# Movies/TV Shows/etc moments that seem really dated now... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2002, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226 "2002-09-13T04:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/41 "2002-09-16T03:05:44Z")
When Michael J. Fox orders a Tab in **Back To The Future** I’m sure a lot of young’uns scratch their heads/ ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/42 "2002-09-16T04:15:20Z")
Hi **Osiris** , just watched all three _Back to the Future_ flicks on DVD and was pleasantly suprised to see how well they’ve aged. The **Tab** (and the Pepsi Free) that Marty orders needed to be drinks that were popular mid-80’s but not exist in 1955 – I guess it’s odd that neither of them really survived the 80’s either. One of the things the commentary track brought out was how carefully the film makers had chosen some of the props/gags – Pepsi was chosen over Coke as the '55 Coke logo and the '85 version were essentially the same, whereas the Pepsi logo had changed significantly in the 30 years. Overall though, technology wasn’t the focus (even though technically a sci-fi movie) and so doesn’t look so badly dated as most sci-fi 15+ years on. And, IMHO at least, the DeLorean still looks great. 🙂 As to the OP, well I’m still a **Star Trek** fan, but boy has the original series dated. Partially its the clunky looking computers and gadgetry, but also the acting style and pacing, and the attitudes. Any scene with Kirk and a woman is likely to be especially cringeworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/43 "2002-09-16T04:43:15Z")
True, true Apollyon. The only scene in the series that I would call dated was the Biff as step-dad scene in the second one which has an 80s Dice Clay vibe. And you’re bang on for Star Trek too. I see exactly 3 knobs and no sliding bits on my computer. I think we’re doing better making futuristic things now though. For instance **Flight of the Navigator** of 1986 still looks good. **Logan’s Run** looks hilarious, although I still like story and it makes the movie worthwhile to watch. Clunky robots just don’t cut it with me. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/44 "2002-09-16T06:44:48Z")
You know what else? All those 70s Hannah Barbara cartoons. Although it might just be they were always dated but nothing feels more lik the 70s then they do. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/45 "2002-09-16T07:17:49Z")
TV’s _Batman_ is horribly dated. C’mon, Batman, get yourself a pager or a cell phone! A Bat-laptop would be nice, too. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/46 "2002-09-16T07:59:51Z")
I was watching _Henry V_ the other day, and everyone was running around hitting each other with _swords_! I mean, who uses swords anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/47 "2002-09-16T07:59:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ratty \* > \*\*I suppose what really seems dated to me is how futuristic technology was portrayed in various movies. Sci-fi from the 50’s and 60’s always had space ships with fins on them, \*\* Uhh you do know that all of our space ships DO have fins on them right now? In real life even! ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/48 "2002-09-16T08:06:52Z")
Why do spaceships have fins and streamlining? Since space has no air,and therefore no resistance shouldn’t a ship shaped as donald duck work just as well as a nice phallic rocket. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/49 "2002-09-16T08:21:57Z")
It’s the _getting_ to outer space, **effac3d**. Lots of atmosphere to plow through. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/50 "2002-09-16T08:22:13Z")
All of our ships still need to be manuverd in the atmosphere to GET into space. Any ship that is going to land on, or take off from a planet that has any atmosphere is going to need fins for manuvering unless we come up with some new technology or something. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/51 "2002-09-16T08:23:24Z")
Dammit Walloon, you stole my chance to sound smart for once on this board. Oh well, back to the “Hot Chicks” threads. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/52 "2002-09-19T23:49:42Z")
I guess this post got lost when the boards went down…good thing I thought to save for once! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JThunder \* > \*\* > TV’s Batman is horribly dated. C’mon, Batman, get yourself a pager or a cell phone! A Bat-laptop would be nice, too. > \*\* You want dated, just listen to Bat Girl’s theme song. “Who’s baby are you?” indeed! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Theological Ninja \* > \*\*I’m sorry that I don’t have a cite available, but I recall seeing a TV program a while back about the Mary Tyler Moore show. During the show, it’s mentioned that the original premise would be that she was divorced and had moved to another city to start over. The idea was axed by the network, and part of the reason was that they were afraid that they’d confuse the character of Mary Richards with Laura Petrie, and think that she’d divorced Dick Van Dyke. Anyone else remember this or have a cite? \*\* I heard the same thing on Nick at Nite. Mary’s divorce was changed to a broken engagement for the show – this may be what **jayjay** was thinking of. