Now That Was Good TV

(Word of warning: This post will not make much sense if you don't watch the clips. And really? It will barely make sense if you do.)

Do you know the creepiest thing on television?

That weird Burger King dude.

He completely freaks me out. I think it might have something to do with my serious aversion to clowns and all things clown related.

But he also makes me think of someone else...

Do you remember King Friday from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood of Make Believe?

I was a huge fan of Mr. Rogers. I especially loved Daniel the little lion that lived in the clock. Do you remember him?

I have to say that I was not a fan of Lady Elaine. Except when I was little (and really, until I googled her just now) I thought her name was Lady Eberlaine.

That's the face of many nightmares, my friends.

So now I'm thinking about The Electric Company. Man, I loved it when that lady started screaming, "Hey You Guys!"

I was also a major Sesame Street fan. My favorite skit on Sesame Street was the working dog. Do you remember that?

I'm a dog
I'm a workin' dog
I'm a hard workin' dog

That poor little guy was trying so hard to herd those cows.

However, I can't find a video of it anywhere. Which is very disappointing.

Here are a few of my other Sesame Street faves.

I had many dreams of crunching rubies and all my teeth falling out when I was younger. In fact, I still have a recurring dream of my teeth crumbling out of my mouth. I blame the third son for many of my emotional issues.

You just can't beat that. Poor fella doesn't know how many birds are on his back. Bless him.

Not sure why I like that one. But I do.

And now, my most favorite Sesame Street clip of the day...

That rocks. When they hide behind their lips? Good Stuff.

I also enjoyed the show 3-2-1 Contact. I may or may not have had some nerd-ish tendencies as a child.

There are two other shows that I can barely remember. But I think I loved them. I need your help so that my childhood memories can be complete.

One of the shows had something to do with pen pals. I know that is not much to go on, but it seems like maybe they chanted something that sounds like, "pelabrajot".

But I also thought they were saying Lady Eberlaine.

The other show was a spanish speaking kids show. Maybe on PBS? I remember a big ferris wheel. And no words in English. But it totally captivated me.

Any ideas?

Please tell me that some of you are children of the 70s....?

Comments

[chickadee@afamiliarpath]

i totally agree about the burger king guy and lady elaine! scary. i actually met a lady that looked like her.

[Vicky]

Sorry, child of the (early) 80s here. I remember Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street (before the Elmo invasion) though.

Lady Elaine scared me too. She was just so cranky! But I always wanted to ride the Trolley to the Land of Make-Believe.

(I also now have the Aardvark song in my head, which I'm sure will make it easy to fall asleep tonight) :)

[Jenn]

I want you to know I LOVE the Burger King King. Really. I have since the very first commercial! I won't hold it against you though, I left you an award! You deserve it, I love your blog!

[Beachy Mimi]

That brought back fun memories! I loved all those. I don't remember the name of the Spanish show, but you would sit in front of the TV talking jibberish and I would say, "What are you doing?" and you replied, "Speaking Spanish." Another one we loved was "One of these things does not belong here, one of these things is not the same." Remember that?

[Kristen@nosmallthing]

I am a child of the 70s...I don't know about either of those shows...

That Lady Elaine, though, I remember wondering what was wrong with her face...she was just too creepy for words.

[Joan]

I think you are talking about the show ZOOM on PBS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig9ilzgfV_0

They were talking Ubbi Dubbi

Out of Boston, you could write to the show. I still remember the famous zip code.
0.2.1.3.4.

One of my favorite TV Shows as a kid.
I hope that was the one you were thinking about.

[Joan]

And I forgot to add that Electric Company was my favorite growing up. Morgan Freedman and some other famous people started on that show. Too Cool!

[Maria]

I also am completely creeped out by those BK commercials. Especially those "wake up with the king" ones. Nightmares, I tell you. And to think that some one is actually paid to come up with these ideas!

I loved Sesame Street (LOVED the lady bug picnic and the whole taking my llama to the dentist), Mister Rogers, Electric Company and Picture Pages (with Bill Cosby). Also huge fan of the Muppet Show. I do remember watching 3-2-1 Contact at school some, but I can not remember anything about it.

Have a great Tuesday!

[Kelly]

I am a child of the early 80's, and I recently found episodes of "The Bloodhound Gang" on youtube. Remember?

"Whenever there's trouble
we're there on the double..."

[karen]

Oh nostalgia. Someday the creepy burger king dude will be just a memory. (and probably one of the only ones I will carry with me to the old folks home. Drat!) I always thought Daniel needed a good scrubbing bath. Or a fur replacement. He never looked very cuddly to me. And I'm fairly certain that I never thought Lady Elaine's name was Lady Elaine. It seemed to me that there were more syllables in her name.

