I've taken a moment to remember why I loved watching the Smurfs, Little House on the Prairie, and Punky Brewster when I was a child.
Just looking back on three of my childhood faves...
I can still remember waking up at 9am every Saturday morning to watch the Smurfs on NBC. This was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon, so I was delighted when it was on for a full ninety minutes each week. Handy Smurf with his hammer, Smurfette with her heels, and of course, Papa Smurf with his bright red hat were often chased by the evil Gargamel and his pesky cat, Azriel. I found this incredibly amusing!
Little House on the Prairie was another show I couldn’t miss each week. I loved watching Laura get the best of Nellie Olsen. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a hero of mine for many years, and I even wanted to be a teacher just like her. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was really moved and inspired by the positive way these family members interacted with each other. I’m looking forward to sharing this show with my own children when they’re older and hope they‘ll enjoy the story of the Ingalls’ family just as much as I did.
Finally, I watched Punky Brewster faithfully and really related to the Punky since I was adopted too. I remember being sad when it was canceled but happy to see a Saturday morning cartoon based on my favorite character. I rented the first season of Punky Brewster recently and had just as much fun watching it as I did when I was a little girl. It’s funny how an old familiar favorite from childhood never really gets old.
