Me too!!! I'm 27 and I feel like I constantly make mentions to "the good old days", and I'm always telling my girls like "back in high school we didn't DREAM of doing such-and-such..." and it's like I was in high school in '98, it wasn't THAT long ago! But it feels like it was!

I spend most of my waking life around teenagers, and it's just unreal what they are into in life and what they watch on TV. (Just that sentence makes me sound like an old marm! ) Now I love some Laguna just as much as the next girl, but everynow and then (OK at least twice a week) I have to do some time travel with MacGyver! I wouldn't say all, but many, of these children just don't have the attention spans for MacGyver. I'm serious. I blame u-tube, among other things...

My son is into Power Rangers and other current stuff, but he loves MacGyver, and that makes me so glad. He's only 9, but already a science whiz, and I honestly think the show has something to do with him thinking science is "cool". See, a show like MacG, it's truly entertainment + learning.

I think you're right, the world has always been complicated, it just may not have seemed like it. I hate my cynicism. I want the worldview I had when I was 12.

Yep I agree, but I think the drop in television standards is a reflection on our general decline of society.

Its a bit of catch 22 situation really...

Television shows things to appeal to certain age groups etc... these things are then seen by a wide range of people all the time and become normalized and accepted, so then they push the boundary a little further and on it goes.

The best thing to do.. is pull the cable out of the back of your TV and just watch DVDs. that way you control whats being seen. (and no adverts)

Okay Devon, prepare to die, I remember Punky. Annoying girl I mean...
Love Boat I used to watch everyday.

I agree, in the good old days (I'm turning 27) producers seemed to put in more effort to come up with a show.
And it was a shame to copy it.
I mean, we've never seen another Mac than RDA, the original. Maybe shows were dubbed, nowadays they are pretty much all copied. And then they ome up with a cheap rip off.

Maybe the quality of the shows was way better back then, we should also keep in mind times are constantly changing.

Your son probably experiences those bloody power rangers with exact the same joy as we watched MacGyver when we were kids. Kids play after them and I remember playing after Mac with a boy from the street...

I remember enjoying cartoons like Yogi Bear and The Flintstones and nowadays they are replaced by Pokemon and other Japanese like cartoons stuff and such...

Hey 'bloody bloody'. I like those too you know.

The world will never become again like in the 80's and 90's. The Soviet Union is gone, the Wall is down. Movies like in those days are hardly made anymore. That's why I also am on the nostalgic side. Just try to picture yourself back in the 80's or 90's.
If I had a Delorean time machine, I'd set my time circuits back to the 80's and 90's.

I think that we can safely say that 24, Lost and Prison Break are good quality series.
But it's like family-oriented series are a bit gone. Series like Family Ties (which I want to know better), The Wonder Years, Webster, Married with... Children and The Golden Girls. However there's still '8 Simple Rules' or something like it with Katey Sagal.

I wouldn't do that. The cable is a good thing to look for series so you know what to buy next time but you're right about those adverts. Two weeks ago I was watching the finale of 24 and in the last four to five minutes there was a commercial break. It was worth waiting but... man that was irritating.

Hey 'bloody bloody'. I like those too you know.

Hahaha sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone, guess it's a matter of taste and taste is personal.

I never liked the Power Rangers, do like Totally Spies though


Many many years ago there was a cartoon about a group of people in suits in all the colours of the rainbow. That suit had some sort of screen (?) at the height of their stomachs with the image of an animal on it. The person wearing a particular suit could take on the form of that animal on that suit.
It was an American cartoon, does anyone know it??

Anyone seen the Thundercats? Now THAT was a cool cartoon! Or Dungeons and Dragons!!! Oooooh feeling like a kid again...

None taken.

I don't actually watch tv; rather I wait for DVDs to come out. Current shows for which I am eagerly awaiting DVDs:

-SG-1
-SGA
-CSI (the original)
-House
-24

There are other shows I love and am getting on DVD, but they're not current (including M*A*S*H and all the Star Treks).

I don't watch a lot of shows anymore because it's so time consuming, so I'm fiercely loyal to the ones I do watch. Quality vs. quantity and all that.

Mac

Pfew..



