# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/101 "2009-12-30T18:27:12Z")
Ah, but that’s not an indication it hasn’t “aged well.” After all, that’s still topical today. It’s an indication your sensibilities on the subject have changed, perhaps. 🙂 ---
**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 31, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/102 "2009-12-31T01:46:59Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > 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 couldn’t. One speech I liked was Sinclair’s bit regarding Why We Stay In Space, but it’s not as if the odd character gave the odd bit of florid exposition now and then; they all talk like Elrond, all the time. > [@](#): > > I don’t remember Garibaldi having any of those big speeches, but the small ones he would make were always believable. Everyone but Garibaldi talks like Elrond, all the time. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/103 "2009-12-31T02:06:24Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > 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.” My perception of the show wasn’t that we were laughing at the jokes that Archie made so much as laughing at Archie for making them. I’m going to guess that Archie was in his 50s in the 1970s. That would put him at the age of my grandparents. While Archie is a caricature of that generation, he is spot on with some of his silly racial views. Both of my sets of grandparents were dead set against racism. Hated it. A sure way to get in trouble with my grandmother was to use the “n” word and she said that God created all races equally. However, this same woman who was so enlightened said of the OJ Simpson case, “I think OJ is innocent. But you know those negroes do like to use knives, so maybe he is guilty”. My dad and I laughed our asses off at that one, not because my grandmother had excoriated black people with her wit, but because she let her simplistic racial stereotypes cloud her judgment. That sounds like something that Archie would say. I guess my point is that we laughed AT Archie, and now the subject is so taboo that we can’t even laugh at those views anymore. We have to pretend that they don’t even exist. Are they less now than in 1975? Of course, and that’s because a lot of the old timers have died off. But go to some rural places in the Appalachians and the old south. There is certainly a fresh generation of racists out there. And there are forms of racism that are far more subtle. I hear parents all of the time talk about “good school districts” and “A rated school districts”. Tell them that their precious white daughter will go to a school that is 78 percent black and watch them dance and squirm about how they “aren’t prejudiced, but” and give you another reason why that school is bad and that they are paying or scheming the system to get their kid into a “good school” that happens to be overwhelmingly white. I see this all of the time. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/104 "2009-12-31T03:36:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I guess my point is that we laughed AT Archie, and now the subject is so taboo that we can’t even laugh at those views anymore. We have to pretend that they don’t even exist. Are they less now than in 1975? Of course, and that’s because a lot of the old timers have died off. But go to some rural places in the Appalachians and the old south. There is certainly a fresh generation of racists out there. Good point IMO. IIRC All in the family was extremely popular in Israel of all places. Which to me suggest that either Jews like a good Jew joke OR that they were laughing AT Archie as you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/105 "2009-12-31T03:49:31Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I love Bonanza. And Ben Cartwright was not the asshole. > > . Yes he was. Bonanza was not enjoyable after finding out that Lorne Greene, in real life, was a Canadian who didnt like and was afraid of both horses and guns. That just spoils it completely. Besides, nobody on the Bonanza show has any bullets. The people who made and who were on the show supposedly were all anti-gun and that is why if you look at their gun belts, nobody ever has any cartridges. (Bonanza is worse than Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith show, because we knew Barney had at least 1 bullet, and we Actually saw Barney put the bullet in his pocket or in his gun) ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/106 "2009-12-31T03:55:17Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Maverick has aged very well for a western, as has Kung Fu. As enjoyable as Garner is to watch, Jack Kelly was wonderful too as Bart Maverick. Bret was a bit predictable. Bart always a little too smart for his own good. Maverick, esp when James Garner was on , was more of a comedy or a spoof than a western. Bret was always acting ridiculous and didnt try to hide it. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/107 "2009-12-31T03:59:20Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > **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. > > . Agreed on Northern Exposure, I would not be surprised to see everyone still at Cicely right now in 2009. Our Gang became dated in the 1980s’, when kids stopped being allowed to be out on their own all day away from parents. Kids in America today do not have freedom anymore. No kid today would do any of the things the kids do in the Our Gang shows. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/108 "2009-12-31T04:05:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I think _Are You Being Served?