# TV shows that aged well? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729 "2009-12-27T20:07:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/61 "2009-12-28T18:23:43Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Fred G. Sanford is one of the all-time great characters. Agreed! I know that people will find Golden Girls dated, with their crazy 80s shoulder pads, and their Reagan Era vibe. But the razor sharp wit and comedy gold in that series is ageless. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/62 "2009-12-28T18:50:24Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > My 18-year-old daughter will find Muppet Show clips on YouTube and watch them for hours on end. > > It is still very entertaining. I think the _clips_ are endlessly entertaining, but the entire episodes can be rather tedious if you don’t like the particular bit they’re doing and have to sit through it. I think **Magnum, P.I.** and **Miami Vice** have held up well. I started re-watching the first season of both and am enjoying both. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/63 "2009-12-28T19:42:44Z")
[NY Times article about 60s shows on DVD](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/arts/television/28tvdvd.html?_r=1&hpw). I’ve been watching a bunch of old shows (Route 66, Maverick, Combat!) for nostalgic reasons, and they hold up well enough for me. The writing is decent–how much do those kind of stories change over the years, anyway? The acting is of it’s time, but not particulary cringe-worthy. Plus it’s kind of refreshing to watch actors that don’t have a bunch of current media hype swirling around them. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/64 "2009-12-28T19:47:39Z")
_Emergency!_ is still quite entertaining for me, even though I have to look past some of the firefighting and emergency medical technology they used. The stories hold up quite well. BTW, even though a cardiac code is a bitch to work, I flip the caps off the epinephrine just like Johnny did… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/65 "2009-12-28T20:07:48Z")
Nothign compares to the holding-up powers of _ **El Chavo del Ocho** _. There are episodes that only after having watched them 100 (literal) times that the jokes start losing strength. Get Smart never disappoints. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/66 "2009-12-28T21:17:58Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > The plot is fine. > > However, I think a lot of things seem kind of hackneyed - like a good chunk of Sheridan and Ivanova’s speeches, for example. Or really clumsy stuff like Clarke’s evil diary, “With Santiago out of the way, I’m the boss, wahahahahaha!” somehow being recorded because he was apparently dumb enough to broadcast it… > > -Joe They all talk like Tolkien characters! It really is a better story than TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/67 "2009-12-28T21:49:50Z")
WKRP in Cincinnati still holds up. Good writing and a good cast. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/68 "2009-12-28T22:35:57Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > They all talk like Tolkien characters! It really is a better story than TV show. Not all of them. Peter Jurasik as Londo could take that stuff and make it really believable. Maybe it was the accent, I don’t know. Andreas Katsulas…sometimes. Mira Furlan was pretty good at it, too. Watching, you could almost feel the truth that this woman was a total fanatic and had one of the best armed forces in the galaxy at her back. I don’t remember Garibaldi having any of those big speeches, but the small ones he would make were always believable. “What is wrong with you people?! He’s not the Pope! He doesn’t even look anything like her!” being a particular favorite. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/69 "2009-12-28T22:43:54Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > “The Simpsons,” absolutely. “Family Guy,” _hell_ no. Any show in which 95% of the humor comes from pop culture references will inevitably date poorly. Any show in which 95% of the humor comes from _ironic use of pop culture references already 20 years out of date_ ever moreso. “Family Guy” is the “Shrek” of sitcoms: it’s funny if you watch it the year it comes out, and then loses all humor value shortly thereafter. I’ll be interested to see how _American Dad!_ ages, since the show tends to rely on Stan’s outdated and extremist Conservatism for its humour, with a few political references that may or may not be relevant or humorous 20 years from now. As fond as I am of _Family Guy_, I have to say I think _American Dad!_ will be the show with the greater longevity. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/70 "2009-12-28T23:26:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I couldn’t disagree more. I think that we HAD progressed as a society to laugh at racial stereotypes in the 70s, but we have since regressed to make such talk not proper in polite society. There are a hell of a lot of people I know that still think like Archie did. Just watch the movie Gran Torino. That pegs every cranky old fart that I know. If you think that we as a society don’t have a different view of race relations than we did in the 70s, your living in a very different part of America than I am. And I’m living in the middle of the South. No, we haven’t conquered racism by a long shot. But the reason we don’t like hearing people make the sort of jokes Archie Bunker was making at the time is that they lack an awareness of what the person on the “other” side of the joke is thinking or feeling. Which isn’t to say that we haven’t at times let “political correctness” (as it is misnamed) carry us to extremes on the subject. But I stand by my assertion that Archie Bunker wouldn’t be funny today mostly because our viewpoint is substantially different on many of the subject he used as fodder for his “humor.” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/71 "2009-12-29T00:07:04Z")
