TV shows were sacred in the 80s and 90s. This was a time that pre-dates the internet (or at least photos and videos online) and a huge chunk of culture revolved around actual celebrities because influencers weren’t even a thing then.
Apart from actual shows, cartoons also carried lots of cultural weight; just ask any kid who stayed glued to their TV all weekend.
In The Philippines, programming looked like this:
Fridays – Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons
Saturdays – Ducktales, Mr Bogus, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, Looney Tunes
And yes, nothing was “on demand” back then. You were lucky if you had a betamax or VHS recorder, but if you missed an episode, you simply missed it and wouldn’t be able to talk about it in school come Monday.
It was incredibly inconvenient, but it also forced an entire generation to make time for these shows, elevating these weekend viewings to rituals that we only see faint glimmers of today in the form of weekly Game of Thrones drops.
Since almost every show aimed at kids are on YouTube or Netflix, that means they’re practically accessible whenever, wherever: at a restaurant on a phone, on a tablet while in a car, and so on.
Gone is the “event” of watching a regularly scheduled show in one’s living room, being annoyed when someone calls your landline, and waiting for a commercial break to go to the toilet.
In a lot of ways things today are more convenient and accessible, but I’d argue that’s not always a good thing. Sometimes we need that bit of friction to purposely help us seek out shared experiences, whether meaningful or mundane.
What was your favorite TV show as a kid in the 80s and 90s? Let me know in the comments.