This year, I'll be recalling some of my favourite programs from television, via A-Z, of course.
How many of these do you remember?
Were these before your time?
This blog post has been written in front of a live studio audience.
1969-1974 / Love, American Style featuring: Rotating cast
This was a show I watched either because my mother or my sister was watching it. But it's interesting to note, one of the episodes from this series spun off into a very popular show, Happy Days.
1976-197 3/ Laverne & Shirley featuring: Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams & Michael McKeon
One of the many spin-offs from Happy Days was this one, also set in Milwaukee. Like Happy Days, it held special interest for me, for that reason alone. But it was also a funny show, even if I preferred Happy Days more.
1982-1986 / the Love Boat featuring: Gavin Mcleod, Bernie Kopell, Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, Lauren Tewes, Jill Whelen & many guest stars.
Though this was largely a romantic comedy, I recall watching this often. It was on just after Fantasy Island so they already had my attention. I always thought it was cool they had such well known celebrities guest starring.
This A-Z list has been brought to you today, by....
1972 - Life Cereal
1987 - Life Call
Please note: The follow few selections are in memory of my dad. Being his favourite beer, he would often perform his own 'Miller Lite' commercial for the amusement of friends and family. Seeing these ads brings back many fond memories.
1982-1986 - Lite Beer (Featuring John Madden, Rodney Dangerfield, Dick Butkus & Bob Ueker)
Yep, we sure did have the same ones today. L was a good letter: so many great L shows. Tomorrow's letter is good too.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Mikey commercial so well. And the Life Call. Funny, we used to make fun of the line "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up" by saying "Help, I've fallen and I can't reach my beer!" That brings back memories!
And so nice that you did such a cool tribute to your dad with those Lite commercials...
Michele at Angels Bark
Those Lite Beer commercials remind me so much of my dad, I had to include that little tribute. Hope no one minds.
DeleteGreat memories Jeffrey! Loved Laverne and Shirley I still remember the words and of course everyone wanted to cruise on The Love Boat!
ReplyDeleteSuch great memories.
DeleteBob Uecker! Funny guy.
ReplyDeleteYes, Love Boat and Fantasy Island were staples in our house.
Uecker, he's our hometown hero, so to speak.
DeleteI love listening to his radio commentary when he voices the Milwaukee Brewer games on the sports radio in town.
Oh my gosh, every single show you posted I remember watching. Love American Style came on during the daytime because during summers when I was home from school, I remember watching it. Laverne and Shirley was great. Wow! I refer to Mikey all the time. There's a coworker that I always give him my lunch and I say he's my mikey!
ReplyDeleteSweet tribute to your dad. I remember all those commercials.
I use Mikey all the time too. When it seems appropriate.
DeleteMy dad loved those commercials. I have one on video somewhere. One day I'm going to get it posted here.
Hi, Jeffrey!
ReplyDeleteGreat L choices, good buddy! I didn't watch Laverne & Shirley but I watched Love, American Style and The Love Boat. That "Hey Mikey" ad campaign for Life Cereal is one of the most memorable and successful in advertising history and seemed to run forever. The same is true of the plethora of spots produced for Lite beer from Miller starring sports legends and comics like Rodney Dangerfield in hilarious 60 second sketches. The phrase "I've fallen and I can't get up" became a running joke used in countless parodies and comedy bits over the years.
Thanks for the memories, good buddy Jeffrey!
I think the Life Cereal commercial ran for 10+ years.
DeleteMiller Lite, I loved their commercials.
Great theme for the challenge! I remember watching the Love Boat and Laverne and Shirley. It was always fun to see who was guest starring on the Love Boat and the "tangles" they got into and out of over the course of the show. I wonder what Mikey from the Life cereal looks like these days :)
ReplyDeletebetty
http://viewsfrombenches.blogspot.com/
Of course, the crew of the ship invariably got involved in much of the action.
DeleteNever saw Lost in Space but used to watch the others. The Love Boat is my favourite of these - great guest stars! (And it was followed by Fantasy Island - another fun show.) Mikey and the old lady are so ingrained in pop culture, aren't they? ☺ Those beer commercials were fun and new to me.
ReplyDeleteFantasy Island was one of my faovurites too. I almost used it for F.
DeleteLike the beer commercials, my dad turned me on to sci.fi. and Lost in Space was one of them. Even though it was on before my time.
I'm afraid I have seen none of these, but I have heard of all but the first. I know the theme to Love Boat because it seems to have been on just about every other TV show going :).
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
I think the Love Boat was very popular too because of the guest cast. There was always someone one that was recognizable, at the time.
DeleteOh this is terrific, Jeffrey! I adored Love American Style though I had to sneak to watch it, and I still enjoy Love Boat if ever it plays on TV. Always loved the Mikey commercials but not the cereal. The poor little lady who fell got a lot of airplay around here and thus became the subject of many awful jokes. I can't believe I hadn't seen those beer commercials!
ReplyDeleteI'm a cereal fanatic and Life is one of the cereals I love. I still see Love Boat on ME TV. So it still is on the air. AS for the beer commercials, depends on what you were watching. I recalling seeing them mostly during sports. Either football or baseball games.
