[Cause]

I recently began watching Spin City again. Its fascinating to watch TV that's over a decade old from when it was cancelled. It some ways TV has not changed a bit, in other ways we have obviously moved on from some of the stale jokes and staples. I don't imagine a TV show existing again where one of the biggest driving forces behind the humor is that one of the characters is gay for example (perhaps I'm deluding myself). Still while some of the jokes and cultural references now fall flat for the most part the show is still good. That also got me thinking though, when i think Spin City I think of Dharma and Greg, Frasier, Will and Grace etc. If I recall all these shows came out at a similar time and broadcast together. It was like a golden age of comedy. It also made me think how my TV habits have changed. Will and Grace was my Thursday entertainment, Spin City was on a Tuesday. Today Big bang theory is whenever I want to watch it provided their is an episode I have not seen. In fact I don't recall when I last watched TV on a television.

However on to the point of this thread. What were the other golden oldie shows. I have no doubt that there are a few I have forgotten, a few I never caught all the episodes for and I am thinking of taking a stroll down memory lane (God I must not talk like this, I'm 25).

Off the top of my head:
Caroline in the city
Spin City
Will and Grace
Frasier
Wings
Dharma and Greg

Was it all comedy or is that just what stuck with me for some reason.

So have any old shows you remember fondly

[Catherine]

Beverly Hillbillies - still so funny

[weaverbird05]

I have recently discovered a treasure trove of excellent old shows (thanks to Netflix) that while I didn't exactly miss, I definitely enjoy more than a vast majority of what is actually on TV now. Included in this list are:

Frasier (as you had mentioned)
Crossing Jordan
Wings
Cheers
MacGyver
Quantam Leap
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (still horrible, but I have fond memories of it. Don't judge me!)

I would love it if they could put shows like Will and Grace or the Drew Carey Show, along with a few others, on Netflix - don't know if they can't/won't because they are still selling well in terms of dvds and whatnot...

[Abyss]

Cheers. Moreso than any other sitcom including Seinfeld btw, there is something timeless and funny about that show.

I also have an abiding love for The Master, even if I'm sure if i watched it now I'd probably die a little inside, but hey, ninjas...

[McLovin]

If you want real old-school, I LOVE LUCY.

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

TVLand is a great way to catch up on old shows like Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and I Love Lucy. Or used to be. Now, they have a tendency to air much more recent stuff, like The Cosby Show and Roseanne.

Since 80s nostalgia hit full force a few years ago, I've been snapping up DVDs for some of the old stuff I grew up on. Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk, Greatest American Hero, Land of the Lost, Voyagers, Rags to Riches, Small Wonder. And great cartoons like Transformers, G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, and some of the Hanna Barbera classics like Thundarr the Barbarian and Herculoids.

A great website for this is http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/. You can sign up to receive email reminders whenever your favorite shows come out on DVD.

[worry]

Whoa, you paid for Small Wonder on DVD? You are a rare specimen indeed.

[Gnaw]

Cause, on 02 December 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

is whenever I want to watch it provided their is an episode I have not seen. In fact I don't recall when I last watched TV on a television.

weaverbird05, on 02 December 2012 - 09:03 PM, said:

I have recently discovered a treasure trove of excellent old shows (thanks to Netflix) that while I didn't exactly miss, I definitely enjoy more than a vast majority of what is actually on TV now. Included in this list are:

Crossing Jordan

Cheers

I also haven't watched an actual TV in ages. Dual monitors, external hard drives, and DSL have pretty much made the TV as a TV irrelevant for me.

How does Cheers hold up? What I recall of it, the humor wasn't tied too much to pop culture references so I would guess rather well? I loved Crossing Jordan.

One show that I liked as a kid (and dating myself here) was Banacek. I watched it a couple of years ago and was rather surprised that it didn't suck. It could almost have been a period piece produced recently.

The one old show that I have so far refused to re-watch is M*A*S*H*. It comes as close to a "favorite" I have, so I prefer to keep it 'safe' in memory.

