Sell By Date Expiration: Old Shows That Don't Stand Up To The Test Of Time

[Goldmoon]

I DID say that I disagree that Buffy is dated.

[MaryPatShelby]

On 12/26/2016 at 11:34 PM, Goldmoon said:

 

Caught an early ep of Family Affair with twins Buffy and Jody recently and couldn't stand it.

I rented Family Affair DVDs when my mom was sick so we could watch it together; I had such fond memories about watching it every Saturday night with my family while we ate hamburgers in the living room (yeah, it was a whole thing).  But boy, it did not stand up at all, and I wished I'd never re-watched it.

[HunterHunted]

On 12/28/2016 at 9:10 AM, Chaos Theory said:

woukd the lack of cell phones on a show and/or terrible special FX mean the show is badly dated or just has bad FX?  I watched Xena recently and that show is like 20 years old and has some terrible FX but I think the show still resonates (at least with me).  The same goes with Buffy.  So the show may be stuck a bit in the 90s so what?  The ideas it took on still resonates today as it did back then and i would still think Buffy would resonate with people who felt like outsiders.  I think noticing things like lack of cellphones is just nitpicking.

I don't know if you've ever watched Profit starring Adrian Pasdar. The terrible FX and hilarious virtual reality renderings are dated, but the bulk of the story is fantastic and still holds up. Fun fact, they had planned on making Adrian Pasdar's character from Profit one of the senior partners at Wolfram & Hart on Angel.

[Constantinople]

On 2/29/2016 at 2:28 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Fantasy Island and Love Boat are pretty terrible, but in an enjoyable way.

I think these would both hold up relatively well, if only because they were so dumb to start with.  That said, I have no intention of testing this theory.

[weyrbunny]

Midnight Caller came up in conversation with a coworker, so I rewatched Season 1. Holy crap! It is very different than I remember. It's so... tawdry. I appreciate that it purposefully covered every politicized social issue - from AIDS to the death penalty to gun control - in a way that most current shows are scared to do, but there is an element of sleaze in its stories. In retrospect, I'm not sure it was appropriate for me to have watched it, and liked it, as a child. 

Still a fan of Gary Cole, of course.

[Lola16]

Decades is playing Bridget Loves Bernie with Meredith Baxter and David Birney (before they married).  It aired for one season in 1971-1972. Bridget is an Irish Catholic girl from a rich family. Bernie is a Jewish cab driver with dreams of being a playwright from a working class family who owns a deli. I didn't see it the first time around but watching it now, it reminds me of a lot of the shows from much earlier that I've seen on Decades. Very fluffy, light on substance. Not at all like All in the Family. Supposedly this show was canceled for being too controversial but the 2 episodes I've seen --- well it's super bland.  Has a decent cast. Audra Lindley & David Doyle as Bridget's parents.  Harold Stone as Bernie's dad, Ned Glass as Uncle Moe, Nancy Walker as Aunt Ruth.

[Blergh]

Lola, I recall that show. At the time, I liked it but when I saw one ep rerun as an adult, I was a bit discomfited how broadly they stereotyped all the in-laws -and despite the leading couple's then-strong chemical attraction to each other (though I know things ended badly for them despite them having three kids together), their characters were surprisingly bland and neither had any characteristics beyond 'Oh, I love him/her SO much even if they're a different faith from me!'.

Yet, I actually liked each of the performers but thought the show simply did a disservice by not giving them better characters to play. Thankfully, future shows would do so for most of the regulars.

[spiderpig]

Isn't it funny how the older the show is, the more you can respect it as a product of its time rather than a cheesy production?

Thinking Twilight Zone/Alfred Hitchcock/Fugitive vs. anything from the 70s.  Or 80s, if you want to count the hair.

[Lola16]

11 hours ago, Blergh said:

Lola, I recall that show. At the time, I liked it but when I saw one ep rerun as an adult, I was a bit discomfited how broadly they stereotyped all the in-laws -and despite the leading couple's then-strong chemical attraction to each other (though I know things ended badly for them despite them having three kids together), their characters were surprisingly bland and neither had any characteristics beyond 'Oh, I love him/her SO much even if they're a different faith from me!'.

Yet, I actually liked each of the performers but thought the show simply did a disservice by not giving them better characters to play. Thankfully, future shows would do so for most of the regulars.

It really is just fluff and was very predictable (the 2 episodes I saw). A little cringe-worthy now but I feel the same way watching Maude or even some Barney Miller episodes. I wouldn't bother to DVR it but if I was home sick, I might leave it on.

[Lola16]

Antenna TV is running something called Good Morning, World which is about 2 DJs in LA. It aired from 1967-68. Before my time so it's new to me. The people look familiar - probably in a lot of other TV shows.  Even though it's late 60s, it doesn't seem dated. At least not the 2 episodes I saw which were with Jackie Joseph (Ken Berry's wife - I know her from reruns of Tattletales) and Goldie Hawn.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061257/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Not sure why it only lasted a year.