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Apollyon_ > \*\* > The whole dome city looks like a giant mall with permanent elevator Muzak. > \*\* It _was_ a giant mall – the Dallas Market Center. My uncle was a security guard there and got a small part in the movie since he was 1) available and 2) one of the few people in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in the '70s who didn’t have much of a tan, since he worked nights. I believe all his lines were cut in the editing process, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/53 "2002-09-20T00:00:12Z")
Take a closer look at the computer equipment on _Max Headroom_ and compare it to the computers in _Brazil_: old-fashioned typewriters mated to televisions and so forth. To the OP: _Welcome Back, Kotter_ has NOT aged well. ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/54 "2002-09-20T01:11:52Z")
Giant computers with random, completely pointless, blinking lights that were UNLABELLED. What, were they really into Christmas decorations or something? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/55 "2002-09-20T12:26:52Z")
I loved _Lost in Space_ as a kid. I saw an episode or two on cable recently and the whole thing was just so bad! I swear you could see the aluminum foil marks on the spaceship. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/56 "2002-09-20T13:32:32Z")
Well, I guess my nominations got eaten. _West Side Story_. The idea of clean shaven gang members _grand jeteing_ their way down the streets of Manhattan and then agreeing to a fist fight instead of guns…how quaint. _War Games_ The huge floppy disks, the monotone computer screen…the phone handset modem…also very quaint. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/57 "2002-09-23T09:33:09Z")
**Rebel Without a Cause**. Let’s see…the “delinquent” guy conforms to the school dress code? Drinks milk? Passively waits for the girl to kiss **him** , and doesn’t follow up? Another cordless-phone reference: **Terms of Endearment**. Towards the end of the film, Emma visits her well-to-do friend, Patsy. Emma’s husband calls; Patsy answers and hands the phone to Emma; Emma looks at the phone in mild amazement before talking into it. And **The Prisoner**! The phones on that show were cordless, and that was supposed to be truly bizarre. My official **Prisoner** companion helpfully explains “Cordless phones had not been invented in 1967”. There was an episode of **Dick Van Dyke** where Rob and Laura thought their marriage wasn’t valid, and hastened to rectify it. It was supposed to be outlandish when Laura said, “But we can’t get married tonight; I couldn’t get a babysitter!” Anyone remember a TV show from the ‘70s called **James at 15**? My parents made me watch it, thinking it would “prepare” me for adolescence. Anyway, ol’ James is going to Go All The Way with his SO, after being told [gag] “Be good…and if you can’t be good, be careful.” [Shudder]. By way of being “careful”, James trades his official NHL hockey puck and his Bobby Orr hockey stick for the expired condom his friend nicked from his parents’ nightstand. God almighty. How did we ever survive the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/58 "2002-09-23T10:55:37Z")
> [@](#): > > War Games The huge floppy disks, the monotone computer screen…the phone handset modem…also very quaint. Quaint, maybe, but it’s still the most realistic portrayal of a hacker you’re ever going to get from Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2002, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/59 "2002-09-28T10:15:41Z")
I just thought of one today. So as not to make unfair assumptions, I’ll aska question first: In _South Pacific_, when Nellie dumps Emile, is it because he was previously married, or because his first wife was Polynesian? If the former, that just seems weird by today’s standards. If the latter (which I’d always assumed it was), however, then I can’t imagine an audience today being expected to sympathize with such a racist little bitch. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226/60 "2002-09-28T12:36:52Z")
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen if, but IIRC the whole subtext of _South Pacific_ was racism, so, yes, that’s why Nellie dumps Emile. The movie was one of the first sympathetic looks at interracial relationships on the big screen, so you can’t judge Nellie by today’s standards. The audience is expected to remember society’s attitudes in the early forties and know that she is shocked because interracial relationships are unthinkable. Literally, something that Nellie had never really thought about. The most interesting part of the story is Nellie coming to terms with the idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-tv-shows-etc-moments-that-seem-really-dated-now/128226.md?page=4)