# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/41 "2012-09-17T21:29:26Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > _All in the Family_ was cutting edge when it first aired, no doubt. Now, not so much. > > Regards, > Shodan That might be because much of “All in the Family” was centered around the hot issues of the time (i.e., the 1970s). Chances are that a first-time viewer who wasn’t alive during the decade (and not up on late 20th century American history) would be puzzled about many of the show’s references and attitudes. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/42 "2012-09-17T22:46:48Z")
In a nostalgic mood, Mr. Sali requested I get hold of the Superman TV series with George Reeve so we could walk down memory lane. We watched two episodes and gave up. Clark Kent, leaving the Kent farm on a bus for a report job in the big city! Poor Superman, so stolid and beefy! Abysmal 50’s kiddy show values all around. Oh, the one where Jimmy Olsen got involved with smugglers! Superman intoned how valuable “those leathers, silks, and gold” being smuggled were, and I lost it, I was ROTFLMAO. Smugglers! Leather, silk, gold! Gads, how silly, how naive! ---
**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 18, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/43 "2012-09-18T00:00:01Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Hubby and I caught a silent film from 1927 on TV the other night, both of us too tired to change the channel. It had the exact same plotline as a Three’s Company episode. There’s nothing new under the sun. [Three’s Company](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ayckbourn#Works) (and a few other sitcoms, sometimes just single episodes though) uses the standard [farce](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farce) plot. All it needed was French Windows and it would be an [Alan Ayckbourn play](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ayckbourn#Works). ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/44 "2012-09-18T16:12:21Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > [Three’s Company](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ayckbourn#Works) (and a few other sitcoms, sometimes just single episodes though) uses the standard [farce](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farce) plot. All it needed was French Windows and it would be an [Alan Ayckbourn play](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ayckbourn#Works). In place of French Windows, it had a double hinged door. Much guffaws. :rolleyes: ---
**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 18, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/45 "2012-09-18T16:21:47Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I honestly can’t watch any sitcoms anymore, and don’t know how people do it. They are all boring and trite and have the same plots. Even the ones I loved as a child are awful. Yeah, but the laugh tracks are a hoot, right? ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/46 "2012-09-18T16:25:57Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > That might be because much of “All in the Family” was centered around the hot issues of the time (i.e., the 1970s). Chances are that a first-time viewer who wasn’t alive during the decade (and not up on late 20th century American history) would be puzzled about many of the show’s references and attitudes. I disagree, I still find it watchable, much more than some of the 1980s comedies and dramas. The writing and acting are mostly solid. I watched it as a really young child, then the episodes in syndication as I got older. Interestingly much of my early understanding of social issues came from asking my parents about the topics on All in the Family. Basically over and over again…“Why doesn’t he like (this particular group)?” My parents had to explain homosexuality to me after one episode. To my dad’s eternal credit, he never let his true biases or discomfort with issues/ethnicities/ differences show. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/47 "2012-09-18T17:37:07Z")
He-man I used to watch it every morning before going to school. The first episode is available on Youtube, but it is unwatchable. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkAoFrfJF2Q) Horribly written, badly animated, and they seem to repeat a lot in order to save money. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/48 "2012-09-18T18:10:32Z")
Yes to so many of these. I was old enough not to catch a bunch of them. _Dukes of Hazard_ has always been for kids, AFAIC. A few years ago I managed to make it part way through an episode of _Little House_. Wow, treacly! I’m sure I’d find _The Waltons_ just as bad. When I was a teen I loved a show called _Salvage One_. I’m sure it sucked. And _Time Tunnel_? Fuggedaboudit. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/49 "2012-09-18T18:12:50Z")
