# Recycling TV Show Titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991 "2018-05-28T19:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/1 "2018-05-28T19:14:02Z")
When _The Goldbergs_ came on the air a couple of years ago, it reminded me of a previous series from 1939-41 also titled _The Goldbergs_. It made me wonder what other titles have been re-used 2, 3 or maybe even 4 times. Please, no remakes(like magnum, p.i.) ---
**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:** [May 28, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/2 "2018-05-28T23:35:22Z")
The American TV series “The Newsroom” (2012-2014) shares a name with an older Canadian series called “The Newsroom” (1996-2005). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/3 "2018-05-28T23:55:41Z")
[The Cape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cape_(1996_TV_series)) (1996-97), about astronauts at Cape Canaveral [The Cape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cape_(2011_TV_series)) (2011) about a superhero who wore a cape. [E/R](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E/R) (1984-85), a hospital-set sitcom starring Elliot Gould. [ER](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ER_(TV_series)) (1994-2009), the more famous drama starring George Clooney, etc. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/4 "2018-05-29T00:12:06Z")
\ The original _The Goldbergs_ ran from 1949-1951 on CBS, then came back on NBC, then DuMont, and finally for a year in syndication before expiring in 1956 \ Nouns used as one-word titles seem popular. I’ve seen multiple series called _Outlaws, Partners,_ and _Justice_. Entirely different formats and characters, not reboots. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/5 "2018-05-29T00:21:33Z")
[Vega$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegas_(1978_TV_series)) (1978-81), about a private investigator played by Robert Urich [Vegas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegas_(2012_TV_series)) (2012-13), about a sheriff played by Dennis Quaid ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/6 "2018-05-29T00:27:11Z")
I seem to recall two different lawyer shows each called _The Defenders_. One was from the sixties and starred EG Marshall. I don’t know who was in the other one, but it was much more recent. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/7 "2018-05-29T00:36:03Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I seem to recall two different lawyer shows each called _The Defenders_. One was from the sixties and starred EG Marshall. I don’t know who was in the other one, but it was much more recent. Plus, there’s one with a _blind_ lawyer: he knows a bulletproof ex-con and a superstrong private eye, they team up with a rich guy who has a glowing fist. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/8 "2018-05-29T01:39:37Z")
The original _Lost_ was a reality TV show featuring three teams of two people each, who are dropped off in an unknown country with no money, and have to figure out not only where they are, but also how to gain enough money to reach the finish line in New York City. The first episode premiered with dismal ratings on Sept. 4th, 2001, and was pre-empted altogether by the Sept. 11th Attacks which happened a week later. I remember that the first non-breaking news program that I watched after 9/11 was the second episode of _The Amazing Race_ (a similarly-themed show which had premiered the same night as _Lost_) and for the first half hour I thought it was that same show. ---
**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 29, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/9 "2018-05-29T01:54:25Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I seem to recall two different lawyer shows each called _The Defenders_. One was from the sixties and starred EG Marshall. I don’t know who was in the other one, but it was much more recent. [The Defenders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defenders_(2010_TV_series)) (2010) starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell. There’s also a TV show based on Marvel’s [The Defenders](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Defenders_(miniseries)), which aired on Netflix. It’s about a group of superheroes, although one of them, Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, is indeed a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/10 "2018-05-29T02:15:28Z")
In recent news: [New Amsterdam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam_(2008_TV_series))(2008) - Fox fantasy series about an immortal police officer. [New Amsterdam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam_(2018_TV_series))(2018) - Upcoming NBC medical drama premiering this fall. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/11 "2018-05-29T02:23:28Z")
Took me too long to edit: [The Doctors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctors_(1963_TV_series)) (1963 - 1982) - Daytime drama [The Doctors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctors_(talk_show)) (2008 - present) - Daytime talk show Apparently there was also a British drama (1969 - 1971) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/12 "2018-05-29T02:36:44Z")
_Escape_ was the title of several shows: _[Escape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(1950_TV_series))_ (1950) _[Escape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(1973_TV_series))_ (1973) _[Escape](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409557/)_ (1980) _[Escape](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6966076/)_ (2016) The last is a reality show. There’s also a show of that name in 2017, but it may just be a UK version of the 2016 show. Mary Tyler Moore had two flops named _Mary_ that had no relationship to each other except that she starred in them. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/13 "2018-05-29T12:09:34Z")
From 1961-62, Bob Newhart starred in a variety show on NBC called _The Bob Newhart Show_. About ten years later, he starred in his much more familiar CBS sitcom about a psychologist, also titled _The Bob Newhart Show_. ---
**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 29, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/14 "2018-05-29T12:14:29Z")
Very close to the line: _Thriller_. Similar [US](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(U.S._TV_series)) and [British](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(UK_TV_series)) TV anthology series. Apparently not otherwise connected. And of course not connected to the music video by you-know-who. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/15 "2018-05-29T12:27:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Escape_ was the title of several shows: > _[Escape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(1950_TV_series))_ (1950) > _[Escape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(1973_TV_series))_ (1973) > _[Escape](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409557/)_ (1980) > _[Escape](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6966076/)_ (2016) > > The last is a reality show. There’s also a show of that name in 2017, but it may just be a UK version of the 2016 show. Nice catch, and all spelled exactly the same-In the lead, so far. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/16 "2018-05-29T13:07:59Z")
Every time I post anything about [E/R](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E/R) people confuse it with ER. To make matters more confusing, George Clooney and Mary McDonnell were in both shows. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/17 "2018-05-29T14:39:59Z")
_[The Nurses](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058833/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2)_ (1965) _[Nurses](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101158/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_ (1991) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/18 "2018-05-29T14:47:24Z")
_The Practice_ was a sitcom with Danny Thomas as a physician before its bland title got reused for that award-winning law-firm drama with Dylan McDermott. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/19 "2018-05-29T15:39:41Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > From 1961-62, Bob Newhart starred in a variety show on NBC called _The Bob Newhart Show_. > > About ten years later, he starred in his much more familiar CBS sitcom about a psychologist, also titled _The Bob Newhart Show_. Newhart himself commented about the progression of his show titles: The Bob Newhart Show \> The Bob Newhart Show \> Newhart \> Bob. He said if he got another show they’d have to name it Bo. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991/20 "2018-05-29T23:54:23Z")
“Double Dare” has been used three times: as a game show with host Alex Trebek in 1976, as a cop show in 1985, and as a Nickelodeon game show most recently. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-tv-show-titles/814991.md?page=2)