# Things you loved as a kid that you now think are terrible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857 "2023-06-20T20:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/61 "2023-06-21T16:19:29Z")
As a kid in the '60s thru early '70s, going to the mall was a slice of heaven. TWO record stores, plus **Monkey Wards** had a record/tape section, they also had a toy section which expanded for the holidays ( **Toys** backward **R** **Us** was at the other end of the mall). A pet store where the owner didn’t mind kids coming in to browse, because it made them look busy. **Radio Shack** for my battery of the month (punch that card). A HUGE movie house. **G C Murphy’s** was close to a five-and-dime store. Several places to get munchies and a sit-down restaurant. You wouldn’t _dream_ of avoiding the rest rooms, afraid of pedos. Top it all off with a dill pickle out of the barrel at **A&P** just in time to meet Mom, finishing her grocery shopping, for the ride home. You couldn’t get me into a mall today (the few that are left) at gunpoint. There is absolutely nothing for anyone who isn’t a 9-to-29 year old female. And don’t get me started, again, on the **Aggressive Kiosk Vendors**. There _will_ be blood. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/62 "2023-06-21T16:23:12Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > maybe they were just that vile all along. Nope. The reason they suck now? (repeat after me) Hydrogenated oils. 🤢 ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/63 "2023-06-21T16:24:34Z")
“Handsome, pretty Dr. Smith,” yes? Gosh, I haven’t thought of that since about 1970. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/64 "2023-06-21T16:27:17Z")
She obviously didn’t see him turn into a stalk of celery. “Moisture, I need moisture!” ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/65 "2023-06-21T16:31:58Z")
Most TV shows, especially the NBC thursday night lineup. Even without Cosby’s unveiling as a predator, that show is well-night unwatachable for its cloying nonsense. _Max Headroom_ is the only show from that period to hold up for me, even with the antiquated pre-internet notions of how computers work. I read yetserday that a deal has finally been struck for _Moonlighting_ to hit a streaming service, and I’m wary to revisit it, as I suspect it’s aged awfully and I’d like to retain some happy entertainment memories from that period. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/66 "2023-06-21T16:40:59Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I’m mystified when grown adults in their 40s start losing their shit in anger because someone’s gonna remake Silverhawks as an anime or put She-Ra in sweatpants or something. All those shows were garbage! The only reason they seemed cool was because you were nine years old and had two UHF channels to choose from for after-school cartoons. At some point in my life, I was finally able to recognize that most of the cartoons I loved as a child were just glorified commercials produced to get around regulations related to advertising to children. I have good memories of GI Joe, Transformers, and even He-Man, but I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to invest my identity so heavily into a product that I get bent out of shape when it changes. > [@Jophiel](#): > > I’ve heard people defend Real Ghostbusters and I have good memories of it but, honestly, I’m afraid to ever re-watch an episode and find out. Some shows have aged better than others, and the Real Ghostbusters is one of them. I’m not really interested in sitting down and watching it today, but it didn’t make me want to gouge my eyes out like Thundercats did. Robotech is another cartoon that aged well. There are other things that I’m just not the right demographic for anymore, but they’re not actually terrible. Like the OP says, there are just some things you age out of. By all accounts Chuck E. Cheese pizza is terrible though. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/67 "2023-06-21T16:53:31Z")
A few cartoons and kids shows were much worse than I thought at the time but I was pretty good at separating the wheat from the chaff. For instance, I never thought Lost in Space was very good. They would tease us with monsters in the commercials but most of the show was boring. I preferred the Outer Limits to the Twilight Zone then, and still do now. When it comes to stuff like ChefBoyArdee I loved the spaghetti and meatballs and the ravioli also. Now I don’t love it but I don’t consider it awful, and once and a while I’ll pick up a can for the nostalgia. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/68 "2023-06-21T17:57:52Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > I could only manage to eat half of one, threw the rest away. Maybe they changed the recipe or maybe they were just that vile all along. American junk food arguably has always been considered nutritionally vile, but dammit, it was _tasty_ and reasonably inexpensive. Not any longer. Oreo filling for example was once chiefly lard or maybe beef tallow & sugar. Vegetable oils and corn syrup are not nearly as tasty. Even the purported health benefits are in some question. They are undoubtedly cheaper. I would guess Twinky filling is similarly made with ersatz ingredients compared to the halcyon days of yore. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/69 "2023-06-21T18:26:08Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > The only reason they seemed cool was because you were nine years old and had two UHF channels to choose from for after-school cartoons. I’m convinced that a lot of my friends hold great affection for certain movies and shows just because they watched them as a kid, not because they were good or anything. _Hook_ is widely regarded as a kinda low point in Spielberg’s filmography, but I know people who effing LOOOOVE that movie (watched my ex-girlfriend line up to get an autograph from Dante Basco at a convention once), and I fight the urge to ask if it’s a genuine classic or they just like remembering life when they were twelve. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/70 "2023-06-21T19:17:44Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I’m convinced that a lot of my friends hold great affection for certain movies and shows just because they watched them as a kid, not because they were good or anything I’m convinced that is the **only** reason milllenials continue to enjoy _Space Jam_ or _Hocus Pocus_ enough that both got legacy sequels. Take off the nostalgia googles and they are both pretty bad movies. I could say the same thing about myself and _Moonraker_, simply because it was the first Bond movie I saw in a theatre and I was 13. Loved it and would defend it. Then I tried to actually rewatch it a few years ago. Ouch. Still better than _A View to a Kill_ or _Die Another Day_ ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/71 "2023-06-21T19:36:42Z")
