# Do people watch classic TV series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353 "2017-05-24T18:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/1 "2017-05-24T18:20:19Z")
Is that a thing? Obviously there are old TV shows that people watch. But it’s usually the stuff that gets syndicated and where you can watch the episodes in any order. What about the series where there are story arcs and where you have to watch the series as one long ongoing story? People watch old movies. I can see somebody in their twenties deciding to watch _The Godfather_ for the first time because they’ve heard it was a great film. But would somebody in their twenties decide to watch _The Sopranos_ for the first time because they’ve heard it was a great TV series? Sitting down to watch eighty-six episodes is obviously a larger commitment. Do people do that? Or are TV series an ephemeral art form? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/2 "2017-05-24T18:28:18Z")
Yes they do. Hell, just check this board or the other board and look at the threads of people watching _Star Trek_ or _Babylon 5_ or yes, the _Sopranos_ for the first time. For that matter, what about those who came to \*Game of Thrones \*late? There’s 6 seasons of bloodshed to catch up on! But not 20 year olds. They would have to have their phones surgically removed from their hands before they could do something like that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/3 "2017-05-24T18:33:39Z")
I do. I watch shows on Me-TV, Cozi TV, Antenna TV, and ION-TV, just to name a few. And it’s no problem watching shows with story arcs, such as _Miami Vice_ or _Quantum Leap_, as they are usually run in their original broadcast order. Even run of the mill sitcoms are run in their original order, and not randomly. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/4 "2017-05-24T18:35:49Z")
I love watching classic series, since they’re often so much better than what’s on TV today. This is especially true for sitcoms, which nowadays are largely either lame or over-the-top vulgar. There are also genres that have completely fallen by the wayside, e.g., Westerns and WWII dramas. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/5 "2017-05-24T18:38:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I love watching classic series, since they’re often so much better than what’s on TV today. This is especially true for sitcoms, which nowadays are largely either lame or over-the-top vulgar. > . They tend to be, but they also were in the past. I still find these to be worthwhile: Master of None Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Arrested Development(older now, but modern and a 5th season is coming) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/6 "2017-05-24T18:54:00Z")
If it’s on Netflix or Amazon or Hulu, a young person will find it and devour it and talk about it with their peers. I can’t imagine old series would be systematically shunned. Buzzfeed’s favoritest tv show ever is _Friends_, and I’d say you have to be at least born in 1984 (33 years old) or earlier to have really gotten in to that show when it first aired in 1994. But plenty of people in their 20s are talking about it and loving it (it’s on Netflix). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/7 "2017-05-24T19:01:17Z")
There aren’t that many classic series (outside of soap operas) that had story arcs. Not hitting the reset button at the end of every episode is a more modern thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/8 "2017-05-24T19:04:24Z")
I’m presently watching Fargo seasons one and two on Hulu. They’re even better the second time around. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/9 "2017-05-24T19:09:40Z")
My daughter really enjoys The Dick Van Dyke show. A show 37 years older than her. Both my kids enjoyed Get Smart, Taxi and WKRP. My son really enjoyed the original Star Trek. Though neither will watch Barney Miller with me. They both watched a few seasons of Mary Tyler Moore also. When they were younger they loved the Addams Family and my daughter really enjoyed Bewitched and to a lesser extent Jeannie and The Nanny and the Professor. On her own my daughter devoured Buffy the Vampire Slayer, almost all arc. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/10 "2017-05-24T19:10:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There aren’t that many classic series (outside of soap operas) that had story arcs. Not hitting the reset button at the end of every episode is a more modern thing. I agree. People who are citing shows like _Friends_, _Miami Vice_, or _Star Trek_ are missing that crucial point. You can’t just sit down and watch a random episode of _The Sopranos_ or _Breaking Bad_ or _The West Wing_. Things change in these shows. It’s like older series were a collection of short stories and some modern series are a collection of chapters that make up a novel. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/11 "2017-05-24T19:13:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I do. I watch shows on Me-TV, Cozi TV, Antenna TV, and ION-TV, just to name a few. And it’s no problem watching shows with story arcs, such as _Miami Vice_ or _Quantum Leap_, as they are usually run in their original broadcast order. Even run of the mill sitcoms are run in their original order, and not randomly. I also watch Me TV and Antenna TV , I love the show Gun Smoke in b/w and there is CC . If I missed something I can read what been said. 🙂 Perry Mason is another favorite of mine . ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/12 "2017-05-24T19:15:54Z")
Im enjoying Perry Mason. I love a lawyer who is dedicated to his clients and isnt a blowhard. It was way before its time socially; it had the (rare) female and/or black judge. The cast had great chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/13 "2017-05-24T19:16:40Z")
I wish Netflix would get “The Wild, Wild West.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/14 "2017-05-24T19:30:58Z")
Another point is, how old does a show have to be to be “classic”? Me, I’d reserve that term for shows from maybe the 1970s at the latest, but lean that term towards series earlier than that. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/15 "2017-05-24T20:36:06Z")
Well, I was regularly watching both “Rockford” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and Netflix got rid of them. Very disappointed. So now it’s “Twilight Zone,” which is sometimes good. Some of those episodes are right up there. Others, not so much. I would sure not consider “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” as classic. Maybe in 20 years. Maybe. Also, for things like “Friends” and its ilk, we have the binge-watch available to us now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/16 "2017-05-24T21:32:10Z")
Did anyone read the OP? > [@](#): > > Obviously there are old TV shows that people watch. But it’s usually the stuff that gets syndicated and where you can watch the episodes in any order. > > What about the series where there are story arcs and where you have to watch the series as one long ongoing story? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/17 "2017-05-24T22:01:15Z")
We semi-binge watch series at bedtime. An hour long drama and then a sitcom. Right now we’re doing _The Americans_ current season and _Cheers_. (Will probably stop the latter when Diane leaves.) In the past we’ve done shows like _The Wire_, _West Wing_, _House_, _Scrubs_, _Seinfeld_, _WKRP_, etc. The hour long dramas are usually British shows lately. Need recommendations there. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/18 "2017-05-24T22:11:32Z")
The entire run of the Golden Girls is on Hulu now, too, as originally edited (not slashed up for syndication). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/19 "2017-05-24T22:12:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Did anyone read the OP? Pffft! Who does THAT?! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353/20 "2017-05-24T22:19:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There aren’t that many classic series (outside of soap operas) that had story arcs. Not hitting the reset button at the end of every episode is a more modern thing. Actually, _One Day at a Time_ had story arcs and continuity. It was a little ahead of it’s time in regard to that. It frequently had three- and even four-part episodes, and had characters reappear a season later (played by the same actor), had recurring themes, and characters who dealt with ongoing issues, plus story arcs that lasted half a season. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-watch-classic-tv-series/787353.md?page=2)