_Happy Days_, _Laverne and Shirley_, _Three’s Company_ have to be right at the top of my list. You couldn’t keep me away from the TV on Tuesday nights when I was a kid, but I can barely stand to watch any of those shows any more. By all rights, _Soap_ ought to be on that list, but I can’t hate _Soap_. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/50 "2012-09-18T19:07:09Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Wonder Woman. I watched an old episode on a flight recently and couldn’t believe that little-kid me thought it was so awesome. Well, if you were a boy-type kid, I can think of at least one and maybe even two reasons. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/51 "2012-09-18T19:14:50Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Well, if you were a boy-type kid, I can think of at least one and maybe even two reasons. 😉 I always thought (even as a horny teenager in the 1970s, watching every single episode religiously) that the show just wasn’t exciting enough – Wonder Woman was constantly given bland villains that Starsky and Hutch could have easily handled – but oh Lord, that visual! Lynda Carter in that outfit! Who really needs a plot? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/52 "2012-09-18T19:39:28Z")
I’ve got an opposite submission. _Star Trek: The Next Generation_. I watched it when I was a kid/pre-teen, and liked it well enough. Nowadays, I see clips like [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keZlextkcDI) and realize that I lacked the sophistication to fully appreciate many episodes. It makes me want to re-watch the whole series to see what else was over my head. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/53 "2012-09-18T20:40:22Z")
TNG is still great is you skip most of the first 2 seasons. ---
**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 18, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/54 "2012-09-18T20:57:49Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > _Happy Days_, _Laverne and Shirley_, _Three’s Company_ have to be right at the top of my list. You couldn’t keep me away from the TV on Tuesday nights when I was a kid, but I can barely stand to watch any of those shows any more. By all rights, _Soap_ ought to be on that list, but I can’t hate _Soap_. \*Soap \*is in a class all its own. Has there been another show like it, one that is so over the top camp? We’ve seen other satires but they don’t top _Soap_. Perhaps there’s not enough distance to show it yet but _Northern Exposure_ still holds up, for me anyway. Yet, _Picket Fences_ not so much. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/55 "2012-09-18T21:13:50Z")
I’m told that _Arrested Development_ is a worthy spiritual successor to _Soap_. Haven’t watched it yet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/56 "2012-09-18T21:21:47Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > \*Soap \*is in a class all its own. Has there been another show like it, one that is so over the top camp? We’ve seen other satires but they don’t top _Soap_. > > Perhaps there’s not enough distance to show it yet but _Northern Exposure_ still holds up, for me anyway. Yet, _Picket Fences_ not so much. I have Northern Exposure on DVD and watch it frequently. We have discussed the fact that it ages very well here before and the reasons for that. The biggest reason that TV shows age well is that they have very strong writing and character development which drives Northern Exposure. It also has the advantage that it is set in a semi-mythical place that was an oddity the day it was written so there aren’t many references to the rest of the world to provide a real context. Cicely, AK was several decades behind the times even in the 90’s and could still be that way now for we know. Soap is an awesome show too. It has aged a huge amount but that makes it more fun in a way because it was so bizarre to begin with. ---
**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 19, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/57 "2012-09-19T14:18:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m sure I’d find _The Waltons_ just as bad. You might be surprised. So little of current TV interests me that I’ve been watching _The Waltons_ all over again on INSP, a religious channel that even bleeps out “hell.” The final couple of seasons, during the war with the substitute John-Boy and the new little kids, are not great. But the first three or four seasons stand up very well: good writing, good performances, good stories. Pretty hard-eyed looks at the Depression, human frailty, and character. Not treacly at all. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/58 "2012-09-19T15:48:28Z")
Maybe I should give it another look. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/59 "2012-09-19T15:49:36Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I’m told that _Arrested Development_ is a worthy spiritual successor to _Soap_. Haven’t watched it yet, though. I never made that connection. Interesting! Family love Bert. ---
**Author:** ![TaoPilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TaoPilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaoPilot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807/60 "2012-09-20T01:40:28Z")
TNG is still great if you skip all of the last two seasons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-then-this-is-now-tv-shows/634807.md?page=4)