# What older TV series have aged the best/worst when watched in reruns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429 "2010-09-11T20:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/101 "2010-09-15T15:23:10Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Have you watched it recently though? > > **Voltron** and **Robotech** are both on Netflix VOD and I have to say that while I remember them both fondly, **Voltron** comes off pretty crappy now; **Robotech** OTOH, while not the ultimate triumph of animation I remember it to be, still holds up pretty well. I have, and I still like it. Robotech’s story kind of wears on me now. Thundercats still works for me, but I haven’t seen Beastwars in a couple of decades - may have to check that out. I still find the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoons to be watchable, too 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/102 "2010-09-15T16:01:36Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > [@DCnDC](#): > > > > Have you watched it recently though? > > > > **Voltron** and **Robotech** are both on Netflix VOD and I have to say that while I remember them both fondly, **Voltron** comes off pretty crappy now; **Robotech** OTOH, while not the ultimate triumph of animation I remember it to be, still holds up pretty well. > > I have, and I still like it. Robotech’s story kind of wears on me now. Thundercats still works for me, but I\*\* haven’t seen Beastwars in a couple of decades \*\*- may have to check that out. I still find the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoons to be watchable, too 🙂 So you’re posting from the future, I take it? Beast Wars premiered in 1995 and ended in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/103 "2010-09-15T16:53:07Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > So you’re posting from the future, I take it? Beast Wars premiered in 1995 and ended in 2000. Well, I am posting from the future (now, as compared to your post), but that’s irrelevant. But, obviosuly, I had Beast Wars confused with another show - now I will proceed to go mad trying to figure out what it was… ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/104 "2010-09-15T17:10:16Z")
OK - not so hard to find. Don’t ask me why I had it confused with Beast Wars - I was 10 at the time. [Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visionaries:_Knights_of_the_Magical_Light) > [@](#): > > Set on the planet Prysmos, the Visionaries consist of two groups of knights — the Spectral Knights and the Darkling Lords, both of whom have their magical powers gifted from Merklynn after successfully completing a quest to reach Merklynn’s shrine on Iron Mountain. Each character had a different animal totem power that reflects their personality by allowing the knight to temporarily transform into that animal. I did find some useful resources while trying to solve the mystery: > **[In The 80s - Saturday Morning TV Schedules of the 80s](http://www.inthe80s.com/saturdays.shtml)** > > A saturday morning TV schedule for the 80s, a list of what shows where on TV and at what time they showed in addition to the channel they were on > **[Category:1980s American animated television series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1980s_American_animated_television_series)** > > This is a listing of animated television series that originated in the United States during the 1980s. Shows sharing a time slot can be determined by referring to the appropriate Category:Television schedules article, such as the one for the 1986-87 United States network television schedule. > Cartoon series that originated in other countries and only later aired in the United States should not be listed here.(see discussion) > This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total. > The f... ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/105 "2010-09-15T17:23:49Z")
Whatever happened to _Hawk the Slayer_? It was the first made-for-cable production I ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/106 "2010-09-15T17:48:15Z")
Andy Griffith Everybody Loves Raymond Cosby Golden Girls Hee Haw ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/107 "2010-09-15T18:18:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > _Leave It to Beaver_ was aged even in the 1950s, but the reactions of Beaver and Wally to whatever stupid situation they got into are still absolutely dead-on correct. This. Plus I swear one of my son’s friends is the incarnation of Eddie Haskell which shows that those types of personalities transcend time no matter what decade. \*\*Roseanne \*\*has aged wonderfully. I was very young when that show debuted and now that I have kids of my own it’s even funnier. Almost makes me sad that Roseanne ended up being such a nutbag. **Golden Girls** is still a riot. **The Dukes of Hazzard** has NOT aged well. I’ve watched a few syndicated episodes for the nostalgic factor and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I was so obsessed with that show. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/108 "2010-09-15T18:34:14Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > **aged poor** > > the prisoner I’d say **The Prisioner** is an example of a show that has aged well - it has more fans now then when it was released. A modern re-make was attempted and most people thought the 60s original was _better_ - a symptom of a show that has aged well. Certainly, it is filled with '60s touches (and in parts, '60s silliness), but that is part of its charm. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/109 "2010-09-15T18:36:34Z")
> [@Winnie](#): > > **The Dukes of Hazzard** has NOT aged well. I’ve watched a few syndicated episodes for the nostalgic factor and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I was so obsessed with that show. wardrobe ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/110 "2010-09-15T18:39:49Z")
> [@Winnie](#): > > **The Dukes of Hazzard** has NOT aged well. I’ve watched a few syndicated episodes for the nostalgic factor and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I was so obsessed with that show. Catherine Bach in a mid-drift and cut-offs. I see Mission: Impossible mentioned. I used to watch that when I was a kid and really liked it, but I never see re-runs of it to see how it’s held up. Amazon has all 7 seasons on DVD listed with generally positive reviews. Might be something to snag up with winter coming on. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/111 "2010-09-15T18:54:33Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > **aged poor** > > the prisoner > [@Malthus](#): > > I’d say **The Prisioner** is an example of a show that has aged well - it has more fans now then when it was released. A modern re-make was attempted and most people thought the 60s original was _better_ - a symptom of a show that has aged well. > > Certainly, it is filled with '60s touches (and in parts, '60s silliness), but that is part of its charm. didn’t watch remake. the issue for me is the amount of suspension of disbelief needed, as a young viewer the show was suspenseful, as an older viewer his choice of actions have no reasonable cause, he flawlessly picks correct actions with no evident clues as to why he would do that. more wizard than wit. