My six year old daughter sat down last evening to watch her 30 minutes of television and I was amazed at what she chose. I suddenly found myself, sitting next to her, watching Gummi Bears. Adventures of the Gummi Bears used to be one of my favorite 80s TV shows. Back in the 1980s, it was incredibly popular and I can remember staring at the TV in absolute awe at quite a few shows that have found their way back into the lives of our children. Suddenly, The Smurfs are popular once again. I find myself quickly remembering all of the names of the Smurfs and the human characters that had been introduced into their world. I would have never guessed that Id be seeing them again. Who would have ever thought that some of the cartoon 80s TV shows would be for sale on DVD in the year 2010? Strolling the aisles of our local toy store this past holiday season, I was suddenly noticing Smurf figurines and some stuffed Alf toys.
Out of nowhere, some of our beloved 80s TV shows are being made into movies. The cartoon, Transformers, which had been incredibly loved back in my childhood has been made into a huge box office hit in recent years. Miami Vice was made into a movie. Two of the most popular and widely admired characters from 80s TV Shows were the famous Crockett and Tubbs. Everyone knew who they were and adored them. The cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was made into several different movies.
Those of us who grew up in the 80s and looked forward to our cartoons or our sitcoms remember how clean they used to be. Families could sit down and watch TV together. There wasnt a fear of a few bad words or inappropriate innuendos slipping into the context. Our 80s TV shows were something we remember as making us feel good when watching them. Remember how pumped wed feel when we watched the A-Team get out of a mess theyd gotten themselves into? We felt the pain of adolescence when watching the Wonder Years. Who could ever forget how much we related to Kevin when he got dissed by Winnie Cooper?
Have writers suddenly run out of ideas for cartoons, movies and TV shows? I dont think so. Id like to think that they are from my generation and have grown up watching the same amazing shows that I did. Perhaps those 80s TV shows still linger in their minds and they are reminded of the feel good vibes that they had experienced while watching them. While it may not be possible to get away with the exact same versions that once reigned on the channels, it is possible to see them evolve and create a new feel good vibe for todays generation. There are some 80s TV shows that I, personally, would love to see revived. Why not make an A-Team movie? Knight Rider may not have been successful as a TV sitcom, but that doesnt mean that others would fail. I mean, come on its the 80s were talking about! People love their 80s music; lets get some of the TV shows back as well!
2:45 PM