows you mentioned, and I was a kid in the 70's. Then again, I always thought that the New Zoo Review was PART of the Great Space Coaster (anyone remember scheduling from the 70's... were they maybe on one after the other and I'm just confused)? In any case, I'll have the "It's the new gnu review coming right at you" going through my head all day now :) and 10:1 those aren't even the right lyrics!
2) There was an article in the Daily Herald today about influential mom bloggers. With pics even. I'd heard of not a one of them. And no mention of Dawn with her brand new book deals and lots of recent tv exposure, etc. How on EARTH did you get missed, Dawn (or did you decide you'd had enough of interviews for awhile)?
Glad to hear that your shopping went well... like I mentioned Friday, the non Kohl's stores by me were empty (or relatively so) on Black Friday, so I have no idea what they're like now. But since I have no clue what to get anyone for Christmas and I'm not a big shopper, I feel no need to head into stores anytime soon.
Wish me luck with my 2 year old's flu shot today. I realized yesterday that she hadn't gotten one yet (the only one of us 4 -- bad mom!) and it's nearly December. Fortunately, when I called the doctor, they reassured me that their flu shot clinics will continue until Dec 13. Whoo hoo, I'm not the only procrastinator. Anyone have any good suggestions on how to get a 2 year old to be ok with getting a flu shot? She's too smart for her own good and VERY stubborn (no idea where she gets it from, really).
Michelle
OK. This is frightening, but I actually remember loving Land of the Lost and religiously watching it every week.
Yep, thanks for the memories.
Rebecca
my almost 3 year old son LOVES yo gabba gabba. I think it's the orange hair on the guy.
Thanks for bringing back all the memories of the shows I watched as a kid. I loved Sigmund.
According to my parents...the children's shows of the 70s were so strange due to the drugs the creators were on... Eh...either way, I'm very glad that I have never seem some of those...
Have a great day!!
I have never even heard of most of those! LOL What in the world? Ok, so which one of us is from another planet? LOL
These are the few that I've actually heard of:
The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, Bozo's Circus (Didn't hear of this until I was older -way beyond cartoons), Mr. Rogers, Popeye, The Adams Family, and The Munsters, and of course Tom and Jerry.
ROFL
I'm a Looney Toons addict. Nothing better than Bugs outsmarting Elmer or Marvin (my personal hero --- he just keeps going in spite of everything). Most of the ones you've mentioned are too "young" for me, but I can tell you about Howdy Doody, Mickey Mouse Club (the original), The Untouchables, Green Acres, George of the Jungle (the series), and a whole host of others. Of course, we didn't have tv at all until I was about 4 or 5 and then only got one channel - most of the programs I wasn't allowed to watch. But even some of the shows you mentioned brought back memories... my nephews and niece and the kids I babysat watched some of them. I guess I'm more a grandma type than a mom type (but with no kids I'm even more the aunt type). I still enjoy your blog ---- you have a wonderful way with words!
i so enjoy your blog!~
:o)
i should have asked before i did it... but it can be easily removed.
is it alright that i have your blog linked on mine?
~nicole
OMG...that was the best list of shows from when we were kids EVER.
My brother and I loved Great Space Coaster (they did a parody of this on Family Guy once and my husband had no idea what it was. I, on the other hand, remembered the entire theme song word for word), The New Zoo Review and Land of the Lost. They were the best.
I'm totally showing these to my daughter when she gets home from school. Of course, she'll probably look at me like I grew a tail. Thanks so much for the links!
We went to a fairly new Super Walmart (it opened in September) on Black Friday, around 10 a.m. And *gasp* we got to park 3 spaces from the front door, there were many other spaces open for parking. The store itself wasn't crowded, and we didn't even have to wait in a line to check out. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't any more crowded than a usual weeknight evening has been. I suppose that's more traffic than it usually gets mid-morning, but it wasn't the madhouse I expected, that's for sure.
Don't forget about Fraggle Rock!
Dawn...thank so much for posting this. My sister and I have been trying to remember the name of "the Great Space Coaster" for about five years. We used to watch it religiously and have been wracking our brains!
You always entertain me, thanks a bunch
I work in retail, Lowes, but its still retail, and I can tell you that Friday we were PACKED. Saturday still fairly busy, but lots less so. Then Sunday and Monday we were quite dead. Less busy than a normal Sunday and Monday to be quite honest with you.