[andromeda331]

18 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Growing up I always wanted Ann from One Day At A Time to be my mother and I wanted to live with her and Julie and Barbara in that apartment. After watching some reruns I still want the apartment and the siblings but Ann annoys the hell out of me now. What I really want is just the apartment. Show doesn't hold up in my memory bank. Apartment does.

I am sensing a theme because I also caught maybe three episodes of Family Affair recently and I want to live in the apartment with Mr. French and Uncle Bill (the latter as my boyfriend) but watching is just annoying now. Show doesn't hold up in my memory bank. Apartment does.

Continuing the theme: I want to live in  the Jefferson's building and have the same floor plan. Show does hold up in my memory bank as does the apartment. 

Uncle Bill's apartment was awesome I wanted that to one too, the Jefferson's apartment and Niles's apartment on Frasier.

Edited April 9, 2017 by andromeda331

[roamyn]

Mr. Roamyn & I have been re-watching Battlestar Galactica in memory of Richard Hatch.

The earlier episodes hold up well, but once they find Richard Mantooth & Kelly Harmon in a spaceship, it really gets too cheesy.  I tried watching Galactica 1980 just to find out what happened to Apollo, and I couldn't make 10 minutes.  Another show 'Cousin Oliver' ruined.

Edited April 12, 2017 by roamyn

[proserpina65]

On ‎04‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 9:59 PM, roamyn said:

Mr. Roamyn & I have been re-watching Battlestar Galactica in memory of Richard Hatch.

The earlier episodes hold up well, but once they find Richard Mantooth & Kelly Harmon in a spaceship, it really gets too cheesy.  I tried watching Galactica 1980 just to find out what happened to Apollo, and I couldn't make 10 minutes.  Another show 'Cousin Oliver' ruined.

There are moments here and there after that episode which are still good, but yeah, they are much fewer and farther between.  The earlier ones had some intriguing ideas.

I will confess to watching all of Galactica 1980 because I thought Barry Van Dyke and Kent McCord were cute, and because I wanted to know what happened to Starbuck.  (I am, and will always be, Dirk Benedict's bitch.)  But yeah, it was crap, if occasionally unintendedly hilarious.

[hoosier80]

I loved One Day at a Time when it first aired.  It's being shown in reruns now, and I have to turn the channel after a few minutes.  How it's a sitcom baffles me.  There is nothing that makes me laugh.  Schneider is supposed to be the comedy foil, but he just annoys me.  I'm from Indiana, and where did he (and his friends, too) get their accents?  Sounds like they're transplants from NY or NJ (not a Chicago accent, which would make more sense).  If he was more of a lower income person, if he had an accent in Indiana, it'd be that overdone Midwestern accent (adding r's to words, the "in" instead of "ing" at the end of words).  Like people I grew up with - older folks - pronounced the city as "Innanapolis".  Or he'd have a more southern type accent.  And, they could've lived anywhere because they sure didn't add anything to the show that they lived in Indianapolis.

Been staying up later (since the time change my internal clock is messed up I guess).  Anyhow, I've been watching reruns of Frasier.  That show is still funny to me.  After that airs (several shows back to back), then they're airing Cheers.  Cheers is not funny to me, and I loved it originally.   The episodes recently were when Rebecca had been added to the show; never liked that character, so maybe that is why I don't enjoy it.  Frasier and Lilith were on briefly and that was the only bright spot for me.  It could be the episodes were towards the end of the run.

Surprisingly, I now like Mama's Family.  It's not trying to be anything else but a silly comedy.  The only thing that bugs is Ken Berry's constant mugging.  I get that every character is over the top, but he needed to dial it down just a touch.  Dorothy Lyman is great, along with the nutty neighbor Iola.  They aired two classics last night - the love letter and the freeze dried cat.  The love letter episode, once it got going, you could see where it was going, but it was still well written.  The freeze dried cat was really funny, too. 

[Lola16]

WINGS. It wasn't funny when it first aired. Not funny now.

Hill Street Blues. I remember how gritty and real this show seemed when it first aired. Saw some episodes on Heroes & Icons. Felt a little dated but once I got past that, the storylines held up.

Mama's Family. Wasn't into it back then. The wife played a mean mom, trailer park hooker type on All My Children. That's all I saw when I'd see her. Didn't care for Vicki Lawrence, or the nutty neighbor. Ken Berry was eh.

MAUDE. Been watching some old episodes. I don't remember the show but must have seen it at some point because I know the theme song. Kinda fun to see 1/2 of the Golden Girls together. A lot of the plots are cringe worthy.

The Joey Bishop Show. I'm not sure if Joey Bishop's appeal is that he's isn't funny? I only knew of him from the Dean Martin Roasts when he'd be on a panel and people would tease him for being dull. He sure seems dull. Was that his schtick?

