Julia

Just for the record, no one seems to have commented on the social importance of this show. It was the first television series to star a black woman. (And one of the few of its time to star any black actor or actress.) It was also important in that it did not play to stereotypes of of the role of black women, let alone single black mothers. Julia was a successful single parent with a career as a nurse at a major hospital where she was respected.

As I recall, while her race was not ignored, it was not the crux of the program.

The content of the show was not terribly exciting, but the matter-of-fact way in which Julia's middle-class life was portrayed was a major step forward for television. In a sense, the somewhat bland quality of many of the episodes was a de facto recognition of the fact that the day-to-day lives and concerns of most people (even fictional TV people) don't really differ based on external factors like race.

I was born white in 1963 in a WASP neighborhood in Indiana. But I remembered this show when they came out recently with the new "Nurse" shows--Nurse Jackie and HawthoRNe. I looked it up b/c I couldn't remember the star's name and I was telling a friend about it at work. But I remembered this show that I watched when I was all of 5 years old. Because it mattered. And even then, it pulled me toward where I am now. I have been an RN since 1984, and now work as a nurse practitioner. I am proud to be a nurse. I cried when Obama won the election, because I felt like it was a win for MY side. A huge win--and this show was part of that, the beginnings. I am proud that I have been a part of the "I'd like to teach the world to sing..." generations. That what we have all worked toward is the equality, not just of black and white but of everyone. That we all have value that deserves to be heard and witnessed equally. And I think the fact that this rather brave for the time show (and actress) was able to influence the 5 year old white child of an Alabama bigot to spend a lifetime in the same line of service to others says a hell of a lot about its "epochal" effects on the minds and people of that time. Even today, I think I'd rather be "Julia" than "Jackie". I would feel more respectable. Thank you Ms Carroll and company. You made a difference. I hope today's shows can stand up to the same test. We need nurses, and we need people who cross the lines.

Long before she became Dominique Deveraux on "Dynasty",she set ground here as being the first African-American woman to star in her own weekly TV series which was a milestone when it premiered in the fall of 1968. Julia was just that: a single parent and nurse who raised her son and working for Dr. Chegley,who was in charge of the hospital where she was employed. The show was brilliant in depicting the role model of the family and the single parent which had some good moral values which you don't find that in some shows today. Marc Copage was absolutely adorable as her son Corey,and I really like Micheal Link as Corey's playmate Earl J. Waggedorn. To this day,the show is rarely seen on some stations,but Diahann Carroll was one of the most beautiful women in the world when this show made its mark on the NBC network. I had very good memories of this show,and I wish they would do a TV movie on "Julia",bringing back the original cast for a reunion. Note: Lloyd Nolan who played the Doctor on the show recently passed away,but his status will live on with this landmark series.

I understand all the 'ground breaking' that this show accomplished. For me it is a warm memory of a different albeit somewhat ironic nature. It is the first TV show I ever watched on our new first time ever colour TV set. This show was in colour and it blew us away. We were pretty much 'the first on our block' to get a colour TV. Man, life was a lot simpler then. I remember Julia and Lloyd Nolan but, have forgotten pretty much everything else about this show. But, at the time we loved it. Of course we also loved the smarties commercials too.

At the time we couldn't care less if the characters were black or white. As I think about it now though. That simple fact that a black woman was portrayed as a person. Not black not white. Was probably a very notable thing to do. Whenever I see Lloyd Nolan in an old TCB movie I always remember him as the doctor on the TV Show Julia.

I was only 9 years old in 1968, but I was an avid television watcher, and I loved this TV show.

My parents got me a Julia "Barbie" doll, even though I did not have any regular Barbie dolls. (We are a Caucasian family.)

It is almost 40 years since I have seen an episode of Julia, but reading the other comments triggered a little memory for me.

I remember the morality of the show. I remember respecting Julia. I remember liking her little boy for his respectfulness toward his mom. I remember it was an intelligent show, not a silly one.

I loved this show.