Finding Some Old Friends

Stumbling through the television choices tonight on Christmas night, I came across what feels like an old friend, a rerun of The Dick Van Dyke Show. I’m one of those people that sticks to the same channels and watches them day after day. I have my favorite shows and watch them, not exploring very often. I accidentally hit enter on a station I’d never heard of, MeTV, and found a plethora of nostalgic TV, things that are old, but never forgotten by me.

I love nostalgic TV. I grew up in the tail end of the baby boomer age, and we grew with TV as a babysitter, friend, even parent. Watching TV was how the family gathered on Saturday nights, eating popcorn and watching All In the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and The Carol Burnett Show. It was what I did when I came home from school, watching The Mike Douglas Show, followed by reruns of The Brady Bunch, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Andy Griffith Show. When the whistling would start on the opening of Andy Griffith, our dog would jump on the ottoman and watch out the window, knowing that meant my dad was home any minute.

Tonight I accidentally flipped on a Chicago station I didn’t even know existed, MeTV, a station that dedicates itself to nostalgic TV. I landed on an episode of Taxi, a show that brought me through my teen years. I hit the DirecTV and displayed a listing of what was coming up next and saw Cheers, Good Times, The Cosby Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. With most of the shows showing Christmas episodes tonight, and knowing I was having a hard time staying awake, I TiVoed The Dick Van Dyke Show, hoping I would see the Christmas episode where Ritchie sings The Little Drummer Boy, and all he cast members combine in a musical number playing pretend instruments.

When I woke up later and played the episode off TiVo, what I found wasn’t the episode of Dick Van Dyke I was looking for, but instead another old favorite. Rob is alone in the office and believes he sees and hears a UFO, with aliens that are telling him “Ooney Oomph” through the water cooler. When it happens on another occasion, he thinks he’s having a dream, but later finds the UFO is an elaborate toy that is being designed, and the speaking mechanism is wrong. It’s supposed to be saying, “Merry Christmas.”

It doesn’t matter that I saw a different episode, as it just happens to be another of my favorites that I often refer back to. Growing up with television so important to me, it’s often how I make connections. In conversations, I’ll say that reminds me of the time … etc. Piccolos don’t remind me of the time I played one in band in 6th grade, they remind me of Laura Petrie pretending to play one in that musical number from the Christmas episode of Dick Van Dyke. UFOs and water coolers remind me of that episode of the show. Men in toupees remind me of Alan Brandy, aka Carl Reiner.

Now that I found this nostalgic local television station I’m going to be visiting it more often. I have to keep up with my old friends. Not that their stories ever change, as Laura will still dye her hands black making the cloud costume, she’ll still lose her family brooch down the drain, and she’ll still make her famous potato poopies recipe for all her and Rob’s parties. But I have to see and hear the stories again. I set it for Season Pass on my TiVo, and I suspect I’ll be doing that for more of those golden oldies shows when they grab me the same way.