[Raja]

8 hours ago, Lola16 said:

WINGS. It wasn't funny when it first aired. Not funny now.

Hill Street Blues. I remember how gritty and real this show seemed when it first aired. Saw some episodes on Heroes & Icons. Felt a little dated but once I got past that, the storylines held up.

 

I remember Captain Furillo's gang summits seemed dated when the show aired live in the 80s. The other political and social stuff seemed on point. I do thank you to suggest me looking up if the complete series ever became available. It looks like that happened in 2013, but then at that price?

[bmasters9]

On 6/23/2014 at 1:31 AM, Kromm said:

Both.

 

Also, further back I think the scripts were maybe a bit better.

Through one season's worth of Have Gun, Will Travel w/the late Richard Boone, I think you could say that the writing on that CBS Western was near to world-class!

[Lola16]

16 hours ago, Raja said:

I remember Captain Furillo's gang summits seemed dated when the show aired live in the 80s. The other political and social stuff seemed on point. I do thank you to suggest me looking up if the complete series ever became available. It looks like that happened in 2013, but then at that price?

I don't remember the gang summits. I wasn't a faithful viewer.  My recollection of the acting held up. Most played their parts well. Then there was Ed Marinaro (Marino?). Wooden then, wooden now.

[fishcakes]

On 4/24/2017 at 6:57 AM, bmasters9 said:

Through one season's worth of Have Gun, Will Travel w/the late Richard Boone, I think you could say that the writing on that CBS Western was near to world-class!

The early westerns are so good. I've been watching the earliest Gunsmoke B&W episodes, and they're little masterpieces. But I've also seen a few of the '70s era episodes when they appear in syndication (these are the ones I grew up watching), and they don't hold up as well. There seemed to be more shoot-outs and saloon fights (where as soon as one punch is thrown, everyone else in the saloon hilariously pairs up and starts fighting) and less storytelling.

[Raja]

13 hours ago, Lola16 said:

I don't remember the gang summits. I wasn't a faithful viewer.  My recollection of the acting held up. Most played their parts well. Then there was Ed Marinaro (Marino?). Wooden then, wooden now.

Marinaro, he was a great college football player. Michael Warren,  Bobby Hill was a good college basketball player for Coach Wooden at UCLA 

[ratgirlagogo]

11 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I've been watching the earliest Gunsmoke B&W episodes, and they're little masterpieces.

Preach it.  People who haven't seen this era of the show (or even better, heard the radio show that spawned it)  really don't have any way of understanding why it stayed on the air as long as it did.  A genuinely adult Western - not in the sense of over-the-top violence but in the sense of believable adult characters working out realistic problems in low-key, adult ways.  This by the way is equally true  of the very early Dragnets - and trust me, I do understand exactly how hard it is to believe that - I was SO shocked when I watched the first few seasons.  Completely unlike the super-campy Dragnet of the 60's.

Edited April 26, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[selkie]

We're going through the first season of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' on the streamers, and on one hand, there's a lot to like. It's a very well made and written show for its time with a very talented cast, and it often still seems funny. Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have great chemistry together.

But some of the relationship dynamics seem dated, even though Rob and Laura clearly love each other, and Laura gets to wear casual pants a fair amount. So as Laura is backing down over early assertiveness and apologizing for asking Rob to be a bigger part of his son's life, I'm just kind of cringing inside. 

[MaryPatShelby]

On 4/23/2017 at 10:41 AM, hoosier80 said:

I loved One Day at a Time when it first aired.  It's being shown in reruns now, and I have to turn the channel after a few minutes.  How it's a sitcom baffles me.  There is nothing that makes me laugh.  Schneider is supposed to be the comedy foil, but he just annoys me.  I'm from Indiana, and where did he (and his friends, too) get their accents?  Sounds like they're transplants from NY or NJ (not a Chicago accent, which would make more sense).  If he was more of a lower income person, if he had an accent in Indiana, it'd be that overdone Midwestern accent (adding r's to words, the "in" instead of "ing" at the end of words).  Like people I grew up with - older folks - pronounced the city as "Innanapolis".  Or he'd have a more southern type accent.  And, they could've lived anywhere because they sure didn't add anything to the show that they lived in Indianapolis.

Been staying up later (since the time change my internal clock is messed up I guess).  Anyhow, I've been watching reruns of Frasier.  That show is still funny to me.  After that airs (several shows back to back), then they're airing Cheers.  Cheers is not funny to me, and I loved it originally.   The episodes recently were when Rebecca had been added to the show; never liked that character, so maybe that is why I don't enjoy it.  Frasier and Lilith were on briefly and that was the only bright spot for me.  It could be the episodes were towards the end of the run.

