APPOINTMENT NO MORE

 A short essay

By Jerry Bisantz

It was February 9, 1964. The black and white television was aglow with the family ritual. All seven Bisantz children and my Mom and Dad were crammed into my small living room, vying for space  to watch our Sunday ritual, The Ed Sullivan show. Dad was ensconced in his favorite chair, a la Archie Bunker, with a Ballentine Ale set up on the TV tray in front of him, a small bowl of salted peanuts awaiting his salt covered fingers. Mom sitting on the end of the couch, dozing a bit while Wells and the Four Fays went through their acrobatic tricks.

There was an air of expectation, a virtual hum in the air. A feeling that something big was about to happen.  Something that we, the whole family would experience together that we would talk about for the rest of our lives.

And then, it happened. Four handsome young men from England took to the stage, dressed so sharply in their suits and ties, with strange new haircuts that were so unfamiliar, and they started playing.  And they started singing.

And my sisters started screaming. Screaming. Literally screaming. At a TV screen. The boys in the family looked at each other in disbelief. Sister Sue had tears rolling down her cheeks, Jean was screaming, all four of the Bisantz girls were going crazy. The Beatles had arrived, and nothing was ever gonna be the same.

But this is not about rock and roll. Not about The British Invasion, or the music industry. It’s about something that, quite simply, does not exist anymore in our society.

“Appointment” television. How it brought us all together. The bonding that existed when our whole family would enjoy programs that we shared together. The communal rite when we made sure that Sunday dinner was ready in time for The Wonderful World of Disney. Or Laugh In, The Smothers Brothers, I am sure that your family had favorites. And we all made time to share these moments together. As a family.

Christmas time was a time you looked forward to watching Alistair Sims as Scrooge, or the Charlie Brown Christmas. Hallmark Hall of Fame listed Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella but once a year and you really made sure you caught it. Peter Pan with Mary Martin, The Wizard of Oz always came around Easter… these shows were not just shows, they were shared moments of unity that helped to bond us as one. It was the best that television had to offer, and it brought out the best in us.

Today, you have your shows, the next guy has his shows. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, CNN. MSNBC FOX. There’s a television in every room for every person’s personal “enjoy by myself” taste. “Fifty-Seven Channels and there’s nothing on” sang Bruce Springsteen. Well, he was only half right. There’s something on alright. So much… it makes your brain explode.