# TV Land sucks now **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829 "2009-05-18T06:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/1 "2009-05-18T06:06:53Z")
TV Land is supposed to be reruns of sitcoms from the 50’s and 60’s. Now they’re showing Roseanne and Cosby Show and stuff from the 80’s that seems like it just went off the air last week. Yeah, 1985 was 24 years ago, but it doesn’t feel like it. Anything prior to 1970 (with the exception of Sanford and Son) should not be on TV Land. When I decide to watch TV land, I want to see Mr. Ed, and Barney Fife and Jed Clampett and the Adams family and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/2 "2009-05-18T06:19:36Z")
Roseanne was an awesome sitcom. (As long as we can pretend the last season never ran!) I just watched about three or four episodes in a row the other night (on tv land I believe) and thought to myself that Laurie Metcalf is one taleneted actress. Does that sound weird? (She was the sister) Cosby, OTOH, sends a shiver down my spine. ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/3 "2009-05-18T06:38:34Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Roseanne was an awesome sitcom. (As long as we can pretend the last season never ran!) I just watched about three or four episodes in a row the other night (on tv land I believe) and thought to myself that Laurie Metcalf is one taleneted actress. Does that sound weird? (She was the sister) > > Cosby, OTOH, sends a shiver down my spine. Roseanne was good. There were quite a few good shows in the 80’s. It’s just that I liked the old TV Land format of the old 50’s and 60’s stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/4 "2009-05-18T07:20:28Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Cosby, OTOH, sends a shiver down my spine. Cosby was great in the first season. One of the best first episodes ever. After that they ran out of material from his stand up routine and it went down hill. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/5 "2009-05-18T07:41:27Z")
\ Off to Cafe Society. IMHO \> CS \ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/6 "2009-05-18T07:50:33Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > TV Land is supposed to be reruns of sitcoms from the 50’s and 60’s. Now they’re showing Roseanne and Cosby Show and stuff from the 80’s that seems like it just went off the air last week. Yeah, 1985 was 24 years ago, but it doesn’t feel like it. > > Anything prior to 1970 (with the exception of Sanford and Son) should not be on TV Land. When I decide to watch TV land, I want to see Mr. Ed, and Barney Fife and Jed Clampett and the Adams family and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. > > That’s all. Agree 100%. To make matters worse, Roseanne was still in syndication on regular tv until a couple years ago. I want to see Dobie Gillis, Get Smart, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Honeymooners, Lucy, Gilligan’s Island, etc. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/7 "2009-05-18T08:20:56Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > Anything **prior** to 1970 (with the exception of Sanford and Son) should not be on TV Land. You mean _after_ not _prior_. What I think is weird is that during the 80s, 60s TV shows seemed really old, even though they were only 15 to 20 years old. While now an 80s show seems really young, even though they’re 25 to 30 years old! ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/8 "2009-05-18T13:40:36Z")
Not sure I saw this correctly, but I was watching a morning “news” show the other day on a gym TV, and they were previewing a reality dating show of some sort that was said to be on TV Land in the near future. I was kind of surprised. I haven’t had cable for a while, but assumed TV Land was still happily running classic shows in reruns. Is TV Land going the way of every other cable network, showing shows which have absolutely nothing to due with the channel’s theme? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/9 "2009-05-18T13:48:21Z")
I wonder if the OP has TVLand’s original mission statement. I don’t. I didn’t realize that they were only to show shows from 50s and 60s I am sick of Nick-at nite. George Lopez, Cosby, Family Matters, Fresh Prince, Home Improvement, and now the Nanny. I hate them all! ---
**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:** [May 18, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/10 "2009-05-18T14:08:35Z")
I think the reality show on TVLand is “The Couger.” Or is that another network? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/11 "2009-05-18T14:25:09Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Agree 100%. To make matters worse, Roseanne was still in syndication on regular tv until a couple years ago. I want to see Dobie Gillis, Get Smart, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Honeymooners, Lucy, Gilligan’s Island, etc. TV Land is just doing what Nick at Nite has been doing for year. Before, TV Land ran the 50s and 60s stuff as their main focus while Nick at Nite went to the 70s and 80s (Roseanne was big on Nick at Nite until about a year ago). Now, Nick at Nite has shifted to 90s era shows while TV Land has picked up the 70s and 80s stuff as their main focus. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/12 "2009-05-18T14:33:39Z")