Surprisingly, I now like Mama's Family.  It's not trying to be anything else but a silly comedy.  The only thing that bugs is Ken Berry's constant mugging.  I get that every character is over the top, but he needed to dial it down just a touch.  Dorothy Lyman is great, along with the nutty neighbor Iola.  They aired two classics last night - the love letter and the freeze dried cat.  The love letter episode, once it got going, you could see where it was going, but it was still well written.  The freeze dried cat was really funny, too. 

Schneider was always a deal-breaker for me, even when the show originally ran - I hated him and did not find him or any scene he was in remotely funny or necessary to the show.  He's just as terrible, if not more, now.

I don't watch Rebecca episodes of Cheers as a matter of principle.  I know that I thus miss a lot of probably-priceless Lilith scenes, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

[Blergh]

On 4/26/2017 at 0:21 AM, selkie said:

We're going through the first season of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' on the streamers, and on one hand, there's a lot to like. It's a very well made and written show for its time with a very talented cast, and it often still seems funny. Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have great chemistry together.

But some of the relationship dynamics seem dated, even though Rob and Laura clearly love each other, and Laura gets to wear casual pants a fair amount. So as Laura is backing down over early assertiveness and apologizing for asking Rob to be a bigger part of his son's life, I'm just kind of cringing inside. 

 

   You make some good points there. I also have to wonder if, after her own son's horrific early death, Miss Moore herself may have cringed at not only apologizing for her character's earlier pleas to be more part of their onscreen son's life but wishing she herself had actually LISTENED to her character to be more part of her OWN son's life all along. I guess I'm trying to say that my own enjoyment of the show has been somewhat soured by the knowledge that Miss Moore herself somewhat viewed it in retrospect with regrets re how much she prioritized her late offspring during its production.

[RedFire2000]

Webster: This was ABC's answer to Different Strokes which was a big hit for NBC. A young black boy adopted by a wealthy white family. I haven't seen this show years and caught a rerun on Antenna TV. Bleh! How did this crap last for 6 seasons? What a dull, unfunny, and unappealing show.  Alex Karras and Susan Clark were so bland and I found Webster himself unappealing and not cute or funny. He lacked a personality and charm unlike Gary Coleman's Arnold Jackson.

This show was freaking creepy and depressing too. There was the episode where they're still living in the high-rise and Webster burns it down; the other where the little blonde girl in Webster's class is being molested by a teacher, and that other one where they move into the big house and he finds the secret room with the life-size doll in the rocking chair. Put there by parents of a girl who ran away, who resembled the doll, the episode where one of his grown-up friends had an epileptic seizure, too? Freaked me out to no end. And that miscarriage episode is BURNED into my memory.

I wish Antenna TV would dump this crap and other shitty poorly aged 80's sitcoms like My Two Dads and Small Wonder and replaced them with better quality shows.

[cpcathy]

I remember thinking Webster was at the very least too saccharine back when it aired, but as I have caught the tail end of those reruns on Antenna (waiting for something else to come on), I agree that it was a HUGE load of crap.

[ChromaKelly]

On 5/2/2017 at 2:45 AM, MoonWalker said:

Webster: This was ABC's answer to Different Strokes which was a big hit for NBC. A young black boy adopted by a wealthy white family. I haven't seen this show years and caught a rerun on Antenna TV. Bleh! How did this crap last for 6 seasons? What a dull, unfunny, and unappealing show.  Alex Karras and Susan Clark were so bland and I found Webster himself unappealing and not cute or funny. He lacked a personality and charm unlike Gary Coleman's Arnold Jackson.

This show was freaking creepy and depressing too. There was the episode where they're still living in the high-rise and Webster burns it down; the other where the little blonde girl in Webster's class is being molested by a teacher, and that other one where they move into the big house and he finds the secret room with the life-size doll in the rocking chair. Put there by parents of a girl who ran away, who resembled the doll, the episode where one of his grown-up friends had an epileptic seizure, too? Freaked me out to no end. And that miscarriage episode is BURNED into my memory.

I wish Antenna TV would dump this crap and other shitty poorly aged 80's sitcoms like My Two Dads and Small Wonder and replaced them with better quality shows.

I was a kid in the 80's and now I'm like my parents let me watch this?? There did seem to be a thing in the 80's of making these bizarre afterschool special-type episodes. Like Punky Brewster getting locked in the refrigerator, the guy who tried to molest Arnold and his friend, the kid doing blackface on Gimme A Break, oh and didn't Nell try to kill herself at one point? Or was contemplating it?
I remember the mom on Webster's hair getting shorter and shorter. Why don't I remember Webster burning down a high rise?

[HoboClayton]

I still can't even go near a refrigerator... Just kidding. But, that episode freaked me out when I was little. 

