# Longest running yet most forgotten (or forgettable) TV Show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064 "2013-03-05T03:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/181 "2013-03-12T17:47:22Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Does anyone ever think about **Hee Haw** nowadays? It ran for 23 years. “Gloom, despair, and agony on me Deep, dark depression, excessive misery If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all Gloom, despair, and agony on me.” Nope, I don’t remember it at all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/182 "2013-03-12T18:29:51Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Nope, I don’t remember it at all. 🙂 I _ **remember** _ almost all of the shows mentioned so far. But I don’t _ **think** _ about most of them nowadays. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/183 "2013-03-12T19:45:29Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Nope, I don’t remember it at all. 🙂 I remembered it for awhile, but then I met another and PFFFT I was gone 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/184 "2013-03-12T20:29:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Does anyone ever think about **Hee Haw** nowadays? It ran for 23 years. I have a friend who watches it (well, reruns) on Sunday nights. RFD HD is all I know, don’t know what kind of cable thing she has. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/185 "2013-03-12T20:48:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > It stuns me that **Big Brother** is still on, for 13+ years. 😕 Big Brother is still on? I read your post and had to check the date, expecting to find this was a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/186 "2013-03-13T04:47:56Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Definitely whether a TV show is forgotten depends on your age. To me, “Gunsmoke” has no meaning at all despite the fact that it ran for 600+ episodes, but I’m sure there are old farts out there who think “Gunsmoke” is unforgettable. Isn’t it weird that there was never a Gunsmoke movie? Even in the late 80’s early 90’s when many old TV shows were getting a movie, Gunsmoke, FRIGGING GUNSMOKE!, wasn’t made into a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/187 "2013-03-13T04:49:26Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Isn’t it weird that there was never a Gunsmoke movie? Even in the late 80’s early 90’s when many old TV shows were getting a movie, Gunsmoke, FRIGGING GUNSMOKE!, wasn’t made into a movie. Not a movie theater movie, but there were 5 or 6 TV movies made, all after the series was ended. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/188 "2013-03-13T16:14:40Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Isn’t it weird that there was never a Gunsmoke movie? Even in the late 80’s early 90’s when many old TV shows were getting a movie, Gunsmoke, FRIGGING GUNSMOKE!, wasn’t made into a movie. By then Doc was dead and everyone else was in their 70’s. It’s just as well we didn’t see Matt and Kitty being wheeled around the Old Folks Home. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/189 "2013-03-13T17:32:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > By then Doc was dead and everyone else was in their 70’s. It’s just as well we didn’t see Matt and Kitty being wheeled around the Old Folks Home. They could have done it with a new cast, say, George Clooney as Matt, Brad Pitt as Chester or Festus, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kitty, and Morgan Freeman as Doc (with Burt Reynolds in a cameo as Dodge City’s resident drunken old coot). Amanda Blake, IIRC, died from AIDS (!) back in the '80s. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/190 "2013-03-13T18:00:54Z")
Forgive me if this show has already been brought up, but is the show named Meet The Press still on? 🙂 🙂 🙂 God bless you always!!! Holly P.S. I remember hearing on the radio about the long life that show has had. I just don’t remember how long its been around. Sorry! 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/191 "2013-03-13T18:09:25Z")
I had to go look up that cute little show, you know the one, with the couple that lives in New York and in the end they had a baby. Named her something weird. Mad About You. And Moonlighting? Used to really like that one. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/192 "2013-03-13T18:12:00Z")
Surprised to see some of the proposals here. I’ve probably only seen five episodes or so, but I was under the impression that \*Gunsmoke \*was as classic as they come. \*Hunter \*is probably the winner, but I’m surprised that no one has mentioned _Boy Meets World._ It’s got a strong [TvTropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/BoyMeetsWorld) page, but I’ve never heard it so much as mentioned since its debut episode. I was surprised to see it lasted seven years. Then again, I basically skipped pop culture through most of the '90s, so maybe it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/193 "2013-03-13T18:16:13Z")