No, that’s TVLand. They also have the reality shows “High School Reunion” (Bunch of people get together for a 25 year reunion), “She’s Got the Look” (A group of women, all over 35 years old, compete to be a model), and coming up, “How’d You Get so Rich?” (Joan Rivers travels across the country, finding millionaires who made their money in strange ways). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/13 "2009-05-18T15:15:51Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Is TV Land going the way of every other cable network, showing shows which have absolutely nothing to due with the channel’s theme? [Network Decay](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NetworkDecay). As inevitable as the sun rising. Hence, if, for example, somebody decided to start a new Sci-Fi/Fantasy channel, with the aim of outcompeting the old SciFi Channel (err “SyFy” rather) with very high quality speculative fiction programming, in 10 years it would be indistinguishible from its predecessor. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/14 "2009-05-18T16:00:10Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You mean _after_ not _prior_. > > What I think is weird is that during the 80s, 60s TV shows seemed really old, even though they were only 15 to 20 years old. While now an 80s show seems really young, even though they’re 25 to 30 years old! Proabably has a lot to do with the whole black and white thing. Up until about the mid-60s most shows were in black and white, so that when they reran in the 1980s, they seemed ancient, even if they were only 20-25 years old. Compare that to say, Cheers, which started airing 27 years ago. It does feel a little aged, but that has to do more with the hairstyles and clothes than it does with any sort of old-timey vibe you sensed watching Dick Van Dyke or Andy Griffith in the 1980s. Also prior to “All in the Family” a lot of sitcoms still had that wholesome “Leave it to Beaver”-like tone. Mary Tyler Moore getting her toe stuck in the bathtup faucet on Dick Van Dyke was actually considred risque for it’s day, even though you, of course, don’t see anything. It was in the early 70s that TV writers started making the types of jokes about sex and social issues you see in sitcoms today. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/15 "2009-05-18T17:45:23Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > TV Land is just doing what Nick at Nite has been doing for year. > > Before, TV Land ran the 50s and 60s stuff as their main focus while Nick at Nite went to the 70s and 80s (Roseanne was big on Nick at Nite until about a year ago). > > Now, Nick at Nite has shifted to 90s era shows while TV Land has picked up the 70s and 80s stuff as their main focus. When I was a kid, in the late '80s/early '90s, Nick at Nite was showing stuff from the late '50s/early '60s. Thirty years old. Now they’re showing stuff that’s only 10 years old? Wtf :(. Those '80s and '90s shows, and even the '70s shows to some extent were in syndication for so long that I’d be surprised if anyone even feels nostalgic for them. Kind of hard to when they never went away. Have either Home Improvement, The Fresh Prince, or Roseanne ever been completely off the air, since the day they started? ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/16 "2009-05-18T19:28:03Z")
I’d love to see the creation of a Classic-Nick Channel, with the golden age late-80’s to mid-90’s Nickelodeon shows during the day and then the 50’s-70’s shows at Nite. Hell, I’d even like to see some of the old Nick Jr shows again. While I agree with the OP, damn this thread, now I want to watch some Dobie Gillis, Welcome Back Kotter, and Green Acres; I’m always in the mood for old-school Nickelodeon. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/17 "2009-05-18T19:49:01Z")
I agree that many of these shows seem too new for TV Land. OTOH, am I the only one who finds it exceedingly odd that anyone would want to watch _Green Acres_? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/18 "2009-05-18T20:15:02Z")
I agree with you all, but you gotta admit George Lopez should know he’s a luck son of a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/19 "2009-05-18T20:25:48Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I agree that many of these shows seem too new for TV Land. OTOH, am I the only one who finds it exceedingly odd that anyone would want to watch _Green Acres_? Heh. Perhaps after I watched it again I would agree with you. I really don’t remember much of _Dobie Gillis or Green Acres, but they, oh and Mr. Ed_ too, were the Nick-At-Night shows I watched the most of when I was a kid. \*WBK \*got on there when I was a bit older so I do remember those a little better. Every once in a while, and I don’t even remember what channel(TBS maybe?), but when I can’t sleep sometimes I will find _Good Times_ on in the early-AM. That’s another I wish I could catch more often. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829/20 "2009-05-18T22:12:58Z")
I don’t care for the 50s and 60s shows, since I didn’t really grow up watching them. But the reason they seem older, even when they were newer and the 80s and 90s shows feel fresh even today is that that the first gen of shows left the air after they were canceled and the next gen of shows have never left the air. Shows such as _Cheers_ and \*Roseanne \* have been running continuously since they debuted. In that regard, I think that TVLand should show the older shows because there is nowhere else to see them. The newer shows have other outlets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-land-sucks-now/496829.md?page=2)