As much as I love TV Land, they let me down big time when they removed Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred from their daily lineup. Fortunately they still provide a home for other favorites like Beverly Hillbillies, Good Times, and Andy Griffith. But no Lucy?!?!
No wonder dvds are so incredibly popular, eh? But, even so, I have to be honest – there’s a certain something special about watching our favorite episodes the way they were meant to be watched, as a television program. For one thing, I love the unexpected reveal of which episode it is. I’ve seen these shows so often, I love to test myself and see how fast I can identify the episode. With I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith, I’m so quick I usually get it right off the bat.
I also love the effect of commercials – they provide an opportunity to refill your coffee, grab more snacks, do a little housework, etc. For many shows, it builds the suspense before the next scenes and provides a small “cliffhanger.” Like the powerful scene in Little House on the Prairie where Mary realizes she can’t see. D.R.A.M.A!
I also wish the Dick Van Dyke Show were on television. I think TV Land could actually have TWO networks – one with the shows we love from the 70s and 80s, and with TV Land’s original new shows (High School Reunion is simply brilliant) and one for shows and movies prior to the 70s. They could show Lucy (!!!), Dick Van Dyke, Dobie Gillis (a new generation could fall head over heals in love with Maynard G. Krebbs, Dobie, and Zelda – the original hipsters), Father Knows Best, The Patty Duke Show, Leave it to Beaver, and so on.
Did I mention they could show Lucy?
