# TV shows set in historical eras **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640 "2007-03-27T03:05:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/41 "2007-03-28T00:28:45Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] And, of course **[The Untouchables](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052522/)** was set in the 20s. [/QUOTE] nitpick: The Untuchables (TV series) took place in the 30’s. Remember Elliot Ness was fighting Frank Nitti? Capone had been convicted in 1931. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/42 "2007-03-28T03:20:47Z")
[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin] American television has had a glut of shows set in the _American_ past. There was a time when the vast majority of all shows on American T.V. were Westerns. If you eliminate the expansion of the Western frontier (which encompasses shows like Little House, Dr. Quinn, and Daniel Boone as well as the traditional cowboy Westerns) along with anything post WWII, all that’s left is the fifty years between 1890 and 1940. The alternative would be shows set outside the U.S., which typically don’t do very well with Americans. [/QUOTE] I doubt shows about the period 1890-1940 would do much better. To most of us, that’s right in our national cultural blindspot: not far back enough to be capital-H History, but too long ago to relate to as real life. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/43 "2007-03-28T03:26:58Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I doubt shows about the period 1890-1940 would do much better. To most of us, that’s right in our national cultural blindspot: not far back enough to be capital-H History, but too long ago to relate to as real life. [/QUOTE] Well, there was **The Waltons** … > **[The Waltons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_waltons)** > > The Waltons is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian/Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemployment of the Great Depression in the 1930s and the subsequent United States home front during World War II in the 1940s. It was created by screenwriter and author Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book (and 1963 movie) Spencer's Mountain. The Waltons aired from September 14, 1972, to June ... ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/44 "2007-03-28T03:29:16Z")
That wasn’t so much about the 30s, or even the depression, as about being poor but honest mountain folks. They were meant as stand-ins for an aging generation to look back on and feel good about. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/45 "2007-03-28T04:16:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] I doubt shows about the period 1890-1940 would do much better. To most of us, that’s right in our national cultural blindspot: not far back enough to be capital-H History, but too long ago to relate to as real life. [/QUOTE] Good point. When I think of that period, all I can come up with is: League of Nations Prohibition Immigration surge World War I Stock market crash, Depression, Dust Bowl Switch from agrarian to industrial economy, rural to urban population centers Automobiles for everyone I’ve read some good books (fiction and non-fiction) dealing with some of this stuff, but it’d be hard to make it dramatic (or funny) enough for TV. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/46 "2007-03-28T04:50:33Z")
[QUOTE=Opus1] and a bunch of Westerns, many of which bore only a vague resemblance to any actual time period, but little else. [/QUOTE] _The Young riders_ seemed to be fairly accurate insofar as the props. They did use cap-and-ball Colts and Remingtons, and Plains rifles. I’m not aware of any female Pony Express riders, but ‘Lou(ise) McCloud’ did disguise herself as a boy in the show. ‘Wild Bill’ Hickock was, IIRC a bullwhacker for the Pony Express and not a rider, but (again, IIRC) he either worked with or got a job for ‘Buffalo’ Bill Cody. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/47 "2007-03-28T04:57:49Z")
**Baa Baa Black Sheep** deserves a mention… > **[Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baa_Baa_Black_Sheep_%28TV_series%29)** > > Baa Baa Black Sheep (renamed Black Sheep Squadron for the second season) is an American television series that aired on NBC from September 23, 1976, until April 6, 1978. It was part period military drama, part comedy. In the final seven episodes, the character list was revamped, dropping some squadron pilots, adding a 16-year-old pilot and four nurses. > Its original premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Greg Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron... ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/48 "2007-03-28T11:36:55Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Even Quantum Leap and Sliders? [/QUOTE] Um, I uh, meant by being… first, yeah, that’s it, first. whew. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/49 "2007-03-28T14:53:10Z")
Then there was the made-for-cable **Bordertown** , which was better than Dr. Quinn about minimizing modern characterizations. Far from perfect, but less annoying, I’d found. There’s also **Tales from Avonlea**. And a personal favorite, the current series from the BBC: **Life on Mars** , which is mostly set in 1973. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/50 "2007-03-28T16:09:23Z")
I forgot about The Lost World and Swiss Family Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/51 "2007-03-28T17:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=tiger lily] Not for regular TV shows, that’s true. However, if we do take into account mini-series, Americans are more than happy to tune in to a “foreign” story, e.g., _Shogun_ and _The Thorn Birds._ So where shall we draw a line - do we require that the story have aired for more than 6-8 hours, or is anything other than the typical Sunday night movie up for consideration here? [/QUOTE] The OP pointed out that historical settings are quite common in theatrical films. I think this brings up a major difference between films and television shows. People go to the movies to escape. They want to sit in the dark and be transported to a bigger, brighter world, so they’re willing to be taken someplace exotic, like a foreign country or an unfamiliar time period. In contrast, people watch T.V. for comfort. They are bringing a story into their homes, so they want it to be something familiar that fits in with their lives, and someplace that they can continue to revisit week after week. Miniseries are in between these two poles, so there’s room for a miniseries that takes you someplace unfamiliar, because you’re only expected to be there for a short time. Of course these are all generalisations, and there are numerous exceptions, but the majority of American television viewers are still looking for shows that are comfortable and relatable, which means set in America either in the present day or in a period that feels genuinely American. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/52 "2007-03-31T22:00:41Z")
There was “Hawkeye” which was set in colonial America, I’m guessing around the time of the French/Indian War (7 Years Wars to you foreign types) and guest starred Lynda Carter in one episode. Hot hot hot. There’s “Jack of All Trades” starring Bruce Campbell as an American secret agent teamed up with an English agent to stop the evil forces of Napoleon. Early 19th century. Marc ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/53 "2007-04-01T00:00:09Z")
[QUOTE=MGibson] …There’s “Jack of All Trades” starring Bruce Campbell as an American secret agent teamed up with an English agent to stop the evil forces of Napoleon. Early 19th century. Marc [/QUOTE] That show should make anyone who’s taken a high school social studies class cringe! ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/54 "2007-04-01T01:26:18Z")
Someone may have mentioned it, but I didn’t see it, so I’ll put forward **Robin Hood** Also while it only lasted one season, there was the television version of **Paper Moon**. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/55 "2007-04-01T01:50:50Z")
Three more came to mind. **The Adventures of Dick Turpin** definitely comes to mind. Also **Jim Bowie** and **Riverboat** both qualify and are not exactly “Westerns” in the purest sense. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/56 "2007-04-01T13:46:00Z")
How about **Ellery Queen**? **Death Valley Days** was not a normal Western either. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640/57 "2007-04-01T22:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] That show should make anyone who’s taken a high school social studies class cringe! [/QUOTE] Well, I don’t think accuracy was a requirement of the OP. 🙂 Marc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-set-in-historical-eras/397640.md?page=2)