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Earliest TV memory?

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There is a line running through my mind lately, "It's only you, Maynard", that's a recurring line from a TV show. I know the show and the character referenced (anyone care to guess before you go visit Mr. Google?) but when I checked, I was startled to see when the show was on the air.

 

That got me to thinking about what was my earliest TV memory?

 

I come up with Romper Room, Captain Kangaroo, and seeing President Eisenhower giving a speech. Clearly, that's from way back.

 

Yours?

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romper room, the friendly giant ... those things for sure. And of course things like the Apollo missions and the moon landings.

 

I grew up in Ottawa with three channels. CBC, CTV, and french CBC. I remember how excited everyone was when Global went on the air. We watched it all night, even though there was absolutely nothing worthwhile on. The novelty of it made watching worthwhile.

 

Porthos

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Guest P*rry

I grew up in Montreal with Magic Tom. Friendly Giant and Captain Kangaroo were mainstays.

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Sunday night's Wonderful World of Disney and athe Lawrence Welk hour...tv sucked before skyline cable vision made it to the outskirts of ottawa!

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My earliest memories date back to the JFK furneral procession, the Mercury & Gemini space programs and Romper Room. Never quite grew out of Romper Room.

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Ed Sulivan and the Ted Mack Amature Hour.

Wide World of Sports.

Wonderful World of Disney.

The Soupy Sales Show.

I Luv Lucy.

The Dick VanDyke Show

Lost in Space

 

More to come as repressed memories surface.

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Have to say earliest memories were of

 

Hockey night in Canada

Wide World of Sports.

Wonderful World of Disney

Beverly Hillbillies

Ed Sullivan show ...saying A really big show

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The one thing on TV that immediately comes to mind from my childhood is the Black and White test pattern with the Indian Head

 

After that.... moonlanding....Bobby Kennedy Shooting.... Get Smart...

 

And of course the Red Skelton special each Christmas

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Get Smart and Star Trek on a black-and-white TV -- probably 1968.

 

Also, for some reason, watching "War of the Worlds (1953)" on TV with my older siblings when I was about four years old, and being petrified for (it seemed like) days.

 

I do remember being in a crib, unhappy and alone, my older siblings at school, and hearing what I later learned was the theme to "Coronation Street". So that's probably my earliest TV memory even though it's one I heard, rather than saw. Damned tune STILL depresses the hell out of me! :)

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Guest N***he**Ont**y

Lets see now. The Friendly Giant,Chez Helene, Fire Ball XL5,Stingray,Thunder Birds, Mission Impossible, Perry Mason, The Flintstones,The Jetsons Hawaii Five oh Lost In Space. Sudbury had CBC and CTV.

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Yikes. I remember life before TV and accordingly vividly remember the day we got our first television set in 1955. First memories include Howdy Dooty a kids show and Flash Gordon a futuristic space sci-fi. Also the Indian head test pattern and in keeping with my avatar the 1955 World Series when the Dodgers beat the Yankees.

Edited by Z***ou**U
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There is a line running through my mind lately, "It's only you, Maynard", that's a recurring line from a TV show. I know the show and the character referenced (anyone care to guess before you go visit Mr. Google?) but when I checked, I was startled to see when the show was on the air.

 

That got me to thinking about what was my earliest TV memory?

 

I come up with Romper Room, Captain Kangaroo, and seeing President Eisenhower giving a speech. Clearly, that's from way back.

 

Yours?

 

Didn't have to Google, it was addressed at the beatnik Maynard G Krebs (Bob Denver, later to be Gilligan) in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. (I just called it Dobie Gillis)

 

Damn, I remember Captain Kangaroo with cartoon segments of Tom Terrific "Down Might Manfred!" Because I grew up in Toronto we watched a lot of our TV from Buffalo. I do remember this US Air Force recruiting commercial with a really dated song that I loved in the day.

 

It is corny, and overly jingoistic, or as my Dad would say. "Yankee BS" but as a 5 year old kid, I loved the music and the pictures of all those amazing jets. I would come running whenever I heard in on the tube. Which was probably better than my younger brother who came running for the Mr Clean commercials. :P

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Guest Ou**or**n

Two come to mind...

 

First is Looney Toones and Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.

 

Second was at school in Kindergarten, they rolled this TV on what seemed like a 10' high stand and we watched the Apollo moon landings. Yeah - school back then was a bit better than now. The teachers understood the historic significance of what was happening and made the changes and effort to bring it to us.

 

I'll be 50 soon and nothing nearly that big has happened since. We haven't even been back.

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I remember certain yearly specials - The Wizard of Oz was one that scared the bejezus out of me, I still get a heightened heart rate every time I see a twister.

 

Peter Pan with Mary Martin (1960).

The Andy Williams Christmas Special.

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The earliest, well at that age tv was jumbled so no one concise earliest memory...but some from that era

 

The Friendly Giant

Hercules (cartoon)

Spiderman (cartoon)

Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour (cartoon)

Get Smart

Batman (the campy one with Adam West)

Star Trek

 

RG

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I remember certain yearly specials - The Wizard of Oz was one that scared the bejezus out of me, I still get a heightened heart rate every time I see a twister.

 

Peter Pan with Mary Martin (1960).

The Andy Williams Christmas Special.

 

Fuck the twister, the God-damned flying monkeys still scare the crap out of me.

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Some of my earliest favorites....Batman, Get Smart, Lost In Space, The Saint and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

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OMG Meg O'Ryan will kill me for not mentioning this show, Bewitched :-)

although I still think she looks like Ann Margaret not Elizabeth Montgomery

RG

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I watch so much TV it's hard to break down my first TV memory but here are some

 

Bugs and Tweety, Pinky and the Brain, Anamaniacs, Tiny Tones

 

Hercules Legendary Journey, Xena, Sliders, Early Edition, Chef,

 

Mister Dress-up, Super Mario Brothers.

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