[blueray]

Quote

the bad: Buffy's neediness concerning Angel,

This was something that bothered me more this time then when I originally saw the show (long after it was off the air). I recently rewatched some of the show (because netflix was going to take it down, which they did). It bothered me that Angel was even interested in Buffy, she's 16! I get that they had stuff in common but come on. As for being outdated a little bit, but it also has 90 charm which is nice.

[hoosier80]

Watching more sitcom reruns this weekend as allergies are driving me crazy.

Reba - cannot stand Barbara Jean.  The whole situation is crap.  Reba is a headstrong but sensible woman.  No way would she tolerate half the shit BJ does, even to keep the peace.  Any sane person would be like we'll be cordial but that is it.  Plus, the oldest daughter is such a dingbat who can't do simple household chores.  No way would the Reba character have allowed her to be that spoiled.  She would have been made to do stuff around the house growing up.  As far as her being a ditz school wise, not much you can do if the kid is really a ditz.  They kind of glossed over the middle child, who could've had a more interesting story than I'm not going to college, but starting up a band (unless the actress wanted time off or needed time off).  Reba had a wise cracking friend at first, then they had the friend move away and BJ became her friend?  Are you kidding me?  The woman who broke up your marriage by cheating with your husband and got pregnant by him is now your bff?  Then it looks like as the show was on the ramp to jumping the shark, they had the oldest girl become an alcoholic, the ex's marriage broke up, leaving BJ once again at Reba's door.  That would've been the clear break for anyone - you're divorcing my ex - so sayonara.  If my adult children want to see you, then fine, count me out.

Alice - ok show, but cheesy.  Every freaking C list or below actor seemed to stop by that diner in Phoenix.  Best shows were when Flo was  on the show, I think.  Belle was a dud, Jolene was ok. 

Mama's Family is still kind of funny but Mama has a mean streak.  Watched one episode today where Naomi, the DIL, was going to flight attendant school.  Mama, of course, said you're too old, you can't do it.  Once she found out the DIL (if a flight attendant) could get free air fare anywhere, then she was all for it.  She could go to Hawayaaa (Hawaii).  I didn't get why everyone was so upset, it's not like the DIL did any real chores around the house, it was just that her hubby was feeling lonesome.  They did have one of my favorites that makes me laugh each time on - the dead cat episode.  It's like the writing was either really good or awful.  I never understood the first season or so when they had Betty White as Mama's oldest daughter and Rue McClenahan as Mama's youngest sister.  They were about the same age; if they had said oh we were raised almost like sisters, then ok, I would have understood it.  I think Betty was recurring where Rue was regular cast member - and Rue couldn't (either schedule or contract wise) be full time on that show and another show (maybe Golden Girls?).  Then Iola came on board as the prissy one (replacing Aunt Fran who was prissy and Mama's BFF).

I'll have One Day at a Time on the background if nothing else is on at the time.  I still am amazed at how long that stayed on the air.  Just awful.  There is nothing that makes me laugh.  I saw an episode with Nannette Fabray as one grandmother, and even she couldn't save it (though she valiantly tried). 

Roseanne jumped the shark for me as soon as Becky got involved with Mark or maybe around the time when Dan lost the bike store.  I can't even watch the later years where Roseanne got so incredibly mean.  It started off as a middle class family, trying to make ends meet.  It seemed realistic to me; I'd seen families in just the same type of situation.  Mom was working a crap job, Dad was working something in construction, which would be seasonal or off/on type of work.  They'd get by but it wasn't easy.  Then it turned into dictator Roseanne, where everyone got so afraid of her.  Not a fan of David, Mark, Nancy, or Arnie. 

I also don't find Three's Company that funny.  Endless mugging and overacting.  I watched it all the time originally and now can't watch it.

[LJonEarth]

Wings - I was excited to see it on one of those random antenna channels. But there's something missing, like with most shows with a will-they-won't-they aspect. I have the same issue with Frasier and Friends. Sitcoms that are just funny week-to-week without some "goal" hold up better for me.

I'm also not sure I could do a full rewatch of Buffy or Quantum Leap now that I really know how they really ended, I can't sit through episode after episode of problem of the week set in a dreary 90s background (more so with Quantum).

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, hoosier80 said:

They kind of glossed over the middle child, who could've had a more interesting story than I'm not going to college, but starting up a band (unless the actress wanted time off or needed time off). 

The reason Kyra disappeared for a while is Scarlett Pomers needed treatment for anorexia.

The evolving relationship between Reba and Barbra Jean was my favorite part of the show, and I think the pace at which it played out was perfect. 

Seasons two through four are still highly re-watchable for me, but before and after are way too sitcom-y for my taste. 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Bastet

[hoosier80]

Oh, I loved Wings when it first aired.  I don't think it's on any channel I get currently.  I remember being in Nantucket, and I saw the outside of one of the restaurants or shops they showed constantly on the show.  No one mentioned it, like the Cheers bar (exterior only) in Boston.  I know I took pictures of it.  We went by the airport, but it wasn't the same one shown in the pictures in the show, nor did it have the same name.  The guide on our bus tour of the island did say I think it was for legal reasons?

