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

[lucindabelle]

To me dated is different from does not hold up.

 

mary Tyler Moore still cracks me up. So much great acting.

 

the Dick van Dyke episodes that focus on true tv show are gold. 

Mom tells me MTM wearing capris was a big deal because real housewives and moms wore them and nobody ever wore heels and dresses to chase toddlers around.

 

a lot of the 70s sitcoms I thought were lame even at the time though I was little. A lot of filler before an actual joke. That goes for Taxi and even for MASH.

 

i mean hot lips? And the gay jokes. Ick. 

 

Thress company was always unfunny. Night court, wings, even Barney... was always meh.

 

i remember LOVING the cosby show though. And last time I saw it (before the scandals obviously) thought it was dull. The Milli vanilli apoearance was insanely stupid of course.

 I loved welcome back Kotter when I was little and guess that doesn't not hold up...

[cpcathy]

Taxi is another one, it has this great reputation, but some (or maybe, most?) of the episodes are not very funny and a lot rely too heavily on Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman for laughs. Judd Hirsch was horrible.

[HoboClayton]

I didn't see much of Taxi. But, I do remember that God awful Dear John show that amazingly ran for 4 seasons! I have seen some episodes again recently... Ugh. I don't like. 

[GreekGeek]

On 9/19/2017 at 2:13 PM, cpcathy said:

Taxi is another one, it has this great reputation, but some (or maybe, most?) of the episodes are not very funny and a lot rely too heavily on Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman for laughs. Judd Hirsch was horrible.

Christopher Lloyd's "Reverend Jim" caught on because he was a truly original character at the time. He was originally supposed to be a one-episode guest star as a minister presiding over Andy ("Latka") Kaufman's paper marriage. There had been funny drunks and evangelical preachers before, but it was a stroke of genius to make him a burned out 60's stoner. As often happens, though, he was overused. As for Kaufman, the show was supposed to make him the breakout star, like Henry Winkler on Happy Days, but it never quite happened. Lloyd and Danny DeVito both had better claims to be the "Fonzie" of the show. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Its not too "old" of a show, but I have been watching 30 Rock reruns lately and they have not last anything over the years.  Still find them as funny as ever. 

On ‎9‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 1:39 AM, lucindabelle said:

To me dated is different from does not hold up.

 

mary Tyler Moore still cracks me up. So much great acting.

 

the Dick van Dyke episodes that focus on true tv show are gold. 

Mom tells me MTM wearing capris was a big deal because real housewives and moms wore them and nobody ever wore heels and dresses to chase toddlers around.

 

a lot of the 70s sitcoms I thought were lame even at the time though I was little. A lot of filler before an actual joke. That goes for Taxi and even for MASH.

 

i mean hot lips? And the gay jokes. Ick. 

 

Thress company was always unfunny. Night court, wings, even Barney... was always meh.

 

i remember LOVING the cosby show though. And last time I saw it (before the scandals obviously) thought it was dull. The Milli vanilli apoearance was insanely stupid of course.

 I loved welcome back Kotter when I was little and guess that doesn't not hold up...

 

I have always thought MASH was overrated.  I feel like its blasphemy to mention it to most people, but never found it that funny

[GreekGeek]

On 9/23/2017 at 10:01 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I have always thought MASH was overrated.  I feel like its blasphemy to mention it to most people, but never found it that funny

It got less and less funny as the years went by and it became the Alan Alda Soapbox Show. I've mentioned this before, but I wish there were a way it could have combined the more three-dimensional characters of the later years with the lighter tone of the earlier ones.

[cpcathy]

I've been forced to watch MASH so many times in my life, my sister had a crush on Alan Alda for awhile back in the 80's. Ugh. If I never see another episode again, I will be cool with that.

[roamyn]

I couldn't stand the AA soapbox, either.  But David Ogden Stiers, William Christopher, Jamie Farr and GW Bailey (when he appeared), more than made up for it.

[ABay]

Charles Emerson Winchester and Col. Flagg had a conversation that still makes me giggle:

Flagg: .... your sister Hon-a-ree-a.

Charles: That's Honoria.

[Chaos Theory]

On 9/23/2017 at 10:01 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

 

 

I have always thought MASH was overrated.  I feel like its blasphemy to mention it to most people, but never found it that funny

Although I Love MASH the only character that tends to annoy me is BJ.  His "episodes" tend to revolve around his wife needing to get a job or fix the house.  You know "mans work".   He spend the episode going off on everyone.    Everyone else I mostly liked and found entertaining in one form or another.