DeleteGrandma was an absolute football fanatic! I bet if I'd stayed inside and watched with her I'd have seen those beer commercials. Meanwhile, great grandma drank beer all day long;-)
DeleteGreat Grandma sounds like a great gal. ;)
DeleteWell, you were spared watching the sports. I've presented the best of those commercials here. :)
Jeffrey, I remember Love American Style, but I don't actually recall watching it and I didn't know that it was the show for popular spin off Happy Days. That's cool. I did Laverne and Shirley and The Love Boat. Excellent TV programs. The Life Cereal commercials with Mikey won't eat it, he hates everything! line is ingrained in all of my minds from our youth. I don't drink, but I'm telling you Miller Lite had one heck of a writing team to pull these fabulous commercials together that tells a story surrounding their product and loaded with lots of humor. Now, that's when they knew how to do commercials!
ReplyDelete~Curious as a Cathy
All Things Vintage: Laughs #AprilA2Z
I agree, commercials back then were very distinctive. Oh sure, we get funny commercials now, but I don't think they are the same. Isn't it cool how Love America spawned Happy Days, which spawned Laverne and Shirley, Mork & Mindy and a few others? Crazy how that works.
DeleteI love that Life Cereal commercial. It used to be one of my favorites. Of course, all the shows mentioned were pretty good, too!
ReplyDeleteJust a heads up. I'm going to have to play 'catch up' on either Sunday or Monday. My mother passed away this morning and I need to travel to Idaho for her services.
Mary
#AtoZChallenge L is for Loretta Lynn
Oh no. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. My thoughts go with you.
DeleteDon't worry about catching up, I'll be out of town this weekend too. I'll have my own catching up on Tuesday.
I was a Happy Days fan but didn't realize that it had so many spin-offs that I never took the time to look at. As for Love Boat, I loved this series and never missed an episode.
ReplyDeleteShalom,
Patricia @ EverythingMustChange
I'm glad to hear so many loved the Love Boat and it brings back good memories.
DeleteThese are awesome, Jeffrey. The Love Boat—absolute classic. Laverne & Shirley I knew, too (also from my time in the US; no chance it would show in Mexico, not then anyway), and the themes from both shows brought back so many memories. Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteGuilie @ Life In Dogs
Glad to know you found it enjoyable. It's nice to know I'm doing my job of entertaining everyone. :)
DeleteLaverne & Shirley is a classic...love! And I'm pretty sure I could sing the entire Love Boat theme song :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about your dad...it's nice you paid tribute to him.
~Katie
TheCyborgMom
Thanks for the kind words. I can't believe it's been almost three years now.
DeleteAmazing that youtube has all these clips of these classic shows! You certainly did your research. I followed you on GFC and Networked Blogs since it looked like you needed some more followers. I recommend including the name of your blog or your link to make it easier for folks to reciprocate comments. Maui Jungalow
ReplyDeleteIt is cool youtube has these video clips. I will take your suggestions. into advisement. Thanks.
DeleteI didn't watch the first one. Stephen T. McCarthy was actually the one who said something to me (a while back) about it being a Happy Days spin-off. Now, I did watch L&S a lot and LOVED that theme song. The Love Boat was a wonderful show until our favorite cruise director left. Then... not so much.
ReplyDeleteOther Ls... I really liked Lost. Yes, I know it is fairly new, but it is no longer on. What a great show that was. JJ Abrams is a genius writer. Well, that's all that is coming to me right now. I'm sure that tomorrow I'll think of several more... ha!
Actually Happy Days was spun off from Love American Style.
DeleteI tried to exclude shows after the late 90's. But I LOVED Lost till the final season.
I always loved the Love Boat. That was my show!
ReplyDeleteDid you have a favourite guest? I recently saw an episode on ME TV (I did a lot of vintage TV watching as I put this list together) and saw David Hasselhoff. That was a cool thing to see.
DeleteSuch wonderful memories surround these shows and the commercials, too~ I love the L post! I will visit again, soon~ Thanks for stopping by and visiting me, today!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post and the trip down memory lane. Feel free to visit any time you like.
DeleteYou had a very thought provoking entry. Something I just recently had to deal with. Both of my teenage boys moving out. One to live with a friend, one to live with his mother who moved to another city. What can you do?
I have fallen behind and I'm trying to catch up:) I loved all these shows. Lost in Space was a daily event right after Gilligan's Island. I also loved the Love Boat because they got so many great older stars including Greer Garson. Love the beer commercials
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll be out of town this weekend, so you have plenty of time to catch up. When I return on Monday, I'll be doing my own catching up. Those Lite Beer commercials bring back so many great memories.
DeleteI vaguely remember seeing at least one Laverne & Shirley rerun.
ReplyDeleteThen it's possible you may have vaguely picked up one passing reference to my home-town, Milwaukee.
DeleteDon't forget Lost in Space: "Will Robinson! Will Robinson!"
ReplyDeleteI loved Bob Uecker (I had to scroll up to see how to spell it, ha ha).
Cherdo
Cherdo on the Flipside
"Favorite Characters, Favorite Lines" on the A-to-Z Challenge 2016
I included Lost in Space as the featured TV Guide. I tried not to load up each day with too many videos as it bogs down the post and drives people away.
DeleteYes, I like Uecker too. He's a local home town hero of sorts.
all of my faves! L might be my favorite tv letter :) of course love american style for the birth of my favorite show Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley as a spinoff of Happy Days, but was brilliant in its own right. and who didn't love the Love Boat?!
ReplyDeleteYes, L was a great letter for 80s TV. Again, being set in Milwaukee Laverne and Shirley has a special place in my heart. When you were in Milwaukee, did you get a photo of the City Hall or take a stroll down Knapp street?
Delete