_Johnny Quest_ has held up pretty well, it really was pretty different compared to the regular Hanna-Barbera fare, a “serious” cartoon. Some of those episodes scared the bejeebus out of us kids, and often spoke of in hushed tones on the playground. Plus, it has one of the best theme songs ever, kind of a “James Bond” vibe going on. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/72 "2023-06-21T19:38:06Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I still watch Lost in Space. on cable on Saturday nights if I can stay awake. It is so low-rent and stupid, I just have to watch, but to be honest, I watch for the Robot and Dr. Smith Show within the show. ‘Never fear, Smith is here…eeeek!’ ‘Danger, danger, Will Robinson!’ ‘You nattering nabob! You babbling booby!’ I recently saw the episode with the green alien woman who thought Dr. Smith was ‘pretty’, and even first time around when I was 12 years old, I thought ‘lady, you are barking up the wrong tree~!’ Even as a kid I thought Lost in Space was hokey and awful. I especially hated it after Dr. Smith virtually took over. Then Star Trek came around and rescued TV science fiction. I can still watch TOS. But I never could stand Lost in Space. Incidentally, Gold Key comics had a series called _Space Family Robinson_ that predated Lost in Space, although not by much. When the TV series came out, rather than suing them (TV has deeper pockets) they rebranded their series “Lost in Space”, despite the differences in characters. Same basic idea – family traveling through space in their own craft, visiting various worlds and encountering new situations. But no Dr. Smith. No “Robot”. And the writing was decent and hip to SF. > **[Space Family Robinson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Family_Robinson)** > > Space Family Robinson was an original science-fiction comic-book series published by Gold Key Comics. It predates the Lost in Space television series. Both are loosely based on the 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss (and similarly named movies) The Swiss Family Robinson. > Space Family Robinson was published as a total of 59 issues, from 1962 to 1982. The first issue was published in December 1962. > In 1965, when Irwin Allen produced the primetime television show Lost in Space, Gold Key's publishers ... > **[Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Space Family Robinson Lost in Space](https://www.toonopedia.com/spacefam.htm)** > > Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation I can still read the comics with appreciation. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/73 "2023-06-21T19:45:10Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > I’m convinced that is the **only** reason milllenials continue to enjoy _Space Jam_ or _Hocus Pocus_ enough that both got legacy sequels. Take off the nostalgia googles and they are both pretty bad movies. > > I could say the same thing about myself and _Moonraker_, simply because it was the first Bond movie I saw in a theatre and I was 13. Loved it and would defend it. Then I tried to actually rewatch it a few years ago. Ouch. Still better than _A View to a Kill_ or _Die Another Day_ _Moonraker_ was my first Bond as well, and I loved it but then I was eight when I watched it. Any time I’ve watched it after my teens (and every few years I do a full-franchise rewatch and never skip any of them) I think it’s garbage. _Die Another Day_ has a great first hour then it all goes to hell, I think. _A View to a Kill_ has its moments but is definitely near the bottom of my rankings. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/74 "2023-06-21T19:50:53Z")
Some really kitschy songs-- but not ALL of them. Still think Sugar, Sugar by the Archies is a great pop song but Muskrat Love is. . . dumb. I am and will always be a fan of the Afternoon Delight harmonies but Playground In My Mind is childish. This does not preclude me from singing any and all very badly and loudly if they pop up on any oldies station I am listening to. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/75 "2023-06-21T20:01:30Z")
**Spaghetti-O’s** Oh, man, these are terrible and I was an idiot as a child for liking them. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/76 "2023-06-21T20:02:54Z")
> [@Mortimus](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has yet mentioned Twinkies. When I was a kid I could buy a 2 pack for 12¢ each at our corner grocery. Loved 'em. Mom used to pack 'em in my school lunch. For grins I recently bought a pack at the local C-store. I could only manage to eat half of one, threw the rest away. Maybe they changed the recipe or maybe they were just that vile all along. Thanks. I tried these not that long ago and was kind of shocked how crappy they tasted. I knew they weren’t healthy or amazing, but they were really bad. I guess the recipe has changed. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/77 "2023-06-21T20:09:09Z")
Pretty much every show I loved as a kid. I’ve learned not to revisit these as it ruins my fond memories. Absolutely the Xanth novels. I read dozens of those, and was a member of the “Hi Piers” fan club. Now as an adult I can’t believe Anthony hasn’t been arrested yet. I always loved Grape Nuts tho. Still do (everyone else in the family hates them so more for me). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/78 "2023-06-21T20:10:26Z")
Beefaroni is objectively horrible and I can no longer see the appeal. Also, there were a wide selection of similar blocks of meaty canned salt licks sold in square containers and foisted on the gullible. These were objectively terrible outside of critical situations. Amazingly, I still looked forward to boxes of shelf-stable, never refrigerated make-your-own-pizza even considering this a treat (!) - (just add water to powdered dough, sauce and plastic cheese included, included preservatives entitle user to discount on embalming expenses). Proving any pizza is good pizza when there are few other options. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/79 "2023-06-21T20:10:36Z")
Gatlinburg. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/80 "2023-06-21T20:16:57Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > I’m convinced that is the **only** reason milllenials continue to enjoy _Space Jam_ or _Hocus Pocus_ enough that both got legacy sequels. Take off the nostalgia googles and they are both pretty bad movies. _Hocus Pocus_ was released when I was 17, but I didn’t see it until around 2000, but I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. It’s not on my must-see list or anything, but I think it’s a pretty good kid’s Halloween movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857.md?page=5)