# Any old TV shows where you are conversant with the show but literally can only remember one ep **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790 "2020-08-23T01:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/61 "2020-08-26T22:00:15Z")
> [@Anamorphic](#): > > “Satisfaction guaranteed, or double your money back!”. That was also a classic [Lucy Show episode](https://everythinglucy.youns.com/the-lucy-show/the-lucy-show-episode-113.html). But it works - she keeps doing it until she has a house of baked beans. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/62 "2020-08-26T23:53:52Z")
As a kid I watched reruns of both _The Brady Bunch_ and _The Partridge Family_ all the damn time. To this day, I can probably still recite most of the dialogue verbatim from every single _Brady Bunch_ episode. But all that remains of _The Partridge Family_ in my brain is the theme song and the episode where Danny gets drafted. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/63 "2020-08-31T13:47:55Z")
This thread has convinced me that almost all those classic TV shows that I grew up watching (for thousands of hours!) were useless. I probably watched every episode of a lot of the shows listed here and couldn’t tell you about a single plot. Well, mindless entertainment indeed, but was I just brain-dead back then? But then I remembered _The Adventures of…Superman!_ I could probably give detailed reports on every minute of that. Apparently I wasn’t totally tuned out… So I guess a companion thread to this would be “Shows you clearly remember every plot, every character, every line of”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/64 "2020-08-31T17:06:57Z")
> [@digs](#): > > So I guess a companion thread to this would be “Shows you clearly remember every plot, every character, every line of”. _ **Star Trek TOS** _, though I gotta admit my memory in 2020 is not quite as sharp as it was just five years ago. Sadly, I have no such detailed recollections of any of my other favorite shows, not even _ **Combat!** _☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/65 "2020-08-31T17:14:35Z")
_Rat Patrol_. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the plot to a single episode. I don’t think the plot was really important in that series, much like the plot in a porn movie. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/66 "2020-08-31T17:24:53Z")
The Six Million Dollar Man. I watched all of them as a kid. The only episode I remember? The one with Bigfoot and aliens! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/67 "2020-08-31T17:35:17Z")
There was the one where the Arab woman’s child fell into a well, and the Americans (and Brit) cooperated with the Germans to rescue him (or her). Exactly the same plot was used in a Lt Hanley episode of _ **Combat!** _ One especially memorable thing about this episode of _ **Rat Patrol** _ was that Hitchcock was shot in the shoulder by a German who didn’t know a truce was on. Just before he pulled the trigger, they showed a close-up of the shoulder, and the squib/blood pack under the shirt was clearly visible. Of course, it turned out to be just a flesh wound. (Yeah, right. You get shot there with a broomstick Mauser, and you don’t have a shoulder any more!) 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/68 "2020-08-31T17:43:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > There was the one where the Arab woman’s child fell into a well, and the Americans (and Brit) cooperated with the Germans to rescue him (or her). … > > Of course, it turned out to be just a flesh wound. (Yeah, right. You get shot there with a broomstick Mauser, and you don’t have a shoulder any more!) 🙄 Actually I do remember this episode but only because I watched it again recently on YouTube. I don’t think that counts for the purposes of this thread, It’s only a flesh wound is a common trope on televison and the movies: > **[Only a Flesh Wound - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OnlyAFleshWound)** > > On television, as well as in movies, there seems to be this general idea that if someone is shot in the shoulder, or in the leg, then the worst that happens will be that the person will grimace and go on with what he was doing before he was shot … ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/69 "2020-08-31T17:49:43Z")
I also remember the pilot, where they had to find and destroy a buried pipeline or fuel dump. This episode is memorable because one of the Americans was actually killed at the start, which is how they ended up having Moffitt (the Brit) as a replacement. I always liked how explosions would go off everywhere in the German camp as soon as one bomb was detonated. They must have been using one helluva powerful explosive! 😲 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/70 "2020-08-31T18:18:43Z")
I kinda wonder if this is a consequence of the 22 episode, very episodic nature of older TV shows. Every episode pretty much started the same and ended the same, and usually took place in more or less the same places. And in a lot of cases, they chose the plots from a short list as well. So while you might remember watching a show like Gilligan’s Island, you might not necessarily remember anything in particular about any one episode, because each one is like 70% similar to every other episode. I got to wondering about this when I started thinking back to other shows- I may remember specific scenes that stuck in my head, but I really don’t remember specific episodes from very many shows at all, and the ones that did stick are the ones that were typically a sort of show where the setting isn’t the same every episode or where there was a moving story arc. Until relatively recently, that usually meant science fiction/fantasy like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/71 "2020-08-31T18:32:12Z")
In a documentary about the making of _ **Gilligan’s Island** _, someone (probably Sherwood Schwartz) said they had solved this problem by introducing dream episodes where anything could happen. If they had gone ahead with a fourth season, we would have seen a lot more of those. In an interview with one of the actors in _ **I Dream of Jeannie** _ (probably Larry Hagman), it was noted that each episode basically followed only one of four plots. I’m surprised the series lasted as long as it did. The reason for such continuity is that you just don’t upset the format. This is why all of Captain Kirk’s and Little Joe’s girlfriends had to die or otherwise disappear in one episode. Those shows where a change did take place (like when Rob got married in _ **My Three Sons** _) lost popularity quickly. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/72 "2020-08-31T18:55:41Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > _Rat Patrol_ . Unfortunately, I cannot remember the plot to a single episode. Ahhh, but it was influential in other ways. Scout troops are made up of patrols, and we put together one of all the cynical kids, made up a name (didn’t have a patch, so we got blank patches and I sharpie’d my first logo design onto them). Now, being Patrol Leader was a coveted leadership position, so when the patrols were announced, The Scout Dads needed to know who was top dog in ours. My best friend, who we all assumed would be “it”, stood up and said "We don’t need a leader, _we’re going to be a democracy, like the Rat Patrol."_ News to the rest of us. But they couldn’t argue against democracy… and it all turned out great. We worked hard, all made Eagle Scout, and on campouts we helped the younger scouts, grilled steaks, and made firecrackers and joints (well, except that they had oak leaves in them). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/73 "2020-09-01T10:21:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The reason for such continuity is that you just don’t upset the format. It also allows for anyone missing an episode not getting lost and confused. Obviously back before repeats, missing an episode was unrecoverable. Later, when VCRs became a thing, and also repeating was rife, they were able to risk ongoing arcs a bit more. Nowadays it’s easy to catch up, so arcs are everywhere, and resetting to status quo is rarely seen, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/74 "2020-09-01T16:58:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The reason for such continuity is that you just don’t upset the format. This is why all of Captain Kirk’s and Little Joe’s girlfriends had to die or otherwise disappear in one episode. I remember reading in _Mad_ magazine a satire of _Bonanza_ where one of them – Hoss, I think – gets married. Ben asks her, “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “You _sure_ you’re okay?” “Yes! Why do you keep asking me— Urk!” and she drops out of frame. “I _knew_ it!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/75 "2020-09-01T17:05:21Z")
Yeah, marrying a Cartwright was about as safe as traveling with a Kennedy. 😖 ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/76 "2020-09-01T19:22:49Z")
Ditto on TOS (music-wise for sure)…but i admit to spotting something new and interesting each time i watch. Usually some nuanced Shatner-bit. No im not being sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790/77 "2020-09-01T19:28:44Z")
> [@digs](#): > > … Scout troops are made up of patrols, … 50 years later and today I just now realized why my brother insisted on being in the Beaver Patrol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-old-tv-shows-where-you-are-conversant-with-the-show-but-literally-can-only-remember-one-ep/918790.md?page=3)