Out of the Past

Got to thinking about past entertainment industry favorites this morning. This will be something of a stream of consciousness post, with no specific order or organization.

Virginia Gal's post this morning mentioned ER, which I dutifully watched throughout its first 2 or 3 seasons. This made me think about one of my favorite shows of all time, St. Elsewhere. Really loved that show, didn't want to miss an episode. I might have to slip over to Amazon later to check for a DVD.

Of course, I loved cartoons as a child, and one of the first series that I remember is the cartoonish Batman. I used to watch it my jammies and bathrobe before heading off to fight evildoers in my dreams. I moved on from Batman to heavy-hitting dramas such as Get Smart and Gilligan's Island. And Dark Shadows!

I'm a fan of many British series, past and present, including Ballykissangel, As Time Goes By, Monarch of the Glen, Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Appearances, To The Manor Born, and the Vicar of Dibley. Hard to beat British TV.

I've also enjoyed many BBC and A&E presentations, including The Six Wives of Henry the VIII (Keith Mitchell as the king), Elizbeth R (Glenda Jackson as Good Queen Bess), Pride and Prejudice (think I've seen all versions, but the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is my fave), and I, Claudius (Derek Jacobi as Claudius, phenomenal performance).

I watched many episodes of Columbo with my Dad. We watched All in the Family on Saturday nights in our household, along with whichever variety show was currently popular: Ed Sullivan (loved that Topo Gigio), Sonny and Cher, Carol Burnett, etc.

I'm beginning to reconize that this post could go on ad infinitim, but the conversation becomes dry when it's one-sided. What are your favorites? TV, theater, film, etc. - all genres are open for contemplation.