Bring Back Variety Shows and Resurrect Ricky Nelson

As a teenager and consumer of television, I really hate TV sometimes. Nowadays, too many shows try to be relatable to modern day teens, throwing in cheesy SnapChat filters and pop culture references whenever they can. Instead of throwing a bone to the minute attention spans of restless teens, these shows turn into absolute jokes that not even tweens want to endure. So how did we get here? What happened to good TV?

I'll tell you what happened to it. It died before any part of our generation could watch it.

Good television was singing, dancing, and interviewing celebrities. Talent acts and comedic sketches, all rolled into a 50 minute live television event.

I'm talking about Donny & Marie. Donny and Marie Osmond, two siblings from the infamous Osmond family, rose to popularity in the mid 1970s with the help of their self titled talk show, Donny & Marie. On this show they would have special guests who would come on and sing, dance, ice skate, etc. All throughout the show would be cheesy skits, where the siblings would act and make the crowd giggle. Occasionally, Donny and Marie would have the rest of their huge Mormon family come on the show and perform all together, bringing family fun to the big screen (or tiny box I suppose).

I first found out about Donny & Marie a couple of weeks ago, while on a journey through a YouTube rabbit hole. This show, however, caught my eye and truly captivated me. I then spent the next couple of days watching live performances of the young (now old) stars, adding their songs to my playlists, and finding attractive photos of Donny on Pinterest (he was quite the handsome fellow).

While on this mission to become the biggest Donny & Marie fan girl some 50 years after its airing, my father happened to show me another young star from the same era of television.

This also loosely explains what exactly happened to good TV and more specifically television personnel.

So, what really happened to young and talented television stars? They killed them in a plane crash after they changed their names and released a song called "Garden Party". If your confused about what I'm talking about look up the name Ricky Nelson right now. Right now I said. I'm waiting.

Here's a quick synopsis of what I am talking about: Ricky Nelson was one of the first teenage idols for rock music in the 1950s. He became wildly popular on his parents show, entitled "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". On this show, Nelson would sing some of his own songs, ultimately making him a giant heartthrob (look up the song 'Lonesome Town'; you've most definitely heard it before). Although he had great success, this wasn't the life he wanted. When he turned 21, Nelson dropped the "y" and became simply, Rick Nelson. Now, he was a man, ready to break open his childproof gate and see what was beyond the play pen. He didn't get very far though, as his one hit, "Garden Party", was his last. The song highlights how things had changed for him and the fright of his once fellow co-stars as they saw him for the first time as Rick Nelson. In 1985, Nelson died in a plane crash.

But don't let the depressing facts distract you, Nelson was won of the most talented child stars. He played the guitar while he performed his romantic school boy songs, intensely staring into the crowd of swooning girls. He was cool and funny. All of the other guys wanted to be him. He was great.

And now the era of his TV period is over forever, with hardly any promising television shows or child stars today.

I truly do wish that I had been a child during this time of TV and will forever feel that way. But I do have hope for the future of television. There has to be more Mormon families and future plane crashers in our world. Maybe one day they'll pick up a guitar and learn the words to "Travelin' Man" or "A Little Bit Country-A Little Bit Rock 'N Roll".

BTW: You should listen to the playlist I made regarding wanting to grow up during the 70s. Check it out :)))

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6L6uO8nroqcQbQoFq6NXl1?si=u5SVTHE5QvGn5O7eKTuRng