by Sharon Copeland

Created on: March 03, 2007   Last Updated: September 02, 2009

Who doesn't remember Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley? Nobody wanted to miss an episode of Charlie's Angels or The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Farrah Fawcett's haircut and poster made national headlines. The Fonz jumped the Grand Canyon and The Midnight Special rocked on through the night.

The shows of the 70's had it all. They provided drama, glamour, humor, love and variety. Some shows could make you laugh and cry all at the same time. In today's hectic world people turn on the televisionfor stress relief. Shows of the 70's entertained, and oh how they entertained.

A bigot like Archie Bunker could come into our living room and be insulting. We would welcome him back each week just to see what he would come up with next. We would watch Fred Sanford clutch his heart and repeat "I'm coming to join you Elizabeth" or watch Rhoda run down New York streets in her wedding gown. We could watch Alice serve coffee in Mel's Diner and relate to a single mother raising two girls on One Day At A Time. We set sail on The Love Boat and watched the plane soar overhead in Fantasy Island.

The ever popular MASH would let us see into the world of military madness, and Taxi's Louie DePalma and Elaine Nardo took us places we loved to go. The Dukes of Hazard's General Lee never failed to fly over the bad guys and we often wondered if Eight Was Enough. The favorite radio station of WKRP with Johnny Fever took over and motorcycle riders never looked so good as CHiPs took the airwaves.

Let's not forget how we fell in love with Dr. Marcus Welby M.D. and the men of Adam-12. I would have checked into Medical Center with Chad Everett in a heartbeat. Wonderful World of Disney graced our television with Tinkerbell in the lead and Rowan and Martin's Laugh In would sock it to you every time. Flip Wilson and Sonny and Cher were always there with a joke or two and, last but not least, the Brady and Partridge families could always be counted on to teach you something. I always think of Peter Brady when I see pork chops and applesauce.

Those were the good old days. Thanks for walking down memory lane with me. I hope some of these old shows brought back good memories for you, just like they did for me.

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