Blog#2 Television in my life.

It was 1958 and in my home, in the hall something very exiting was happening. Our family was gathering around a big box which just had arrived, directly from Germany. My parents have told me later, that this was the cheapest way to buy a new TV at that time. I must have been in the same size as the box standing there and I can still remember the exiting moment when my parents opened it. This is my earliest memory ever and I was only four years old by the time. I don´t remember anything more around this occurrence and I can just imagine how thrilling it must have been when they for the very first time, pushed the button – ON. TV had come into our life and was going to change our family lifestyle dramatically.

One channel, screen in black and white and no broadcasting on Wednesdays, that´s what I remember from these first years. When I tell my pupils about this, they get a strange expression in the faces and I can read their thoughts “Is she that old?” Yes, I am and it has been interesting to follow the development during these fifty years. I just wonder how many hours I have been spending in front of the screen, watching TV.

One of the first programs I can remember is “Hylands hörna”. It was a family entertainment on Saturday evenings and…… we loved it. I can assure you that there wasn´t much activities in the neighbourhood while they were broadcasting. The program made an great impact on people and when they started different kinds of collections, a whole nation was committed. TV also made us see places we never thought existed. “Villevalle I Söderhavet” was one of those programs that made us curious about the world. There were also great number of Western series and we were taught that cowboys were the good and the Indians the bad ones. Clichés and the role of the sexes were confirmed. But who cared about such things as long as we could see the cute Little Joe and his older brothers in “Bröderna Cartwright” and follow their adventure week after week. Later we watched another series called “Vägen västerut” and who will ever forget Manolito in “High Chaparral”. At the same time we were collecting cards with movie stars which we exchanged. If you were lucky you could get Manolito in pairs.

This was happening long time ago and many new series have passed since those days. Our teacher wrote in her blog something about “Dallas”. When I first heard about it during the eighties, I swore that I never was going to see it, but you know how it can be with principles. One evening I was sitting by the television when the program began and I was lost. That´s the strange thing with series, you just have to know what will happen next time. It´s something magic. After a while the characters have become so familiar to you, that you can´t wait another week before meeting them again. I saw a Danish series some years ago in 24 parts called Nicolai and Juliet. I liked it very much and remember how I missed them all afterwards.

In a lifetime we sleep for about one third of our lives and I just wonder for how many years we watch TV. Let´s see ……..I have already slept for 18 years and I have seen TV for many years so …do I still want to waste more time watching TV? Is there time for another series in my life? The answer is ………..YES.