My week with the Mod Squad

May 16, 2015 by Sue 1 Comment

I think I am showing my age here, but I will carry on anyways.

After my driving lesson on Monday, I came down rather quickly with a bad cold or the flu ( I can’t always tell the difference ), so I canceled all my activities and made a little fort down in the family room.  Tissues, tea, water, Advil, snacks, books, and my trusty remote control.  I made a wonderful discovery while flipping through videos on YouTube – the original Mod Squad from 1968 was available – full episodes for all the seasons.

If you are of a certain vintage, you will remember how cool Pete, Julie, and Linc were – the clothes, the cars, the hip language (it was ‘solid’ as Linc would always say).  It was a groundbreaking show for its time and it tackled social issues people just didn’t talk about.

Sitting on the couch under my warm blanket while taking a trip down memory lane has made me appreciate all the more the wonders of today’s technology.  Back in the days when Mod Squad first aired, if I missed an episode, it was gone forever, unless the network reran it over the summer.  No VCR’s, no DVD’s to buy, no YouTube.  Shows came and went like a flash, and we scheduled our social time around the TV schedule.  Where were you Tuesday nights at 8pm? Watching Red Skelton of course.  Sundays at 8?  Ed Sullivan.

Through the miracle that is technology, the media that shaped our lives as children can be called up anytime, anywhere, to be enjoyed once again, but now from a more experienced view of the world and how the hope expressed in the shows has come (or not) to pass.

Having a miserable cold was not how I wanted to spend my week, but It wasn’t all bad.  I had a great visit with three old and dear friends I hadn’t seen since childhood.  Now I know where they live, and plan to spend more time with them and others from that era.