[proserpina65]

I've agreed with a previous poster that the original Battlestar Galactica was better, on average, than it's reputed to be.  Yes, it's cheesy in places and the special effects are very dated, but on the whole it's still quite entertaining, although there are some real clunker episodes.  I've quite enjoyed rewatching it, even if METV has edited the episodes and cut out my favorite Col. Tigh scene from the 3-part premiere.

But after running the last original episode, METV decided to grace us with Galatica 1980, and omg, that was god awful!  Worse even than I remember it being.  By far it's worst failing was that it was horribly boring - not an accusation that can be lobbed at 99% of the original series.  Needless to say, I won't be watching the rest of Galatica 1980; life is too short to be that bored, no matter how cute Barry Van Dyke was at the time.

[kassygreene]

Yeah, g80 was crap.  However, if you can stand it, watch the episode with Dirk Benedict, The Return of Starbuck, which was also the series finale.  It is in many ways an early version of Enemy Mine.  Nevertheless, it was a very welcome conclusion to a very disappointing series.  Also, neither McCord nor Van Dyke are in this episode, just Adama, Boomer, & Zee.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, kassygreene said:

Yeah, g80 was crap.  However, if you can stand it, watch the episode with Dirk Benedict, The Return of Starbuck, which was also the series finale.  It is in many ways an early version of Enemy Mine.  Nevertheless, it was a very welcome conclusion to a very disappointing series.  Also, neither McCord nor Van Dyke are in this episode, just Adama, Boomer, & Zee.

Yeah, I remember that episode, and that would be the only one I would watch now, even if that means putting up with Robbie Rist.  Because I am Dirk Benedict's bitch.

[kassygreene]

38 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Yeah, I remember that episode, and that would be the only one I would watch now, even if that means putting up with Robbie Rist.  Because I am Dirk Benedict's bitch.

Weird fact:  I also remember Dr. Zee as being Robbie Rist, but that was only for the first three episodes.  James Patrick Stuart was Zee for the final seven.  Rist was 16, Stuart was 12, and Zee was never not irritating.

Edited December 5, 2017 by kassygreene

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2017 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.

Wasn't there an episode in which Sam saved a Pulitzer winning photographer in Vietnam, then discovered he missed the opportunity to save POW Al?  I *think* the photographer's winning photo was of a restrained Al being led away by the Viet Cong.

I also loved the episode in which Sam lands in the new time period and realizes he's landed back in his hometown.   It would always take him a moment to figure out where he was, but he sprinted through the corn fields to see his own reflection in the glass door of his parents' home.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 8:47 PM, ABay said:

Charles Emerson Winchester and Col. Flagg had a conversation that still makes me giggle:

Flagg: .... your sister Hon-a-ree-a.

Charles: That's Honoria.

Frank Burns passed out drunk with a toe tag reading:  Emotionally exhausted and morally bankrupt.

[GHScorpiosRule]

42 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Wasn't there an episode in which Sam saved a Pulitzer winning photographer in Vietnam, then discovered he missed the opportunity to save POW Al?  I *think* the photographer's winning photo was of a restrained Al being led away by the Viet Cong.

No, Sam wasn't able to save her. She tripped on a mine, I think? And died. But it was her picture of POW Al that got her the Pulitzer posthumously.

[theredhead77]

On one hand I want to say old L&O and L&OSVU episodes because of the homophobic & transphobic lines & undertones (particularly from Stabler) . At the same time I don't think it's good to erase the past and pretend everything is as it is now.

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

On one hand I want to say old L&O and L&OSVU episodes because of the homophobic & transphobic lines & undertones (particularly from Stabler) . At the same time I don't think it's good to erase the past and pretend everything is as it is now.

I actually think original recipe L&O was fairly progressive in its treatment of gay and transgender issues, for the most part.

[Bastet]

18 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

On one hand I want to say old L&O and L&OSVU episodes because of the homophobic & transphobic lines & undertones (particularly from Stabler) 

The saving grace was that Olivia would generally call Elliot out on his attitude (just as he would her when she'd display her prejudice against the mentally ill).  But even she used the word "tranny" at one point (she wasn't using it as a slur against someone, but she thought it was a perfectly acceptable way to refer to people who are transgender); the language in those old episodes is jarring, and reminds me that while there is still a very long way to go, at least the popular conscience has shifted some, so that you hear such language less frequently, and are more likely to see a "hey, that's not right" reaction from more than a handful of people when you do.

