I just finished watching old Punky Brewster episodes on YouTube. I can’t believe I was into that show as a kid (among others like Thunder Cats, Different Strokes, and even Mr. Rogers), but it’s still pretty fun to watch and reminisce.
I watched the one where Zack Morris was her math tutor. In a way I wonder if watching shows like this one had any affect on how I view the world today. Take for example, if I saw anybody wearing different colored shoes and crazy hair I would consider them to be cool in my book, whereas others may think that’s pretty dumb. Or even the whole boy-likes-girl (and vica-versa) interaction displayed between Punky and Walker (Zach) – I’m sure it gave me pre-conceived opinions about what romance was all about (being a kid when I was watching this on TV, and not having any girlfriend), plus I think this show is why I thought multi-colored clothes were really hip. I wish I could go back and watch myself watching these TV show and see how I was receiving it all.
However, my favorite episodes were the originals, when Punky was really young . It’s just as simple to say that Punky inspired me when I was a kid. Did parents in the 80’s ever think that TV would do that?
Watch some for yourself:
Punky Brewster – Go to Sleep part 1
Punky Brewster – Go to sleep part 2
But what’s also funny to think about is the dynamics of the show… there’s an old man, a dog, and a spunky girl living in a small apartment – who made this up?
–WBC–
(modern television is hilarious, and nothing like what it used to be)