I have seen a lot of videos/reels/shorts about what it was like growing up in the 70s / 80s as a Gen Xer. They show TV and Movies that every kid watched and still remembers fondly. It’s interesting that I remember most of the shows and movies mentioned, and they bring back fond memories of the time.
Looking back, it was much different back then. For movies, there were a lot fewer theaters back then.
(Massive complexes with 18 to 24+ screens—known as megaplexes—arrived in the late 1980s and exploded in popularity after the opening of the AMC Grand 24 in Dallas in 1995)
I remember my friends and I had to get a ride to theaters in other towns to see new releases. One of my finest memories was traveling to see “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” with my dad in Paramus, New Jersey, since that was the nearest place it was showing to where I grew up
New Jersey Opening Night Theaters for “The Empire Strikes Back”
Rather than a wide saturation release, the film launched in a limited “first wave” of just 125 theaters across North America equipped with 70mm projection and Six-Track Dolby Stereo. According to theatrical records compiled by The Digital Bits, these were the only four theaters in New Jersey showing the film on May 21, 1980:
Paramus. RKO Stanley-Warner Route 4 Quad (played for 23 weeks).
Edison. General Cinema Corporation Menlo Park Cinema I & II (played for 23 weeks).
Lawrenceville. SamEric Twin Lawrenceville (played for 20 weeks).
Moorestown. SamEric Plaza Moorestown (played for 22 weeks).
In my hometown of Maplewood, NJ, the local theater, which only had 1 screen, got exclusive rights to show Jaws, and it was crazy
When Jaws premiered in 1975 at the Maplewood Theater, the blockbuster ran for several months.
Opening / Exclusive: The theater secured the Northern New Jersey exclusive rights for the film (which starred local Columbia High School graduate Roy Scheider).
Crowds: For the first three weeks, ticket lines stretched all the way down to Baker Street.
Duration: The run continued for months while drawing capacity crowds.
Nowadays, big-budget movies usually premiere in multiple theaters on multiple screens. Small and Independent movies get a few screens. But then, instead of playing in theaters for multiple months and building up word of mouth, most movies are quickly released on Blu-ray, or are available to stream on one of the many streaming services.
Another difference was that, with a limited number of movies, more people would see a particular movie, and in turn, there would be discussions among friends and families about the latest releases. There was a sort of pressure to see the latest movies, or it felt like you were left out.
This was very similar to Television back in the day. With only 3 major networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC) before a 4th network premiered in 1986, there were limited options on any given night.
The Fox television network officially debuted with a soft launch on October 9, 1986, with its first program being the late-night talk show The Late Show hosted by Joan Rivers.
The network later expanded into prime-time programming starting on April 5, 1987, with the premiere of shows like Married… with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show
Looking at an old TV Guide Listings, and the Neilson rankings for the 1982-1983 Season, you can see that the three networks were all there really was
Top-Rated Shows of the 1982-1983 Season (Nielsen Rankings)
1. 60 Minutes (CBS)
2. Dallas (CBS)
3. M*A*S*H (CBS) (concluded its historic run on February 28, 1983)
4. Magnum, P.I. (CBS)
5. Dynasty (ABC)
6. Three’s Company (ABC)
7. Simon & Simon (CBS)
8. Falcon Crest (CBS)
9. The Love Boat (ABC)
10. Monday Night Football (ABC) / The A-Team (NBC) (tied)
Fast forward to today — Here is the list of new and returning shows for the 2026 / 2027 season, 44 years later, and what got me thinking and writing this post
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/2026-premiere-dates-returning-series-170000967.html
The list is massive, consisting of over 1668 shows across 135 networks. Looking through the list, there are plenty of shows and networks that I have never heard of. There are also lots of shows that have been around for multiple seasons (even though it is now hard to figure out what a season actually is)
No wonder if somebody mentions a show they have watched, or are currently watching, more than likely the people they are telling have never heard of it, so the conversation switches to something else.
Another thing is that with cellphones, the rise of working from home, and less and less face-to-face interactions, the concept of people hanging around the water cooler discussing the prior night’s TV show, or prior weekend’s movie that they saw, everyone has become super siloed, and most people prefer to keep to themselves.
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Big week for Lehigh sports. The Football Team defeated Colgate 33-7, moving them closer to another Patriot League Championship. A win this weekend against the Richmond Spiders would give them at least a share of the title. After that, it’s the 162nd meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette to close out the regular season.
Also, a big shout-out to the Lehigh men’s soccer team with a big win over #1 seed Boston University Terriers
BOSTON – No. 4 Lehigh men’s soccer traveled north to face the No. 1 Boston University Terriers at Nickerson Field on Tuesday evening in the Patriot League Championship semifinal round. Senior Trey Sheeler headed in a cross off a corner kick from junior Shea Coughlin with one second remaining in double overtime to stun the Terriers and send the Mountain Hawks to the league championship game for the second straight year.
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The New York Football Giants were able to hold on and beat the Philadelphia Eagles and end their 13-game road losing streak. It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done and now take on the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football, looking for another conference win and moving closer to the Eastern Division Title. Would also get people to really start believing in this team and move away from the last 15 years of football, and stop thinking about how they will find a way to lose and believe they will find a way to win
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New episode of Survivor tonight, and with the tribes merging, it’s starting to get interesting to see who aligns with whom, and how much trust there is between original tribe members.
Referencing back to my thoughts on TV, because of the schedule and game itself, Survivor is still one of the shows that does have discussions among fans after each episode. There are also several people like Dalton Ross who publish weekly recaps on social media. In fact, I feel there are maybe too many past (and even present) Survivor contestants on social media. If you throw in all the ads for watch parties, it can get a bit overwhelming.
As a long-time fan of the show, most of the time I don’t want to know anything about the next episode. In fact, before each season, I basically stay off social media for the month before the premiere. The less I know about the contestants, the better
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If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much for reading. Let me know of any topics you would like me to write about, or anything you want to know about me, where AverageAndy come from, and my quest to become a contestant on Survivor.
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PEACE
AverageAndy
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In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.
Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere
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