A new venture called Hulu provides some old TV shows. I’ve been watching episodes of “The Bob Newhart Show” via VeohTV free with limited commercial interruptions. The show was something of a childhood favorite for me.
I notice that there is a definite lack of certain things on most sitcoms, regardless of the era. There are generally no prayers before meals. You don’t see anybody attending church except for a wedding or funeral. As a matter of fact, prayer is quite scarce in general, and if the name of God is mentioned, it probably isn’t in the context of prayer.
One rare exception was the show called “Just the Ten of Us,” which took place at a Catholic school. Every episode included some prayer, and the oldest daughter on the show wanted to become a nun.
I should note that Bob Newhart did some work for Fr. Patrick Peyton, so he helped promote faith and prayer a bit.
Update from March 13: Hulu is now online and open to the public. I just watched an episode of “Ironside.” Raymond Burr appeared in some Family Theater radio and TV productions. I think he even played one of the apostles!