Great Moments of My Childhood

Many of these were obscure shows I only saw one time, but had some sort of impact on me (good or bad). Most were made for TV movies, and I only saw them once or twice. There are quite a few that I couldn’t remember the names of, and had a tough time finding the titles online. I tried to break them down into categories, but some titles could easily fit into more than one. I wanted to list these somewhere so I wouldn’t forget them. This is pretty long... There are a few clips and photos, but not for all of them. You can find this stuff now pretty easily.

Scary TV Movies from the 70’s :

Bad Ronald (featuring Scott Jacoby)
Weird Ronald accidentally kills a little girl in the beginning. His mom hides him in the walls of there house so the police don’t take him. Then mom dies and Ronald continues living in the walls, spying on the new family that moves in. Creepy indeed.


The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (also featuring Scott Jacoby)
This starred little Jody Foster. She and here dad move into a nice home. He dies (or she killed him or something) and she is storing his body in the basement and living as though he is still alive. A few people in town become suspicious of her and her missing father. She befriends Scott Jacoby (a cripple kid with a cane who likes magic), and he later disguises himself as her father to help fend of Martin Sheen (the bad guy). Very weird movie.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
I don’t remember who was in this, but it was about a family that moves into an old house, and there are these little tiny people/creatures that come out when the lights are off and terrorize the family.

Trilogy of Terror
A “Twilight Zone” type movie with 3 strange stories. I think they all had the chick starring in each story, playing the main character. The story I remember is the last one where this voodoo spirit doll comes to life and chases here around the house with a little spear.

Gargoyles
I don’t remember the story line of this movie. I just remember that the Gargoyles were scary and they freaked me out.


Not Really Scary, Just Intriguing:

Child of Glass
Wonderful World of Disney… This Family moves into an old house. The kid(s) are visited by the ghost of a little girl who lived there before. I don’t remember much of this one, and was lucky to find the title after a lengthy search. The boy later falls into an old well and finds the ghost’s china doll. It later breaks open and there’s a fortune in diamonds inside. It was one of my favorite W. W. of D. movies at the time. Witch Mountains and Apple Dumpling Gang were also favorites. I wish they’d play it again so I could remember it better.

It looks like they got this whole movie on Youtube... a dream come true!

A Cry in the Wilderness
This wilderness rancher is bit by a wild skunk (or raccoon) and he doesn’t know if it had rabies or not. So he chains himself to a post in the barn and tells his family not to let him loose under any circumstances, because he is scared that he might get all crazy from the rabies and hurt them. Well, his son is responsible for checking the water level of the river, and reports to his dad that the levels are going up each day. The dad gets worried that there is a blockage upstream and that there will be deadly flooding if it isn’t fixed. The son keeps trying, but can’t find the problem. The dad pleads for them to let him go, but they don’t (like in Young Frankenstein when he tells them not to open the cell door no matter how loudly he pleads). Eventually the dad breaks free just as the tidal wave of flood waters hit the ranch (the kids are terrorized by now, thinking dad is out to get them). All turns out well, I guess.

Stowaway to the Moon This little kid loves space and astronauts, and winds up sneaking about a rocket to the moon. He hides in a cabinet, and is discovered after takeoff by the astronauts. There winds up being some problems, and the boy winds up saving the mission (I can’t remember how). It was cheesy, but I always like the space toys that the kid had. There is a part when one of the astronauts passes out and pukes in his helmet… the kids vacuums it out with the help of ground control. Classic.

Boy in the Plastic Bubble (not as obscure, and had John Travolta)
About a kids with some kind of disease where his immune system doesn’t function. He lives his entire life in a “bubble.“ He can’t touch or be exposed to other people, or the outside world, or he will die. He falls in love with a girl, and if I remember correctly, at the end, he winds up going outside. I can’t remember if he dies or not. Pretty sad. The story and the acting.

The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon
Just a weird movie with the kid from Witch Mountains (Ike Eisenmann). I just remember the chant (You can do it Duffy Moon), and the get would get all red in the face like he was hyperventilating, and he would pound his fist in the air. Really goofy . Speaking of the Witch Mountain movies… I had a crush on Tia (Kim Richards-picture) when I was a little kid… what a dream girl!

