This Never Gets Old: TV Shows You Can Watch Again And Again

[bmasters9]

14 hours ago, Lana said:

And some of the episodes I watch over and over. Comfort television I guess.

You're like that with Midsomer Murders, and I'm like that with at least two of my favorites-- Hart to Hart has had at least 7 such episodes throughout its run, and The Streets of San Francisco has had just as many.

Those from Hart to Hart that I've seen repeatedly:

"A Question of Innocence"

"Too Many Cooks are Murder"

"Death Set"

"Hartless Hobby"

"Vintage Harts"

"Harts and Fraud"

"Pandora Has Wings"

And from The Streets of San Francisco:

"Timelock"

"Act of Duty"

"The Albatross"

"The Hard Breed"

"Poisoned Snow"

"Dead Air"

"Police Buff"

Edited November 10, 2018 by bmasters9

[Anela]

I meant to add Dead Like Me, when I posted here before. I'm about to watch it yet again, because they finally have it back on Amazon Prime!! I love it.

I'm also thinking about watching The West Wing again. 

Breaking Bad, I haven't watch for five years. I need to watch the whole thing again.

On 2/12/2018 at 9:47 AM, supposebly said:

A discussion in the "Unpopular Opinions" thread reminded me: Blackadder!

I watch it once every year.

I love Blackadder!! When I was a kid, I would try to get my mum to sit down and watch it (I might have been a bit young to watch it, but I liked Red Dwarf, too). She finally got into it when I was around fourteen/fifteen, with Blackadder Goes Forth. We watched all of the others, and little things stuck with us, like, "My love, my love!" from the first season - when someone was married to a Spanish woman, and she said that in the dark, in their bedroom, and then the translator piped up with it in English. That had us rolling. 

[Vixenstud]

Gotta add a few more:

Martin

Everybody Loves Raymond

King of Queens

[CaffeinatedAunt79]

I watch “The Office” reruns on almost a daily basis.  And I will never get tired of watching them.

Also, there are certain earlier season Simpsons episode I can watch over and over again...and repeat the lines from memory.

[Fable]

Bates Motel.  I never tire of it.  The cast was stellar.  Even the characters I found unlikable gave fantastic performances.  

There are also certain episodes of The Wire I can watch over and over.  

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, Fable said:

Bates Motel.  I never tire of it.  The cast was stellar.  Even the characters I found unlikable gave fantastic performances.  

Fully agreed on this. That show remains one of my favorite series ever-they brought together such a great cast, and I loved their take on such a well-known story. 

[biakbiak]

Today proved that no matter what I am doing if I know The Fight episode of Parks and Rec is on I have to stop everything and watch.

[ShortyMac]

ER, House MD, The Golden Girls, Reba, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friday Night Lights, Mom.

[slf]

The Golden Girls is the reigning champ in my house. I think I've seen every episode at least fifteen times. There aren't many shows that I enjoyed beginning to end; there's always at least a few seasons, usually the last few, that I don't care for. But I love every season of that show, even the clunky first one.

I also rewatch Gilmore Girls, Stargate SG1, Xena, Star Trek: Voyager, The Closer, Orphan Black, and every now and then I'll rewatch ER and Friends. Derry Girls is a new show but I've watched its first season three times. 

[festivus]

So I'm over in another thread bitching about how I won't get to watch the new Twilight Zone because it's paid streaming. Anyway, the original is one that I watched so much as a child. I still watch it when SyFy has it on in the mornings. Always loved that show. The other morning I saw a piece about Rod Serling and I guess I didn't know that he died when he was only 50 years old. Damn.

[Annber03]

44 minutes ago, festivus said:

The other morning I saw a piece about Rod Serling and I guess I didn't know that he died when he was only 50 years old. Damn.

Yeah, during open heart surgery, no less. All those years of heavy smoking did a serious number on him. I think he also had some sort of hereditary heart thing-his dad died fairly young as well, and I remember reading about how, as he neared the same age that his dad was when he died, he was nervous about following the same tragic fate. 