I love House, he has this great sarcasm. I love it!
Anybody been following Lost lately? I'm completely Lost at Lost.

The lost me around halfway through Season 2

I just finished watching the complete series of 'Brisco County Jr.' (loved it! Very Legend-and-Wild,Wild,West-esque!) Just started on 'Due South, Season 3'.

No commercials! No "this program has been pre-empted for a political broadcast"! No infomercials! No time compression editing! Missing episodes! Cast commentary!

I love my DVD player!

I used to love that show, but I think I overdosed. I'll probably never watch it again.

Paul Gross is such a sweet man. I would never have been a fan of his had I not met him twice and been utterly charmed by him both times. He's someone who really knows that part of his job as an actor is to be nice to his audience.

Mac

Do you maybe mean the Teletubbies? They were red, yellow, green and purple, and had screens on their stomachs, after all. It was no cartoon, though.

At the end of season one I also almost had quitted, but then I totally got into it again and now can't wait for season 3.


I also recently watched a few episodes of "Boston Legal" and I think I could get used to it There's a lot of humor, but they also handle serious things and I think that's always a good combination.

I used to love that show, but I think I overdosed. I'll probably never watch it again.

Paul Gross is such a sweet man. I would never have been a fan of his had I not met him twice and been utterly charmed by him both times. He's someone who really knows that part of his job as an actor is to be nice to his audience.

Mac

You met Paul Gross?? I had a crush on him for a while. *grin*

Loved Due South too. To me, I think this show could come close to MacGyver.
The way Fraser interacts with Dief (cute, so cute!) and his passed away dad, hilarious. Way over the top, but not annoyingly, at least not to me.

He's still number 3 of my fav actors.

My 3 fav actors all can:

A) ride horseback very well
B) play hockey very well
C) play guitar very well and are/were in a band.

I guess if a man can do that I'll fall for him instantly

I knew someone would come up with them , but no, not the teletubbies. I really mean a cartoon, somewhere early 90's I think...

Me too! I guess I like a man proficient where I'm deficient! That scene of MacGyver playing guitar on the couch in "The Negotiator" makes me *swoon* every time! And it makes my face look like .

I AM dying because you know Punky Brewster! It's so obscure! My friends and I would fight over who got to play act to be Punky and who got to just be one of Punky's friends.

I was gonna say Teletubbies like Astra said. Do you mean Fraggles? Remember they would all go "Time for Fraggle rock!" and then go into an underground cave and start smashing stuff and yelling all crazy and dancing? They were like early rock stars, but only for children, and they were part animal or at least had animal qualities. I can't remember if they had animal pictures on their stomachs or not. I must have been too distracted by all the smashing. Does this ring a bell?

You wrote you are "Lost at Lost". OK I thought I was the first and only person to come up with this joke, and everytime I say it, it delights me anew, and I laugh like it's the first time anyone's ever said it, and it makes certain people threaten to smother my face with a pillow! But seriously, I'm with ya. I too am LOST AT LOST. I tuned out when they killed my fave character. Can't remember her name...Shannon? She was with Saiid.

MGod, you mentioned Family Ties...it was such a good 80's show with Michael J Fox. I remember it was a show the whole family could watch, and very funny. I would kill to see it again...you should check it out if you ever get the chance. Golden girls- HILARIOUS! It has a cult following here in the US and some of my certain friends just love it. They have T-shirts of it, etc.

For Rock and others who are not down with commercials...have any of you ever read the magazine "Adbusters"? I used to love this mag because of it's exposing of the subversive techniques and negative effects of advertising. (Don't read much anymore because of their radically biased view of certain political conflicts...but if you can skip over those parts, it's really very good. ) I have friends who are raising their 3 year old with no TV or electronic toys in the home, nor is he allowed to watch TV outside the home, and this kid has an attention span like you wouldn't believe...he is used to using his brain and entertaining himself! I don't condone or condemn it, cuz every family's different, but it's just interesting.