[theredhead77]

32 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The saving grace was that Olivia would generally call Elliot out on his attitude (just as he would her when she'd display her prejudice against the mentally ill).  But even she used the word "tranny" at one point (she wasn't using it as a slur against someone, but she thought it was a perfectly acceptable way to refer to people who are transgender); the language in those old episodes is jarring, and reminds me that while there is still a very long way to go, at least the popular conscience has shifted some, so that you hear such language less frequently, and are more likely to see a "hey, that's not right" reaction from more than a handful of people when you do.

Yes! All of this. You captured what I've been trying to convey in a unsubmitted response I've been percolating. 

[Irlandesa]

On 12/5/2017 at 6:14 PM, theredhead77 said:

On one hand I want to say old L&O and L&OSVU episodes because of the homophobic & transphobic lines & undertones (particularly from Stabler) . At the same time I don't think it's good to erase the past and pretend everything is as it is now.

I wouldn't be surprised to find those old fashioned ideas in some police departments even in our more modern times.

9 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I actually think original recipe L&O was fairly progressive in its treatment of gay and transgender issues, for the most part.

I think what is so jarring with Stabler is that, from the beginning, I felt we were asked to invest a lot more in his (and Benson's) status as "hero." We got more of their personal lives than we usually got on Original Recipe.  I think we were invited to see things from their perspective.  So when Stabler would say things that sound tone deaf or judgmental, especially watching now, it feels jarring and hard to root for.

With early L&O, I think the show approached them as characters to be observed within the context of their times and with the little that we know of their background/belief system.  It's not that we couldn't like the characters but I didn't feel like liking them was the primary purpose. The show used cases to present social issues that the characters discussed.  We saw them want to understand the issue even if they stumbled which makes it easier (at least for me) to be less judgmental of any mistakes they made. Or even hearing out-of-date terminology.

[GHScorpiosRule]

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

With early L&O, I think the show approached them as characters to be observed within the context of their times and with the little that we know of their background/belief system.  It's not that we couldn't like the characters but I didn't feel like liking them was the primary purpose. The show used cases to present social issues that the characters discussed.  We saw them want to understand the issue even if they stumbled which makes it easier (at least for me) to be less judgmental of any mistakes they made. Or even hearing out-of-date terminology.

Even though we didn't get to "see" more of their personal lives, original recipe was much better at letting us see enough that we knew how Max felt about abortion; how Mike did; that Mike was abused by his mother; all of those, like you said, informed their reactions and how they handled cases that deal with child abuse/murders, abortion, etc. Which is why I much preferred original recipe.

[GHScorpiosRule]

"Indiffence" and "Life Choice" from Season one are exceptional, as is "Sanctuary" from Season four.

[MaryPatShelby]

What troubles me about original recipe L&O and SVU is their questioning techniques are what we now know to be instrumental in obtaining false confessions.  It makes me so uncomfortable to watch, yet it was a product of its time so I can't be too mad.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So MeTV started airing Diff'rent Strokes and so I thought I'd watch--for Charlotte Rae. Because she soon headed over to The Facts of Life. And just...UGH. I know I stopped watching it right before Mr. Drummond remarried; or right after--because Dixie Carter played his wife, before she was recast with Mary Ann Mobley, I think.

Anyhoo, I don't know how this show lasted eight years, let alone one. It's so, so, so, SO BAD. Now its spin off, The Facts of Life, was much better, though that also just became bad around season six; it's up to season seven now, and YEESH! It's horrible--from the auto-tuned change of the opening and closing credits, to the stupid ass lame plots. Not even the cuteness of Mackenzie Astin saves it. And dorkey George Clooney was just that. Dorkey. But I'm a masochist and so will watch till the bitter end. Though the show should have been cancelled when Charlotte Rae left. Because as much as I like Cloris Leachman, her character, Beverly Ann, Mrs. Garrett's sister, annoyed the ever livin' crap out of me.

Edited February 8, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[Blergh]

33 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So MeTV started airing Diff'rent Strokes and so I thought I'd watch--for Charlotte Rae. Because she soon headed over to The Facts of Life. And just...UGH. I know I stopped watching it right before Mr. Drummond remarried; or right after--because Dixie Carter played his wife, before she was recast with Mary Ann Nobly, I think.

