TV Shows That Inspired Me As A Child
76This article is about television shows that inspired me while growing up. I know that there are many different generations that may be reading this and understand that you may not know that shows of which I speak but you probably grew up watching shows that meant a lot to your generation and I want to hear about that too. Feel free to leave it in the comments below this article. Even if you don't necessarily know the shows I'm sure you can identify with the spirit of remembering such things and hopefully it will inspire good thoughts of your childhood as well.
For me growing up in the country we had few options as we didn't have satellite. From our antenna we were able to receive only a couple channels but I am proud of what I was able to watch on those channels and to this day smile when I see them in syndication.
ROAD TO AVONLEA
Being Canadian and my main channel of viewing CBC which is Canadian owned and operated they would do whatever they could to showcase Canadian shows. So when this quality Canadian show came out back in 1990 it became one of the staples of my viewing experience as a child.
The story initially follows the story of a young girl, Sarah Stanley, probably around the same age I was when the show started who is sent to stay with relatives on her mothers side while her father is fighting a court battle being accused of fraud. The story takes place in the turn of the century village of Avonlea from 1903 - 1912. he doesn't get along with anyone but warms up to her young cousins and eventually her gruff aunt Hetty whom she is staying with. Throughout the show's run it features more stories about her relatives and involves Avonlea's inhabitants as well. Overall I identified quite a bit with family orientated programming and it made me feel good to watch such things at the end of the week just after Walt Disney on Sunday night. If you've never seen it I would highly recommend it. You can find seasons on DVD or online.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Like many even before Star Trek: The Next Generation came out I had seen all of the original series many times over in the form of repeats. I had also seen the films and so had an understanding of Star Trek. When it began I was quite young in 1987, but a few years into it as I matured I began to watch them fanatically until the series completed in 1994. I also was adamant about seeing all of the Next Generation films and was quite horrified in 2004 - 2005 when they decided to discontinue making Next Generation films.
Star Trek: the Next Generation opened my young mind to Sci-Fi and with the acting of Patrick Stewart taught me that even older people could be prolific and incredibly passionate. I personally think he came into his own on the show. He secured a star on the Hollywood walk of fame and besides his role in the Next Generation films he also went on to play Professor Xavier in the X-men films.
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THE ODYSSEY
This show some may not know as well. It played for 3 seasons on CBC from 1992 - 1994 and then for years afterward in syndication. It centered around a young boy, Jay, who after being chased by a local bully and pals falls out of a tree house and hits his head. After going into a coma Jay encounters an unusual world in his subconscious mind where there is no adults and the world is run by children all under the age of 15.
Jay also meets and is accompanied by counterparts of his two friends from the real world as he goes on a journey to reach the Tower. Which is where the ruling "Brad" a younger version of his father is. One thing I liked most about this series is that whenever something would happen in the real world or a character was introduced in the real world they appeared or effected Jay's subconscious realm as well.
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You are a little younger than I am. These shows were on when I was raising my children. Star Trek was on when I was a child and we watched it. Bonanza, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, and The Monkey's were the ones we watched. Little House on the Prairie also. The next Generation and all the movies also were necessities for a Trekkie.
Ready for this. Road to Avonlea was shown on TV here in Latvia a couple of years ago. However it lost quite a bit in translation. When I lived in the states my favorites that related to days gone by were Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons.
This is very interesting. It is amazing how shows can influence us. Thanks for sharing. I am voting up!!!
Good article! I had never seen "The Odyssey" but you made it sound very interesting! I enjoyed the Star Trek series and all the spin-offs. If you ever get a chance to see Star Trek's "Deep Space Nine", please do. They kept Lt. Worlf. on this show and he has a great story line.
Looking at the stuff on television today tells me that we are in deep trouble. How inspired can anyone get from jersey Shore, Housewives, Mob Wives, Hoarders and 16 and Pregnant. It's frightening The days of inspiration are over.
Yep same here, the only one I'm familiar with is Star Trek, because I was too busy being mommy and it was my son's favorite.
thanks for sharing this hub to us this is very informative and intresting hub...but I'm only familiar with star trek though...now I know that there are a lot of other TV shows that we in the Philippines did not know about...Thank you very much for writing this hub
Very interesting hub, I used to watch a bit of star trek when I was younger, but it sure had changed a lot after so many seasons. Since I was born in the 80s I don't really recognize or remember a lot of old shows growing up. But one that I used to watch was I Dream of Genie, that was a funny show and it was one of my favorites.
Road to Avonlea sounds like a really cool show, and I REALLY need to re-visit Star Trek. Great Hub!
Star Trek played a major role in stretching my imagination. In my dreams and daydreams, I was Captain Kirk out exploring strange planets. But Flipper was one TV series that defined by childhood. I have written a hub about this. My obsession of swimming with dolphins finally came true much later when I visited Florida.
I loved Star Trek: The Next Generation. My favorite characters were Warf and Data and Q. Remember hearing about the other programs you list here, but I don't think I ever saw them.
I don't even have a TV anymore. Too much to do and no time to watch TV. Every once in a while I will see a clip of the reality shows that are on these days and then I don't feel deprived for not having a TV . . .
Nice hub. I remember the shows of my own childhood in my side of the earth. I loved the US TV series, MacGyver. Once I got locked out of our house and the first thing I did was think what MacGyver would do in such a situation. I think I tried picking the lock and trying to reach the doorknob thru an open window. I'm not sure which one worked but I am pretty sure I got in =)
Oh my! How did I ever grow up? TV wasn't invented back then...got our first b/w set when my 2nd child was born (1956). But I watched with them then" Mr. Greenjeans; later the Muppets; Sesame St. - favorite was Crabby Appleton (rotten to the core). I loved Ally McBeal, JAG, etc. but they've all been pulled. Don't watch TV anymore - just news and weather...then read.





















Alecia Murphy Level 7 Commenter 4 months ago
I love this hub. Unfortunately, the only show I'm familiar with is Star Trek :TNG. It came on in syndication every Saturday while my mom would make dinner and I fell in love with the show. I know this one alot better than the original mainly because they gave equal billing to all of the characters. Great job!