_ is still hilarious. Yes, its hilarious, but VERY dated!!! I watch it to bring back old memories. I can remember when big department stores, in America, and in London, were like that, which had the customer service and sales people and floor walkers, and where all the employees in a retail store wore either a tie or a skirt. Today, it would be rare to find any department store in America that has enough employees on the floor, and even harder to find a department store where the employees are dressed either in a tie or skirt. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/109 "2009-12-31T04:11:06Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > _Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman_ is still, in a way, ahead of its time. It’s difficult to imagine some of its dialogue or scenarios being aired today. Too weird, too thought-provoking. I dont think people today would even “get it”. Mary Hartman Mary Hartman would not last 2 episodes these days. I dont think people today even know about “wax build up” or “yellowing”. Also, people today are too uptight and conforming, and could never accept or be friends with neighbors like Charlie, Tom , Mary, ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/110 "2009-12-31T04:12:40Z")
Nobody picked\*\* Ben Casey\*\* ? ---
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/111 "2009-12-31T06:06:12Z")
I’ll second **You Bet Your Life**. Though the people that Groucho interviews are obviously products of that particular era, especially with the various professions that people hold (think Organ Grinder with Performing Monkey), his biting wit really hits the mark even today. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/112 "2009-12-31T07:14:14Z")
_The Dick Van Dyke Show_ avoided contemporary cultural reference for the exact purpose of making sure the show would not appear dated in reruns. Obviously that was extremely effective. _Barney Miller_ also holds up with a very few exceptions, such as the already mentioned “wife accuses husband of rape”. I don’t agree _The Simpsons_ will hold up. I just saw the episode where Lisa becomes student body president. It obviously parodied _Evita_. How are younger people going to get that? The shows are loaded with things like that. (I admit that I never cared for the show. I just happened to catch it today.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/113 "2009-12-31T07:47:29Z")
One show I don’t think has been mentioned is _The Odd Couple_. The only aspect of it that hasn’t kept up is the way the show was completely oblivious to the gay overtones. Nowadays, even if the characters were both straight, the scripts would acknowlege the appearance of two men living together possibly being gay (as was done with Joey and Chandler on _Friends_). ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/114 "2009-12-31T08:24:37Z")
_[Yes Minister](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister) / Yes Prime Minister_ – proof that politics have **always** been the same… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/115 "2009-12-31T15:07:29Z")
The Looney Tunes cartoons have held up very well. I recently saw some, and they were as funny for me now as they were when I was little. And some of them were already 40 years old when I was little. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/116 "2009-12-31T17:21:52Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Gold standard? ugh. Enjoy the show. By all means. But mentioning guest stars is about the most ludicrous measuring stick I’ve ever heard. If that’s your deal, check out the guest stars for Batman. That guest star cast kicked ass. > > As far as the main cast goes, along with Danny Devito, I’ll give you Christopher Lloyd. Jeff Conoway SUCKED, and he always did. No wonder he has been in drug rehab with Dr. Drew. He was the worst part of the Grease cast, and the worst member of the Taxi crew. > > Andy Kaufmann annoyed the shit out of me. If you liked him, fine.. but I didn’t. But then again I never quite “got” his sense of humor, on TAXI or anything else I saw him in. He was a one trick pony on TAXI, and if you liked him, I’m guessing you enjoyed every moment of his screen time. If you didn’t, he was an annoying cast member. Latka was Taxi’s Mork from Ork. > > Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, et al… a group of B level acting talent, at best. > > Judd Hirsch wasn’t bad, but when I rewatch the show, he’s a sanctimonious ass who preaches too much. His character reminds me of Alan Alda’s on M_A_S\*H toward the end. > > Devito is the only character that consistently delivered on TAXI. And it’s almost worth re-watching just for him. > > Devito has done great work since then. Everyone else, not so much. There’s a reason for that. The show is gold standard for me not because of the acting, but because of the writing and the ensemble format that they employed; the acting is practically a non factor to me. I didn’t really use the guest stars as a measuring stick, which is why I used the phrase “not to mention”; I was trying to illustrate a point that the show was well acted, to refute your statement that the show was not acted well (save DeVito). Batman did have some great guest stars, loved that show. I’ll see your Batman and raise you Columbo - that show had some real heavyweights guest starring in its early run. Kaufman _was_ mostly a one trick pony (his Vic Ferrari would be the exception), that happens a lot in a sitcom format, particularly with a less featured co-star (as opposed to the outright lead, whose character might be the title of the show). ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-aged-well/522729/117 "2009-12-31T18:57:22Z")
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