Anyhoo, I don't know how this show lasted eight years, let alone one. It's so, so, so, SO BAD. Now its spin off, The Facts of Life, was much better, though that also just became bad around season six; it's up to season seven now, and YEESH! It's horrible--from the auto-tuned change of the opening and closing credits, to the stupid ass lame plots. Not even the cuteness of Mackenzie Astin saves it. And dorkey George Clooney was just that. Dorkey. But I'm a masochist and so will watch till the bitter end. Though the show should have been cancelled when Charlotte Rae left. Because as much as I like Cloris Leachman, her character, Beverly Ann, Mrs. Garrett's sister, annoyed the ever livin' crap out of me.

 I watched both shows to the bitter end (and I do mean bitter). Oddly enough, I liked Miss Carter's depiction of the 2nd Mrs. Drummond better than Miss Mobley's inasmuch as she more willing to not let her own son OR Arnold attempt to overwhelm their newly formed family. The only thing is that Miss Mobley had better chemistry with both Mr. Bain and the performer who played her son than did Miss Carter but she was too focused on getting everyone to like her than Miss Carter had been.  If it's any consolation, there was a wonderful clawfest on "Designing Women" when Miss Mobley guested and tried to make Miss Carter's Julia's family into crude stereotypes for profits but, alas, Miss Mobley would only be on once (I think).

   As for Miss Leachman's turn on FOL? As much as I like her, the ONLY warmth Beverly Ann showed to any of the cast was to her sister Mrs. G. when she was leaving to become Mrs. Some Other Letter- and that's because Miss Leachman and Miss Rae had been great friends from way back! I'd always wished there'd been either a Rhoda from "MTM" or Mother Dexter from "Phyllis" to show up and call her on her stuff since Beverly Ann was even less likable than Phyllis Lindstrom! Moreover, even Miss Leachman has admitted that her character had no real purpose on the show.

[Tanichka]

Friends - boy those people are annoying!

[Blergh]

7 minutes ago, Tanichka said:

Friends - boy those people are annoying!

Look at the bright side, it won't be too long before they get old enough for their kids to give them ALL the attention they gave their offspring when they were small- NONE and dump them into the worst nursing home they can find!

[Pippin]

Bewitched.  Dear God.  What can I say? Fucking Darrin.  What did Samantha ever see in that domineering, chauvinistic, obnoxious creepazoid?  You don't even have to be a feminist to cringe.

Why Samantha never turned this turd into a toad (don't mean to insult toads; useful creatures, unlike Darrin) is beyond me.

What makes it ironic is that Endora, who was portrayed as a right bitch and Generally Awful Person is actually a liberated woman (does not allow her husband to dictate to her, does her own thing, calls Darrin on his constant and consistent suckery) whereas submissive little housewife Samantha is held up as the right role model.

Dialogue that still makes me grind my teeth:  "Look [Darrin], I've got dishpan hands!"

Why in hell should Darrin complain about how she does the housework?  It's no skin off his obnoxious ass.

And to think when I was a kid, I really liked this show.

(PS: Although it'd be nice to be a witch.  (Think of the savings in travel alone!  Broomstick vs. airline!)

[AntiBeeSpray]

1 hour ago, Tanichka said:

Friends - boy those people are annoying!

I never liked that show all that much when it was on the air.

[Chaos Theory]

On 12/5/2017 at 2:23 PM, RedheadZombie said:

I also loved the episode in which Sam lands in the new time period and realizes he's landed back in his hometown.   It would always take him a moment to figure out where he was, but he sprinted through the corn fields to see his own reflection in the glass door of his parents' home.

I think this was the episode where he "leaped" into his own life but as a young boy while his father was still alive.  A father who I believe would eventually die of lung cancer or something.   Sam became convinced he was there to save his father's life.  I forget if that was the reason or not.  

But since this is shows that DON'T stand the test of time and I think Quantum Leap vey much does.  My big one is "Married With Children".    The show was at the time original and extremely forward thinking but now it just seems mean.   I also mentioned a few pages back The A-Team.   Which is not a bad show I just tend to get annoyed at the lack of females.   It had one during the first couple seasons then it became a male action show.   Not that there is anything wrong with that but that is just a personal turnoff for me.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[andromeda331]

57 minutes ago, Pippin said:

Bewitched.  Dear God.  What can I say? Fucking Darrin.  What did Samantha ever see in that domineering, chauvinistic, obnoxious creepazoid?  You don't even have to be a feminist to cringe.

