I have mentioned here before that I love old TV shows that I remember from my younger days that give me that warm, fuzzy nostalgic feeling. My two all-time favorites are Newhart from the 80s and Northern Exposure.
I would often watch those shows on a small black and white TV in my parents' kitchen. I would see them, in reruns, after getting home from work late at night. I loved the fact that they both happened in places a bit foreign to me at the time. Newhart was in Vermont, and Northern Exposure was in Alaska.
Another TV show that I enjoyed was Alice. I remember watching Alice when I was a REALLY little kid. It is one of those shows that just was always there, my parents must have liked it a lot. Like my two favorite shows, it also took place somewhere exotic that I have now come to love- Phoenix Arizona.
There was something sweet and dreamy about all of the shows, and their characters relationships to the places. All involved an outsider moving to a new place. Newhart moved to Vermont to run a B&B. NE featured a New York doctor moving to a small cold Alaskan town to treat people. Alice's car broke down in Phoenix, causing her to quickly have to set up her life in a new location.
I grew up in the 80s, and the thought that your car could break down causing a massive life change, and move, does seem logical to me, from a 40 years ago mentality. Cell phones, the internet, and general instant help wasn't what it is now. There was a time not too long ago that a car break down literally could cause a person to relocate.
It might be hard for audiences to "get" Alice now. I don't think I would tell my friends kids, "how watch this, you'll love it". It doesn't translate to "now." I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I remembered. The jokes, the punchlines are very dated. But I enjoyed it, because I watched it as a kid.
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