These are some TV series from the mid 70’s to maybe the real early 80’s, that weren’t as well known as others. I remember watching them like they were the best thing in the world. Some of them were really good, some where horrible. I will give a star rating to them (5 is best, 1 is worst). Here they go:


Doctor Who * * * * *
I remember loving this show. I didn’t care if the doctor reminded me of Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. The only episode I remember is where he gets injected into his own body and is being attacked by his white blood cells (which looked like giant white balls chasing him through tunnels…obviously Spielberg’s inspiration for the giant boulder that tried to get Indiana Jones in Raiders.

Night Gallery * * * *
Scared the pants off me.

Kolchak-The Night Stalker * * *
The dad from Christmas Story is a reporter. I only remember a vampire episode that scared the crap out of me.

The Man from Atlantis * * * *
This guy was like Aquaman… supposedly from Atlantis, he could swim underwater without breathing and had some other powers too I think. Oh yeah, he also had webbed hands. He was always helping a submarine crew (like a science crew)do something. Didn’t last for long and wasn’t well know. I miss it.


Lucan * * * * *
This was a series (based on a made for TV movie) about a kid who was raised by wolves. He was discovered by a scientist and taught to be civilized. The kid grows into a teenager and learns he has special wolf powers, and his eyes turned red when he used them. Sweet.


These were more popular…

BJ and the Bear * * *
Trucker and Monkey drive truck, have adventures, and fight Crime. Pursued by Sheriff Lobo. The truck was sweet… Red with a white stripe that ran horizontally down the side of the truck and trailer. I saw it once when I was a kid in Las Vegas. I peed my pants I think.

Sheriff Lobo *
Spin-off from BJ and the Bear. I don’t remember what it was about but I remember watching it. I was a sucker for spin-offs. Yes, I also watched “Enos.”

Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries * * * * *
This was the shiznit. Those guys were so smart.


Battlestar Galactica * * * * *
Everybody should know this one they play the re-runs and made a new version of it. Was like a dose of generic Star Wars each week.

What’s Happening! * * * *
“Raj” (Roger) , Dwayne, Re-run, Shirley, Dee and Momma. Re-run could sure dance. I would still watch it today if it came on. Real cheesy.

Welcome Back Kotter * * * * *
Classic horrible sitcom from the 70’s. What? The best was when they’d read a note from “Epstein’s mother.”

Six Million Dollar Man * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *!
The best show ever on TV when I was a kid. Bionic Woman was pretty good too. Tell me the intro doesn't make you pee your pants…


WKRP in Cincinnati * * * * *
The doctor is in. Les had invisible office. Herb Tarlek’s leisure suits. Loni Anderson… hubba hubba. Bailey (Jan Smither’s) was pretty hot too….

Sanford and Son * * * *
This is the Big One… I’m comin’ to join ya Elizabeth! And Lamont, the dummy. But you can’t mention this one without the obligatory...

Chico and the Man * *
Like Sanford and Son, but took place in an auto shop and the ethnic flavor was Hispanic. Only 2 stars because I rarely watched it, and it was a rip-off.

Starsky and Hutch * * *
Honestly, I just liked the car.

The Gong Show * * *
Horrible acts. Mean Gene the Dancing Machine was a favorite.

The Bob Newhart Show * * * * *
I just love this guy!!!


Here are some variety shows that I am not ashamed to say I watched… At least back then I wasn’t. I give them all 1 star because they all sucked, I think:

Tony Orlando and Dawn
The Sonny and Cher Show
The Captain and Tennille Show (just horrible)
The Donny and Marie Show

Here are some of the first movies I ever saw in the Theater (from the 80’s). I love these movies, no matter how bad or unheard of they are…
History of the World Part I
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Popeye
Space Hunter - Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
Private Lessons
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
Tootsie (pretty good one… pretty popular)
Young Doctors in Love
Night Patrol
The Nude Bomb


Biggest movie disappointment of my youth…

Some friends and I had gone to see “Dune” which lasted like 3 hours… Then as we were leaving, we saw a movie poster for The Razor’s Edge, and Bill Murray was on the poster. Stupid kids that we were decided that that was THE movie to see the next week, because Bill Murray was on the poster. Lucky for me, I didn’t own a gun back then, because the movie was so horrible that I would have shot the people that sold me the tickets and junk food, the theater manager, Bill Murray, and then myself. (just kidding). The Razor’s Edge…. The last thing you will want to feel on your wrists if you ever decide to see this movie. It was some drama (no comedy… no gophers… nothing). I was a pissed off kid, as were my friends. What a gyp! Shame on you Bill Murray…