Agreed on the show itself-always a good one to throw on or come across when flipping channels and such. I've subscribed to the All Access site for the next couple months to watch the new version, but yeah, I do wish it could be on regular ol' TV, too, so more people could get a chance to see it. 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Annber03

[festivus]

8 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

All those years of heavy smoking did a serious number on him.

The show I watched said he smoked 4 packs a day and my eyes bugged out of my head. Like I can't even understand how that could be possible to do.

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, festivus said:

The show I watched said he smoked 4 packs a day and my eyes bugged out of my head. Like I can't even understand how that could be possible to do.

Right? Just crazy.

I read a book a while back about him that his daughter wrote, called As I Knew Him (good read, too), and she mentioned in there that when he was being taken to the hospital after having a (then minor) heart attack, at one point the ambulance actually pulled to the side of the road so Serling and the ambulance driver could share a smoke. 

I mean...

[Cobb Salad]

I’ve been a Twilight Zone fan for years.  I discovered it in reruns on Channel 11 (NY) during summer vacation when I was a kid and had to see them all. I’ve also seen the CBS revival series in the 80s and the UPN version in the early 2000s.  Neither one held up to the original, IMO.  I’m not that happy about the new series being on All Access either since I’m of the opinion that we’re paying plenty for cable and we shouldn’t have to pay more for these streaming channels. 

Anyway, the SyFy channel had an all day marathon of the better episodes and I had to watch!

[Bort]

Original Twilight Zone is on Netflix.

[ratgirlagogo]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

. I've subscribed to the All Access site for the next couple months to watch the new version, but yeah, I do wish it could be on regular ol' TV, too, so more people could get a chance to see it. 

The original is also on MeTV, which is a digital subchannel you can pick up on antenna in most of the country, I think. We get it on our cable service too.

[DarkRaichu]

If I had all the time in the world I would rewatch DS9, Babylon5, Leverage, Person of Interest, 1st 5 seasons of Burn Notice, most of GoT, Rome season 1, Gundam 08th MS Team, I Love Lucy (before moving to the farm), Young Sheldon, Black Sails, Gargoyles, Aladdin cartoon series, Poirot, Warehouse 13

[Mabinogia]

I watch Mash nearly ever night. I've seen them all but I still laugh and cry. I've rewatched The Good Place about three times now, gonna start a forth soon. Certain episodes of Psych (pretty much all of season 1 and most of season 2), Better off Ted is brilliance. I don't tend to rewatch dramas. Once I know the story I don't really see the point, maybe once to see what clues I might have missed but I tend to get all I need from a single viewing. I can rewatch comedies for the one liners though. 

[GodsBeloved]

Law and Order

Fraser

Arrested Development

The Office

ER (post Doug & Carol, pre Carter goes to Africa)

Spartacus

The Wire <-- the best tv show evah made

Underground

Damnation

Edited April 11, 2019 by GodsBeloved

[shoregirl]

The West Wing

The Office

Parks and Rec

The Good Place

Brooklyn 99

[katie9918]

Star Trek Deep Space 9 will always be the TV show I will recommend first.

It’s also the only TV show I watched from day one to day done because I loved it even more on day done (I only lasted through the last half-season of RDM’s BSG so I could say I did).

[Chaos Theory]

I know it sounds really weird but my choice is Desperate Housewives.  I just did a 3 week binge on the show and it was time well spent.   There is just something about the show that reminds me of the soap operas of old and i love every minute of it.

My other choices

American Horror Story

Defiance

Leverage

and not for any reason other then it is always on MASH.  

[DrSpaceman]

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 6:42 PM, festivus said:

So I'm over in another thread bitching about how I won't get to watch the new Twilight Zone because it's paid streaming. Anyway, the original is one that I watched so much as a child. I still watch it when SyFy has it on in the mornings. Always loved that show. The other morning I saw a piece about Rod Serling and I guess I didn't know that he died when he was only 50 years old. Damn.

