Growing up is tough. Fortunately, we do not realize how tough it is until we have made it through the tunnel to adulthood. If we knew how tough it was, we probably would not make it. Life is also about experiences. These experiences form us and the way we view things. All children hate to hear that they need perspective and experience in order to understand things, but the older we get the more true that statement becomes. There are certain things that we cannot grasp until we experience them. Lucky for us, television tries to help us out in understanding the pressures of youth. A show can take on meaning when we watch it as a child and then mean something totally different through an adult lens. What we think is outlandish while watching it at the age of 10 may seem totally understandable as we grow and face similar situations. Additionally, television shows are connections to our own youth. Whether it is the era in which they take place or the events in our lives that were happening when we were watching the shows, we all have personal emotional responses to things we have seen. In my opinion, to be a great show about growing up, a series must possess a few key traits. First, it must be universal. Second, it must reflect the time in which it takes place. Finally, it must have dynamic storytelling. The following shows fulfill these criteria.
10. The Cosby Show
One thing that defines growing up is fathers, and there was no father quite like Cliff Huxtable. The Cosby show redefined what it meant to be a family in a colorblind society. Black or white, it did not matter, we just wanted to be part of this family because we knew that with Bill in the driver's seat, we would become good people with a sense of humor. In creating this show, Cosby not only bridged the gap between races, but also between what the family comedy was and what it was going to eventually become. Sure it was not the raciest show in the world through its dialogue, but for all intents and purposes it was something unique - an ensemble family show. The Cosby Show was not about the parents or the children, it was about the family. The family came above all else, and this was a modern family for the time. Cliff was a doctor and Claire was a respected working mother. This was a situation familiar to many households but not portrayed on television, and the roles that the parents played directly impacted the way they raised their children. The kids were not perfect, and Bill Cosby was the only person who could get away with charmingly threatening to beat his children when telling his son as his own father told him, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!" Yet we still always wanted to be a part of that family. As children, we do not always appreciate our family, and The Cosby Show made us want to love our own family no matter what. This was again because the family was the core and regardless of the zany adventure of the week, it always came back to the family. Rudy realized stealing was wrong because of her family. Theo discovered that girls come and go, but family will always be there. It taught us lessons that we did not even know we wanted to learn and did so in a hilarious way.