[Katrina (Callapidder Days)]

Oh my gosh -- the memories! Especially Electric Company & 3-2-1 Contact. I don't think I've even thought about those shows since I was six, but the mere mention of them fills my mind with clips!

And the yep-yep-yep-yep guys? Love them.

Can't help you on the other shows, though. You've about exhausted my childhood non-animated repertoire.

[Emily]

My absolute favorite was Captain Kangaroo. I loved when the ping pong balls fell on his head. It makes me sad that I can't share him with my children.

I loved Mr. Rogers also. My children watched his show up until last week. Our PBS station has finally pulled it off the air. :(

[Tara]

Can't help you with the shows you don't remember, but I agree with you about the BK dude. Scary creepy.

And, a side note, I'm on dial up. I didn't watch a single one of your clips. And the post made total and complete sense. :)

I also liked Picture Pages (Picture pages, picture pages open up your picture pages. Time to use your crayons and your pencils!)
My mom ordered me the picture pages whatever it was. I'm still waiting for it like 27 years later. :(

[Tara]

Can't help you with the shows you don't remember, but I agree with you about the BK dude. Scary creepy.

And, a side note, I'm on dial up. I didn't watch a single one of your clips. And the post made total and complete sense. :)

I also liked Picture Pages (Picture pages, picture pages open up your picture pages. Time to use your crayons and your pencils!)
My mom ordered me the picture pages whatever it was. I'm still waiting for it like 27 years later. :(

[Shana]

While blog hopping I came across your blog. I love this post! Brought back so many memories.

I think the reason you had the name wrong is because there was a REAL character named Lady Aberlin. She was King Friday's niece. :o)

[d]

Captain Kangaroo was my fav, and Mr. Green Jeans was the best. I may or may not have had some green jeans of my own.

[The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino]

This brought back so many memories!

"When they hide behind their lips? Good Stuff."

I always LOVED that part!

I agree, Lady Elaine is SCARY. I remember Lady Aberlin well. With her long brown hair, I thought she was the most beautiful lady I ever saw.

I used to watch PBS for hours every afternoon. Mister Rogers, then Sesame Street, then The Electric Company, then ZOOM. I loved ZOOM (seems to me that they had something about pen pals on there?) and was so mad if my dad switched over to the news instead. I still remember ZOOM Goodies like Ants on a Log (celery with peanut butter and raisins).

One of my favorite Sesame Street clips is the one of the pinball going everywhere while they sang, "123 4_ 5_ 6789_ 10_ 11 12"

[The (Almost) Amazing Mammarino]

And hey, does anyone remember "Mulligan Stew"? It was a show about nutrition.

[PK]

Villa Alegre...also a child of the 70's. Don't know the pen pal show, though.

[PK]

Villa Alegre...also a child of the 70's. Don't know the pen pal show, though.

[Fuschia]

I was right, we were separated at birth...no, maybe at four because we were certainly watching the same TV everyday!
How 'bout the Great Space Coaster with Gary Gnu ("No ga-news is good ga-news with Gary Gnu")?
I vividly remember watching the morning news (not sure who the anchor was...thinking Walter Cronkite, but wasn't he on the evening news?) and listening for the "It is now ten minutes before the hour...It is now four minutes before the hour". I honestly thought they were talking about how long before Captain Kangaroo came on!!
Not sure what other show you're looking for...sorry :(

[Fuschia]

Oooooo...was it Romper Room?

[canadacole]

Can't help you with your shows, but your mentioning a childhood nightmare and Sesame Street makes me desparate to tell you about my deep and abiding fear of the old painter guy on Sesame Street. Do you remember him? He randomly went around painting on people. Scared me silly. My mom says I used to run from the room crying when he showed up. All I remember are the nightmares.

Why was children's programming so very traumatic?

[Tamara @ Pondered in My Heart]

I second "Villa Allegre". I thought it was just a South TX show!

I :::::shudder::::: hate the Burger King...totally creeps me out. I think he's a pervert, too. Ick.

My favorite Sesame Street skit was the Twiddlebugs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKZM9A7AIpU

[Angie]

Oh, how I LONGED to watch The Electric Company; however, my parents felt the music was too "rockin'" for my little mind to hear. My mom and I laugh so hard over that today. I was a big fan of Captain Kangaroo, except Mr. Greenjeans. He scared me. But don't ask me why.

Thanks for this little trip down memory lane.