I Want My TGIF TV

Friday nights, circa 1991-1992, ABC television. This was the place to be. I remember these nights like they just occurred red. Friday nights as a youngster was probably the happiest period of time. We were done with school and had the entire weekend ahead. And the night started and ended with the best block of television ever created. Oh, you can give me Thursday nights on NBC but as a kid I wasn't looking forward to Seinfeld or Mad About You. Although Helen Hunt was (and is) a hottie. But TGIF on ABC was were magic occurred. It all started, initially with Full House. This was a show that always taught its audience a lesson, such as always telling the truth or dealing with the normal teenage issues. It was good clean fun. Even after we learned about Bob Saget's (RIP) stand up comedy. It makes us look at Danny Tanner in a different way. Family Matters was up next. The story of a middle class African American family was ahead of its time. And it made a star or Steve Urkel, unfortunately. Sidenote: what ever happened to the youngest daughter? I heard that she ended up doing some risque films but isn't it strange that she was just written off and never spoken of again. They could've had a a nice little story arc with this. Like a conspiracy where they start to remember the daughter after they all had their brains wiped by aliens. Now that would be must see. Fortunately you really can't write a character off of a show without acknowledging it. Even Fresh Prince changed Aunt Vivian and made a joke about it. Step by Step was a later addition to TGIF but fit it completely. I wasn't a huge fan but I did love the theme song. It also gave second careers to Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Thighmaster Somers (RIP). Finally we come to the grand finale, the creme de la creme; Perfect Strangers. This show introduced us to the original Borat, Balki. Don't be ridiculous. Balki is quite possibly the inspiration of so many characters. He was the original mainstream fish out of water character. The antics of Balki amused adult and child alike. Unfortunately I did not get to see every episode of Perfect Strangers as it was on at 9:30pm, close to my childhood bedtime. Over the years there were additions to TGIF. One of them being Dinosaurs. This show was interesting to say the least. There was nothing like it on TV at this time. It was a bold move to put this on television and it worked overall. Friday nights watching TGIF brings back so much nostalgia to me. It was truly a magical time. Of course there were other shows on different nights of the week that evoke nostalgia. Sitcoms such as Fresh Prince, Home Improvement, Married with Children etc were childhood staples. Yes, my parents let me watch the misadventures of Al Bundy. And what kid didn't have a crush on Christina Applegate? Has the family sitcom gone away? It's hard to tell. There are still a smattering of shows that could be categorized as a family sitcom. But nothing will ever compare to Friday nights at 8pm. I miss those days.