How about [Reba?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reba_%28TV_series%29) A fairly innocuous comedy with a decent ensemble cast? Ran 6 seasons? In syndication on some country-music TV channel? Bueller? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/194 "2013-03-13T18:17:26Z")
**Mad About You** was a pretty big hit when it first aired (it reached #11 in the 1994-95 season), but I never hear much talk of it nowadays. It took 8 years to get the first 5 seasons released on DVD, and the last one so far was in 2010. **Evening Shade** was another sizeable hit during its four years (1990-94) and critically well-regarded, but it’s utterly vanished since then. The run may have been a bit short for syndication, and only the first season has emerged on DVD. **Life Goes On**. Not a blockbuster ratings success, but it ran 4 years and preceded **America’s Funniest Home Videos** in the early 90s, which _was_ very popular in its first seasons. (Yeah, I guess that’s another “Wait, that’s still on?” kind of show.) \*\*Too Close for Comfort \*\*aired on ABC and syndication from 1980 until '86 or '87. Never have seen it reruns much. Same for **Charles in Charge** , another network-to-syndication sitcom of the 80s. (Edit: **Lightlystarched** beat me to mentioning **Mad About You**.) ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/195 "2013-03-13T18:23:39Z")
> [@The\_Raven](#): > > How about [Reba?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reba_%28TV_series%29) A fairly innocuous comedy with a decent ensemble cast? Ran 6 seasons? In syndication on some country-music TV channel? Bueller? Bueller? To me, Reba’s first show didn’t fly long enough. ☹ ☹ ☹ God bless you and her always!!! Holly ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/196 "2013-03-13T19:12:13Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > \*Hunter \*is probably the winner, but I’m surprised that no one has mentioned _Boy Meets World._ It’s got a strong [TvTropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/BoyMeetsWorld) page, but I’ve never heard it so much as mentioned since its debut episode. I was surprised to see it lasted seven years. Then again, I basically skipped pop culture through most of the '90s, so maybe it’s just me. No one mentioned Boy Meets World because a whole new generation became obsessed with it on the Disney Channel. So obsessed that Disney is making a sequel series about Cory and Topanga’s 12-year old daughter (I love that their math is still broken). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/197 "2013-03-13T20:24:04Z")
So Growing Pains has been alluded to but not actually named so far; even at the time, I remember it being the other other family sitcom - not the Cosby Show, and not the other sitcom which had Alex P. Keaton on it, but that other other one. Mainly notable now because of Kirk Cameron jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/198 "2013-03-13T20:25:26Z")
> [@The\_Raven](#): > > How about [Reba?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reba_%28TV_series%29) A fairly innocuous comedy with a decent ensemble cast? Ran 6 seasons? In syndication on some country-music TV channel? Bueller? Bueller? I typed “Reba” into the search of my cable box and it came up with listings for CMT (once upon a time Country Music Television) and ABC Family. So it does have some audience, I assume. Just not me. Although I did watch one episode when it was knew and remembered at one point the single mom daughter saying she’d like to get married and Reba sarcastically says “Sure will be easy with that man catching one year old baby you have”. An aside on Reba McIntire, that I’ll throw in. I was at the Montreal Formula 1 race and for one of the support races, she was one of the presenters giving out trophies. I said “WTF is she doing there..she is not Canadian like Shania Twain or Celine Dion”. It turns out her son Shelby Blackstock was one of the drivers. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/199 "2013-03-13T20:39:43Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Um… wow. No. I’m not even a Stargate fan but… it’s definitely extremely popular and well syndicated, with like 2 spinoff series and a whole huge expanded universe. I’d probably peg Stargate as the 3rd or 4th most popular Sci-Fi franchise after Trek and Wars and maybe 1 or 2 others. True. Stargate SG-1 was awesome. Around 2005 or so the Scify network would run like 4 episodes every Monday night and me and my GF would always watch those. It was my first exposure to it and the depth and the history of the plot lines really sucked me in and blew me away. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064/200 "2013-03-13T22:19:51Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > **The 700 Club** might be a contender for the longest running forgettable TV show (1966 to present). I’m pretty sure it’s the only TV show that’s _impossible_ for it’s network to cancel, no matter how much they want to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-running-yet-most-forgotten-or-forgettable-tv-show/652064.md?page=11)