# TV shows they NEVER repeat anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759 "2008-03-01T19:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [March 1, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/1 "2008-03-01T19:11:00Z")
([Antonymic Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=458033)) For example, I’d love to see reruns of Beauty and the Beast, Magnum PI, The Equalizer, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or even Night Court, but it seems once a show sufficiently passes out of the public consciousness it is no longer rerun. My theory doesn’t quite explain the Good Times reruns on TV Land tho. Another theory is that modern cable networks would prefer to show the DVDs than the original tapes (likely degraded by now), and if a show isn’t out on DVD it’s out of luck (The Equalizer just now is out for the 1st season). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/2 "2008-03-01T19:14:18Z")
It gets harder and harder for me to find Small Wonder on TV these days 😃 ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/3 "2008-03-01T19:15:54Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] ([Antonymic Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=458033)) For example, I’d love to see reruns of Beauty and the Beast, Magnum PI, The Equalizer, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or even Night Court, but it seems once a show sufficiently passes out of the public consciousness it is no longer rerun. My theory doesn’t quite explain the Good Times reruns on TV Land tho. Another theory is that modern cable networks would prefer to show the DVDs than the original tapes (likely degraded by now), and if a show isn’t out on DVD it’s out of luck (The Equalizer just now is out for the 1st season). [/QUOTE] I can’t speak to your DVD vs. original tapes theory but I’d just like to add: N_ight Court_ is on [TVLand](http://www.tvland.com/shows/). To me, Good Times is a perfect TVLand (I think that’s what you’re saying), repeat show because it reminds me so much of when I was growing up (just the first note of that theme song takes me back) and isn’t part of TVLand’s mission is to recreate nostalgia? Also, _Designing Women, Cheers, Leave it to Beaver, Little House on the Prairie_ and _M_A_S_H\* are relatively recent shows (in terms of the public collective memory) but they’re on and in repeats. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/4 "2008-03-01T19:26:02Z")
Most Black and White series (with a few exceptions like **I Love Lucy** ) are not repeated these days. Audiences want color, so shows like **Burns and Allen, The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip** (and the many other Warner Brothers TV series of the 50s), **Peter Gunn, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Combat** , to name just a few. This is partly due to a lack of interest plus the fact that many people won’t watch B&W. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/5 "2008-03-01T19:29:45Z")
Another great show not on tv and only marginally available on DVD – **Maverick** , during the James Garner years. Well-written and well-acted, charming and witty. Cleverness usually wins the day. Also from the days of black and white tv. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/6 "2008-03-01T19:41:17Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Most Black and White series (with a few exceptions like **I Love Lucy** ) are not repeated these days. Audiences want color, so shows like \*\*Burns and Allen . . . This is partly due to a lack of interest plus the fact that many people won’t watch B&W. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure what you meant to say at the end of your sentence, but B&A was on TVLand for while, maybe five years ago (Sunday mornings). If the fact it was on at that time, or that it’s no longer broadcast, is what you’re talking about I can see your point. Of the following shows listed on their TVLand’s website, the ones in color were taped in B&W (get it), at least at some point during their run. The Addams Family, All in the Family, The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Bob Newhart Show, Bonanza, The Brady Bunch, Designing Women, Cheers, Good Times, Green Acres, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, Jeffersons, Just Shoot Me, Leave it to Beaver, Little House on the Prairie, M_A_S\*H, Munsters, Night Court, Sanford and Son, [COLOR=DarkRed]Star Trek (I think, not a fan), Three’s Company. That’s about one-third of their programming. Can you tell I watch a lot of TVLand? I’d love to see reruns of _Perry Mason, Dragnet, Life of Riley, Rin Tin Tin_, just from the 50s alone. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/7 "2008-03-01T19:49:26Z")
Corrections: [QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Also, _Designing Women, Cheers, Leave it to Beaver, Little House on the Prairie_ and _M_A_S_H\* are relatively recent shows (in terms of the public collective memory) but they’re on and in repeats. [/QUOTE] Didn’t mean to include _Leave it to Beaver_ here. [QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Munsters, Night Court, Sanford and Son, [COLOR=DarkRed]Star Trek (I think, not a fan), Three’s Company. [/QUOTE] I didn’t mean to include _Night Court_ and _Sanford and Son_ as b&w shows (coding error) here. Here’s a list of [Old TV Shows](http://crazyabouttv.com/) for anybody who wants to look up some they’d like to talk about. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/8 "2008-03-01T19:54:36Z")
MeTV in Chicago currently airs a lot of those shows. Check their schedule here. [http://www.metvchicago.com/](http://www.metvchicago.com/) I’ve noticed that some of those shows that were highly regarded at the time just don’t seem impressive now. I’m thinking specifically of “Peter Gunn” and “Have Gun, Will Travel”. They’re half-hour shows and my opinion is they could’ve been more interesting if they were a full hour. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/9 "2008-03-01T20:08:55Z")
