Classic 1970s Tv The Shows That Made The Family Tune In

Imagine a family, all sitting around the TV, probably the only TV in the house. Dad has a remote control, which everyone calls a "clicker". The remote has only two functions. One of the functions turns the TV off and on. The second replaces all 7 or 8 channels, with the click of a button. Now try to imagine what that family is seeing. Are you imagining they're watching one of the classic 1970s TV shows? In the 1970s most families had one, perhaps two televisions in their home, and a second television was usually placed in Mom and Dad's room where they could watch classic shows that kids hadn't yet seen like Maude or Soap . Television in the home may also have shown programs in black and white. What kept families glued to these televisions, which had only a few channels, an ancient clicker, and often no color? The classic 1970s TV show, of course. There were a lot of family friendly shows in different genres. For families who enjoyed comedy, the 1970s had some of the most memorable sitcoms. Families in the 1970s learned all about 1950s families by watching the wildly popular Happy Days and the equally popular spin off of Laverne and Shirley. Happy Days also launched the career of comedian Robin Williams, who went on to star in another spin-off of the show – Mork and Mindy. Other family-friendly classic television shows from the 1970s include The Partridge Family (with teen hearth throb David Cassidy), the show that gave us John Travolta, Welcome Back Kotter, One Day at a Time, Chico and the Man, The Odd Couple Familiarize yourself with Good Times, WKRP in Cincinnati, What's Up, Three's Company and The Jefferson. Families with older children enjoyed comedy with a social conscience, such as All in the Family, Maude, Barney Miller or Mash. These classic 1970s sitcoms tackled the social issues of the day in a poignant yet comedic way. Families also had a variety of shows to choose from for their viewing pleasure. Classic variety shows such as The Donny and Mary Show and The Sonny and Cher Show featured musicals, comedy sketches and popular guest stars each week. The Carol Burnett Show brought together some of the funniest comedians of the 1970s each week, and The Muppet Show showcases the brilliance of Jim Henson's stellar compositions with musical and comedy guest stars sharing the stage with Kermit, Miss Piggy and Animal added. There was also a lot of one-hour family drama. Eight Is Enough, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons were some of the classic television dramas that brought families together in front of television each week. Classic TV shows of the 1970s also had room for crime fighting and action heroes. The world learned what bionics was in The Six Million Dollar Man and its spin-off from The Bionic Woman. Every week the family will tune in to see how Lee Majors and Jamie Somers will use their bionic eyes and ears. Chip gave us a glimpse into the lives of California Highway Patrol officers. Starsky and Hutch chase the bad buys in their Hot Rod and BJ and Bear track down the bad guys in the 18 Wheeler. Two other classic television shows from that era that could not be defined by any of these other genres were The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. These shows were a place for old-fashioned stars and present-day stars to make several guest appearances at a time. For years, the family stayed home on Saturday nights just to see who would get off the plane to the island or turn Julie to the cruise director's guest list. In today's modern times, most homes have hundreds of channels on each of four or more TV sets. Still, it seems like nothing to watch, especially something the whole family can enjoy together. Many of these classic 1970s TV shows are now on DVD and can be bought or rented online or in stores. Why not consider getting a classic TV DVD for your family this Friday night instead of the family movie in general?