And all along I thought I had the perfect childhood! I'm so bummed, I never knew about ANY of those shows. I'm having a talk with my parents..
I watched each and every one of those shows with the exception of The Great Space Coaster," which I don't remember at all. I'm going to remind my husband of this the next time he complains about "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody."
I watched all of these as a child. No wonder I never felt the need to try LSD. Yii. Scaaaary.
Oh, and thank you... I just emailed all of those links to my kid brother, whose brain should shatter loud enough for me to hear all the way at my place. :)
I guess I am too young for those shows....never heard of them! But I wanted to say that I was laughing out loud reading about your cookie story! SO ME!!!!!! When I am without with kiddos, I do search for the snack of choice that trip, and I just "throw" it from the back of the mini van up to the front seat, and like you, hope no one is watching! Glad I'm not the only one! Thanks for the laughs!
My husband told me yesterday that the Monday after Thanksgiving is now considered "Black Monday" in the online world. I guess since corporate employees are back in the office, they shop online to save time and beat the mall rush. He also said that something like $400 mil is lost in productivity due to everyone surfing the net and not doing their work. (I have not checked that info so don't quote me...) But for us "lucky" stay-at-homers, that would equate to missing 3 soap-operas, 5 boxes of bon-bons, and a load of laundry. Whew! It's hard to type when all you normally do is watch TV while the kids play with knives and stuff...ahem, I mean, do their homework.
Dawn,
Have you seen this website yet: www.freerice.com ? Talk about fun (for geeks)! My brainy friends all love it. You probably will too!
And did you already discuss what holiday decorations you put up? We ventured into the possibly-tacky plastic-lit-giant-outdoor-candy-canes realm this year. My kids love 'em! But during the day I wince when I see them and their long white electric cord gracing the front flowerbed... :-)
Am I the only one who loved ZOOM?? (Zoom, Box 3-5-0, Boston Mass, 000002111111111344444444444444!) I wrote in to get directions for a boxkite and got a mini "postcard" from one of the blond boys (I'm sure I still have it somewhere in my attic!) Those were the days. Good times. Good times.
I actualy own on dvd HR puffinstuff, Land of the Lost and Sigmond and the Sea Monsters!! My son loved to watch them when he was around 4. He also was a big fan of Barney around that age. Not Barney the Dinosour, Barney "with the hat", Barney from the Andy Griffith show!!!
Darkwing Duck!!! I love him! And Rocky and Bullwinkle as well as all the other characters on their show. Anybody remember Beanie and Cecil? I think I remember Cecil was a hand puppet of a sea monster. And I loved watching the Muppets. What a hoot!
Do you mean you missed The Magic Roundabout?
It was apparently a French show bought in a job lot by the BBC and came with no sound - so some wierd music and a equally obscure storyline was added and it was bizarre and hilarious.
LOL on the security guard scenario as you eat your cookies. Maybe we just switched realities on that freaky wierd Monday, because I was doing that very same thing with a bag of Milano cookies...
As for all our old faves from the 70's, I can still remember very vividly the cheesy intro to "The Great Space Coaster" (which was what we watched only as a last resort), and still feel that name "H.R." was surely "Puff-n-stuff" to come up with those characters and that show. We watched it only to make fun of it even back then.
But then, I guess we turned out okay in spite of watching such shows. Right? RIGHT? Please tell me we're okay!! LOL!
my bff and i were even out shopping on black friday and it wasn't really crowded. i'm telling you, everyone is freaked out about the "crowds" so they're shopping online instead... all the better for those of us willing to brave the brick & mortar stores i say! ;)
Deep philosophical question for you...
Why is it so hard to find a non-tacky lit Christmas tree star topper?
THEY DO NOT EXIST!! I should make one and go into business. :-)
I have been following your blog, and love it. I've gone private on my blog now. If you would like an invite to access my blog, please email me at:
sweetangelplus4@yahoo.com
Please give us an update on Julian...
