Fairy Tales
A home intruder with golden hair breaks into a residence, eats the food, breaks the furniture, and falls asleep in a stranger's bed while the owners are out for a walk.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
A gelatinous rectangular loaf that slid out of a tin with a satisfying shloop sound. It was the ultimate survival food that somehow tasted better when fried.
SPAM
She famously sang "Happy Birthday" to a President and had a dress that refused to stay down over a subway grate. She was the ultimate 50s icon who just wanted to be taken seriously as an actress.
Marilyn Monroe
A giant yellow bird, a grumpy resident living in a trash can, and a group of humans who spent all day hanging out on a stoop teaching us how to count to twelve.
Sesame Street
The youngest man ever elected to the top job, he brought a touch of Hollywood to the White House. He famously told us not to ask what the country could do for us, but what we could do for the country.
John F. Kennedy
A teenager gives up her voice and her family just to chase a guy she saw on a boat for five seconds, all because she wanted to try out having legs.
The Little Mermaid
A shelf-stable block of "cheese product" that refused to melt like a normal dairy item but turned into liquid gold the moment you added a can of Ro-Tel.
Velveeta
Whether he was swinging around a lamppost in the rain or dancing with a cartoon mouse, this 50s star made acrobatics look like a casual stroll. He was the athletic king of the MGM musical.
Gene Kelly
A grandfatherly gentleman in a navy blue coat with enormous pockets who hung out with a moose that dropped ping-pong balls and a clock that liked to dance.
Captain Kangaroo
A former actor and jellybean lover who told a specific Mr. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." He brought a 1950s Hollywood charm to the 1980s presidency.
Ronald Reagan
Three brothers try to beat the housing market with cheap building materials, only to be harassed by a local predator with high-velocity lung capacity.
The Three Little Pigs
The undisputed king of the 70s dinner party. Usually lime-flavored and inexplicably filled with shredded carrots, canned pineapple, or—if things got weird—tuna.
Jell-O (specifically a Jell-O Mold)
Known for a very distinct walk and a voice that sounded like gravel and whiskey. He spent several decades telling people, "Listen here, pilgrim," and was rarely seen without a cowboy hat and a horse.
John Wayne
A very smart Rough Collie who spent every week rescuing a small boy named Timmy from various wells, forest fires, or runaway tractors.
Lassie
The man who spent 30 years in a cardigan sweater and sneakers, teaching us that everyone is special. He was the only person on television who could make a simple shoe-change look like a professional event.
Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)
Two siblings with a terrible sense of direction get lured into a high-carb house by a senior citizen who has some very questionable dietary preferences.
Hansel and Gretel
Originally developed for astronauts, this orange-flavored powder was the closest many of us got to NASA, even if it tasted like a chemical sunbeam in a glass.
Tang
Famous for her huge eyes, a clipped way of speaking, and a habit of playing women who were... let's say, "difficult." She warned everyone to fasten their seatbelts because it was going to be a bumpy ride.
Bette Davis
The show where a soft-spoken man changed his shoes and sweater while a trolley took us to a land ruled by a king who lived in a castle made of wood and a very shy tiger.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
A WWII hero with a very catchy campaign slogan: "I Like Ike." He spent the 50s building the interstate highway system, which gave us all a way to get to the new suburban malls.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
A young man trades the family’s only source of income for a handful of legumes and then proceeds to commit a series of robberies in the clouds.
Jack and the Beanstalk
The box that promised to help your pound of ground beef feed a family of eight. It featured a giant white glove as a mascot and made every night feel like "Beef Stroganoff" night.
Helper (Hamburger Helper)
He dominated the 60s and 70s playing tough guys who didn't say much. Whether he was a cowboy with no name or a detective with a "Magnum" caliber personality, you definitely didn't want to make his day.
Clint Eastwood
A pilot squirrel and his moose best friend who were constantly being hunted by two inept Russian spies named Boris and Natasha. The narrator was arguably the funniest part.
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
A former pilot who became the ultimate "overachiever" of 1969. He’s famous for taking a very long walk on a very dusty "beach" and reminding everyone that small steps can be quite a big deal.
Neil Armstrong