One episode that I still remember that made me laugh a lot was where Helen had worked a long day, finally had something in her house fixed that had kept her awake for several nights.  She was all excited just to get to sleep and one of the brothers knocked her in the head with one of those darned swinging doors (maybe at the airport café or her home).  Doctor's orders that she had to stay awake another 10 hours or so because if she slept (feared she had a concussion or worse - not sure why they didn't take her to a hospital) she might never wake up.  The brothers I think took turns trying to keep her awake.  They tied that story into another subplot, and I just remember laughing for the entire episode. 

I have a bad feeling if I watched it now, I probably wouldn't like the show. 

[Blergh]

OK, here's one from the vaults that I doubt would fly now: "Sunshine" (1975). This oddly enough was supposed to be a comedic show based on a very sad TV movie of the same name two years earlier about a young, struggling musician widower played by Cliff De Young raising his late wife's small daughter who'd he'd adopted after her death from cancer while trying to pursue a musical career  in Vancouver and find romance and the title was the name of his late wife's fave song by John Denver that the protagonist would sing to her to cheer her up.  Yes, this was supposed to be a comedy but it had many sad moments to the point that one critic called it a 'sob com'. Oh, and two years after this brief series came-and-went, it had its own TV movie sequel called "Sunshine Christmas" in which the protagonist returns to his hostile Texas town and parents to try to find purpose  for himself and his adopted daughter after his longtime girlfriend marries someone else.   Believe it or not the original TV movie  was based on a true story but I have no idea what became of the principals.

[Lola16]

Um, just reading it is depressing!

[cpcathy]

On ‎6‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 4:34 PM, hoosier80 said:

I'll have One Day at a Time on the background if nothing else is on at the time.  I still am amazed at how long that stayed on the air.  Just awful.  There is nothing that makes me laugh.  I saw an episode with Nannette Fabray as one grandmother, and even she couldn't save it (though she valiantly tried). 

 

 One Day at a Time really is hideous, all they do is yell. Bonnie Franklin is one of the worst actresses I've even seen, or Ann Romano is a terrible person, or both--I can't tell!

[spaceytraci1208]

On 6/11/2017 at 7:34 PM, hoosier80 said:

I'll have One Day at a Time on the background if nothing else is on at the time.  I still am amazed at how long that stayed on the air.  Just awful.  There is nothing that makes me laugh.  I saw an episode with Nannette Fabray as one grandmother, and even she couldn't save it (though she valiantly tried). 

Only thing I enjoyed about that show was the theme song 

[MissAlmond]

On 12/26/2016 at 11:34 PM, Goldmoon said:

The scariest thing in the world to me is an object that moves, like the doll in the Telly Savalas ep of TTZ.

It's in one's best interest to be nice to Talking Tina and give her the respect she deserves.

Edited June 24, 2017 by MissAlmond
added clip

[hoosier80]

  Due to nothing really being on that I wanted to watch this evening, I watched two episodes of Everyone Loves Raymond.  I remember thinking it was a funny show at the time, although I did not watch it regularly.  How in the hell would anyone love Raymond?  First show was about how he didn't like how Debra wanted to cuddle at night in bed.  He went to a priest (priest was miles funnier than Raymond), who asked him to think about why Debra wanted or needed to do it.  Nope, he couldn't think of a thing.  The priest tells him to be more affectionate to his wife, so dufus acts like a total moron.  I was like how in the world did Debra or anyone actually marry this moron?  It wasn't being goofy/cute, but goofy/idiot.  Second show, Debra decides to plan a weekend getaway just for the two of them.  Every idea she presents, Raymond whines like a child.  They finally agree on Vermont, because dufus said he'd like to go on the Ben & Jerry's tour.  Every damned thing, he whined about.  Show should have been called Everyone Hears Raymond Whine.  Debra had been feeling she was boring, and they somehow resolve the whole thing saying oh we're both boring.  Say what?  Even if it was a shitty trip, you'd try to make the best of it for your partner's sake, grow a sack and man up.  This isn't a typical husband or the divorce/murder rates would be higher.  I used to think the mom was funny, but no she's just annoying, too.  The dad is good with his wisecracks, and the brother is tolerable.  They're both sort of like the greek chorus of reason in this tragedy.   I'd rather watch the history of the thimble than this drivel again.

[methodwriter85]

I love Quantum Leap, and the acting of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell were consistently amazing, but yeah, the show just wouldn't hold up in today's environment. It got just a little too earnest and heavy-handed at times.

