Thursday Thirteen

I have decided that the 1970s was the best decade for most everything, like music, TV, politics, women's rights, religion, etc. It was also the beginning of what we have today (which is a mess), but for a while there I think the 1970s had good things going for it. I know there was inflation, Nixon, Carter, and women and people of color were still repressed and all, but the Vietnam War ended, the music is still played even now, and that was the most influential decade of my life, I think, as far as the things I learned in school and what I saw on TV.

So, without further ado, in no particular order, here are 13 TV shows from the 1970s that influenced me:

1. M*A*S*H. Even though I was a little late to the party watching this (we couldn't get the channel), I think this is the show that made me a pacifist. I watched what it did to Hawkeye and it ate me up inside.

2. The Carol Burnette Show. I watched this when we stayed with my grandparents. I didn't always understand the jokes because of my age, but it was good, solid humor that didn't actually hurt anyone.

3. The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. I am tying these two together, since the latter was a spin-off from the first. I loved them both (but especially Lindsay Wagner as The Bionic Woman). They gave me hope for a future when humanity could heal deadly wounds and make us better than we actually were.

4. The Brady Bunch. I was a dedicated fan of Marcia and Greg Brady, the older two of the six children. I watched their interactions with one another and with their friends with great zeal. I wanted to be popular like Marcia (didn't happen), and I wanted a boyfriend like Greg (didn't happen, either, although I married someone even better than Greg).

5. Little House on the Prairie. This was my grandmother's favorite show, and I saw it only when I was at her house (again, we were limited to two channels at home, but we spent most of our weekends with my grandparents). I was actually a fan of Mary, not Laura. I thought Laura was too brash and too tom boyish. But Mary was studious, thoughtful, and a good daughter. I had read the books and followed the plot of the loss of her eyesight with great sorrow, knowing that she would, indeed, go blind.

6. Charlie's Angels. Oh, did I love Sabrina Duncan! She was smart, sexy in a non-conformist (i.e., no bathing suit) sort of way, and I thought Kate Jackson was the greatest actress ever. I had been a fan of hers ever since her first appearance in Dark Shadows and had followed her on The Rookies, where she played a nurse and wife of a police officer. Maybe that's why I became the wife of a fireman. We'll never know.

7. Wonder Woman. I have a "strong woman" thing - I like to read and watch woman who kick butt and take names, yet don't actually damage people. With her magic lasso of truth and her terrific speed and strength, Wonder Woman fit the bill. She tossed people about but no one seemed to die from her efforts; they just went to jail like they were supposed to.

8. Emergency! This show, more so than The Rookies, made me a fan of emergency services and the things those folks do to keep the public safe. I also had a little crush on Johnnie.

9. CHIPS. Ok, I admit it, I watched this show simply to see Erik Estrada. He was like, oh, Ranger in the Stephanie Plum books. Handsome, suave, a real hunk. (I was a teenager by then, so, hormones.)

10. The Partridge Family. I loved the idea of a musical family, and I thought this show put the Monkees to shame because this was more realistic. Also, David Cassidy was more of a dreamboat than Davy Jones, in my opinion. I thought Susan Dey was a great actress - almost up there with Kate Jackson - and I was happiest when the shows revolved around her, which they seldom did. Mostly they seemed to revolve around Danny.

11. Land of the Lost. I hate to say I was so invested in the plight of Marshall, Will, and Hollie on their routine expedition (hit the greatest earthquake ever known) and their efforts to find a way home, but I never missed a show on Saturday morning. I think part of my love of fantasy and science fiction comes from this show.

12. The Incredible Hulk. This was another fantasy/comic book show that I was regularly. I found it sad a lot of the time, though. Poor Bruce Banner was destined to live his life alone, walking the world trying to find a cure for his Jekyll and Hyde problem.

13. Fantasy Island. De plane! De plane! This one also caught my attention because sometimes the fantasies turned out so . . . wrong. Sometimes it was definitely a Monkey's Paw situation and a cautionary tale of be careful of what you wish for. 

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 838th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.