In which I am old

[gwyn]

Day 13 - Favorite childhood show

Seeing other people's answers to this pains me, since they all name shows that were on when I was an adolescent/teenager/adult. When I was a child, I watched stuff no one else around me would even know about; also, because almost all the people in my age group I know grew up not in these here parts, they wouldn't know about the local things like Brakeman Bill, Nightmare Theatre, and Captain Puget (my favorite of the bunch).

SIgh. Old lady is old.

So I think I will reach for the show that started it all -- Laredo. As with Star Trek, I had to sneak-watch Laredo, but since my sister liked Laredo and wasn't into Trek, she used her favorite-kid wiles to finagle some watch time when my mom couldn't bitch us out for watching.

(I'd discovered Trek on my own, staying up past my bedtime one summer, on a night when all the kid were allowed to play outside as the parents mingled on the block, smoking and drinking. I won't ever really forget it -- we were all in our PJs, running around playing hide and seek in the dark, up much later than we'd ever been before, and I'd managed to 1) step on a slug, which popped between my toes, getting slimy slug guts all over my foot and 2) slipped on the damp grass with my sluggy slick foot, twisting my ankle, so my mom sent me back to the house to clean up and go to bed. My injuries were perpetual, so they were pretty dismissive of them. Instead of going to bed, I turned on the black and white Sylvania television -- we were the last people in the area to get color TV -- and saw... I don't even remember the episode, but I thought it was just MAGICAL. Especially Spock.)

Anyways. Laredo was a strange show that I think no one liked but me and sis_r. It was a comic Western, and featured the slashtastic duo of dandy Chad (Peter Brown) and muscular Joe (William Smith), two Texas Rangers who were not especially bright, but they were reasonably capable (along with their third, braying donkey Neville Brand as Reese). William Smith wore buckskin pants that were pretty much just as tight as Jim West's on Wild Wild West. And kind of more revealing because they were, you know, buckskin. I had no idea what homoeroticness was, and it wasn't till I was in my 30s that I even knew what slash was, but I think Laredo set the stage for that interest to develop. Chad and Joe were intensely devoted to each other, so much so that when Chad was going to get married and leave the Rangers, Joe became despondent and incapacitated.

It was cheesy and '60s and I loved it with all my heart. And clearly it was a developmental peg in my predilection for slashy crime-fighting duos and Western heroes.

Comments

[bethbethbeth]

Did you know that there's a DVD set of the entire series of Laredo? Just thought I'd mention that as a public service. :)

(And Laredo wasn't one of my shows, but I hear you on the black&white tv front. We didn't get a color t.v. until I was 13. Ah, childhood.)

[gwyn]

I have the first season (or at least, the first part of the first season; the way they've handled the episodes is just bizarre), and someone had a full set of S2 at Escapade on the orphan table, but I couldn't quite justify spending the money. Someday when I'm getting steadier work and income, I'll probably get more!

[bientot]

I liked Captain Puget for the content (and the occasional visits from Ivar!), but I usually chose Brakeman Bill because I adored the Crazy Donkey - definitely my sort of bad jokes and lameness personified. Stan Boreson came and went; I NEVER saw the appeal of J. P. Patches.

There was something my brother discovered once when he was home sick, called Yankee Doodles, which was a weekday morning show with kid programming and a lot of topical political humor that would have gone right over the heads of the supposed target audience...since it was on weekday mornings, it was only available when home sick. Or maybe I just made the whole thing up.

And let's not forget Rocky and Bullwinkle...

[gwyn]

Wow, I had no idea you were a native! It seems like almost everyone else was either raised on the other side of the state or they're too young to know any of those guys. I didn't really love JP, but I confess I was seethingly envious of my sister when she got to meet Gertrude at the hospital when she had her tonsils out, and I didn't. It pissed me off for years.

I loved Stan Boreson, but he was hugely popular with my folks, so I think it was kind of a natural extension of that. Of course, Rocky & Bullwinkle were in a league of their own. ;-)

[ivadel.livejournal.com]

I loved Laredo as well - especially the first season before they brought in the extra Belgian. Because every western needed a Belgian, I guess. I liked William Smith and never realized that I was never going to see him play a good guy again. He and Peter Brown had excellent timing. There were lots of "L" westerns - my favorite was Laramie when Hoagie Carmichael was the crusty cook.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know what you mean about William Smith -- I was always so heartsick at seeing him play yet another sleazebag every appearance. I did see him on Mike Douglas once when Rich Man, Poor Man was airing, and he was fascinating -- he speaks like 12 languages, about 8 of them fluently, and he's an educated artist, and I think poet as well if I remember correctly. Something arty farty. Kind of the Viggo Mortensen of his time, I guess, although not as famous and with legions of fans. But nowadays, the only time anyone can place him is if I say he was the creepy bad guy on the Manhunt episode of Due South. Sigh.

Random Belgians are random. I didn't mind Eric too much, but I didn't think the needed him, that's for sure. My favorites are all definitely from season 1 (especially the one where Chad's going to get married).

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I don't remember Laredo specifically, but I do remember watching a ton of Westerns when I was little, and loving every one of them.

And oh dear GOD, Robert Conrad's clothes were just about painted on on Wild Wild West. I used to wonder how the man could move. (And I didn't know what homoeroticism was, either. It took me a while to realize that a) slash existed, b) I liked it, and c)I could write it.)

[deejay.livejournal.com]

Jim West's fabulous pants mention FTW! \o/

[greenpear.livejournal.com]

I'm ashamed to say I never watched Laredo. Guess there was something else on that I was into. Now that I hear what it was like I feel sad... :(