The Bill Cosby ShowOver the past few days, I’ve started watching The Bill Cosby Show, an episodic comedy that ran from 1969 to 1971.  Cosby stars as Chett Kincaid, a high school basketball coach who helps out around his community and tries to teach the kids/teens in his care valuable life lessons.  It’s a good show, amusing to watch if for no other reason than the fashions and the home decor (Today’s fancy pattern?  Teal, purple and fuchsia flowered wall paper).

Anyway, yesterday an episode called “This Mouth is Rated X” ran and, ohmygosh, it was funny for so many different reasons.  But it also let me know how far we’ve moved away from good quality television.  In the episode, the adults are all up in arms because a star basketball player uses profanity.  And not just on the court but off the court as well.  Because of standards in broadcasting, they didn’t just say the words like they do now, instead they played a series of bird chirps interspersed with boingy sounds so you knew that ol’ boy was lettin’ it fly.  Can you imagine that?  No curse words, just sounds

Watching this show and other shows from when I was a kid (The Facts of Life, anyone?) makes me nostalgic for the days when my sisters, mother and I would sit on the sofa and laugh along with Tootie’s antics or imitate Arnold as he gave his brother the side eye and asked “Whatchoo talkin’ bout, Willis?”  Nowadays, you can’t watch shows with your kids lest you sit with the remote in hand prepared to silence the cussing…

I’m not a prude but it breaks my heart that my kids will never know the joys of sitting together as a family and laughing a comedy that isn’t about an overbearing mother, a dolt of a father and kids who are involved in too much too soon.  I’m glad that P&G and Walmart are sponsoring Family Movie Night but I’d love it if someone would invest in some quality half~hour comedies and stop with all these crazy reality shows.

Do you sometimes wax nostalgic for good clean television?  Have you been shocked or embarrassed by something that’s appeared on a kids’ show?  How did you deal?

Disclosure:  This post is not sponsored or endorsed by P&G or Walmart.  Or, um, Bill Cosby.