I loved The Twilight Zone and most of them I can watch repeatedly

But they tried hour long shows for a season or two and some of those suck.  I can't watch some of those.  One in particular, Jess-Belle, is just horribly, laughably bad.  Although it does have the late James Best (Roscoe P Coltrane from the Dukes of Hazzard) in an early role as the male lead

Edited May 4, 2019 by DrSpaceman

[Cobb Salad]

I’ll watch The Twilight Zone over and over when given the opportunity.  I’m not a fan of the 4th season hour long format either.   Of all the episodes in that season I’d say that only 2 fit that format well - Death Ship and Miniature.  Rod Serling would have done better if he produced 2 half hour episodes at the time when CBS gave him a full hour.  

[ratgirlagogo]

On 5/3/2019 at 10:28 PM, katie9918 said:

Star Trek Deep Space 9 will always be the TV show I will recommend first.

I watched Star Trek starting with the original series, and Deep Space 9 is far and away my favorite, the best of all the Treks.

[magicdog]

On 4/7/2019 at 4:51 PM, Annber03 said:

when he was being taken to the hospital after having a (then minor) heart attack, at one point the ambulance actually pulled to the side of the road so Serling and the ambulance driver could share a smoke. 

I mean...

My Dad suffered a heart attack at 45 and was a smoker himself until then.  When he woke up in the CCU, he was asking the nurses for a smoke.  They had to remind him of the no smoking rule - all that oxygen around! 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I taught myself to fall asleep by doing this:

I put my laptop right next to my head on a high enough bed table.  I put the screen on the darkest screen setting, and the volume at the lowest setting, and I play a sitcom I've already seen a bunch of times.  Sometimes the next day I wake up and I find I only got through like, 5 seconds of an episode before slamming down the laptop screen and falling asleep.  It really works!  It's my personal trick.

But, sometimes as a treat to myself I'll watch a few episodes before I "decide" to really sleep.  So, I've seen a million sitcoms again and again.

Seinfeld - I can't even watch the show anymore.  I know every word by heart.  I ruined the show for myself; it's my own fault.  I'll need to wait 5-10 years before I even try again.  Maybe 20.  LOL.

Friends - It's almost as bad as Seinfeld, but not quite.  I can still sort of watch it, and the fact that Canadian Netflix has it really helps.

Will and Grace - I've watched these a million times.  It's the most "fun" for me right now because I'm not sick of it yet.

The New Adventures of Old Christine - There are some episodes I love so much and I quote constantly or the dialogue pops in my head very regularly.  I love this show.

The King of Queens - I only just got into this one recently.  Love it.  I already have a list of 20 favourite episodes I've watched a bunch.

Rules of Engagement - This is relatively new to me too.  I'm obsessed with David Spade.  Oliver Hudson is also so cute.

Frasier - This show is perfectly conducive to sleep.  The cream, khaki, taupe tones.  The calm subplots.  Frasier and Roz's silky voices. The brothers always visiting that damn coffee shop.  It's all very soothing.  I put this on at the gym a lot, because I tend to work out at 7 PM and they show that on the Country network here (Why the Country network??????? hahahahahhahahaha!!!!!)

The Office (U.S.) - Canadian Netflix has this, so I've only come to appreciate this show more, and more, and more over the years.  When I don't know what to watch, I can watch this.

Sex and the City - This is a great show that always holds up for me.

What I Like About You (starring Jennie Garth and Amanda Bynes) - Oh my god, I love this show, and I've seen all four seasons many times.  I used to think Season 1 wasn't good, but I really like it now.  And I used to think Season 4 was amazing, but I'm so not into the Vic storyline like I kind of was when I was younger.  (I never see people talk about this one!  I think a lot of people would enjoy it.  It's cute!  It's 20 something sisters in New York.  They're dorks who can be annoying, but it's funny.  Also, it copies a A LOT of plots from Friends for some reason.  I even looked for a topic for this show on this site!)  

Gossip Girl - I like the first 2 seasons.  The rest are not watchable for me.

Arrested Development - Season 1 only.

I'm also watching Mad About You and Just Shoot Me these days.  Like I said, I'm a big enough David Spade fan that I can watch anything for him even though the rest of the actors are just "meh" for me.

I can't believe how long this list is.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm also watching Mad About You and Just Shoot Me these days.

I loved "Just Shoot Me" when I was younger. 