I haven't gone that far with Aidan, but when he watches Power Rangers on Saturday morning cartoons, I actually make him turn off the TV at commercials, time it for 3 minutes, and turn it back on to rejoin the show! I can be an anti-consumerism psycho when it comes to my kid! (I however watch a ton of commercials at night when he's in bed! Mommy's a hypocrite! ) I don't even have a problem with the drop-kicking power rangers, I just hate advertisers trying to seduce my kid to be brand loyal to some sugar snack or stupid toy at such a young age. (power ranger seasons are not on DVD)

Ending longest post EVER. Insomnia- CRITICAL. Ever since I got computer in the house.

Twice. He's a good hugger.

Mac

Twice. He's a good hugger.

Mac

May I kiss your feet? LOL

He's my second runner up

They're putting commercials in those? The situation is a lot worse than I expected.
I remember the days of the commercials. When our first commercial broadcasting studio's started airing. There was only commercials between the programma's and one commercial break during movies. Back than it also depended on how long the film was now it's each time two commercial breaks during a film, even if the film doesn't last 90 minutes.
When they started putting adverts in the programs, the Power Rangers was one of the very few left where they didn't do that. An episode lasted with a little luck only 20 minutes.
By the way talking of the Power Rangers. Just a little trivia though but um... don't you think the Vasquez Rocks from To Be A Man looks like the rocks in the Power Rangers from it either I think the location of the Command Centre or from where they started their Ninja Quest. If you ever saw it at least.

You liked Shannon? She was a spoiled brat but I could live with that. Damn attractive though. I'm more for sunshine Claire. Or adventureous Kate, if she can be trusted. And Sun.
Well if you wanna tune in next and if you wanna know...

I saw some eppy's when they aired it last year. The Golden Girls is more my mother's show. But do like it though. On some day I'll be the proud owner of those series and others...

MG this is scary but I think I know EXACTLY what you mean! And they do!

Ya, there's about three or four 3-minute commercial breaks on each 20 minute episode of rangers. It's so annoying. And I don't even mind my son watching some prime-time adverts, it's just something about the ones during kids shows that is so awful. Adverts for dish soap or new cars don't bother me nearly as much as ones that show some sugar puffs and then the voice over says something like "Kids, beg your parents to buy these, and if they don't, they're mean!" ANNOYING.

Wish the Ranger TV series came on DVD .

MG do you also collect the PR action figures? My son does, and sheesh they're expensive! Everytime I buy one, I think "well that was equivalent to a bag of groceries!" But they're worth it!

Yes I loved Shannon from Lost...She had her attitude-y moments but when they explored her personality further, I think it showed she was basically sweet. Too bad they killed her! Liked Hurley and Sawyer...show just got too confusing, then I kept reading that not even the writers knew where it was going or what the answers to the questions were...i thought if they don't know, then why the hell am I gonna stick around?!

Dish soaps commercials crack me up each time.

Me too! There are dvd's but only volumes of lately shows. I want my season sets!!!! Hell, I even want the Japanese sets.

Used to have a lot of toys of them and I had to throw them all away too. My mother made me throw them away. But I'm not throwing my video's away. I like it too much just like my tapes of MacGyver I am not throwing them away. NEVER!!!!

That frigging Ana-Lucia. Good she's dead too. Too confusing? There's nothing confusing about. Not that I can remember at least.
Maybe you had too stick around to find out what they did after all.

MG- (this is for when you get back in ten days)

Why did your mom throw your power rangers away? When you get much older, kid toys are cool to look at or give to your own kids. I still have a big box of china dolls and barbies.

If the makers of power rangers were smart, they would not just issue single episodes on DVD, but they would issue entire seasons from the different forces. It would make a ton of $$$ for them and fans would love it!

Ya, that Ana Lucia...blech! I think I stopped watching just as she died.

Was Walt ever reunited with his Dad?

I don't mean to be annoying...but is anyone else a Fan-jaya for Sanjaya? I just truly profoundly love this kid! I think he's hypnotizing . Serious, I do. Is anyone else following "Idol" at this stage in the game?
*ducking tomatoes* Yeah yeah, I know...

San-who???

Oh Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol! Sorry I should have said that. See, I really have been hypnotized!

Aaaah okay, didn't ring a bell. Now I know why it didn't. LOL.
They've stopped Idols here two yrs ago. Now they've come up with a complete rip-off, the X-factor. It's exactly the same, the only difference is people between 15 and 88 yrs old can sign up, and groups.
Oh yeah, and the stage is red instead of blue....

