I'll stand right at your side with my arms open wide

Jack spent rainy days over the Christmas break immersed in a black and white world; a world his Dad used to inhabit:

“The Adventures of Superman”
“F Troop”
“The Munsters”
“Car 54, Where are You?”
“The Addams Family”
“Mr. Ed”

Some observations from my visiting this world again, some for the first time in many, many years.

• Perry White was seemingly always in a bad mood. He was also clueless to the talent that was Lois Lane. And it still seems ludicrous that they couldn’t figure out that Clark was Superman. Really.

• Vanderbilt in "F Troop" is still hysterical and used to great effect in small doses. “Hey Vanderbilt, see any Indians?” “No thanks, just had my coffee.” Wrangler Jane (Melody Patterson) was only 16 when the show began. 16! The portrayal of The Hekawis, only slightly offensive back then, now seems patently racist. But they remain funny – does that make me a racist too?

• Fred Gwynne’s Herman Munster remains one of the great television characters of all time.

• To me, Gwynne's talent was somewhat wasted in Car 54. But Joe E. Ross – I had forgotten his scrunched up cartoonish face that seemed unable to look you square on. "Ooh, Ooh!" Jack has a new catchphrase, and a good one it is, for now.

• Jack was strangely drawn to "The Addams Family," strange being the operative word. Fester had his moments, as did Gomez, Lurch and Thing. But the star here is the alluring Morticia, and my now adult eyes see her is a completely different light. Wow. And Ruby does a spot-on vocal imitation of Cousin Itt; I think there is a chance Fester and Itt make appearances next year at Halloween.

• "Mr. Ed" the show was slightly bogged down by the interactions between Wilbur, his clueless but beautiful wife and the annoying (for the most part) neighbors. But Mr. Ed the horse – typing on a typewriter, dialing and talking on the phone, reading the newspaper, hitting an inside-the-park home run off Sandy Koufax – weird, inventive and downright brilliant. Jack laughed and laughed. And then he laughed some more, and so did I.

• Life sure seemed more innocent then.

• Jack’s thoroughly enjoyed the trip to his Dad’s world, but not as much as I did, all things considered.