[napscoordinator]

That dude is lying about his age.

I agree! I am 43 and the tv shows were not The Donna Reed Show....Repeats occasionally (not during prime time for sure). This guy must be smoking so heavy duty stuff.

[jsanders2001]

I remember watching plenty of Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver reruns in the 70’s

[Dr. Sivana]

I am 43 and the tv shows were not The Donna Reed Show

Those seven years make a BIG difference. I am VERY close to this fellow's age, and although you are right that Donna Reed was not on in prime time, the Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Dragnet 67, Bonanza, The Lucy Show/Here's Lucy, Jackie Gleason Show, Andy Griffith, Flipper, Gentle Ben, Leave it to Beaver etc. sure were. Yes, the Mod Squad, Laugh-In, etc. were starting to make their way in, but All in the Family and Love, American Style were still a bit away.

And of course, most small fries didn't get to watch that much prime time television. We were in bed by 8 or 9 at the latest, and prime time goes to 10 or 11. So, those reruns were played DAILY, instead of weekly during the day. Now, young boys aren't too interested in Donna Reed, but I sure saw a lot of Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, Make Room for Daddy during the day. Sisters watched Patty Duke. Add to that uncut Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes and a bunch of content-free, poor animation Hanna-Barbara, plus local children's shows with a local host (Mr. Goober, Bob McAllister, Hap Richards) of varying quality and "A Day with Doodles", and you have an entirely different world.

It wasn't Donna Reed (which was pretty lame, but grownups found Miss Reed easy on the eyes), but it wasn't South Park or MTV either.

[VanDeKoik]

Not really.

I’m 34, and all of the shows from the 50s and early 60s were easily seen even in the mid 80s to early 90s. Everything from My Three Sons, Patty Duke, and the Honeymooners to Lost in Space and Star Trek.

Those were only shows that were 25-35 years old, like watching Threes Company and The Jeffersons today.

[DARCPRYNCE]

Nowhere in the article is The Donna Reed Show even mentioned. The image of that show’s characters would almost certainly have been chosen by the editors of the website that published the article, not its author. Most op-ed writers don’t include pictures with their written submissions.