I also remember watching "Mad About You" a lot when I was a kid, 'cause my mom loved that show. One of the Starz channels shows the reruns in the evenings on weeknights now, so we'll watch those together. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

It still holds up!  It's good.  I've bought a lot of "Complete Series DVD" packages of '90s and 2000s sitcoms on Amazon.  It's my favourite thing.  "Mad About You" is another really calming show, like Frasier.  Nothing ever really happens or changes on it.  So I find that very soothing.

I think, as opposed to what Seinfeld says, that Mad about You is the REAL "show about nothing".

I was never a really big MAY fan growing up, but I think my Dad was.  I'm officially turning into my parents.

By the way @MisterBluxom this is a great topic and (quite obviously) very up my alley.

Going back to The King of Queens - my brother has been trying to convince me to watch this show for years.  I resisted for a long time.  He knows how much I'm in love with Jerry Stiller, who was Frank Constanza on "Seinfeld" and he's also on TKoQ.  So one day I finally gave in.  I'm so happy I did.  If anyone's on the fence, just jump in like I did!  😂  It's so comforting and funny.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It still holds up!  It's good.  I've bought a lot of "Complete Series DVD" packages of '90s and 2000s sitcoms on Amazon.  It's my favourite thing.  "Mad About You" is another really calming show, like Frasier.  Nothing ever really happens or changes on it.  So I find that very soothing.

I think, as opposed to what Seinfeld says, that Mad about You is the REAL "show about nothing".

I was never a really big MAY fan growing up, but I think my Dad was.  I'm officially turning into my parents. 

LOL. But yeah, agreed-I like how simple it is, and Reiser and Hunt had a nice chemistry. They had a fun supporting cast as well. 

And I love "Frasier". Easily one of my favorite shows ever. 

[Bastet]

Mad About You was a show I watched for a few seasons at the time because I lived with people who did, but didn't like (didn't hate, but didn't like), and then several years ago came across it in late-night syndication, gave it a whirl, and decided I still didn't like it.  (A lot of that was and is Helen Hunt; I think of her acting as a collection of tics she employs in every role.)  But there wasn't a sense of "this doesn't hold up/I can't relate to this anymore" -- I think if I'd liked it at the time I'd still like it now, just as I didn't like it then and don't like it now.  For my several issues with it, I think it, being relationship-based, isn't particularly tied to any given era and thus stands the test of time.

Frasier I never could stand - but I was one of the handful of Americans who never got into Cheers, either - but Just Shoot Me, I watched faithfully yet don't remember a whole lot beyond Wendie Malick and Enrico Colantoni, both of whom I like in just about everything I've seen them in, and Laura San Giacomo's character; I'd be curious to check that out today -- Maya's feminist perspective on a fashion magazine's treatment of women could come off as awkwardly of its time, or resonate equally well today.

[RealHousewife]

Enjoy your retirement MisterBluxom!

My favorite show to rewatch is Sex & the City. I actually enjoy it more the older I get. I thought it was a fun show when I was younger, but there was really zero to relate to then. I can actually relate to the occasional storyline now. Lol 

[Jenniferbug]

On 5/14/2019 at 9:34 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

What I Like About You (starring Jennie Garth and Amanda Bynes) - Oh my god, I love this show, and I've seen all four seasons many times.  I used to think Season 1 wasn't good, but I really like it now.  And I used to think Season 4 was amazing, but I'm so not into the Vic storyline like I kind of was when I was younger.  (I never see people talk about this one!  I think a lot of people would enjoy it.  It's cute!  It's 20 something sisters in New York.  They're dorks who can be annoying, but it's funny.  Also, it copies a A LOT of plots from Friends for some reason.  I even looked for a topic for this show on this site!) 

I was wanting to watch this show the other day and I couldn't find it streaming anywhere! I also looked for the DVDS and couldn't find them on Amazon. It made me really sad as this was a show that I really enjoyed- it used to be on in reruns when I was getting ready for work. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

@Jenniferbug

I bought the DVDs through Amazon (Canada site) but man, they were more expensive than usual shows.  I figured it was worth it because I've watched the 4 seasons many times and I know I will continue to as well.

