With that being said, it's flashback time! Here are my top 5 favorite television shows of my past:
5. Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego?
This show started airing on PBS in 1991 and continued until its demise in 1995. The show was made possible by viewers like you! The gameshow for young children featured Carmen Sandiego, a villain and former ACME agent gone bad. 3 children (gumshoes) on the show were chosen to unravel a series of geographic clues from around the world in order to capture Carmen Sandiego. In 2001, TV Guide ranked this show as being #47 out 50 for the greatest game shows of all time. And who could forget that amazing theme song and the high quality sound effects provided by the band Rockapella! Here is an episode from the early 90's:
The contestant with the most points was given the chance to participate in the final round which consisted of placing markers on counties shouted out by the host. Only 45 seconds is allotted to correctly place 8 markers, and if done before the buzzer the contestant wins a trip to anywhere in North America. The funny trend in this show is that no matter how smart the child is (see video), 45 seconds is clearly only enough time to place 7 markers. Bummer.
4. Supermarket Sweep
Since we are on the gameshow theme, I recalled my days yelling at the tv over supermarket brands and items as a child. This show was originally broadcast in 1965 and through several breaks, aired into the early 2000's. Supermarket sweep was a game of product knowledge and a keen sense of where these products would be located in a supermarket. Each player had a partner where they would answer questions about products to earn extra time to race around the store with shopping carts. The cameras followed the chaos in the supermarket and always kept me yelling, 'go faster'!
Supermarket Sweep is a classic. Whenever I watched this show, I always thought I could toss more items into the cart than the contestants. This often left me screaming at the tv for their fat-asses to run faster! Classic.
3. Ducktales
Ducktales was probably one of the shows I enjoyed the most growing up. Last year I had an ex-boyfriend who was into comics and was kind enough to bring me home a few Ducktales comics. They were great to read but nothing compares to the show! Scrooge's greed and constant threat from the Beagle Boys taught me the value of money at an early age. The series first aired in 1987 and was based on the original comics produced by Carl Barks. The show contained numerous characters including Scrooge's 3 nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. If you grew up watching this show you'll soon have the theme song stuck in your head for days on end!
My favorite characters were always Launchpad McQuack and the Beadle Boys. I still cherish my VHS tape of 6 Ducktales shows my uncle taped for me when I was young. He even sat through every episode, pressing the record button when commercials came on so I wouldn't have to watch commercials. The good old days of the VCR and Walt Disney cartoons.
2. Gummi Bears
Here is another great Walt Disney cartoon which aired in 1985. Although this cartoon doesn't seem to be well known by friends my age, this show ran for several years, finally ending in 1991. When I watch old episodes of Gummi Bears, I swear the writers of this show were on high on acid every time they wrote an episode. The Gummi Bears had gummi juice which they drank. This potion gave the bears great powers which were used against their enemies. One of the most memorable attacks gained by drinking gummi juice was the bears ability to jump and bounce ridiculously high and knock out their foes.
Cubbi, Sunni, Gruffi, Zummi, Tummi, and Grammi all lived in a tree called Gummi-Glen. I don't recall a childhood show being so tripped out with potions and magic.
1. Bill Nye the Science Guy
This show was by far my favorite and was probably the most influential on me. I grew up watching this show and eventually fell in love with science, which was so minimally exposed during my childhood in school. My love for science began with Bill Nye the Science Guy and I eventually ended up obtaining a degree in science. Bill Nye combined the detailed complexity of science with simple experiments a child could do at home. He made science interesting, fun and simple for young people to learn. I learned more about science from Bill than I did from my teachers or parents.
In 2005, Bill Nye came out with an adult-based science show which tackled complex topics. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of watching many episodes of The Eyes of Nye as there are very few online episodes and when it aired, I believe it only aired in the United States. Either way, Bill Nye was the ultimate television show for children!
And there you have it...my top 5 childhood shows. Whenever I watch episodes of these shows, I can't help but to bask in a warm, fuzzy happiness...with the occasional yelling at the tv.
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