[bmasters9]

On 6/27/2017 at 11:08 PM, hoosier80 said:

  Due to nothing really being on that I wanted to watch this evening, I watched two episodes of Everyone Loves Raymond.  I remember thinking it was a funny show at the time, although I did not watch it regularly.  How in the hell would anyone love Raymond?  First show was about how he didn't like how Debra wanted to cuddle at night in bed.  He went to a priest (priest was miles funnier than Raymond), who asked him to think about why Debra wanted or needed to do it.  Nope, he couldn't think of a thing.  The priest tells him to be more affectionate to his wife, so dufus acts like a total moron.  I was like how in the world did Debra or anyone actually marry this moron?  It wasn't being goofy/cute, but goofy/idiot.  Second show, Debra decides to plan a weekend getaway just for the two of them.  Every idea she presents, Raymond whines like a child.  They finally agree on Vermont, because dufus said he'd like to go on the Ben & Jerry's tour.  Every damned thing, he whined about.  Show should have been called Everyone Hears Raymond Whine.  Debra had been feeling she was boring, and they somehow resolve the whole thing saying oh we're both boring.  Say what?  Even if it was a shitty trip, you'd try to make the best of it for your partner's sake, grow a sack and man up.  This isn't a typical husband or the divorce/murder rates would be higher.  I used to think the mom was funny, but no she's just annoying, too.  The dad is good with his wisecracks, and the brother is tolerable.  They're both sort of like the greek chorus of reason in this tragedy.   I'd rather watch the history of the thimble than this drivel again.

Absolutely! Everything you just described are the very reasons why (as with the "very special episodes" on Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, et al.) ELR has ever been ineligible for my DVD collection. I didn't find it funny the first time, and certainly wouldn't now!

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

I love Quantum Leap, and the acting of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell were consistently amazing, but yeah, the show just wouldn't hold up in today's environment. It got just a little too earnest and heavy-handed at times.

It's probably just your opinion, but I think the heavy-handedness and earnestness you describe might lead to Quantum Leap being a waste of money for me if I ever got it on DVD (never mind that I've never seen it before). Based on that, I'm wondering, what made it get so preachy, heavy-handed, earnest?

[SVNBob]

23 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

It's probably just your opinion, but I think the heavy-handedness and earnestness you describe might lead to Quantum Leap being a waste of money for me if I ever got it on DVD (never mind that I've never seen it before). Based on that, I'm wondering, what made it get so preachy, heavy-handed, earnest?

The premise of Quantum Leap was a time-traveler from the future, 1999, traveling to points within his own lifetime, "becoming" other people and "righting wrongs" before he could move on.  So some of the preachiness was built-in and automatic when an "enlightened" man of the "present" found himself dealing with "antiquated" ideas of the past regarding race, gender, sexuality, etc.

[methodwriter85]

On 7/8/2017 at 3:21 AM, SVNBob said:

The premise of Quantum Leap was a time-traveler from the future, 1999, traveling to points within his own lifetime, "becoming" other people and "righting wrongs" before he could move on.  So some of the preachiness was built-in and automatic when an "enlightened" man of the "present" found himself dealing with "antiquated" ideas of the past regarding race, gender, sexuality, etc.

The "don't give your babies up for adoption!" episode pisses me off. I get that these were different times before open adoption was a thing, but that episode had such a persistently negative attitude about the thought that a pregnant teenage girl would give up her baby for adoption and then never see her kid again.

I do think the acting was often incredible, and some episodes I would put right up there with anything out today (namely, the story arc where Sam tries to prevent his brother from dying as well as the episode where Al tries to prevent his grieving wife from meeting someone else while he was M.I.A. in Vietnam), but I don't think the writing has enough nuance that it would be a revered critical hit now like it was in 1989.

Edited July 10, 2017 by methodwriter85

[proserpina65]

On ‎07‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 9:30 PM, methodwriter85 said:

The "don't give your babies up for adoption!" episode pisses me off. I get that these were different times before open adoption was a thing, but that episode had such a persistently negative attitude about the thought that a pregnant teenage girl would give up her baby for adoption and then never see her kid again.

I do think the acting was often incredible, and some episodes I would put right up there with anything out today (namely, the story arc where Sam tries to prevent his brother from dying as well as the episode where Al tries to prevent his grieving wife from meeting someone else while he was M.I.A. in Vietnam), but I don't think the writing has enough nuance that it would be a revered critical hit now like it was in 1989.

I agree, there were some episodes which were well-written and fantastically acted, and which were less preachy.  The one where Sam leaps into the actor doing Man of La Mancha springs to mind, although some of my fondness for that episode is due to getting to hear Scott Bakula singing Dulcinea.  And even some of the episodes where the subject matter was potentially very preachy (the one where he was a secretary and the one where he was a elderly black man, for example) were elevated by the acting.  Unfortunately there were also ones like the episode you mentioned.  So Quantum Leap is a bit of a mixed bag, looking back from 2017.

