Another favorite TV show of mine

You've probably gathered by now that "Star Trek" and "The Six Million Dollar Man" were my favorite show when I was a young boy like you. But there were a lot of other shows I liked, too!

One of them was "Welcome Back, Kotter." It was a comedy show about a teacher and his classroom full of difficult students (called the "sweat hogs"). Each student had some funny thing they'd do in every episode, which was hilarious at first but I suppose grew a bit tiring week after week, so the show didn't stay on the air for very long, maybe two or three years.

The show also had a great theme song that is one of my favorites, "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian. John Sebastian was a big rock star many years before in the 1960s, and his theme song got me interested in his earlier music, which is among my favorites today.

What are your favorite TV shows?

Watching splashdowns on television

One of my favorite things to watch when a little boy your age was the return of the astronauts from space. We were sending people to the moon during those days, so when they returned from their expedition, it was big news and on TV!

The astronauts would come back to Earth in a capsule that sort of looked like a cone. They would "land" in the ocean - which is why it was called a splashdown - where a helicopter would pick them up and take them to an aircraft carrier.

As the capsule descended toward the ocean, three parachutes would hope up to slow its descent. Once the capsule hit the water, the astronauts would bail out and then grab a life preserver attached to a rope and be pulled up into the helicopter. It was quite exciting to watch!

Remember our Batman shows, action figures and books?

Alfred Pennyworth,
Batman's butler.

Remember when we used to watch Batman on TV and DVD? There was a nightly Batman cartoon on cablem and we'd sometimes watch "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" on DVDs. We sometimes also watched "Justice League." The series were great introductions to all kinds of comic book superheroes from Plastic Man and the Green Lantern to Aqua Man and the Green Arrow.

We used to collect all of the action figures from these comic books series. You had a great Batcave playset that we often used as part of the set when we played with our Star Wars action figures.

We also had a bunch of Batman and other superhero books that we'd read before bedtime. One was about how a young boy name Bruce Wayne overcame his fear of the dark; you really seemed to be inspired by that one.

I was able to save some of your favorite superhero toys from those days. Wish I could have saved more. When you're allowed to see me again again, I will have to get you a new Batcave with superheroes for it.

The picture is a cartoon cutout of Alfred Pennyworth from the Batman cartoon series we watched. Since we couldn't purchase Batman's butler as an action figure, we printed this on the computer and pasted it to a block!

I always was so glad that you liked Batman. He definitely was my favorite superhero when I was that age.

Your favorite TV shows as a little boy



Curious George

As you know, Kieran, I raised you during most of your toddler and preschooler years. During that time, I kept track of just about everything I could about you: your height, weight, favorite songs, favorite books to read, etc. etc. I thought one day you might want to look at such lists, to jog your memory as you recalled childhood, a period that dims over time as we find ourselves preoccupied with schoolwork, careers, lovers and eventually children of our own. Today I've included a list of your favorite TV shows - those programs you loved to watch when a toddler and preschooler.

My own favorite shows when your age included "The Flinstones," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," and "Star Trek," all of which were shown back-to-back every afternoon beginning about 3:30 p.m. when I was five or so. In the morning, I'd usually watch with my mom "Bewitched," "I Dream of Jeannie" or "My Three Sons." I also liked "Daniel Boone" and "The Wonderful World of Disney" during primetime and "Dark Shadows" during the early afternoon. "Casey Jones' Roundhouse" and "Captain Kangaroo" were early morning favorites (They didn't have a lot of children's shows like they do now; "Sesame Street" first went on the air when I was four!).

Anyway, here were your favorites.

Age 1
Elmo’s World (Sesame Street)
Curious George
Sid the Science Kid
Calliou

Age 2
Curious George
Super Why
Calliou
Fireman Sam
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Kipper
Franny’s Feet

Age 3
Curious George
Calliou
Star Trek (TOS, TAS)
Batman (Brave and the Bold, The Batman)
Justice League
Scooby Doo
Fireman Sam
Star Wars movies/The Clone Wars
The Six Million Dollar Man (late)
The Bionic Woman (late)
Samarai Jack
Ben 10 (late)
Beatles cartoons (late)

Age 4
Callious (early)
Phineas and Ferb
Ningago
Scooby Doo
Transformers