Once upon a time there were only a limited number of channels on the television.  This is way, way back, when TVs didn't have remotes. (I hate the term "clicker."  It's a remote.)  In order to change a channel, one had to suffer the hardship of actually getting up and physically turning the dial.  The benefit of having to get up, however, was that you were already at the TV; so when the channel one selected was inevitably filled with static, the rabbit ears antenna adjustment wasn't quite as onerous.  (Some channels did require actually holding the antenna for the picture to stay clear, which is what brothers are for.)

As unpleasant as old time TV viewing sounds (small screens, few channels, having to watch a program when it actually airs [and how scary is that?], etc.) it did have its benefits.  Well…at least one that I can think of.  Because there were only three commercial networks (ABC, NBS, CBS), the chances were pretty darn good that you watched the same programs that your friends did; the importance of which, cannot be overstated.  Heaven forbid that you not be up on the antics of Danny Partridge, or a bit later in Junior High, the Fonz.  Woe be unto you if you didn't know that Sabrina Duncan used to be a nurse on The Rookies.  

And you had better know that Mrs. Beasley was from Family Affair and not Family (But never, ever disclose that you have a mild crush on "Buddy").     

(Okay, I'll admit it now.  I even bought the single Kristy recorded with her brother.  Still have it, too.)

Reliving and discussing the TV shows on the previous night was what one did in the hallways before homeroom, in homeroom (usually after the pledge of allegiance),  as well as when passing friends in the hallways between classes.  (If time was limited, yelling out the catchphrase from a particular show, a "Dy-no-mite" for instance, would suffice.)  So, if you missed the programs up for discussion, you were essentially persona no grata for the day, reduced to the ol' smile-and-nod, without having a clue as to what was being talked about. 

However, in spite of missing the night of TV shows, if one were savvy enough, during a break in the conversation, one could slip in a line that everybody would know, and instantly the tide would turn and all would be well again.  A simple "Monsters are such IN-teresting people" or "Wile E. Coyote, 'Super Genius.'  I like the way that sounds" would change the entire conversational dynamic and swing it to the universally known, loved, and utterly repeatable Warner Brothers cartoons.

Let's be clear, the Warner Brothers cartoons in question are those that were made to be shown theatrically, sometime between the early 30s and early 60s or so; you know, the good ones.  Each toon was around seven or eight minutes, which meant that three cartoons fit perfectly in a half hour spot, complete and uncut (another perk of watching TV in the dinosaur age).  After school, all through Elementary and Junior High, these classic cartoons were there for the viewing in either half hour or sometimes even an hour blocks.  And we watched them all; over and over and over again.

As would later happen after seeing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the repeating of certain lines and phrases would be scattered through our normal conversations.

"That's a joke.  I say, that's a joke, son."

"I wish my brother George were here."

"Ever get the feeling you was being…watched?"

And a personal favorite and oft repeated: "Shut up, shutting' up."

I'm unsure if the Warner Brothers cartoons have the same impact on later generations, but I suspect not.  Yes, you can get them in pristine condition and in HD on blu-ray (and I have), but the communal experience is likely lost.  One hopes that if someone says, "It's curtains for you.  Curtains."  the reply would be obvious.  But who knows?  All I can say is that for my friends and me, even now, the automatic response would be, "Oh, they're adorable."

So, what does all this have to do with earworms?  Glad you asked.  This morning I woke up to the strains of one of those great jingles that occasionally appear in the cartoons of the Brothers Warner.  In this case, it's from a terrific Bugs Bunny. (Redundant, I know). 

Sing along with me:

"What's the score, boys? What did Bugs Bunny do? What's with the Carrot League baseball today?"