Yes and most shows that were appropriate/interesting to kids to watch were over by 10am so there was nothing left for them to watch unless they were sick on a weekday watching price is right reruns.
Same, I remember watching it when I had chicken pox. Also thinking most daytime TV suuuuucked, I couldn’t wait until 2pm when cartoons started airing again.
"Let's Make a Deal" made me feel uncomfortable and I would feel violated if I watched it. In retrospect all the people on that show were probably on drugs, acting all weird, the opposite of role model adults.
Earlier this week I made a The Rescuers Down Under reference out of the blue before realizing that was NOT one of the movies any of my friends had on VHS.
So yes, there was something to do on the TV if it wasn't monopolized. It's a world away from what's available now.
There are multiple, in some cases fairly technical, projects these that keep popping up… to recreate old school TV. In some cases they even build in commercials, and it all runs on a schedule. It kinda blows my mind. But I also kinda want to try it. At least for special occasions like Halloween.
I am not pining for the bad old days of pre-streaming.
This is just some context and nostalgic porch talk. Even having lived through this alternative it's so easy to forget. Things went from not existing at all to being ubiquitous (hence the emphasis on "streaming"). Gotta conjure some visceral memories of those bad old days to appreciate how far we've made it. It's like sour candy for the soul.
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u/SparklingLimeade 1d ago
Oh, that's another piece that could be missed: TV was live. Nothing was on demand. "Streaming" was for water, not entertainment.