[Jenniferbug]

@Ms Blue Jay, I'll have to look again and see if I can find them on Amazon in the US. I'd like to watch it again! I work from home so have a lot of shows as background noise!

[bmasters9]

On 2/1/2018 at 10:37 AM, OtterMommy said:

Some episodes of Grey's Anatomy.  There are far too many episodes, plus too many stinker story lines, for me to do a true re-watch, but there are episodes that I love.

The same way I am about Hart to Hart-- I finished that 1979-84 ABC romance/detective series a long time back, but there were quite a few of its 110 outings I cared for far more than others, so (and I hate to admit it) I have focused quite a bit on those, to the expense of the discs they're on on their respective releases.

[foxfreakinmulder]

If I could have shows on a loop these would be my list.

X-Files (1-7)

Lost ( the first 2 seasons have some of the best written episodes in a tv series)

Supernatural ( I could watch all the seasons but I love 1-5 the most)

M*A*S*H

Twilight Zone ( original)

Frasier

Friends

The Middle

The Good Place ( so good)

The Monkees ( I haven't watched this show in many years but It was one of my favorites)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Newhart Show

House Hunters

The Price Is Right ( earlier version with brown hair Bob Barker)

Breaking Bad

Better Call Saul

[Blergh]

There's lots of others I can add but I never get tired of watching the Carol Burnett Show- not just for its dysfunctional 'Family' skits but also the office misadventures of 'Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins' (though I have to wonder if nowadays she'd somehow mangle Smartphones the way she mangled the office intercom)!. Let's just say I've worked with my share of Tudballs and Wigginses down the decades! LOL

[Homily]

I've found Everybody Loves Raymond stands up well.  There are episodes I don't like - but that was true when I first watched it.  It's a comfort food show for me that I turn to time and again.  What's weird is that I guess it does qualify now as an "old" show!

[cpcathy]

My quirk is that I can't stand the early episodes of a lot of shows. Everybody Loves Raymond has this problem for me. But some later episodes are laugh out loud funny. Same with King of Queens. I'm still laughing at stuff I've seen many times.

[janie jones]

The Hallmark Channel has a block of The Golden Girls followed by a block of Frasier in the evenings.  Every year I can't wait for Christmas to be over so that this returns instead of the dumb holiday movies.  (Yes, I know I can stream them in various places, but it's not the same, to me.) 

[Chaos Theory]

Sorry wrong group.  but can't find the right one 

Found youtube vid that has shows that were cancelled but became cult hits.  adding to the list:  Caprica,  Joan of Arcadia and Sarah Conner Chronicles

Edited December 10, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[mixedday]

Bonanza, Bewitched (earlier seasons), Golden Girls, King of Queens, The Office (up until season 5 or so) to name a few and Veep. Got to give a shout out to Veep, as anytime I re-subscribe to HBO, and after a couple of years, I can re-watch Veep all over again and enjoy.

Shows I used to watch but prefer not to watch as a re-run now:

Friends and Cheers. They were good for their time but not I've grown out of it.

Edited May 20, 2020 by mixedday

[Nicmar]

ER

FRIENDS

LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY

TALES FROM THE CRYPT

LAW AND ORDER :SVU

PARKS AND REC

GAME OF THRONES

FAMILY GUY

THE SIMPSONS

 

[Dancingjaneway]

Golden Girls

American Dad

The Simpsons

Living Single

Designing Women

Hunter

Psych

MST3K

This one is more of a special "I love the 80's" 

Law and Order (only the Jerry Orbach years.)

The Critic

 

[FormerMod-a1]

For me there's just something about The Golden Girls - even if I've seen the episode 20+ times I still watch.  It's like my comfort morning and night time TV.   It's probably top of my list of shows that never get old.  I'd also add Frasier, and strangely/surprisingly to many I'm sure, Reba - that show was so much better than I ever expected. Night Court, Barney Miller, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, and Friends.

[Mabinogia]

5 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

For me there's just something about The Golden Girls

It is 100% comfort TV for me. Like visiting with old friends, and you have heard them tell that story about the time you all.... a dozen times, but you still laugh your ass off when you hear it because it's a great story. That's what The Golden Girls is for me. When I am flipping through channels and fall on it, and see a moment, I get all excited because I know what episode it is instantly. 

