You know what I miss? TGIF on ABC.
It was on every Friday, from 8pm to 10pm, a 2-hour block of quality sitcoms that the whole family could enjoy. Boy did I love it. I looked forward to it all week and was so sad when the last show of the night was over.
During junior high, I’d be in class, just kinda lazily sloshing through the interminable class periods when all of a sudden I would remember that it was Friday and that yes, TGIF would be on. Instantly, I would perk up and be in this super energized mood and start talking excitedly with my friends and laugh loudly at all of their jokes.
I think the best part was the 10 minutes right before it all started. Me and my sisters would finish dinner and my sister would say, “TGIF is on tonight!” and I’d be like, “Yeah, I know!” and we’d all gather around the TV to watch.
There was Perfect Strangers with Balki and his heavily accented shenanigans always getting straight-laced Larry into trouble. Full House with Danny Tanner, the world’s best (and cleanest) dad. Family Matters with Steve Urkel who turned into Stefan Ur-Kell. Step By Step with Cody doing kung fu and JT and Dana hating each other. Dinosaurs with the prehistoric reptiles wearing clothes and doing everyday middle class stuff. And my personal favorite, Boy Meets World with the lifelong romance between Cory and Topanga.
These were the shows taught me how to talk and act like an American. I also learned social traditions and culture. What it meant to be rude and what “going out on a date” was.
Then after all the conflicts that were resolved neatly within 30 minutes and the studio audience laughter and Miller/Boyett theme songs, I’d see the reassuring faces of Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters mellifluously announcing to me that “This… is 20/20.” Those two were like my grandparents, telling me all these fascinating stories that were happening all over the world. This is usually where I would start getting tired and either pass out by the second feature story (they always had three) or stay up until the end and catch Jay Leno or David Letterman.
I’m not nostalgic for good sitcoms. I love Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Community, and The Office, but TGIF gave me this special sense of belonging to a quirky but wonderful family who spoke in perfectly timed witty jokes and had violin strings accompany deeper moments. It was a nice retreat for 2 hours a week.
