Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

Growing up in the 50s and 60s, we were a one-tv household, which was housed in a large piece of furniture. There was no remote and because we were 60 miles southeast of New Orleans, we only got three channels, the three main networks NBC, CBS, and ABC.

As soon as we got home from school each day, my two brothers and I fought over what we would watch—until my dad got home from work, and then the tv was his. While we watched cartoon reruns and reruns of popular sitcoms, my brothers would Hoover down an entire box of cereal and most of the milk that was in the fridge. At one point, my mom would hide boxes of cereal in her pajama drawer to keep something in reserve for breakfast!

Up for contention of what we would watch would be some of our all time favorite reruns: The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Gilligan’s Island, The Brady Bunch, Jonny Quest, Get Smart, and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Of the available choices, though, my absolute favorite was The Jetsons. How I loved that show!

I credit my years of watching The Jetsons for my love of technology. As a second-career teacher, I worked very hard to keep track of educational technology. I didn’t love learning new systems that would ultimately be abandoned for the next new system, but I loved using technology in my classroom.

What was just supposed to be a children’s cartoon, The Jetsons tv show still initiates conversations. Matt Novak wrote about the relevance of The Jetsons in a 2012 article for The Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/50-years-of-the-jetsons-why-the-show-still-matters-43459669/

Penny Schröder-Smith, a writer at Ericsson, contemplated in a 2021 article how close we are to living the life of “George Jetson, daughter Judy, his boy Elroy, Jane his wife” (IYKYK). https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2021/3/becoming-the-jetsons

In an article published in 2023, at the heels of the covid pandemic, an article published on the website The Conversation detailed the things that the space-age cartoon got right and got wrong. https://theconversation.com/what-the-jetsons-got-right-and-very-wrong-about-the-future-of-work-202608

Back in the day when my brothers and I were fighting over the tv, and I occasionally won to be able to watch The Jetsons, I was so happy. I was in awe of the push-button conveniences of their space-age home. I loved the quirky outfits, the bright colors, the peppy soundtrack. The theme song alone was brilliant and actually made it to the top of the 1986 Billboard Hot 100 charts! https://www.slashfilm.com/1492089/the-jetsons-theme-song-success/

If you are in need of some nostalgia, listen to the re-recorded version of the theme song here! https://youtu.be/gpiIwgjgku4?si=MJXbDkqg31xESF6F

Better yet, watch the first episode, courtesy of YouTube! https://youtu.be/GIWHl0cfQuc?feature=shared