tv shows

My mother was a huge soap fan. At the end of the soap it would say "film in new york city". I thought it was real life and that those people in New York City could see what we were doing in Alabama for an hour every day. I would try really hard during those "daytime" hours not to do anything too embarrassing (like going to poop). Now that I'm an adult I know that people in New York City dont care what we do in Alabama.

Carla

there's this corporate building near my house which is rather plain-looking and made of brick. the name of the company, which i forget, begins with a "B" and there is a large red B before it says the name. for some reason, when i was a small child and i knew the alphabet but i couldn't read, i was convinced that this was where bert from sesame street worked. it was a paperclip factory.

k

I used to watch "Quantum Leap" with my Dad every time it was on. Of course, you think TV shows are real when you're a kid, so I started developing a fear that Sam would leap into ME. After a little while, my fear turned into happiness, because it meant he was there to fix a mistake in my life. One day on a car ride, I turned to my dad and said "Dad, if I start acting different some day, make sure you do whatever I say, because it will make our lives better." He looked completely confused. I told him it would just be Sam inside of me, and not to worry if it looked like I was talking to nobody (meaning Sam's hologram friend Al). My dad had no idea what I was talking about for a good ten minutes, and then burst out with "Oh! Quantum Leap!"

bear claw bill

When I was in about the second or third grade my mother always watched "soap operas" when I came back home from school she'd always have it on. For some reason I never got the name down properly. I used to believe it was called, "soap boppers."

Lauren

When I was a small girl, I used to believe I wasn't allowed to watch any "boy shows" because they were too violent. This may have begun with seeing an episode of Batman: The Animated Series (you know, the one with the huge adult fanbase) at a friend's house, which makes sense... but I also thought I wasn't allowed to watch Freakazoid, Dragonball Z, or Earthworm Jim because they were also about superheroes.

This was disappointing because I wanted to go as Earthworm Jim for Halloween. I just thought he was so cool-looking! (My fantasies of Halloween that year involved inflatable super-suits.)

Anon

When I was six or so, I asked Dad who Spock was, and he told me, "He's a philosopher", so I thought Spock was a real person along the lines of Socrates and Aristotle. Later around the same time, I heard Dad doing an impression of Spock addressing someone as "captain", so I thought Spock had been a Navy philosopher.

Anon

My theory as a kid was that all TV shows were real - they were just taking place on other planets. Cartoons took place on a relatively distant planet, but live-action shows (like 3-2-1 Contact), being more life-like, were from a planet between us and the cartoon planet.

Brendan

My husband loved and feared The Incredible Hulk when he was little. He watched the show from the couch, ready to flee if the hulk smashed out of the tv and into his living room. One day he reasoned that he didn't really have so much to be afraid of because even if the hulk did escape...he would only be a few inches tall.

Anon

When I was 4 or 5 Mom would watch her soaps while ironing Dad's shirts. Her favorite was "Shirts for Tomorrow". It was years later I realized what she'd been watching was "Search for Tomorrow".

Anon

In the UK, there's a programme called "It'll Be Alright On The Night" and it shows out-takes and bloopers of other tv programmes. Whenever I watched it, I thought that when an actor got his or her lines wrong and started laughing, I thought it was because somebody had told them a really funny joke at lunchtime and they were laughing at it. Subsequently I thought that all of the out-takes and bloopers took place in the afternoon. Hmmm....

Joanne

I have a very, very vague memory of the Lawrence Welk show. I don't really recall what it actually was, but I do know that part of it (the opening, maybe?) involved bubbles, and that there were people playing music - for years, I believed that this was what people were referring to with "soap opera".

Ace

I realy thought everyone on seasame street was really married and lived there. It was a place I wanted to move to and marry Bob.

Dayna

When I was about 6, I thought that the actors on the TV show were real, and tried sending a letter to the blue power ranger. Also at this time I thought just putting the person's name on the letter would get it to them.

Anon

I used to believe that the tv show: "Alló Alló" was called "In order of appearance", because in the end of the show it says "You have been watching: (in order of appearance)" and then the names of the actors. I must add that I'm Norwegian and did'nt learn any english untill I was about 7. Still I get the same feeling when I happen to see the show.

Thomas

When I was little, I used to watch Growing Pains a lot. I couldn't read at the time, though, so I always referred to it "groin pains."

Rachel

Different televisions contain different TV shows.

IMMarkotron

As a little kid, I thought the tv had rooms that you would select to see. And that the people inside could see you. I would have toys with me to impress the people

Anon

Well, when I was about 4 or 5 I believed that Mr. Rogers on TV could see me, since he was always saying things like "How are you today?" and looking right at me! I was always made sure I didn't pick my nose, or fight with my brother when he was on, since I knew he could see me..I didn't want him to be upset with me!

C.F.

When I was growing up Melissa was not a common name so I thought I was the only Melissa to grace the planet. One day at the end of Romper Room the show's host would look straight into the camera say "good-bye" and a kid's name. One day she said "good-bye melissa". I freaked out because I thought this woman could see me. Naturally my good parents convinced me that whenever the tv was on this woman could see me and if I did anything bad she would tell my parents.

Anon

When tv hosts said "give them a round of applause" on gameshows, I used to believe they were saying "give them a round on the floors". In response, I'd lean down and trace circular/round patterns on the floor with my fingers - and wondered why nobody else ever did the same!

Steph