They have been showing reruns of _The Equalizer_ on the Universal HD channel. It isn’t really in HD, though. They’ve just cropped it to 16x9. But it’s great to see it again. A show I’d love to see again: _La Femme Nikita_. I missed a few episodes when it was first shown on the USA Network. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/10 "2008-03-01T20:12:23Z")
On local (Southern California) broadcast TV: I Love Lucy, Little House on the Prairie, Mr. Rogers, Married with Children, Quincy, Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I., Hogan’s Heroes, The Brady Bunch, Andy Griffith, Cheers, Malcolm in the Middle, Friends, The George Lopez Show, That 70’s Show, Seinfeld, Alice, Mama’s Family, The Drew Carey Show, Frasier, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Get Smart, The Twilight Zone, Saved by the Bell and The King of Queens. I’ve probably missed a bunch. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/11 "2008-03-01T21:54:40Z")
If you have the Sleuth channel as part of your cable package, they run Magnum PI, Simon & Simon, and a number of other cop/detective shows that I only vaguely recall from their original run. I’m currently got my DVR to record Players, a short-lived series with Ice-T as part of a group of conmen working for the FBI (I’m a sucker for anything involving con games and twisted plotlines). ---
**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:** [March 1, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/12 "2008-03-01T21:58:04Z")
They must show Night Court in the dead of night, because I never see it when I’m channel guide surfing (c. noon-midnight on weekends, 8-midnight weekdays). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/13 "2008-03-01T22:09:03Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] They must show Night Court in the dead of night, because I never see it when I’m channel guide surfing (c. noon-midnight on weekends, 8-midnight weekdays). [/QUOTE] I recently had two days off and nothing to do. I found nightcourt, cheers and wings on TVLand starting at 7:00 AM. ---
**Author:** ![hotcoldhot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@hotcoldhot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotcoldhot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/14 "2008-03-01T23:41:55Z")
Yeah in Chicago we have another low power TV station on Channel 48 it started today as a sister station to Channel 23. It is called ME TOO Television As the other poster noted it was > **[MeTV – America's #1 Classic Television Network](https://www.metv.com/)** > > Watch MeTV for memorable entertainment television from America's #1 classic television network. Airing over 50 different classic TV series each week, from drama and comedy to westerns and sci fi, MeTV is available nationwide for free with an antenna,... It is owned by WCIU which is on full power Channel 26. If you can’t get the low power Channel 23 and Channel 48, WCIU broadcasts both low power 23 and 48 on their digital subchannels, as well as ethnic programs on their other subchannels ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/15 "2008-03-01T23:55:15Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Perfect Strangers after its run ended (or at least not recently). Haven’t seen Reboot in a while. There are a lot of old Nickelodeon shows that are on very rarely, if at all – and when they are on, it’s usually one of the digital higher-tier channels. Sports Night used to run on Comedy Central, but I haven’t seen it in years (on TV – I own the DVD set). ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/16 "2008-03-02T00:05:24Z")
I was just thinking the other day that I wish they would rerun the first 5 seasons of [Silk Stalkings](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101198/). I loved that show. It was mostly camp, but Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture had awesome chemistry and really made it work. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/17 "2008-03-02T00:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Star Trek (I think, not a fan) [/QUOTE] Star Trek has always been in colour. As aired on TV, at least. The first pilot (The Cage) may have been shot in B&W (I’ve seen people mention a B&W version shown at conventions), but it was never shown in the show’s first run, except cut into The Menagerie, in colour. And it’s always in colour when its shown on its own, now. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/18 "2008-03-02T00:33:36Z")
[QUOTE=noodleloaf] “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” ran for 3 years, so it should be syndicatd, but I doubt it will be. I don’t know how they pick some things and not others. You’d think everything should be on someplace by now. [/QUOTE] An old rule of thumb is that a viable syndication package has to contain about 100 episodes, which is usually four to five seasons worth. _Star Trek_ was a noteworthy exception. Although the abundance of cable networks has changed the financial equation somewhat, a series of three seasons or less is still at a disadvantage. Actors usually love it when their show gets picked up for season 5 because it greatly increases their chances of getting significant residuals. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/19 "2008-03-02T00:34:13Z")
Not only would I like to see **Mary Tyler Moore** again, I’d also like to see **The Bob Newhart Show** , the one where he played Bob Hartley, the psychologist in Chicago. I’d also love to see the old **Batman** series with Adam West and Burt Ward, and echoing **Mork & Mindy** , **Parker Lewis Can’t Lose** (much better than Ferris 😉 ) and **Dragnet** (either version). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759/20 "2008-03-02T00:38:09Z")
Shows I’d like to see (that they never rerun): \*\*The Prisoner Man Into Space\*\* (I don’t think it’s EVER been syndicated) \*\*The Invaders Dragnet Mission: Impossible Out of This World Out of the Unknown Judge Dee Connections/Connections[sup]2[/sup]/Connections[sup]3[/sup]/Day the Universe Changed\*\* [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-they-never-repeat-anymore/439759.md?page=2)