Rainy mornings

I woke up early today to a rain-drenched Wednesday morning. The sky was overcast and even by 7 am it looked as if the sun wouldn’t bother showing up at all. Is there a storm brewing?

The sky wasn’t this dark and it hasn’t rained this hard for a long, long time. I love this kind of mornings. It reminds me of my pre-school days, when classes get suspended and I end up whiling the day away with 80’s cartoons.

Thinking of Myst and how nostalgic the scenery gets, it got me thinking about those old TV shows I used to watch. I kinda miss them. I remember watching these shows with my cousins, at my tito’s old apartment in Antipolo. We’d buy a litre of Coke each from our vacation allowances and spend the whole afternoon in the sala where the TV was. During commercial breaks, we’d play a game of who-gets-to-name-the-tv-ad first. We’d shout and spout out product names and trademarks, paunahan, until our irritated lola comes out of her room to tell us off for being loud and noisy.

Here’s five of my top ten nostalgia shows from the 80’s (and early 90’s). They’re not ranked in any way, and it’s more of a list of shows that remind me the most of how I was before as a kid than anything.

1. You Can’t Do That On Television. Hilarious show and very irreverant. First gag show I ever watched. Precursor to the Bulilit and Ang TV kiddie shows of ABS. You might recall their iconic “green slime” messing up the cafeteria on each episode.
2. The A-Team. Who’d ever forget Mr. T and his “I pity the foo’!” bit in all his golden chains glory? I think every boy in my generation grew up wanting to be part of this elite ex-military swashbuckling group. And oh, the TV theme was just so catchy!
3. Brave Starr and the Star Sheriffs. The usual fare of hero and animal side-kick with a western theme. Strength of a bear, speed of a puma!
4. MacGyver. In the world of super heroes and crime fighters, Angus MacGyver has gotta be the luckiest bastard of them all. He gets out of tight situations so often it borders on cheesy. How in the world do you manage to get locked in a room full of useful tools/materials 100% of the time?
5. Ghostbusters. For an 80s cartoon, the material here is well-written and the animation is above the industry-standard. Spun off from its successful movie hit version, this cartoon series became to us what the concept of T.G.I.S. is for Generation X.