Inspired by the Skins thread...what shows

[Lassie Lynne]

We didn't watch certain shows as a family because my grandparents thought they were "stupid" or boring. We only had one TV, so I usually watched whatever they watched, although they were awfully nice in always making sure I got to see a few shows that I have a feeling now, that perhaps my grandfather wasn't too interested in, like Little House on the Prarie.

The one show that I always wanted to see was Johnny Carson, because I had a bedtime and wasn't allowed up that late. I can remember some nights, laying in my bed and hearing the theme song. I remember the night that I finally got to see it, I was so excited, but heck - I didn't understand half of the jokes .

 

[Fantasmic23]

I wasn't allowed to watch HBO after 8:00 p.m. You know, late 1970's, old school HBO ... When there was just ONE channel of Home Box Office.

After 8:00 p.m., it was a safe bet that the movie in question was rated R. A deep female voice would say this little spiel (That you could read on-screen as she spoke) that menacingly ended with, "HBO will show this feature only at night."

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

The one show that I always wanted to see was Johnny Carson, because I had a bedtime and wasn't allowed up that late. I can remember some nights, laying in my bed and hearing the theme song. I remember the night that I finally got to see it, I was so excited, but heck - I didn't understand half of the jokes .

This just brought back a long forgotten memory! I used to spend the nights at my grandparents house when there was no school, I was very close to them. Anyway my grandmother always stayed up to watch "Carlson", and she'd let me stay up and watch it with her. I must have been around 7 or 8 and I thought it was the coolest thing that I was up so late watching Carlson! lol

 

[Pastamom]

We couldn't watch Three's Company - my mom didn't approve of the opposite sexes living together...

We also weren't supposed to watch Dukes of Hazard or Dallas, but my parents bowled on Friday nights so my sis and I would watch it when they weren't home

BUT we were watching All My Children since we were born...go figure

 

[snarlingcoyote]

No 3's Company, Dynasty, Dallas, or any Soap Operas.

But Starsky and Hutch, MASH, Cagney and Lacy, or any news show - no matter what the topic, those kinds of shows were fine.

Of course, when I was quite small I thought I might like to be a hooker when I grew up. All I knew was that hookers were pretty, independent women who got to help the detectives with their work!

 

[TaraPA]

I thought of another one - Saturday Night Live was off limits in our house. I remember when my parents would go out & my brother would babysit me, he'd be down in the living room watching it (we had one TV at that time, no cable & it was next to the phone ON A CORD that we shared too!). I would sit at the top of the steps listening to the Weekend Update, Blues Brothers & Roseanne Roseannadanna & just be in hog heaven!

 

[KandD]

I wasn't allowed to watch MTV. (But I watched it at my friends houses all the time).

I think there were a few specific shows that I wasn't allowed to watch but I can't remember any off of the top of my head.

 

[browneyes106]

My parents never banned me from watching anything.

 

[ozarkmom]

I wasn't really banned from watching anything. I remember when I was really little not even in school watching Dark Shadows. I started having some nightmares and my dad thought that show was the reason so he said no more Dark Shadows. It was on during the day while he was at work and if my mom was doing something outside I'd turn it on. What they didn't realize is I had a friend that was telling me all kinds of wild stuff about having vampires and ghosts in her family. That's what was scaring the crap out of me!

 

[Hedy]

What shows on TV were you not allowed to watch when you were a kid? Was there anything banned in your house?

I wasn't allowed to watch Three's Company (sexist) or the Tarzan movies (racist). Those are the only two I really remember, although I'm sure there were more.

Pretty much any of the WB shows. Now, when you tell your kid they aren't allowed to watch Dawson's Creek, what's the first thing they do? Watch it as soon as your back is turned.
Horror movies, however, were not-I watched slasher flicks with my dad when he was feeding me as a baby.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My mom couldn't stand the show Small Wonder and didn't like it when I watched it...not that it was "inappropriate", she just thought it was a stupid show...

I loved that show!!!

I don't remember anything specifically that I wasn't allowed to watch, but we didn't have many channels. Even after we got cable, it must have been the lowest available package because we still only had 20 channels or so.

 

[MomofKatie]

I don't remember ever having any TV censored by my parents- my bedtime decided what I could or couldn't watch. Movies at the theater were taken on a case-by-case basis, based on rating. My mom took me to see American Gigolo- I was dying to see it, but it was rated R and I was only 13 or 14. Quite embarrassing to sit there and see Richard Gere's junk hangin' out with my mom sitting next to me!!

ozarkmom, I watched Dark Shadows, too! I used to switch channels from PBS (Mr Rogers was on) to ABC to watch it when Mom was in the other room. I thought Barnabus Collins was scary!! My Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs Collins, and some of her students asked if she was married to Barnabus.

 

[Dax]

I wasnt banned from anything that I know of...I had a TV in my room, and I used to try and watch cable channels "through the rainbow"...Remember that...the channel would be all warped...but the sound would come through..

Eventually my stepdad hooked up the HBO "tube" to the cable splitter under the house, and all the TVs got HBO..

Those were the days

 

[L107ANGEL]

They didn't want you to turn into a Chrissy type!


I wasn't allowed to watch "All in the Family". This was when we lived in NJ so I was under 10. I remember staying up late sometimes and snuggling up to dad on the couch and trying to sneak a few peaks at what Archie was up too.

I watched a lot of TV as a kid. I was always surprised that they let me watch The Sonny and Cher Show. I was totally fascinated by Cher. My mom was quite out of touch with anything about Hollywood ("Is that Roger Redford?" )

In 1973 we visited the MK for the first time. I was 8. We had a station wagon and we went to the drive-in movie and saw "The Way We Were" with Barbara Streisend who was my oldest sister's favorite (she was 16). It was mom, dad, both sisters and my oldest sister's BF! How uncomfortable that must have been. They stuck be all the way in the back and told me to go to sleep and I remember I kept peeking 'cause I saw them in bed during one scene.

Happy Days comes to mind

 

[Melmac]

I was never banned from watching anything on TV. Granted, I grew up in the 80's and we only had antenna TV so nothing like HBO or MTV.

I do remember my parents suggesting that "Silence of the Lambs" was a scary movie and I probably wouldn't like it ... one look at Anthony Hopkins and I was outta there ... I was probably 12 or so I stayed away from horrors on my own.