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/112 "2010-09-15T19:02:39Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > > [@johnpost](#): > > > > **aged poor** > > > > the prisoner > > > [@Malthus](#): > > > > I’d say **The Prisioner** is an example of a show that has aged well - it has more fans now then when it was released. A modern re-make was attempted and most people thought the 60s original was _better_ - a symptom of a show that has aged well. > > > > Certainly, it is filled with '60s touches (and in parts, '60s silliness), but that is part of its charm. > > didn’t watch remake. > > the issue for me is the amount of suspension of disbelief needed, as a young viewer the show was suspenseful, as an older viewer his choice of actions have no reasonable cause, he flawlessly picks correct actions with no evident clues as to why he would do that. more wizard than wit. Heh, “as a young viewer … as an older viewer …” - that’s more an issue of _you_ being aged then the series. 😃 By ‘aged’, I tend to think ‘doesn’t hold the intended audience’s attention or interest as much as it did back then’. Younger viewers find the Rebellion-Because-I’m-An-Individual motif just as compelling today as they did in the '60s. Or at least, I did when I watched it in the late '80s … and people still like it now, for many of the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/113 "2010-09-15T19:08:59Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I watched DS9 through much of its first run – by which I mean erratically the first two and a half years, then religiously from midway through the third season onward. I’ve recently been rewatching it, and my GOD is it great. Just as good as I recalled. > > Oddly, I have also been rewatching TOS for the first time in years, and found to my surprise that there were far fewer watchable episodes than I recall. TOS is an odd case, though, as it tends to be either bloody awful or bloody brilliant, with very little in between. I’ve watched Way of The Warrior through Little Green Men this week so far. I think I like it better than TNG. I’m also mixed on TOS. The City on the Edge of Forever holds up for me, but most of them don’t. I think it’s because they set it in the past and it didn’t have that cheesy 60’s futuristic look. The TOS movies don’t have that problem after the first one though. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/114 "2010-09-15T20:30:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Robotech OTOH Speaking of Robotech…probably best just to skip the Americanized hodge-podge of three different series and go right to the Japanese Macross source. The story flows better and still continues (in related sequel form…some good, some utterly terrible) today. Macross Zero is a fairly good back story (with good animation) of Roy Fokker. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/115 "2010-09-15T20:31:09Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > > [@Winnie](#): > > > > **The Dukes of Hazzard** has NOT aged well. I’ve watched a few syndicated episodes for the nostalgic factor and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I was so obsessed with that show. > > Catherine Bach in a mid-drift and cut-offs. Ummmmm except that I was an 8-year old girl. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/116 "2010-09-15T20:39:45Z")
> [@Winnie](#): > > > [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > > > Catherine Bach in a mid-drift and cut-offs. > > Ummmmm except that I was an 8-year old girl. So was my little sister, and black as well. She totally wanted to grow up to be as hot as Daisy. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/117 "2010-09-15T20:42:44Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > I watched DS9 through much of its first run – by which I mean erratically the first two and a half years, then religiously from midway through the third season onward. I’ve recently been rewatching it, and my GOD is it great. Just as good as I recalled. > > > > Oddly, I have also been rewatching TOS for the first time in years, and found to my surprise that there were far fewer watchable episodes than I recall. TOS is an odd case, though, as it tends to be either bloody awful or bloody brilliant, with very little in between. > > I’ve watched Way of The Warrior through Little Green Men this week so far. I think I like it better than TNG. > > I’m also mixed on TOS. The City on the Edge of Forever holds up for me, but most of them don’t. I think it’s because they set it in the past and it didn’t have that cheesy 60’s futuristic look. The TOS movies don’t have that problem after the first one though. TOS worked best when it was being dark and hugely depressing (“Charlie X,” “City on the Edge of Forever”) or consciously ridiculous (“A Piece of the Action.”) Similarly, in terms of overall quality, the show had no middle ground: it was either great or awful. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/118 "2010-09-15T21:23:02Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > …Went through the “I Love Lucy” a couple years ago and while you wonder whether prices used for clothes, cars, etc were cheap or expensive, it is still funny… Eh, it’s pretty easy to tell from the characters (& audience’s) reaction. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/119 "2010-09-15T21:40:58Z")
> [@Winnie](#): > > **The Dukes of Hazzard** has NOT aged well. I’ve watched a few syndicated episodes for the nostalgic factor and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I was so obsessed with that show. > [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Catherine Bach in a mid-drift and cut-offs. > [@Winnie](#): > > Ummmmm except that I was an 8-year old girl. the show had eye appeal to both boys and girls. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429/120 "2010-09-15T21:45:18Z")
Some things age cyclically as well. _The Monkees_ were popular in the 1960s, outselling The Beatles some months. Ten years later they were “the what-kees? Oh I remember them, vaguely…” and couldn’t get arrested. No interest in a reunion. Ten years after that the show became more reruns than it’d been in 20 years. The band reformed (well, 3/4 of it) to make some easy money on the county fair circuits and ended up selling out bigger arenas than they had in 1966. Kids who weren’t born when the show was on and their parents were vying for tickets. Ten years after that they still performed occasionally but on the county fair circuit. A dozen years after that (today) they’re “the what-kees?” again. Perhaps when they’re all 80 they’ll do a Tony Bennett Unplugged style comeback. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-tv-series-have-aged-the-best-worst-when-watched-in-reruns/553429.md?page=7)