To keep with the Betty White theme, I can watch early seasons of Hot in Cleveland over and over. The later seasons not so much. When Joy started falling for Dave Foley's character I peaced out. Speaking of Joy/Jane Leeves...

Yes, Frasier is another I can watch over and over. I don't really watch Cheers though. It just didn't age as well for me. Frasier, though, still has me laughing out loud. 

I've also seen all but the newest season of Taskmaster multiple times, and am about to start another rewatch of all the seasons and it still has me laughing until my stomach hurts. 

I think what makes me rewatch a show over and over is more the cast than anything. If the characters click with me, then I don't mind retreading the same storylines and same jokes because I just enjoy the characters so much. If I love a storyline but the characters don't click with me, I'm unlikely to rewatch it. 

Ghosts is another one that I have done multiple watches of. The US version more than the UK version. Partly because I don't have access to the UK version but also because I absolutely love every character on the US one while some of the UK characters grate on my last nerve. 

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

It is 100% comfort TV for me. Like visiting with old friends, and you have heard them tell that story about the time you all.... a dozen times, but you still laugh your ass off when you hear it because it's a great story. That's what The Golden Girls is for me. When I am flipping through channels and fall on it, and see a moment, I get all excited because I know what episode it is instantly. 

I love that "old friends" description. That's a perfect way to describe a favorite comedy series you enjoy. I've said before that the hallmark of a great comedy, to me, is when, no matter how many times you've seen it, no matter how well you know the jokes and punchlines, you're still laughing as much as you did the first time you watched it :). 

Quote

 

I think what makes me rewatch a show over and over is more the cast than anything. If the characters click with me, then I don't mind retreading the same storylines and same jokes because I just enjoy the characters so much. If I love a storyline but the characters don't click with me, I'm unlikely to rewatch it. 

Ghosts is another one that I have done multiple watches of. The US version more than the UK version. Partly because I don't have access to the UK version but also because I absolutely love every character on the US one while some of the UK characters grate on my last nerve. 

 

Fully agreed with you on the cast/characters being the main draw of a show. I'm the same way. I have to be invested in them in order to stick around. 

I've not yet seen the UK version of "Ghosts", but I love the U.S. version. I can't think of a single character on there I'd want to see sucked off :p. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Hope I don’t get beaned-I KNOW this is unpopular, but for me? It’s I Love Lucy. I can watch and watch and watch this endlessly. For me, it’s Timeless.

Oh! And The Brady Bunch. Facts of Life. But I have to be in the mood for them.

On the drama front? Perry Mason. ORIGINAL/Mothership Law & Order. To a lesser extent (and I need to be in the mood for it), the first half of Criminal Intent.

Also, ORIGINAL RECIPE Hawaii  Five-0 for the opening and closing credits (the latter from season 3) alone. And Jack Lord.

WHAAAAAT?

Edited January 6, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[bluegirl147]

15 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

It is 100% comfort TV for me. Like visiting with old friends, and you have heard them tell that story about the time you all.... a dozen times, but you still laugh your ass off when you hear it because it's a great story. That's what The Golden Girls is for me.

During the beginning of the pandemic I would watch Golden Girls each night before going to sleep.  There was so much anxiety in the air I needed something to relax me.  GG is viewing comfort food.

Shows I can watch over and over again.

The Wire.  I have watched it at least five times.  Best show ever.

The West Wing.  Another one I have watched at least five times.  This past weekend when HLN was running a marathon I was flipping channels and got sucked into the episode with the nuclear power plant.  Made me want to do another rewatch.

Friday Night Lights.  Loved this show so much.  Whenever I would hear someone say I don't watch it because I don't care about football I would say FNL is about football the way Field of Dreams is about baseball.  

Veronica Mars.  I was a fan from the first episode.  I was one of the few people who was actually watching it when it was on TV.

Law & Order, the original.  I am currently doing a rewatch and I'm on Season 14.  It's the Serena years so they are some of my least favorite episodes.

And last but not least.  Happy Days.  But not the episodes after Ritchie left.  He was the heart of that show.