Over the past few years the Hallmark Channel and TV Land have opened up my eyes to more great television.  I grew up watching I Love Lucy, Happy Days, BWitched, I Dream of Genie, and some Gilligan’s Island on Nick @ Nite and it was quality television.  They were shows that my whole family could enjoy, to little six year old me to my fifty-eight year old dad.  They were amusing and most importantly, appropriate for people of all ages.  As the years went on I discovered Laverne & Shirley and then one summer evening M*A*S*H, which has become my favorite show (I’m even wearing a M*A*S*H shirt right now).  Most recently I discovered The Andy Griffith Show (it will not let me italicize that), which my parents and I love to watch every night on TV Land while we have to suffer through commericials for The Cougar.  Shows like The Cougar and pretty much every other reality TV show out there, has made me realize that old TV shows were just better.  Now, I do follow a few shows today like Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, but these shows don’t really compare to any of the past.

The thing is, those shows were simple.  Every episode had a message and most were heartfelt, true comedy.  They also didn’t take a great effort or brains to be able to understand them.  They were there for entertainment.

There’s also a period of greatness in the 90s.  Three shows come to mind:  Home Improvement, Boy Meets World, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  For some reason two of the three have been deemed worthy enough of Nick @ Nite status, which is just ridiculous, because when shows I grew up watching get put on Nick @ Nite I feel incredibly old and I’m truly not.  I think Nickolodeon really needs to rethink that and bring back the greats.

So, I think that you should all go out there and discover true television for yourself.