The television and I have always been close. As a kid, we lived out in the middle of nowhere and the few houses remotely close were childless. Both my parents worked a great deal, so during the school year I poured my own bowls of cereal, got myself dressed and down the long driveway to the mailbox where I waited to board the bus for my hour ride. In the summer, I kept myself occupied during the hazy stretch of days. Naturally, I read a lot of books. But I also watched a lot of television and have fond memories of a number of shows. A few, like Punky Brewster , are part and parcel with my childhood. I don’t think I’ll ever forget all the cartoons from back when Saturday morning was nothing but cartoons . The shows like The Cosby Show and Quantum Leap offered those rare times when the entire family sat down together and they remain among my better memories. Though, it’s not all pleasant. A number of old shows I used to watch have been released on DVD. After a repeat viewing, they'v