Why Samantha never turned this turd into a toad (don't mean to insult toads; useful creatures, unlike Darrin) is beyond me.

What makes it ironic is that Endora, who was portrayed as a right bitch and Generally Awful Person is actually a liberated woman (does not allow her husband to dictate to her, does her own thing, calls Darrin on his constant and consistent suckery) whereas submissive little housewife Samantha is held up as the right role model.

Dialogue that still makes me grind my teeth:  "Look [Darrin], I've got dishpan hands!"

Why in hell should Darrin complain about how she does the housework?  It's no skin off his obnoxious ass.

And to think when I was a kid, I really liked this show.

(PS: Although it'd be nice to be a witch.  (Think of the savings in travel alone!  Broomstick vs. airline!)

I agree. I could never figure out what Samantha saw in him. He was always such a jerk. Always yelling at her. Why would she want to put up with that? I liked when Endora asked him why he objected to Samantha being herself. There were moments when Samantha looked like she enjoyed some of the antics and things until she remembered Darren wouldn't. Or when he refused to believe Samantha didn't put a spell on his client until his client decided he didn't like Samantha's ideas. Or the episode where his client almost attacks Samantha and Darren refuses to believe her or care. Had Samantha not been a witch the client would have attacked her. Yeah he punches the client later but that's still no excuse for his reaction to his wife telling him she was almost assaulted.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I also mentioned a few pages back The A-Team.   Which is not a bad show I just tend to get annoyed at the lack of females.   It had one during the first couple seasons then it became a male action show.   Not that there is anything wrong with that but that is just a personal turnoff for me.

In the case of the A Team, the lack of females on the show was a reflection of behind the scenes.  Peppard and Benedict were kind of chauvinistic assholes.

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think this was the episode where he "leaped" into his own life but as a young boy while his father was still alive.  A father who I believe would eventually die of lung cancer or something.   Sam became convinced he was there to save his father's life.  I forget if that was the reason or not.  

 

He was originally there to help win a basketball game his high school team had originally lost, to allow the coach to go pro and two of the players to receive basketball scholarships. He stayed on to try to get his father to quit smoking and eat better and to keep his brother Tom from going to Vietnam. He then went to Vietnam by leaping into a man from Tom's unit and thereby saved his brother's life. It's implied he didn't change his father's death. It made the show more convincing  when Sam couldn't always save everyone.

[kassygreene]

4 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

He was originally there to help win a basketball game his high school team had originally lost, to allow the coach to go pro and two of the players to receive basketball scholarships. He stayed on to try to get his father to quit smoking and eat better and to keep his brother Tom from going to Vietnam. He then went to Vietnam by leaping into a man from Tom's unit and thereby saved his brother's life. It's implied he didn't change his father's death. It made the show more convincing  when Sam couldn't always save everyone.

His brother's mission was to find and liberate POWs, but he changed it by saving his brother's life.  The POWs were not rescued, the embedded reporter/photographer got a Pulitzer-winning photo after being mortally wounded, and the picture made the cover of something - it was a picture of one of the POWs, full face view, identifiable - it was Al, and Sam's hijacking of the mission meant that Al and the others weren't rescued, and also that Al's MIA (presumed KIA?) was changed to known prisoner.

Well, it was pretty heavy at the time.

[festivus]

15 hours ago, Pippin said:

And to think when I was a kid, I really liked this show.

Oh how I wanted to watch the show when I was a kid. Samantha was a witch! She was beautiful! But even as a child I was such a little feminist and I would get so angry when I watched that I had to quit. Darren sucks. I hope they never try to reboot this show.

[kathyk24]

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 10:21 PM, ParadoxLost said:

In the case of the A Team, the lack of females on the show was a reflection of behind the scenes.  Peppard and Benedict were kind of chauvinistic assholes.

I love the A Team because of Face and Murdock. I love Hannibal but think George Peppard was a jerk. Steven Cannell should have told him that there was going to be a female on the team and to accept it. I liked Amy more that the useless Frankie from the last season.

[bmasters9]

On 2/8/2018 at 7:49 PM, AntiBeeSpray said:

I never liked that show all that much when it was on the air.

