About 106 million Americans watched the final episode of Mash. In the years since no other TV show has surpassed this.
Did you grow up watching shows like Mash, The Brady Bunch, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show? What are some of your best childhood memories from these old TV shows?
Keep reading to relive some of your favorite and nostalgic TV show memories.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The plot of the show follows a woman in her early 30s who moves to Minneapolis. The show is well known for its colorful protagonist and its array of side characters who accompany her.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show has won three Emmy Awards during the seven years the show ran. Praised for its early displays of feminism, many American women enjoyed this sitcom. This is because it portrayed Mary as a news producer.
When the show aired in 1970, society expected women to become housewives and not have a career. The character Mary inspired many American women during this time.
‘Will Mary Go to Jail?’
In the 1974 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show titled ‘Will Mary go to Jail?’, the episode discusses the political issue of Watergate.
Mary gets thrown in jail because she refuses to reveal her source to a judge. A scene in the episode showed Mary locked in a jail cell with prostitutes.
One of the prostitutes asks Mary “What did they get you for?” followed by another responding with “Impersonating a Barbie doll, right?” The quip was delivering by guest star Barbara Colby. The creators invited Colby back to the show a few weeks later for a different episode. The Brady Bunch
Another old childhood TV show that holds nostalgia for many is The Brady Bunch. Namely, the episode ‘The Not-so-Ugly Duckling’.
In this episode, Jan, played by Eve Plumb, wants to get herself a boyfriend. This is after Jan’s sister catches the attention of Jan’s classmate, Clark. The show’s creator says a lot of the episodes are driven by angst, so that’s why the show stayed popular for so long.
Mash
Mash was a comedy, but it discussed the harsh realities of the American Military. Hawkeye and Trapper faced a difficult truth about the U.S. military.
‘For the Good of the Outfit’
Mash was a comedy, but it also discussed the harsh realities of the American Military-Industrial Complex. In this episode, Hawkeye and Trapper are faced with a difficult truth.
The U.S. military is responsible for mass Korean casualties. This is after an assault on the South Korean village of Tai Dong. Within the show, the higher-ups in the U.S. military attempt to cover the attack up.
If you’re interested in where the Mash gang is now, you can learn more here.
The Best Childhood Memories
It’s always fun to reminisce over nostalgic TV shows you watched when you were younger. Some of the best childhood memories for Americans come from TV shows like Mash, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Brady Bunch.
If you want to relive your childhood you should think about re-watching some of these old shows.
Keeping reading more to remember some of the best pop culture of the past. It doesn’t hurt to get a daily dose of nostalgia.