Folks have been sharing their memories of a national toy company that is going out of business, so I tried to recollect one of the few times I ever shopped there. Since my kids are both now in college, it has obviously been quite a while that I set foot in a toy store.
One Christmas my daughter topped her list for Santa with a drum set, which she of course received. The worker at the toy store had sworn that the set would be easy to assemble, but he was obviously unaware of my mechanical shortcomings.
Several hours before the kids awoke to check under the tree, I had managed to complete the three pieces of percussion. After all that work, my daughter probably played the drums not more than a dozen times, and boy am I glad of it.
Had she seriously undertaken the task of becoming a female Ringo (Ringa?) Starr, I most likely would have lost a lot of sleep. Nothing can be so annoying as sharing a living space with someone trying to master the drums, or any other instrument for that matter.
That annoying situation has led to some humorous plots on a variety of classic TV shows, and here are ten of them.
Charles Emerson Winchester on MASH.
Hawkeye and BJ both find their fellow surgeon even more annoying than usual, after Charles (played by David Ogden Stiers) starts playing his French Horn.
Bobby Brady on The Brady Bunch
Even though the youngest Brady son gets banished to the garage to practice his drumming, his parents and five siblings still cannot endure his constant racket.
Homer Simpson on The Simpsons
Bass is the instrument through which the patriarch deals with yet another midlife crisis, which soon leads to other dads in Springfield forming a band.
Alice Cooper on Mayberry RFD
Years before that name was immortalized by Vincent Furnier and his fellow rockers, that name belonged to the housekeeper of Mayberry Administrator Sam Jones. In one episode she becomes fascinated with an antique harp, but she lacks the talent to master it.
Joey on Friends
Phoebe tries to teach Joey the guitar in a segment called “The One with All the Resolutions. “
Larue on Gidget
When her best friend becomes enchanted with the guitar, Gidget (played by Sally Field) finds herself involved with a rock and roll band.
Ross on Friends
As if Joey learning the guitar were not bad enough, his pal decides to take up the bagpipes.
Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show
An annoying ensemble already, the Mayberry band got even worse when the deputy purchased a pair of cymbals.
Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy
When Ricky’s saxophone player departs, Lucy is determined to replace that horn blower in her husband’s band.
Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory
Neighbors and roommates alike regret when, during a hippie phase, Sheldon begins pounding on bongos in “The Werewolf Transformation.”