Nor did I!

[DrSpaceman73]

I don't know if it "stood the test of time" or not, have not watched in a long time, but Quantum leap is one show I could see getting a reboot rather easily. 

[fishcakes]

On 2/8/2018 at 4:44 PM, Pippin said:

Bewitched.  Dear God.  What can I say? Fucking Darrin.  What did Samantha ever see in that domineering, chauvinistic, obnoxious creepazoid?  You don't even have to be a feminist to cringe.

...

Why in hell should Darrin complain about how she does the housework?  It's no skin off his obnoxious ass.

As a kid, I preferred Bewitched to I Dream of Jeannie, but looking at them both now, IDOJ was the more enlightened show, even taking into account that Jeannie called Tony "Master," and was always saying, "I only want to serve you!" At least he didn't try to stop her from being a genie or using her magic; he just let her do her thing for the most part, even though it put him at risk for getting committed to a psychiatric hospital in every other episode.

I still love the Bewitched house interior, though. The big open kitchen and the French doors in the living room. It's not worth sleeping with Darrin to get it, but it's a great house.

[festivus]

56 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I still love the Bewitched house interior, though. The big open kitchen and the French doors in the living room. It's not worth sleeping with Darrin to get it, but it's a great house.

Oh yeah. I hated the show but I was fascinated by that house.

[Blergh]

I agree that often times Darren went too far. I recall one early episode in which this drunk started to come on to Samantha and totally ignored her polite but firm declines- so she zapped  a water bucket and dumped its contents on the drunk's head to cool his ardor! Darren saw the WHOLE thing and, rather than be grateful she could take care of herself (much less have any outrage that this drunk was trying to make moves on Darren's own clearly uninterested wife), ALL Darren could do was snarl 'NO WITCHCRAFT!'.  She's already tried the conventional approach and it hadn't worked. Would Darren have preferred the drunk to just attack her and her not  attempt to do anything to defend herself?! And why didn't HE try to tell the drunk to not go after uninterested women or try to chase him off?  SHEESH!

[magicdog]

Quote

In the case of the A Team, the lack of females on the show was a reflection of behind the scenes

I don't think it was so much that as the fact that the core members of the team were Vietnam vets and women would not have been in a combat role (certainly not tried or imprisoned together) with the men.  Any women in the military during that era would have been working in offices (or as doctors and nurses in medical units) not slogging in rice paddies with Hannibal et al.

There was Amy in early seasons who was a reporter who detailed their adventures for her newspaper and try to help them prove their innocence.  It never bothered me (as a woman) that this wasn't a woman centric show.

14 hours ago, Blergh said:

agree that often times Darren went too far. I recall one early episode in which this drunk started to come on to Samantha and totally ignored her polite but firm declines- so she zapped  a water bucket and dumped its contents on the drunk's head to cool his ardor! Darren saw the WHOLE thing and, rather than be grateful she could take care of herself (much less have any outrage that this drunk was trying to make moves on Darren's own clearly uninterested wife),

I agree with this!  I also remember an episode in which Darrin and Sam are driving in the rain for a party and their car breaks down.  They were no where near a gas station and Darrin and Sam got into an argument about her using her witchcraft to fix the car and get them where they needed to be.  Darrin had the nerve to ask her to use her powers when he always insisted she do things the mortal way.  She refused, and he was stuck getting wet in the rain to fix the car and arrived late (and wet) to the party.  They briefly separate after a heated argument and Sam takes Tabatha and "goes home to Mother".  Believe it or not, I sided with Sam on this.

In fact, Darrin shouldn't have forbidden Sam from using magic if it were around the house - let her use it to cook and clean, dress in the coolest fashions available and make life a bit easier.  They could have compromised by letting him work and trying to further his career, while she kept house in her own way - and perhaps use her magic for "security" (burglars and such). 

Funny... I remember my mom loved the show - if only because she loved the idea of being able to clean a house with magic!  

[Fable]

On 2/9/2018 at 11:41 AM, festivus said:

Oh how I wanted to watch the show when I was a kid. Samantha was a witch! She was beautiful! But even as a child I was such a little feminist and I would get so angry when I watched that I had to quit. Darren sucks. I hope they never try to reboot this show.

I was little when the show was on, but I liked it.  In the 60s, Darren’s behavior was still in acceptable territory.  In this day and age, a reboot would never work. 

