# That Was Then This Is Now: TV Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807 "2012-09-15T19:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/1 "2012-09-15T19:00:59Z")
What TV shows did you really enjoy as a youth but when you watched them again as an adult, they were not as funny or scary or interesting when you watched them again as an adult? I’ll start: I Dream Of Jeannie (Yeah I admit it; I only watched because of a crush on Barbara Eden) Welcome Back Kotter (It was the 70s) Here’s Lucy (The Lucy Show was much better) Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/2 "2012-09-15T19:50:09Z")
Night Court ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/3 "2012-09-15T20:04:15Z")
**The Dukes of Hazzard** - awesome show when I was 6. I caught a couple of episodes years later and, oh boy, I am surprised even little kids fell for that crap. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/4 "2012-09-15T20:51:40Z")
I found _Hercules: The Legendary Journeys_ to be an action-packed thrill ride when I was a teenager. They started rerunning it on the Hub last week and I couldn’t believe how incredibly campy it was and how poorly the special effects had aged. It’s still _fun_, mind you, but I can’t take it anywhere near as seriously as I did as a 12-year-old Greek mythology buff. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/5 "2012-09-16T12:32:28Z")
Moonlighting. It just didn’t seem the same when I watched it 20 years later. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/6 "2012-09-16T12:38:16Z")
_Macgyver_! A couple years ago my husband got a bug and rewatched the whole run. We were both amazed at how sexist it was: probably 85% of the episodes seemed to be this plot: dumb bitch doesn’t listen because she thinks she knows best, fucks everything up, Macgyver has to fix it. Oddly enough, he followed that up with the complete _A-Team_ and it wasn’t nearly as bad. I mean, it was 30 years ago, so some attitudes were different than today, but “those stupid women” didn’t seem to be the go-to plot development. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/7 "2012-09-16T13:11:18Z")
Watched a few shows on the retro digital channel one of our local stations has. Mostly disappointing. Noticed a lot of things that I didn’t care about as a kid. _The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet_: Some really bad acting, especially by Harriet. Poor plot, etc. The discrepancy between the canned laughter and what was being said was maximal. _The Cisco Kid_. Abysmal production values. Really poor writing. Painful to watch. Kids upload higher quality stuff to YouTube thousands of times a day now. I had remembered it as one of the better westerns of the era. My memory was wrong. “Hey Cisco, wait for me!” will never have the same ring. _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_. Only a mild letdown. Not quite as funny, but still okay to watch. I am tempted to watch an episode of _Love That Bob_ (as I remember the show title), but I don’t want to have that ruined, too. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/8 "2012-09-16T18:30:56Z")
I wouldn’t say \*ruined \*but I watched \*Batman \*starring Adam West when I was 8 and thrilled to the amazing adventures of Batman and Robin. I watched it again as an adult and was surprised to find that it was an intentional comedy. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/9 "2012-09-16T18:46:05Z")
I haven’t seen Land Of The Giants in 40 plus years but I would guess it isn’t the thrill ride I remember… they always seemed to be wrestling with that giant (dial, desk) phone… ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/10 "2012-09-16T18:49:22Z")
Pretty much all of them. I mean, that’s part of maturing. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/11 "2012-09-16T19:11:52Z")
_Have Gun, Will Travel_ ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/12 "2012-09-16T22:00:37Z")
Lost in Space Batman Wild Wild West ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/13 "2012-09-16T22:15:09Z")
_Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in_, _Adam 12_ ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/14 "2012-09-16T22:24:55Z")
_Dark Shadows._ It’s just a completely different _thing_ than I remembered. I suspect that **Evil Captor** has it pegged. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/15 "2012-09-16T22:26:00Z")
_Emergency!_ No medical staff washing their hands between patient contact. No seatbelts in the ambulance. ---
**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 16, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/16 "2012-09-16T23:45:04Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > I haven’t seen Land Of The Giants in 40 plus years but I would guess it isn’t the thrill ride I remember… Actually, you should check it out. I watched some of it about ten years ago and it holds up quite well, and the effects for their time are remarkably convincing. _Land of the Lost_, on the other hand, should be avoided. Most iconic 80s sitcoms don’t age well, like _Happy Days_, _Family Ties_, etc. And I shudder to think how _The Love Boat_ or _CHiPs_ look these days. (I don’t have Cable, so presumably some of those shows are perennials still in the US and you get used to their outdated schmaltz). But I still like _MASH_, and _Hogan’s Heroes_. Somehow their period setting transcends datedness. I’m kind of curious about watching _Benson_ again one day. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/17 "2012-09-16T23:58:12Z")
I’ll second _Dukes Of Hazzard_, and add _Speed Racer_. When MTV showed Speed some years ago, I was stunned by how incredibly stupid it was. It was much better in 1974… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/18 "2012-09-17T02:02:59Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > _Emergency!_ > No medical staff washing their hands between patient contact. No seatbelts in the ambulance. I think that was all just standard practice in the 70s. I’ll bet the ambulances weren’t even equipped with seat belts. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/19 "2012-09-17T02:43:43Z")
(if a thread gets started on the opposite premise of this one, I’m posting in with praise for **I Claudius** ) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/20 "2012-09-17T04:05:15Z")
\*The Red Skelton Show. \* As a kid I lived for Thursday nights. Went to look at some tapes a few years back at the Museum of Broadcasting and, well, either the times or my tastes had changed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807.md?page=2)