[Abyss]

I rewatched a few MASH and while it's got some high points, i can't say i found it had aged well.

Although i will note that TOUR OF DUTY has aged brilliantly...

CHEERS ages well because it's all interpersonal silliness in a bar. The hair and clothes can be retro but the rest is priceless and timeless. Sure there are some bits that make no sense in an era of cell phones etc, but the laughs are still there. plus, hey, NOOOOOOOOOORM!

[worry]

I personally love MASH. The first season is very sitcom-y but it gets less and less so as the capital of popularity could be flexed by its creators to do a smarter show. It's in my Top 5 sitcoms with The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, and The Office UK.

[worry]

But MASH is the only one of those that predates me, so in terms of "classics" that I'd call golden oldies: Good Times & All in the Family, Fawlty Towers, Lucy of course. I really like the episodes of Barney Miller and the earlier seasons of Welcome Back, Kotter.

I also really love the old black and white panel game shows, that Game Show Network used to run before it turned into garbage: What's My Line? and I've Got A Secret especially.

[Gnaw]

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 10:47 PM, said:

I rewatched a few MASH and while it's got some high points, i can't say i found it had aged well.

That's why I won't re-watch them.

worrywort, on 03 December 2012 - 11:11 PM, said:

I personally love MASH. The first season is very sitcom-y but it gets less and less so as the capital of popularity could be flexed by its creators to do a smarter show. It's in my Top 5 sitcoms with The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, and The Office UK.

As it evolved and Alan Alda got more control it became much more than a sitcom. The change in the characters of Margaret, Radar, and Hawkeye was excellent.

worrywort, on 03 December 2012 - 11:22 PM, said:

Fawlty Towers.

hell I had forgotten Fawlty Towers. That was a wonderful show.

[Khellendros]

Off the top of my head:

Fraiser, as a few have mentioned. I didn't watch any for years, and then I got the complete box set as a present, and I couldn't stop watching them, this sitcom was incredible.

Taxi, a bit more old-school - but you can't go wrong with Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman, Judd Hirsch et al.

Gargoyles was a great Disney Channel cartoon.

Boy Meets World (been thinking back to this a lot since they announced Girl Meets World recently!)

Red Dwarf, still ridiculously good.

I'm going to be killed for this, but...Gilmore Girls - I watched it ironically, okay!!

[Use Of Weapons]

Shout-outs for a few shows I loved watching back in the day.

Ally McBeal
Roseanne
Ellen (DeGeneres's sitcom)
The Golden Girls
Matlock
Sapphire and Steel
Hart to Hart
MacGyver
And E.R. -- the first 5 seasons were amazing TV.

[Traveller]

Frasier is just awesome. I can stick that on anytime, it's just genius. Some of the so-called 'English' accents are laughably bad, but that's a small thing in such a consistently great show.

It puts most of the stuff written now right in its shade, and hasn't aged badly either.

[Use Of Weapons]

+1 for the Frasier love. Niles steals the show when he's in it, he was always my favourite character.

[Macros]

Father Ted. I've seen every episode countless times, but its still hilarious and if its on TV, the odd time that I have it one, I just have to watch it.

I recommend it to anyone

[Use Of Weapons]

"Maybe I like the misery!" -- classic line, gets me every time!

[rhulad]

The Wonder Years, that was a great show.

[Spoilsport Stonny]

I never liked MASH. How did all these army people in the 50's get away with long hair? My family was military, so this totally threw me off.

I think ALF was a really underrated show, and was actually pretty funny. The humor was sharp and quick and throwing an alien into a suburban family home was a good plot device for TV. I think they should have let ALF go home but instead they ended the show pretty tragically and with not much fanfare. Would have been nice to see ALF meet up with some Melmac survivors, but perhaps the way it ended was perfectly timed with the rise of cynicism.

Married with Children was awesome, as was NewsRadio. Martin is actually freaking HILARIOUS in hindsight. Larry Sanders (on Netflix!!!!), and for the schlock pick...I don't know... Blossom?!