I still enjoy Green Acres too, but that show was pretty sexist as well. 

[festivus]

2 hours ago, Fable said:

I was little when the show was on, but I liked it.  In the 60s, Darren’s behavior was still in acceptable territory.  In this day and age, a reboot would never work. 

I still enjoy Green Acres too, but that show was pretty sexist as well. 

Yeah, I guess it was in acceptable territory but not to me. I already had quite a strong personality as a child and Darrin just infuriated me.

[Fable]

57 minutes ago, festivus said:

Yeah, I guess it was in acceptable territory but not to me. I already had quite a strong personality as a child and Darrin just infuriated me.

I did enjoy the show, but I always was rooting for Sam. It never seemed like Darrin was being made out as a good guy.  He was pretty much the butt of the joke.  None of Sam’s family liked him at all.  With that in mind, on second thought, a reboot might actually work. 

[andromeda331]

19 hours ago, magicdog said:

I don't think it was so much that as the fact that the core members of the team were Vietnam vets and women would not have been in a combat role (certainly not tried or imprisoned together) with the men.  Any women in the military during that era would have been working in offices (or as doctors and nurses in medical units) not slogging in rice paddies with Hannibal et al.

There was Amy in early seasons who was a reporter who detailed their adventures for her newspaper and try to help them prove their innocence.  It never bothered me (as a woman) that this wasn't a woman centric show.

I agree with this!  I also remember an episode in which Darrin and Sam are driving in the rain for a party and their car breaks down.  They were no where near a gas station and Darrin and Sam got into an argument about her using her witchcraft to fix the car and get them where they needed to be.  Darrin had the nerve to ask her to use her powers when he always insisted she do things the mortal way.  She refused, and he was stuck getting wet in the rain to fix the car and arrived late (and wet) to the party.  They briefly separate after a heated argument and Sam takes Tabatha and "goes home to Mother".  Believe it or not, I sided with Sam on this.

In fact, Darrin shouldn't have forbidden Sam from using magic if it were around the house - let her use it to cook and clean, dress in the coolest fashions available and make life a bit easier.  They could have compromised by letting him work and trying to further his career, while she kept house in her own way - and perhaps use her magic for "security" (burglars and such). 

Funny... I remember my mom loved the show - if only because she loved the idea of being able to clean a house with magic!  

That's the part that drove me crazy. A lot of Darren's no magic insistence where on things that either shouldn't be a big deal like cleaning the house. Does it really matter how it gets clean or were ridiculous like when they go to Larry's cabin and it looks like crap. He doesn't want her to use magic to fix the place up. No, its better for himself and his pregnant wife to say in cold shack then use magic to fix it up. Or he refuses to use magic until he runs into a something like their car breaking down in the rain, well then he has no problem wanting her to use magic. Then suddenly he doesn't want to do things the mortal way and have to get out and fix the tire in the rain. Then has the nerve to get mad at Samantha for not using her magic.  He really comes off ridiculous.                    

[Blergh]

  You all think Darren in Bewitched was stifling? Try Sgt. Mike McCluskey in Meet Mona McCluskey! The title character was played by the fetching Juliet Prowse and the premise was that she was a successful actress who had married an Air Force sergeant (Denny Scott Miller) who insisted that, rather than the two of them live high on the hog on her thousands of $$ weekly salary, that they should entirely live on his   ¢  hand-to-mouth income  in cramped quarters on the Air Force base and her attempts to learn to be a housewife and   sneak little luxuries without him finding out and getting sore. No, it wasn't as though either of them had a terminally ill grandparent who needed her huge income to pay for treatments and caregiving, it was ALL because he didn't like her making far more money than him. It barely lasted one season ('65-'66) and even back then the audience didn't find it worth watching despite the physical appeal of the leads! Oh, and it was produced by (of all people) George Burns who himself had spent decades extolling the fun being the straight man for a successful, zany talented performer and owing his own career to her! Yeah, and I'd bet the McCluskeys' own marriage didn't last longer than the show's cancellation.

Edited February 13, 2018 by Blergh
boldly going

[Bort]

It’s funny, I was watching a rerun of The Nanny and Fran kind of hilariously went off on a diatribe about Bewitched. “I don't know why Darrin never let her use her powers. What? It was better sucking up to Larry Tate for a raise? I was with Endora on that one.”