We all here like Star Trek, but.. What was the first big thing on TV that really got you? For me it was Zorro. ('The New World Zorro' to be exact) It was around 1990 and on, I think I was around 8-10 years old? I dressed like Zorro, my dad build me a sword from an old car antenna + a sheath for it, my grandmothers old dress fabric was made to be the cloak, I recorded episodes on VHS, it really was my thing. Star Trek has had appearances from few actors from that series. - Duncan Regehr, Diego de la Vega/Zorro, he was Ronin in TNG 'Subrosa' (don't hold it against him ) and Shakaar in DS9. - Henry Darrow, Zorro's father Alejandro de la Vega starting at season 2, he was an admiral in TNG 'Conspiracy' and Chakotay's father. - J.G. Hertzler, alcalde of Los Angeles starting at season 3, he was in the pilot of DS9 as a Vulcan captain on one of the ships attacking the Borg and then someone you may know better, this guy called Martok. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.. Anyway, I still love that series, now it must be released on region 2 DVD so I can watch it again.
My favorite sketch was "Mathnet." If we're talking about the absolute first TV show that got me, it would have to be Mod Squad. I was a toddler when it was first run, but I'm told that I used to be glued to the set whenever it came on and I always sang the opening theme. (It's always opening themes with me.) If we're talking ones I remember: anything made by Glen Larson in the seventies (Classic Galactica, Buck Rogers, Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew) and early eighties (Knight Rider) and anything made by Stephen J. Cannell in the eighties. (A-Team, Hunter, Wiseguy)
When I was on the younger side Mathnet was my least favorite, but on the older side, it became my favorite.
Doctor Who with Tom Baker. Trek (TOS) didn't arrive for me until a couple of years later. Unless cartoons are also allowed, in which case it was Looney Tunes.
Original Battlestar Galactica. I had always liked sci-fi I as a kid but beyond TOS and Lost in Space reruns, there wasn't much on TV for a little kid back then. It's the first TV show I remember scheduling to watch, rather than just watching whatever happened to be on.
I was actually too old in general for Square One when I first discovered it, but that meant I was just old enough to get Mathnet's joke. I also developed a thing for Beverly Leech.
Is that Kate Monday or Pat Tuesday? I knew Dragnet had a character named Joe Friday because my father told me but was way too young to remotely get anything about Dragnet.
Oh, Lord, I can't remember back that far. Early obsessions, however, included The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Batman, Star Trek and, later, Dark Shadows. See also "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh."
The Wonder Years. I loved the way it portrayed the 60's, and I loved the narration. And damn, I had a crush on Winnie Cooper. Just about everything about that series was perfection. I kind of sometimes wish they'd do a reunion movie of sorts.
Knight Rider was compulsive viewing. The first one to get in my head was The Tripods, I had nightmares about that. The first absolute compulsive view show was The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse. It was the very first TV program I can remember. I was so intrigued by it, so that I got up early every Saturday morning to watch it. Little did I know this was a parody of Batman & Robin, and that the Frog was a take on Edward Robinson.
I'm no particular order : Blake's 7, Pertwee Doctor Who, Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet/UFO/Space 1999, Starsky and Hutch, Star Trek...
I forgot about M*A*S*H, too. I honestly don't remember if Doctor Who or M*A*S*H came first for me. I was grounded to my room the night of the M*A*S*H finale and I don't think I've seen it, since. I'm sure that show had a huge influence on my current feelings about war and violence.