What We All Can Learn from 80's and 90's TV

Born in 1980, I have developed extremely deep nostalgia and a passionate love affair with classic television. Particularly mid-80's to late-90's TV shows.  Before the reality boom, before digital media. A time-capsuled snapshot of a fascinating era in history. I feel very lucky to have been alive during those pioneering stages, a medium that has morphed greatly in the past 20 years. Yet no matter how people choose to get their entertainment, television will continue to shape the landscape of human evolution until the very end of times.

Television started as three networks. That's it. Only three ways for our government to pass on news and information to it's people, to instill it's country with moral values and life lessons and of course, tell us what to eat, where to go, and what to buy. And as the phenomenon caught on, more channels developed. MTV for music. HBO for movies. I was addicted. The whole country was. My whole family was. I was raised by a television set.

Television was a third parent to me.  Sesame Street taught me how to spell, count, and introduced me to the various people in my neighborhood.  Mr Rogers taught me how to socialize and treat others with kindness. Reading Rainbow, Square 1 and 3,2,1 Contact taught me how to read, do math and appreciate science.

The Cosby Show helped show me that a person's race doesn't matter. If not simply for the fact that my father, a man raised in a different time, looked up to Bill Cosby and thought he was one of the greatest entertainers of all-time.

Different Strokes and the great Gary Coleman taught me that families didn't always have to be related biologically and above all else, black people can be hysterical.

Nancy Reagan's cameo on Punky Brewter taught me that drugs are bad.  Mr. T taught me that moms are good.  Pee Wee Herman taught me to take pictures, simply because they lasted longer.

Who's the Boss taught me that men could also have female roles and vice versa.  Plus. I had no clue at the time what Mona was talking about, but I knew she was one dirty old grandma... and that was funny to me!

The Golden Girls taught me that old people can be awesome. Also, I believe Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia helped my mother learn that after spending her entire life in New York City, moving to Florida wasn't so bad after all. Those USA Network and TBS repeats were a mainstay on my family television set throughout the years.

Married with Children, Roseanne and The Simpsons taught me that we were all middle class. Silver Spoons, Benson and The Fresh Prince of Bel-air showed me how the other half lived.
And Home Improvement had my entire family walking around the house grunting for at least a year.

Full House taught me that babies are cute, Family Matters taught me that family matters, and Perfect Strangers showed me that foreigners can be lovable and hilarious. Let's also not forget the greatest dance I've ever known, The Dance of Joy.    

The Wonder Years made me interested in our generations past, and Alf made me fantasize about space and the future. I can't be the only kid who ever dreamed of going to Melmac, right?

Knight Rider made me want to drive. Wings made me want to fly. Cheers made me want to drink, but only until Blossom came along and I found out what a drunk really was. Stupid Tony.

As a teenager, ABC After School Specials, 90210 and Saved By The Bell taught me about the dangers of drunk driving, steroids, date rape, cocaine and of course, caffeine pills. They made me feel so excited, so excited, so... scared!

Last but not least, Friends and Seinfeld made me want to move to New York City, where I felt magnetically inclined to move shortly after I graduated college.

You see, without TV during these formative years, I never would have known that outside my own little bubble existed a wondrous world of possibilities. This beautiful medium taught me life lessons that I never could've learned from a textbook.  Trust me. I didn't retain much information from textbooks, however I can recite almost every line from almost every theme song from the shows listed above, all without having to google the lyrics.

TV made me daydream. TV made me wonder. But above all else, TV kept me from being bored.