TV Guide back issue: 5th Grade

What were you watching when you were 10 years old and muddling through the fifth grade?

Sundays
6:00pm Central "Ripley's Believe It or Not" (ABC) - This is how Jack Palance and his raspy, emphysemic voice became a household name to Generation X.
7:00pm "CHiPs" (NBC) - Randi Oakes was a big deal in 1982, but if you look at these episodes today, she's pretty weird looking.
8:00pm "The Jeffersons" and "One Day at a Time" (CBS) - "Look, Mrs. Romano--" "Mizz Romano..."

Mondays
7:00pm "That's Incredible!" (ABC) - If you're ten years old, this is the coolest show ever. Remember when that one dude folded himself inside that little bitty plastic cube? Why'd he do that? What was the point of that exactly? Other than to be on the show?
8:00pm "M*A*S*H" (CBS) - Not always kid-friendly, but everyone in America was watching it so you watched it. Honestly, the Cheese Fry thinks this may be one of the most overrated shows in TV history. The episodes are all well-made, but is it really all that? The early "comedy" episodes aren't really funny and the later "drama" episodes are very self-important and pretentious.
8:30pm "Newhart" (CBS) - Still not as good as "The Bob Newhart Show." Mary Frann is no Suzanne Pleshette.
9:00pm "Cagney and Lacey" (CBS) - You watched it because your grandmother watched it. And because you thought Sharon Gless was kind of hot. In an early 1980s, feathered-hair sort of way.

Tuesdays
8:00pm "Happy Days" (ABC) - You ever see this show nowadays? It's kind of lame.
8:30pm "Laverne & Shirley" (ABC) - Didn't all fifth graders harbor a secret crush on Cindy Williams? We didn't say we were proud of it.

Wednesdays
8:00pm "Tales of the Gold Monkey" (ABC) - For those of us who obsessed over Raiders of the Lost Ark, a TV show ripoff like this was extremely bad-ass. The dog had an eyepatch!

Thursdays
7:00pm "Magnum P.I." (CBS) - The talky drama could be pretty boring for a fifth grader, but the action and the humor was fun. Other points of 10-year-old interest: the cool red Ferrari and TC's helicopter.

Fridays
7:00pm "Dukes of Hazzard" (CBS) - An instant classic, of course. Shepherd calling Lost Sheep, where can we get some of those exploding-tip arrows?
8:00pm "Dallas" (CBS) - If you lived in Dallas, this was required viewing for all citizens.
9:00pm "Falcon Crest" (CBS) - That was one cool theme song.

Saturdays
7:00pm "T.J. Hooker" (CBS) - Dumb action appeals to fifth graders. So does Captain Kirk with a gun.
8:00pm "Love Boat" (ABC) - You watched it because your grandmother watched it.
9:00pm "Fantasy Island" (ABC) - Ditto. "Who's dat, boss?"

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