Guilty Pleasure!

Last Friday night the female staff of Pacific Islands Bible College had a Ladies Night to talk about marriage, dating, and relationships with the female students. I stayed home and put Joel to bed. Then I watched the final two episodes of the third season of "Homicide." (We do not have any TV reception here, so the only TV we get is by VHS or DVD). My mom used to ask me why I watched "Homicide" because in her mind it was a depressing show. To me it always dealt with serious issues in a meaningful way (racism against immigrants, the consequences of adultery, male/female work conflicts, etc.), plus the writing was rivoting and the performances were stellar. That was really the last TV show I had a true passion for.

I enjoyed having the time to do that, to have some down time to escape from students arriving late to class,; grading papers, tests and quizzes; and dealing with discipline issues as Assistant Dean of Men.

Here I present to you a list of my favorite TV drama series of all time. Some are more acclaimed than others. But these are shows that have been special to me throughout different eras of my life.

1. The Waltons--this is my all-time favorite, especially the early years. I have even met many of the cast members over the years at reunion events. That was fun!
The rest of these are in no particular order.
2. Little House on the Prairie--this series diminished as the years went on, even more than "The Waltons" did. But I loved watching the characters grow and comparing the stories to the "Little House" books, which I continue to read to this day. I just finished the series of books about Rose Wilder Lane, Laura and Almanzo's daughter.
3. Homicide--described above and filmed on location in Baltimore.
4. I'll Fly Away--lasted two seasons, a highly acclaimed series that took place during the fight for civil rights in the 1960s, filmed in the Atlanta area. Later shown on PBS, which added one concluding TV movie. I visited some of the filming sites during a trip to Atlanta some years ago.
5. The Paper Chase--only lasted one season on CBS and starred John Houseman, who won an Oscar for the role of Professor Kingsfield, which he reprised for the series. Later rerun on PBS; Showtime later filmed additional episodes with some of the same cast, but I never saw those episodes.
6. The Rockford Files--I loved this show with James Garner and his unlikely friend Angel (Stuart Margolin) who always managed to mess everything up.
7. Tour of Duty--Vietnam era series which showed the ups and downs of a platoon. The first season was filmed in Hawaii with seasons two and three in CA. Purcell was played by the same actor who played Elizabeth's boyfriend on "The Waltons," Tony Becker.
8. Shirley--late 1970s series with Shirley Jones playing a widow with three or four children. As far as I know, this series has never been rerun. Shirley sang the theme song, which I think was called, "Where the Love Is."
9. Law and Order--this series goes on and on. For me it has lost some of its appeal since Jerry Orbach left for a spinoff and then died. It is supposedly in danger of cancellation this year. But the theme song is inimitable.
10. Trapper John, MD--this is a "MASH" spinoff that lasted several years with Pernell Roberts as a mature Trapper John and Gregory Harrison as Gonzo, a type of young "Trapper John" character. My parents and I used to watch this on Sunday nights after church, and that memory helps to endear this show to me. Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft played a nurse in the final seasons.

Wow, that was fun. I would love to hear from some of you about your favorite drama series. I am sure that I forgot some good ones. Stay tuned for my favorite comedy series, movies, and Broadway shows, coming soon to a blog near you.