# TV shows and movies set in ambiguous time periods **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [February 20, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600 "2025-02-20T21:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/101 "2025-02-24T00:10:57Z")
Oh, I believe you. I remember the '70s too! ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/102 "2025-02-24T01:56:50Z")
Speaking of hairstyles -Charles Ingalls’ (Michael Landon’s) curly locks and other men’s longish feathered hair on the show _Little House on The Prairie_ is out of place for the time period it was set. Also the show depicts people using both telephones and phonographs. Granted both were invented BEFORE the show was set but it is unlikely that a town in rural Minnesota would access to either. Little House is notorious for its inaccuracies and Tv Tropes has a page for its anachronisms. [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AnachronismStew/LittleHouseOnThePrairie](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AnachronismStew/LittleHouseOnThePrairie) - ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/103 "2025-02-24T02:01:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > I recently saw some clips from _Baa Baa Black Sheep._ Loved that show when I was a kid. I never noticed anything wrong. Now when I look at it I notice the Farrah Fawcett hairdos on the nurses who are conveniently stationed on the island. > > _MASH_ is another example of this. Characters like Hawkeye and Trapper John (and many of the guest stars) have hairstyles that never would have existed in the fifties. They didn’t have flat tops in Ancient Rome! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PMhgn1oA7zU/maxresdefault.jpg "Sopranos Quote, Ralphie: Look at Kirk Douglas's hair. They didn't have flat tops in ancient Rome") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhgn1oA7zU) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/104 "2025-02-26T00:18:09Z")
I once saw a Western of some kind of TV where one of the main female characters wore large hoop earrings. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/105 "2025-02-26T00:19:56Z")
When “The Jetsons” was made, age differences like this were common, and not balked at if the parents approved, which in a surprising number of cases, they did. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/106 "2025-02-27T01:41:53Z")
[The Real “Ma” and “Pa”: 20 Rare and Amazing Vintage Photos That Show What the People From ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Really Looked Like ~ Vintage Everyday](https://www.vintag.es/2017/02/the-real-ma-and-pa-20-rare-and-amazing.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/107 "2025-02-27T01:52:36Z")
Hair product sales were the only thing keeping Oleson’s shop in the black. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600.md?page=5)