Yesterday I purged myself of my negative feelings about Me-TV, but today I come to praise the classic TV subchannel for the good that it does: Programming stunts, occasional rarities, flexibility to vary the schedule and to arrange quick memorial tributes, that overnight noir block...
And best of all, of course, there are a lot of great, great shows on its roster.
Many of them I will not be watching except maybe as time killers or background (of course I say this now, but watch me park in front of the tube when they actually come on) because I would rather watch them uncut and without the, ahem, let's say non-limited commercial interruption of broadcast television. These include some of my all-time favorites, so nothing personal; I'd just rather see 'em on DVD if I can, or I've already gone through them enough for now. I'm talking shows like Car 54, Bilko (But bless Me-TV for showing them), Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners, The Odd Couple, The Fugitive, Route 66, Columbo, The Rockford Files, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, The Naked City...
Dang, the more I look at this roster, the more I think how great this lineup would have looked about 20 years ago before streaming and before the DVD boom.
So this list of classics I am most grateful for is not necessarily my list of favorite shows on Me-TV, but it's shows I don't mind seeing chopped every now and then, shows I can't get anywhere else, shows I don't yet have on DVD but might get down the road, etc.
The top 12 (in alphabetical order):
*Dobie Gillis
--I haven't seen much of this show, and what I did was long ago. I have a feeling I'd appreciate it more today.
*The Donna Reed Show
--Why not? I'd check this out every now and then.
*Get Smart
--I don't know if this one holds up in multiple episodes in short periods of time, or I might have picked up the DVDs by now.
*The Invisible Man
--Never seen it.
*Kojak
--Until Hulu shells out for more than the first 3 seasons, or until I shell out for the DVDs, this is my place to get Theo Kojak.
*Make Room for Daddy
--I think this is one of the most underrated family sitcoms out there. I just hope ME-TV is showing more than just that season S'Mores put out on DVD.
*Mr. Lucky
--I liked the only episode I've seen; if I see a few more and enjoy 'em, I'll probably just get the DVD set from Timeless. For now, yeah, I'd like to see it.
*My Three Sons
--I saw virtually all the color episodes on Family Net not too long ago, but I'd love to see the Bub years, and CBS seems in no hurry to get out their "We're butchering the incidental music" DVD sets.
*Perry Mason
--These probably don't benefit from being chopped up, but as a casual fan, I can see myself dipping into the show every now and then.
*The Rebel
--Never seen it. I wish there were more shows on Me-TV I had never seen.
*Svengoolie
--My dad and I watched a movie on this horror host's program a while back and had a great time. The presentation, while irreverent, is a lot more respectful to the movies than other similar shows I've seen, and he didn't seem to be interrupting the movie and being obnoxious, but rather having a good time and enjoying the film with us while, yes, mocking aspects of it.
*Wild Wild West
--Love what little I've seen of this series. Me-TV can tide me over until I get the DVDs someday.
Hey, that's at least 12 programs I have genuine interest in watching on this channel when it arrives "on or around March 1," and that's pretty good! I know I had some complaints the other day, and I am not sure how much time I'll have to actually watch Me-TV right off the bat, but believe me when I say I can hardly wait till on or around March 1.
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4 comments:
Perry Mason was a favorite of mine.
If memory serves WWOR TV (New Jerseys half baked attempt at a superstation) showed Leave it to Beaver followed by Perry Mason.
Perry Mason also has great theme music.
WWOR was kind of funky sometimes, but need I remind you they also gave us Joe Franklin and WWF Wrestling on Saturdays, then later on Howard Stern, and then Morton Downey Jr. right before (or was it "as") things started going downhill. I remember one day they suddenly became Universal 9 in our market and ditched the New York branding and ran Universal shows like tne Fugitive and Run For Your Life in prime time.
Oh I never forgot WWOR gave us Stern, Downy and Richard Bey.I did forget WWF wrestling was on over there.
Speaking of WWF wrestling..remember that Tuesday night prime time line up that featured Hunter and Ripe Tide while AWA wrestling was on ESPN up against the WWF's original Monday night extravaganza...I know it's off topic but I would be interested of your analysis of the phenomena
You know, I never did get into Hunter/Riptide, and I think you just reminded me one of the reasons why. No doubt I would have been watching AWA. Or, wait, are you saying AWA was on Mondays against Prime Time Wrestling? I don't recall having to make _that_ cruel choice...
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