Is it for singing or just general talent? They had something here called "America's Got Talent" and the previews looked so boring and lame that I never even watched.

But what about the poor 89-year old who just wants to sing his or her lungs out but has just missed the age deadline by a year?!

That kid is getting slammed.

Okay, granted he's not the most talented there... and for seem reason, his audition seems to be the best I've seen him preform.... and I don't think he has a snowballs chance of winning, but I can see the appeal. I think he'll have a career, or a record or two at least. The producers can work wonders in the studios and the boy has a Shaun Cassidy / Donny Osmond thing going on.



If anyone (American anyway) doesn't know who those two are, I'm going to cry )

She made me throw them away so I would've had space. Because I didn't play with them for quite a time. They were just laying in the drawers under my bed for quite some time and I never liked throwing things away. Something I got in common with MacGyver I guess. Well my Dino MegaZord was completely destroyed. It lost an arm and one of it's horns and my red Ranger has lost his feet. My White Ranger's shield was broken.
I can understand it, it just takes up place and if you don't play with it, it just lays there. Now those drawers are just empty and collecting dust.
But every now and than I've been having these cleaning up moments. In November for instance I've been cleaning around here. All my old toys are gone now forever. Still got a plastic bag full of toy soldiers (American and German soldiers) my computer games, GameBoy and Playstation game and I won't throw those away! But I will never throw away my MacGyver tapes and Power Ranger tapes.
So as I said: don't like throwing away stuff, but sometimes I'll do it anyway. Depends on the moment because I can really act difficult over it. I just hope on the contrary with my mother that I never regret it on throwing things away.
When we renovated the house she threw away our fire place. She regrets it.

It's true what you say about the Power Rangers. Bringing out DVD's season by season. It might boost up their popularity again. I at least am going to by the first six seasons. To have the full Zordon era with Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd and Goldar. Feeling nostalgic again. Just buy the first season and you got already 60 episodes. Those are two seasons and three quarters of MacGyver. It indeed sounds like tsjing tsjing. But I think Haim Saban has to decide over it and he left the show as a producer after the ninth season and sold it to Disney. So maybe Disney has to make the decision.

MG I am so freaked out- I never dreamed we would have so much in common! I actually knew every single name of the characters you mentioned! Scary. This is what living with a 9-year old boy will do to a girl! Now we have Operation Overdrive fever in this house, and we have saved up our allowance to buy a new action figure tomorrow in fact!

I have crates of old MacGyvers on VHS and I just don't think I can ever throw them out. I like the old-school commercials on the episodes- it really takes me back to that time period of being a kid in the 90's and watching MacGyver re-runs on USA network. When I'm an old lady and I'm dead, my family will find four crates of MacGyver video tapes in the attic, and go "What the hell did she keep these for?!" I'm not a pack-rat, I'm an obsessive neat freak to the point of compulsion, but MacG videos in my storage closet are my one indulgence!

If Sanjaya is voted off American Idol tomorrow night, I will seriously tear my hair out, dress in sackcloth, and then rip the sackcloth, and tear out any remaining hairs. I just seriously love this kid! He's having so much fun, and he makes me smile! As for who the real winner should be, I'm going with Lakisha. Girl can sing! Love her.

Me too, got 29 tapes. It brings me all the way back to the early 90's when Belgium's first commercial broadcasting studio's started. For the first six tapes at least the other 23 takes me back to the year 2000.
Can't throw them away either. It's just too valuable.

Strange how things work out, huh?

I believe I had mentioned it before somewhere around here, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

Here in Maastricht they're filming a new police series/show: Flikken Maastricht (Flikken = Cops) it's a copy of the Belgian series that are set in Gent.

I filled out a form, some time ago, to be an extra, as I've been an extra before on local programmes.
I just got a phone call from the production team in which they asked about my hair colour (it's now caramel blonde) cause they needed a female who looked like one of the main characters. (probably for interrogation and all) but it didn't fit... AAAAAAAAAH!!!!! Such a bummer!!!!

But I was asked to be a "normal" extra this weekend.
YAY.

Don't follow that show. I'm more a Spoed (ER) kinda guy.