**Northern Exposure** has aged very well probably because the setting is so odd and it is a character driven comedy/drama. You could put it on TV now and it wouldn’t be much out of place especially for the early seasons. **Our Gang** episodes, the earlier version of the **Little Rascals** , is very dated in most ways you might use the term but even many of the 1930’s episodes and hysterical and easy to be really entertained by even for young adults. That brings of a problem with the real definition of ‘dated’ however. I love **The Brady Bunch** , **Gilligan’s Island** , and **The Addams Family**. I consider them both timeless and dated at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/72 "2009-12-29T00:14:04Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’ll be interested to see how _American Dad!_ ages, since the show tends to rely on Stan’s outdated and extremist Conservatism for its humour, with a few political references that may or may not be relevant or humorous 20 years from now. As fond as I am of _Family Guy_, I have to say I think _American Dad!_ will be the show with the greater longevity. I think that’s why **Mary Tyler Moore** aged well and **Murphy Brown** did not. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/73 "2009-12-29T00:21:23Z")
_Twin Peaks_ aged really well, in the sense of not seeming dated, because the backdrop of the show was set up so as to be “timeless” - the town of Twin Peaks is not really identifiable in any time frame. There is zero pop-culture in it; practically no references at all to the world outside of Twin Peaks. Almost no technology is used. The only real gauge of the time period it’s set in are the vehicles used on the show. After 20 years, it’s also still probably the single weirdest show ever to be on television. I’m still amazed that it was ever on mainstream television channels and that average people used to watch it. When I first saw it, I figured it was some bizarre cult show. ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/74 "2009-12-29T00:44:38Z")
I think _Are You Being Served?_ is still hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/75 "2009-12-29T01:09:34Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I think _Are You Being Served?_ is still hilarious. Really? But its big schtick was lampooning the class distinctions, and associated levels of politeness and formality, that were already on the way out at the time it was made. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/76 "2009-12-29T01:13:34Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > **The Flintstones** , original run. Television animation in general and H-B animation in particular never quite got this good again. If you consider the animation in _The Flintstones_ to be “good” I shudder to think what you consider to be “bad” animation. H-B have always been notorious for their use of cheap limited animation, with excessive and sometimes even gratuitous use of continuously looping backgrounds, partial body animation, and stock footage/music/sound effects. All of these H-B hallmarks are quite evident in _The Flintstones_. ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/77 "2009-12-29T01:50:04Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Really? But its big schtick was lampooning the class distinctions, and associated levels of politeness and formality, that were already on the way out at the time it was made. To each his own. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/78 "2009-12-29T02:30:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I think the episodes of **The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show** are just as funny today as they were in the 50s… Yep. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/79 "2009-12-29T02:37:20Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Taxi doesn’t work for me now. I liked it at the time, but it’s very dated to me, and not very well acted (except for Danny D.)[…] > [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I don’t know that I watched the same show that you were watching…to suggest that Judd Hirsch, Christopher Lloyd, and Andy Kaufman were not acting well is, imho, ludicrous; not to mention Carol Kane, or even memorable guest stars like Ruth Gordon, Wallace Shawn, Ted Danson, Jeffrey Tambor. It remains, to me, the gold standard for sitcoms. Maybe the problem was the not-yet-mentioned other lead actors who were really awful compared to the ones mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/80 "2009-12-29T03:06:58Z")
I sometimes get in the mood to watch my DVDs of Space: 1999. It doesn’t seem to have aged badly, at least to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729.md?page=5)