OMG!!! what a trip down memory lane...here's another one: what about the Jackson 5? or the Osmonds? Those were the days when Saturday morning was FUN! Being a kid was great: getting up getting that huge bowl of sugar cereal and staying in front of the black & white tv that had rabbit ears that you had to adjust to see through the fuzzy picture...remember before a million cable channels the first shows on off-station channels (I can't remember - were they UHF or VHF channels? or am I just showing my blonde roots?) Shows like Clubhouse 22? Ah, those were the days...kids today just don't know what they are missing!!
ahhhhhhhh Land of the Lost. I have to admit I liked that show. The brother was HOT!!!!
You spoke of Mr Rogers. I loved him. Always so soft spoken. Did you know that Michael Keaton was the one that ran the trolley during part of that show. Michael from Mr Mom!!! Way cool
How about regualr shows. Like Partridge Family The Hardy Boys Shaun Cassidy was hot. Donny And Marie. Happy Days, Oh the memories.
The store alone. Now there is something to celebrate. I too go through the store in slow motin. Savoring every minute of silence. Looking at every little thing. Buying the goodies and sitting in the car alone listening to the radio and eating the savory purchase. No one screaming hollering crying trying to get out of carseats. Ahhhhhh heaven
THANKS~! for posting those links of the oldies shows. How fun to see them again. I got to see Puffinstuf live at the state fair when I was 9, although I was REALLY REALLY bummed cuz I had wanted to go a day before to see Sonny and Cher, LOL~! That was 1973if you were wondering.
Kate
Woman, I heart you. Seriously. HEART YOU! Know why? Because you remember the Gigglesnort Hotel! Nobody remembers the Gigglesnort Hotel when I talk about it!
Have you ever heard of "Monkey magic", it was released in England, NZ and Australia in 1979?
Very weird prgram, written and acted in japanese with very poor english dubbing. Their mouths move when the translations have finished..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXHd5rf3XSQ
ARRRGH! Now I have the Dr Shrinker theme running through my head..."heeee's a madman with an eeeevil minddd......"
Anyone remember Space Nuts with Ruth Buzzy? How about Bigfoot and Wild Boy? SuperFriends (the one with the Wonder Twins)? Space Ghost? Tennisee Tuxedo and Chumley? How about the cartoon with the modern family stuck on a pre-historic world with people, dinosaurs, and a pair of what looked like schmoos?
Shazzam? Ark 2? Underdog and HongKong Fooy?
I watched them ALL. Probably why I'm so warped.
I now have The Electric Company & Schoolhouse Rock on DVD for my kids, and wish I could get the classic Sesame Street (before Mr Hooper died)to help my toddlers learn. It just isn't the same now.
I lucked out and married a man who painstakingly recorded every Loony Toon cartoon that came on TV in the late 80's on Cartoon Clubhouse and other shows, and we now have over 27 6hr DVDs of cartoons with few repeaters. He even has the now banned Speedy Gonzales and war propaganda cartoons you never see anymore.
Too funny! We must think alike because I just did something similar on my blog a little over a week ago. Here are some of the shows I came up with -
http://whatwuzisaying.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-phooey.html
It all started when I was searching for Foohy erasers and came up with Hong Kong Phooey! Love your blog!
Kim
I still think that Yo Gabba Gabba is a freak, lol! Go Bugs Bunny!!
I think it is my duty to eat the whole bag of cookies before getting home, because the kids don't need the transfat right? LOL!
I think it's time that I realize that I have entered the zone of "old people", because I don't recognize any of those you've listed. :(
I'm so glad I happened on your blog. Now if I can just find your RSS feed subscribe link, I'll be all set. :)
I find it very amusing that I am not alone in being yet another woman in the great US of A that uses shopping as a way to find solitude away from the daily activities of familial obligation.
Only 4 more weeks until the holiday!
I had a plant in my dorm room in college that I named Sigmund (one's houseplants have to have a name, right?) and when someone asked about it, I'd say, "It's because of Sigmund the Seamonster". Well, I really didn't know where I had gotten that until NOW. I watched the video and was singing along with the theme. I cannot BELIEVE my mom let me watch that stuff. Thanks for clearing up that childhood memory :)
BTW, I enjoy your blog very much; just haven't left a comment before. Thanks for brightening my day, and my husband's- I read him a lot of your stuff.
How could you possibly forget "Lidsville...." A guy falls down into a magicians hat and ends up in a land where everyone is a giant hat out to get him...paranoid much?
