# TV Shows you only like years later **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605 "2009-11-06T17:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/1 "2009-11-06T17:26:33Z")
I’ve been watching The West Wing on Bravo – never watched it while it was on, but I’ve just watched pretty much the entire series, 2 episodes a day, and loved it. Practically obsessed with it. I did the same thing with Buffy the Vampire Slayer several years ago. Anyone else? PS – I could also include The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, which I only watched on DVD since I didn’t have HBO, but at least I had a good excuse for those. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/2 "2009-11-06T17:29:41Z")
I watched the _Battlestar Galactica_ miniseries back in 2003 and just wasn’t impressed. It wasn’t until 2008 when my girlfriend re-introduced me to it that I really got into it. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/3 "2009-11-06T17:37:28Z")
The Wire and Firefly. I bought both because of the amount of positive feedback I had heard. Now I feel foolish for having waited for so long. I picked up Serenity last night, I’ll watch it this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/4 "2009-11-06T19:10:50Z")
I only watched Frasier for the first time in about 2002. I’d seen bits of it occasionally but I just didn’t think it was my bag, and I had never been a fan of Cheers. Now, it’s probably my all-time favourite TV comedy, and I’ve seen every episode, some of them several times. Quite a few others that I saw as a kid and didn’t appreciate, but now in reruns realise were excellent. I saw the 70s BBC show The Duchess of Duke Street recently, which I remember dreading as a kid because my Mum insisted on watching it. It was really good! ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/5 "2009-11-06T19:56:32Z")
Hitchcock. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/6 "2009-11-06T20:34:17Z")
_Firefly_ I only ever watched one episode (“Objects in Space”) when it was originally on the air; as it was pretty far along in the series, there was a lot going on that I didn’t get, and so, I wasn’t too impressed. As it turns out, that was right about the time it got cancelled. Several years later, on the advice of some friends, I picked up the DVD boxed set, and fell in love with it. _Futurama_ I don’t think I ever watched it on Fox – I’m not a Simpsons fan, and I figured it was just a sci-fi Simpsons. After Fox cancelled it, I happened upon it once or twice on Adult Swim, was impressed by the smart humor, and started watching the re-runs regularly. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/7 "2009-11-06T21:05:50Z")
Only started watching Seinfeld seriously near the end of its run, when a lot of hype was made about the last episode. Thought it was kinda funny. Caught the rest of the series on reruns, realized how good it was. Now I watch it every night ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/8 "2009-11-06T21:07:20Z")
Couldn’t stand _The Waltons_ when I was a kid. Now, it’s actually rather pleasant to watch once every few months or so. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/9 "2009-11-06T21:22:37Z")
_That Seventies Show._ ---
**Author:** ![heavybuhbuh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@heavybuhbuh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavybuhbuh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/10 "2009-11-06T21:42:14Z")
The Golden Girls!!! ---
**Author:** ![heavybuhbuh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@heavybuhbuh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavybuhbuh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/11 "2009-11-06T21:45:32Z")
And Perry Mason. ---
**Author:** ![heavybuhbuh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@heavybuhbuh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavybuhbuh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/12 "2009-11-06T21:47:21Z")
If they could only make a funny courtroom drama starring cheesy, pop icons… Oh wait, thats Boston Legal…! ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/13 "2009-11-06T21:59:56Z")
I’ve watched a lot of series on DVD that I didn’t watch during their runs, in some cases because they were on HBO, and in other cases because it’s more enjoyable to compress a season into a couple of months. “24” is a good example of a series that is best watched over a fairly short period (although two seasons was more than enough for me). I watched pretty much all of Prison Break this way and a season or two of The Wire, The Shield, The Unit, Californication, Rome and the Tudors. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/14 "2009-11-06T22:12:00Z")
Wow, what a long list…my situation is that I usually leave the TV on and then surf online, so I often use basic cable channels which show a lot of reruns. Also, I rarely remember show times or days of the week that original airings are on. Here’s shows that I loved by watching their reruns first: Simpsons CSI House MD Futurama Family Guy Professional Wrestling (tape trading, back in the day…I didn’t even have basic cable.) Star Trek: TNG (I hated the original ST, I ignored TNG, but I was a huge fan of DS9, so I started watching TNG reruns, and saw most, if not all, that way.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/15 "2009-11-07T04:02:10Z")
M_A_S\*H I know people bash the later seasons, but this show was mostly really good and I don’t think I ever saw a single episode until around 2002 or so. It’s one of my favorite shows of all time, now. The fact it is set in the past helps it age well, too. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/16 "2009-11-07T04:30:41Z")
JAG I got hooked when a cable channel ran it weekday evenings. Babylon 5 had been off the air a couple years before I started watching it weeknights. I would have **hated** watching this show on a weekly basis. The plot is too slow. Watching it every night makes a big improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/17 "2009-11-07T04:54:48Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Babylon 5 had been off the air a couple years before I started watching it weeknights. I would have **hated** watching this show on a weekly basis. The plot is too slow. Watching it every night makes a big improvement. Oh, yes, totally. I only watched this after it had finished. Every week would have been hard. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/18 "2009-11-07T05:05:40Z")
I don’t recall ever watching _The Rockford Files_ during its original run, but somewhere in the intervening years I starting catching it in syndication. One of the best detective shows ever. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/19 "2009-11-07T05:44:03Z")
I watched the pilot of _Psych_ and didn’t like it at all. But after a while I saw it was still being renewed each year, and with the occasional positive mention here, it made me rethink my stance. I’ve now watched the entire series, over a period of a month. I love it, and am seriously disappointed that it’s on hiatus. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605/20 "2009-11-07T05:57:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > _Futurama_ > > I don’t think I ever watched it on Fox – I’m not a Simpsons fan, and I figured it was just a sci-fi Simpsons. After Fox cancelled it, I happened upon it once or twice on Adult Swim, was impressed by the smart humor, and started watching the re-runs regularly. That’s how I thought it was going to be but I did end up watching the first ep when it aired because my brother was watching it and I ended up hanging out with him and seeing it. If I didn’t have a brother who liked animated shows so much I wouldn’t have seen it for years. ::shudder:: Now that’s an alterna universe I NEVER wanna visit! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-only-like-years-later/516605.md?page=2)