Televison Favs

The Ed Sullivan Show – Remember the guy who spun plates? And well I remember Topo Gigo. I loved him! “Hey Eddie, kess-a-me goodnight.”
My Favorite Martian – Starring Ray Walston (who decades later showed up briefly on the show, Picket Fences) and Bill Bixby – before the Courtship of Eddie’s Father.
The Patty Duke Show – But they’re cousins, identical cousins. They laugh alike, they walk alike, sometimes they even talk alike – what a crazy pair!Julia – A ground-breaking show starring Diahan Carrol (much later of Dynasty fame). Carrol is about 70 now, and still quite the dish.
The Soupy Sales Show – Soupy aired early in the morning. One of his gags was to look real close in the camera, and in a whisper, instruct children to enter their parents’ bedrooms very quietly, on tip-toe, and take all the money from their fathers’ wallets and send it to Soupy.
Laugh In – The Fickle Finger of Fate and Here Come de Judge – Nixon even made an appearance on the show – can you believe it?
The Smothers Brothers Show – God bless summer replacement shows – Mom always liked them best.
The Prisoner – “Who is number one?” “You are, number nine.” Or was it really, “You are number nine.” The comma makes all the difference.
It Takes a Thief – Pity that Robert Wagner had to grow old.
I Spy – starring a young Bill Cosby (who even back then had some sort of fetish for sweaters - though thankfully not yet of the Cliff Huxtable variety), flush with comic success and trying his hand (quite successfully) at acting. He and Robert Culp made quite the pair.Star Trek – The FIRST ONE – which in my book, is the ONLY one. “I’m a doctor, Jim, not a knock-off!"
All My Children – I’m talking way back, kids. I watched the very first episode – with the original Phillip, Richard Hatch, who later appeared in The Streets of San Francisco – after Michael Douglas left the show and much later, in the first Battlestar Gallactica series.
Maverick – before Mel and Will ever got their hands on the role.
The Rockford Files – starring James Garner, of Maverick fame, as a PI, living at the beach in a trailer and driving that cool Firebird. Mike Post composed the theme song – which is certainly one of the best TV theme songs EVER.
The Mod Squad – with some of the worst writing, worst acting known to television; yes, with all that competition – Mod Squad can beat any other show in the “worst” category. We watched it all the same- thinking it was so cool. Peggy Lipton often looked morose. Saturday Night Life – You know, the one that was actually funny!
Labels: best shows ever, life-sucking boob tube


