MAS*H definitely - at least the first five seasons or so, not that it is old, since it started when I was in college.
We watched all of Danger Man, and it holds up quite well (except for the obvious reuse of sets). Drake’s bosses screwed him over several times, he said “be seeing you” and it was clear why he eventually resigned. Though don’t tell the owner of the rights to Drake about it.
One show not mentioned that holds up is “Have Gun Will Travel,” with adult plots. some very timely, as when Paladin defended a school teacher who wanted to teach real history, not what some townspeople wanted to hear. They could use him in Texas, it seems. Hurt a bit by the requirement that there be a gunfight in every show, Biggest hoot - Paladin rescues Oscar Wilde, and says some pithy quotes which Wilde will steal. Who today would write a show where you need to know Wilde’s plays to get the jokes? Also, excellent writers, including Roddenberry, Irving Wallace, and Bruce Geller.
I’m a little disconcerted by seeing people discussing whether Frasier and Friends have aged well. These shows were still being made in 2004. How have they aged at all? I think the only issue at this point is whether they hold up in reruns as well as they did in their original broadcasts.
That was me until late last year when I embarked on a massive binge and consumed the entire series, one of the best TV-related decisions I’ve ever made.
WKRP in Cincinnati and Barney Miller are two that have held up very well. Although I’ve only seen a couple of episodes recently, I think 3rd Rock from the Sun would still hold up.
I was excited when I saw that the original Battlestar Galactica was on Hulu. Hoo boy, those are rough. Poorly drawn characters, some of the worst shooting in shootout history, thin plots…the works.
And it certainly doesn’t help that the same five F/X scenes they reuse in every episode I still remember from when I was 8 years old.
Yeah. Frasier and *Friends *are hardly “older” series. *LOST *& *House *deputed the same year that *Frasier *& *Friends *had their finales. Other than some of the clothing they wore during their earlier years, there’s nothing at all “dated” about those two shows. There may have been a few pop culture references in Friends, but *Frasier *could be set in 2010 and it would be the same.
I read an article about this recently (Jude Apatow?) where the writer said that in the Simpsons or South Park or the Family Guy, you aren’t going to catch the jokes in a few years, or the jokes aren’t going to be funny after a while. That’s the problem with topical humor. “Classic” humor is going to be funny at all times to all people.
I would disagree. Imho, the whole art of storytelling means that each successive time you tell a joke is going to be less funny than the time before. Therefore, I think comedies, no matter how funny they were the first time, will never be as funny the 2nd time around. On the other hand, if it wasn’t funny the first time around, it will never be funny, ever.
I think this is the appeal of the 80’s sitcoms that are still in syndication today: they tend to be character studies with a mix of drama, serious moments, and comedy (Full House, Cosby Show, etc.) The comedy is not the main point of watching the show, it’s the stories.
<bolding mine> - and I think that is exactly what says that Frasier aged well - not so much in years, but that since it has been out of production, it is still watchable without too many pointers to ‘when’ it was made.
Friends got old (to us) about as soon as it ended - I cant watch 10 minutes of it these days, but frasier is on the ‘season pass’ on the DVR.
It appears on most RTN stations, a network of digital subchannels that specializes in older shows. You might want to check if you have RTN in your area and what their schedule is.