I just wanted to let you know about a website my husband LOVES. It is called www.retrojunk.com and ohhh my the junk. It is mostly about old TV, but anything is fair game, TV toys, movies etc. You know the guys who are like 40 and live in their moms basment and... I think lots of them post on that site.
You also forgot Romper Room, "romper stomper bomper boo, tell me tell me tell me do, did all my friends have fun today did all my friends have fun at play? I see suzie, and daniel and michael, and...." She never said my name, which I soooo don't get, there were three of us in my 6th grade science class, and heck even 2 spice girls, and I really think they are my age hummmm
i loved the banana splits,i even saw them in person when i was young
OMG!! I am soooooo happy that I am not the only one that remembers Schmoo!! Every time I ask someone if they remember that show they don't and when I try to explain it, they think I'm crazy!!
wow...and I thought the cartoons from the 80s were bad....Hello! Smurfs...village full of dudes and only one chick???
My 4 year old son is addicted to one of the only cartoon chanels here in Okinawa Japan. Boomerang...it's got all the old cartoons from the 70s. His favorite is Popeye. Even made me buy a can of spinach so he could eat it just like Popeye. He ate 4 bites and only gagged twice. But he's so into the old cartoons that he's asking for a Top Cat birthday cake! He's all into Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo and Josie and the Pussy-Cats. LOL...such a weird kid.
I have no idea, but it's a wonder more kids of the 70s aren't seriously messed up.
oh but we are! we really truly are..................
I know I am slightly older than you, but no one mentioned Rocky and Bullwinkle? My dad and I used to watch them together! I also didn't see Ray Raynor mentioned . . . . and the song I remember from him is the Unicorn song. Romper Room never said my name, either :( Well, they may have, but never when I was watching!!
Love your blog . . . . makes my mornings cheery!!
Lori
I can honestly say I haven't been shopping to know about crowds nor have I heard of many of these shows. I liked the Jetsons and Flintstones...lol! I saw the anniversary of Sesame Street the other day and the article said some of the early episodes are no longer acceptable for toddlers, WHAT!! That's crazy, look at all the other shows out there! Anyway, thanks for the laugh and the great blog as always.
www.kathy-iamwhoiam.blogspot.com
OK- this is so funny because there are 12 years between my dh and I and we didn't really grow up watching the same shows,but there is some channel on DISH that is showing his favorite show called "Thunderbirds" from the early 60's. Talk about scary puppet things! And our 3yr old loves it. A few years ago there was a movie called "Team America World Police" which had similar puppets. And I didn't like that either. But your list includes a number of the shows we had been talking about recently! LOL! I, being a child of the 70's - he graduated HS in '76 - we laugh a lot about bad TV. Keep writing!
I'm sure this won't suprise you too much but I totally do the same thing with the cookies sometimes!!!
And I rarely venture down the car aisle but every other aisle when I am out by myself too.
I forgot to say that I am from the land that brought you The Wiggles lol
Hey Dawn, love the blog. I am not sure if someone else wrote this already because I really, really don't want to read all the comments. So just in case, it was cyber monday where everyone can get awesome deals online just like you can on black friday in stores. Thought that might help.
The Electric Company!!!!
The music was terrific--if you're going to mention Zoom and Schoolhouse Rock, you gotta mention The Electric Company.
Found 3 more I used to watch - Boomerang (apparently a Seattle area exclusive), the Polka Dot Door, and Today's Special. Holy canoli.
I used to love The Great Space Coaster and Land of the Lost. I am so glad you posted that link because I have been trying to think of the name of Land of the Lost for years now. No one else knew what I was talking about.....
Hi Dawn...Just read your blog about creepy 70's kid shows. I used to watch Lancelot Link Secret Chimp....and I loved it. Found this link on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm3CtlvMA90
enjoy!
Diana
Hi Dawn, I just got home from the grocery store, and I also had the chance to make sure no one was looking, grab the cookies, and chow down on them, I feel like a pig though, I ate half of the package, and hid the rest from my hubby, and foster son.
Never heard of any of them.
Does this mean I'm too young to have watch them?
I mean, yes ..... I have a 21 year old, but I could have had him when I was 8.
Korkie
Boy what a trip down memory lane Dawn! I use to love many of those shows as a kid and now I see them and figure I must have hit my head or something LOL I knew I wasn't the only one that knows about those security men watching on video LOL
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