[hoosier80]

I'm so tired, sitting and watching old reruns.  One Day at a Time again!  Oy.  I don't understand why they pushed the idea that Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) was so pretty and so talented.  Pretty, not really.  I always thought Barbara even as a tomboy was much more attractive.  Just had on an episode where Barbara was interested in a musician, they need a singer, and of course Julie is the best singer around.  The BF musician was Greg Evigan (of BJ and the Bear and My Two Dads fame).  BF and Julie end up being an item, and Mom tells Barbara basically to get over it.  She'd told Julie to be upfront with Barbara (she & BF went out behind Barbara's back), but well Barbara just needed to get over it.  Say what?  And Barbara got mad, but then was like oh it's ok.  Could've been Bonnie Franklin's bad acting (she was really awful) or bad writing that just didn't pull it off.  They end up with Julie singing, which she was ok.  Not great - ok.  Oh and Schneider had to butt in with advice (bad advice, but it wasn't any worse really than what the mom did to "resolve" the situation).  

Almost forgot, I saw some of the final seasons shows with Howard Hesseman on the show as Ann's new husband.  I really like him.  I just kept thinking what are you doing on this awful show, but I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.  He's so calm in the face of all the yelling.

 

I've had I Love Lucy on a few mornings (instead of the news), and I really do not like Lucy much.  Whining, complaining - just let her in the damn show Ricky!  Enough.  Their apartment wasn't all that either.  Not as bad as the Honeymooners, but not posh enough for a nightclub star/bandleader.  I used to love Married with Children, but it's just boring and mean.  

Edited August 20, 2017 by hoosier80
Forgot something

[Moose135]

42 minutes ago, hoosier80 said:

One Day at a Time again!  Oy.  I don't understand why they pushed the idea that Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) was so pretty and so talented.  Pretty, not really.  I always thought Barbara even as a tomboy was much more attractive. 

I've always had a little thing for Valerie Bertinelli - hey, we're the same age, so it's not like it's creepy or anything!

 

42 minutes ago, hoosier80 said:

Almost forgot, I saw some of the final seasons shows with Howard Hesseman on the show as Ann's new husband.  I really like him.

I don't remember seeing any of those episodes.  I've always liked Hesseman, but didn't know he was in this.

[hypnotoad]

I had the misfortune of recently seeing some episodes of Welcome Back Kotter. I liked this show when I was a kid or maybe it was just that we were all in love with John Travolta! The show is terrible. Unbelievably bad.

I enjoyed One Day at a Time when I was a kid but largely for Barbara. I hated Bonnie Franklin even when I was young watching this show and she sure hasn't improved with me aging. Yikes she is bad. The show has not aged well at all.

[magicdog]

On August 19, 2017 at 8:35 PM, hypnotoad said:

I had the misfortune of recently seeing some episodes of Welcome Back Kotter. I liked this show when I was a kid or maybe it was just that we were all in love with John Travolta! The show is terrible. Unbelievably bad.

I enjoyed One Day at a Time when I was a kid but largely for Barbara. I hated Bonnie Franklin even when I was young watching this show and she sure hasn't improved with me aging. Yikes she is bad. The show has not aged well at all.

I, too loved WBK when I was a kid.  I think the show was best during its first 2 seasons.  I started tuning out when Gabe Kaplan left and still refuse to watch those episodes.   I think part of the problem with WBK (besides James Komack's mean spirited shenanigans  behind the scenes) was that the show had to be sanitized for TV.  It was initially based on Kaplan's stand up act which was a bit raunchier.   I still think the casting wS well done however.

 

As for ODAAT, I never could warm to it.  

[cpcathy]

There are moments that are still great about WBK: "Mr. Kotaaaaaaaire!" "Hi there," "Up your nose with a rubber hose!" but overall, it does not hold up well.

My husband and I still break out: "What? Where?"

[Chaos Theory]

On 7/8/2017 at 3:21 AM, SVNBob said:

The premise of Quantum Leap was a time-traveler from the future, 1999, traveling to points within his own lifetime, "becoming" other people and "righting wrongs" before he could move on.  So some of the preachiness was built-in and automatic when an "enlightened" man of the "present" found himself dealing with "antiquated" ideas of the past regarding race, gender, sexuality, etc.

I think Quantum Leap is better then alot of the current crop of time travel shows <Cough> Timeless <Cough>.  Yes it got a bit preachy at times but no more then alot of shows do.  I loved the episode where Sam leaped into a army cadet who may or may not have been gay the storyline was more about Al coming to terms with his own homophobia.  The episode never did answer the question if the guy Sam leapt into was gay or not.  It's basic answer was "does it matter?"    

Of course this was highly episodic so not sure if it would work in todays world but then again there are alot of episodic shows on tv and alot of shows that have "lesson of the week" feel to them.  I am not exactly sure if it would work but I am not sure it wouldn't either.  The storylines themselves still (for the most part) work for me.