As a Child, TV was my vice.
Growing Pains, Full House, Family Matters, The Cosby Show, and, of course,
The Wonder Years got me through much of childhood for various reasons. There was so much going on in the shows for me to relate to...I even had a friend named Boner. I grew out of TV after high school...actually I grew out of time, but when I heard that Estelle Getty died this past week, I couldn't help but spend some time thinking about my younger years.
Getty was my
Golden Girl (yes, I am fully aware that this is a ridiculously bad pun).
It's probably not the show most people my age remember, but I was a loyal fan and
Sophia Angelo Spirelli Petrillo Weinstock was my favorite character. I didn't watch the show because I wanted to be cool (who would do that?), I watched it because that's what my late great grandmother, or Granny, did. Unlike any show today, I could sit down with her in front of the TV and bond without saying words.
The character Granny resembled most was Sophia, so this is why I liked the character so much. What I liked more about her was she showed an old person didn't have to sit around and be old...they could go out and live harder then people half their age. That was my Granny...she lived the Sophia life and put younger people to shame.
When Granny was in her post 80 prime, she would drink beer with her pizza, play Mortal Combat with me, stay up late with me and let me watch rated-R movies, and tell me about the time she lived next door to Bonnie and Clyde. At the end of the day there was only one thing predictable about Granny, she'd have to pray for you.
There have been some great TV shows in the past, and I'm sure they'll be some great ones in the future; but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the one that Estelle Getty created for me and thousands of others.
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