S1E02 - My Story

Written By Kinny Singh

Hi friends, in this episode, I’ll share my story and a little bit about me: I was born in the mid-80s just north of Toronto in Ontario Canada. Back then, we had a channel called the Space Channel that played all sorts of sci-fi shows and that really started me off on my obsession. But, I owe my love for all things classic sci-fi to my sister, who is 7 years older than me. She happened to be perusing the TV guide and came across shows called Star Trek and Lost in Space. And she was so intrigued and this was in the summertime in the early 90s and the shows were airing late at night, like midnight. So my sister decided to stay up and watch them and the next day, she was so excited so she told my brother and I all about it and said we HAD to stay up and watch with her. I was pretty young so I don’t think I stayed up that often, but I do have early memories of watching Star Trek the Original Series and Lost in Space, specifically the 1st season in black and white. It was just so exciting, so magical, and my favourite character was Penny! My favourite episode with her is called “The Magic Mirror” and in it, she falls through a full-length alien looking mirror and finds herself in a dark and mysterious world.

Besides these sci-fi shows, I have memories of watching shows with my dad. He used to work the night shift and when he’d get home in the morning, we were usually getting up for school, so he’d make breakfast for us and sometimes we’d watch TV before heading off to school, like Gilligan’s Island or I Dream of Jeannie. He also loved Woody Woodpecker, The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. And to this day, we all still quote these shows to each other. 

But a lot of my interest in older shows comes from my childhood, and that’s why it makes it so personal and nostalgic for me. There was another channel I grew up with called Prime, I think it was channel 11, and they used to play even more old shows, like I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched, they used to air it back-to-back. I used to set my VCR to record them, and it often recorded the intro of the next show that would come on, which was MASH. And back then, I was never really interested in MASH and didn’t really know what it was about. But one day, I think I was 11 or 12, and I’m pretty sure it was the summertime because I was bored and had nothing to do, so I decided to watch an episode. I still remember what episode it was, it was called “5 O’Clock Charlie” and I got so into it, it was so funny! It’s actually an episode from early on in the show’s run. And then the next episode that came on was called “The Incubator”, also such a funny episode. And the rest as they say is history because I was hooked. 

Another memory I have, another summertime, “bored kid” memory I have, is of planning my day around watching The Time Tunnel. And this is really funny, it’s such a specific memory. I used to go out and either ride my bike or play with my friends during the day, but right before the show started, at 2pm, I still remember, I used to make myself a glass of chocolate milk and sit down to watch Time Tunnel. I even remember I used to use the Nescafe chocolate syrup, the one that comes in the bottle shaped like the Nestle bunny. 

I’m also a big fan of Magnum PI and when i was in high school, I’m pretty sure it was Grade 10, I had a first period spare so I used to get to sleep in a bit and go to school a bit later. The channel, I think it was A&E, used to air Magnum PI at 9am. And I remember I used to get ready for school, make breakfast, usually waffles, at like 8:50 or 8:55 am, and then sit down to watch the first half of Magnum PI, and then set the VCR to record the second half while I headed off to school! And then I’d come home on my lunch break and finish watching it. My parents also used to watch it back in the 80s when it was actually airing, so they used to talk about it and I think that’s why I started watching it and got hooked.

So that’s just a little bit about me and my memories and a little glimpse into my favourite shows and why they mean so much to me. And as I go through and talk about more shows I’ll continue including little reminiscences, like this, of how I got into them. 

And if you’re a fan of any of these shows, tell me your first contact story! How did you get into it? What do the shows mean to you?

Ok, until next time my friends, take good care of each other.