My little girls have just discovered a new show.
OK, maybe it's not so new....In fact, maybe it's one of the oldest classic TV shows in Americana.
One morning, a few weeks ago, I was hunting around for a "kid show" and stumbled on the listing for "I Love Lucy." I'm not for sure, but I think maybe my usual routine was upset and the computer was down. At any rate, I suddenly felt like sitting back with my morning coffee and sharing with my girls the classic show made a half century before their birth.
At first, my five year old was very disappointed not be seeing her expected Diego or Little Einsteins. But as the show wore on, and Lucy was up to her old antics, even she was laughing along with us.
I have long been a lover of classics...classic movies, classic old shows...and now, to get to share these with my girls is so much fun for me! Even though I've seen each one of these episodes 30 times over, I'm seeing them new through the eyes of my little ones...just like with everything else in life.
Lucy, Ethel, and Fred putting on a hula show to try and convince Ricky to take them on his business trip to Honolulu had us giggling this morning....and last week, was the famous "Lucy has her baby" episode! (For you trivia buffs, that episode broke records as the highest viewing ever. 72% of all homes were glued to their sets that night in 1953!)
Believe it or not, there is one thing about this show that as a parent in this new century, sticks out like a sore thumb...
Why is it that Lucy and Ricky can't get through more than one scene without a cigarette in their hand? It seems so foreign a concept to see these people smoking like chimneys on each and every show. (And I know it had something to do with their show's sponsor, a tobacco company...) I can almost smell the smoke coming through my screen.
Needless to say, I have added some comments along this line as we watch, and my girls know all about the dangers of smoking!
But aside from this, the show is such fun, and gives them a glimpse of another era. Yet, the humor is timeless.
Of course, we limit TV viewing around here...honestly.
But some mornings, Mommy let's them watch just a little bit longer. Because right after Lucy comes the cheerful music of another wonderful classic from the 50's...
Sharing I love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver with my 21st century kids? Who can resist?
Gee, Wally...not me!
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25 comments:
We love the old shows here as well!
I grew up watching I Love Lucy. It's timeless and I'm sure your kids love it as much as we did.
The cigarette thing is weird really because back then, it was OK for everyone to have one in their hand, but you never saw a double bed in a couple's bedroom. All those married couples slept in twin beds. Amazing how perceptions of what's a good or bad influence on us change through the years.
Those two shows are classics in my home. We love them. Even now that my kids are teens, they still watch it everyday. My oldest girl even has recieved a season of the I Love Lucy each Christmas and birthday so that now she has the whole set. It's such an innocent humor. But on a side note I had no idea that they were sponsored by a tobacco company.
It feels weird today to see people smoking on TV, and I didn't recall the fact that they did.
I remember watching I Love Lucy. When they were waiting for the baby to arrive, it was a very popular topic among my Mom's friends!!
xo
Yup...I love classic shows as well...one of my favs is Opie and Barney and Sheriff Taylor! Lucy is a favorite as well!
Gee, Mrs. Cleaver, you're swell!
I love those old classic shows.
I grew up on these, too! We are also big fans. My husband is a bigger fan of Mayberry, though!
The cigarette issue was one we had to cross with our girls, too. We told them that the shows were done in a different time when smoking was not considered to be that dangerous. If they only knew.
The smoking is WEIRD to see now, isn't it! But Lucy is still a lot of fun.
Me either Beav!!! I remember the day my daughter discovered Lucy. I put it on for her and went to do some things in the kitchen. I could hear her laughter a few minutes later. I felt the same way you did. How wonderful to share those great classic moments.
My favorite is the Vita-meeta-vegamin commercial. I could see it a million times and still be in stitches!!
I have fond memories of I Love Lucy. I don't think we get it on our cable line-up but if we did, I'd be watching once again.
I always liked Ethel best..... she reminded me of my aunt Myrtle
My girls love Bewitched. We have the first four original episodes on DVD, and they watch them over and over.
Oh, we love I Love Lucy, too. I also have collected a bunch of Gidget episodes on DVD. Sally Field was so cute back then. They are just innocent teenage fun, too.
Take care, MEow
Those were the days. When you could turn on the tv and really not be afraid of what your kids might see or hear. That is wierd about the smoking. SO true. It is something we notice immediately too. I'm glad the "rules" of that part have changed.
I used to watch Lucy, but I finally tired of her antics. But I still can't get enough of Beaver, Andy Griffith, and wish they'd come back with Mary Tyler Moore again. Such classics.
Glad the girls are watching these wonderful classics. As you know I have been watching a lot of the Hallmark movies on the 2 Hallmark stations I get & I'm always bothered by the old movies when someone lights up. I just want to yell at the TV " Don't you know those things can kill you?" The sad thing is that there are stars of that era who died from lung cancer as the result of cigaretts or having it contrubute to it.
The shows were so innocent back then because it was an innocent period of time.
Susan
Reruns of those old shows are the best, We Love Lucy too! My kids would watch it also. That's fun that your girls like the show, they might share your love of old movies too!
I love the old shows too. My girls love Andy Griffith and Lucy. Only Fifi has seen Leave it to Beaver.
You mentioned the cigarette smoking and taking a minute to talk with your kids about the danger in that, but I wonder if our spiritual eye is as keen to discern and discuss the unGodly behavior that has us laughing (especially with Lucy)? Envy, strife, back-biting, deception, contention, an unsubmissive spirit toward her husband, etc. Obviously her behavior is so over the top that it couldn't be true in an otherwise loving, committed marriage--and our girls need to know that, don't you think? (That you can't be like Lucy in a real-life marriage and be pleasing to God.)
We love the old shows, too. I guess we miss the innocence of those times. We can recapture it for just a little while by watching the antics of Mayberry citizens, Beaver, Lucy, MTM, and My Three Sons, etc.
We don't have TV, but when we visit the Grandparents the old shows win every time! Lucy is a riot.
Gee, Wally... Me neither! LOL
The Kid and I both love classic television, and I'm glad. The shows of today can't hold a candle to the ones of yesteryear...
The Kid has also discovered The Munsters... :o)
My husband and I LOVE Lucy and Ricky. Whenever we need a good laugh, we watch those two (plus Frank and Ethel) and their hilarious antics on DVD.
Isn't it sad that they ended up divorced? It's obvious that Ricky loves Lucy SO much in the show, and sometimes I wonder what happened. I guess I'll have to do a little googling to find out... :~)
I bought my hubby an Andy Griffith compilation for um, some holiday or other - I can't remember -but the girls LOVE it.
They quote Barny all the time.
And no one smokes on AG, do they?
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