I remember when we got our first TV set in the early 50's. This was a big piece of furniture, a large mahogany finished wooden box with many tubes inside. The tuning and stations were changed by turning the large dials on the front. The logo on the front said "DuMont."
The stations were not on the air for 24 hours a day. They started with a test pattern in the morning, and ended in the early hours with the national anthem. Fathers got up early to adjust the black and white picture perfectly according to the test pattern, and woe unto any children who touched the tuner thereafter.
My brother and I sat in am armchair together and watched the original Mouseketeers on weeknights. We also loved Mighty Mouse, Ozzie and Harriet, and especially Superman. On Sunday nights we watched Lassie and Disneyland and my mother made popcorn in a pan on the stove.
If we were lucky to stay up on other nights we got to see George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Silvers, Red Skelton, and I Love Lucy.
My father was an easy touch and we used to stay up later on Tuesday night, when my mother went bowling. We used to enjoy watching a show with him about WWII naval battles, of all things.
After we were in bed sometimes we would hear our parents laughing at Sid Caesar, or What's My Line? Gunsmoke and Alfred Hitchcock Presents were on their list of favorites, too, as well as Perry Mason.