Monday Media Blog-Favorite Television Shows Ever

Welcome to the Monday Media Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

Television used to fill my days and nights. I loved watching and scheduled my life around what shows were on when. Television used to keep me company, inform me, and entertain me. Characters were old friends, comforting parents, and teens and adults I aspired to be. Later I wanted to emulate the characters I saw on the small screen. My life has changed drastically with the introduction of children, a career, and the Internet. I no longer have the time to dedicate to watching myriad programs each week. News, comfort, and entertainment I now receive via my computer and have found a great balance between my “real” world and my “virtual” one, although I’m not really sure if the terms are apt. But television programs are responsible for a huge part of my personality, point of reference, and history.

Little House on the Prairie was a childhood favorite and usually left my mother in tears. Years later, watching repeats, I finally understood the reasons! I still tear up in replays of the last episode of M*A*S*H (or any given episode for that matter), remember when J.R. Ewing (Dallas) was shot and when Bobby Ewing came out of the shower a year after dying.

I waxed nostalgic for an era I never lived through with The Wonder Years, marveled at the “realness” of Roseanne, and settled in peacefully to be entertained by The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court or Wings. Designing Women intrigued me with their Southern-ness (did they ever once mention NASCAR?!), Murphy Brown challenged my notion of feminism, and Friends made me wistfully hope that I could have friends pop over and enter the home without knocking on the door first.

Kate and Allie and My Two Dads showed unlikely families before they were truly embraced, and Will and Grace broke all glass ceilings about all kinds of relationships.

I watched, emoted, gleaned information, and made moral judgments based on what I saw. I became accepting, educated, and challenged. Right or wrong, my television habits helped to create the person I am today. Not solely, certainly, but it played a major role. This week’s focus of the Monday Media Blog is what are your favorite television shows of all time – 3, 5, 10, or as many as you care to list! If time permits, tell why you loved the show so. Please join me tomorrow for the most popular post on Chief 187™Chatter, Simple Joys.