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Long running TV shows that don't hold up

Seinfeld owns this. I thought it was hilarious in the 90s. The last time I saw an episode was in a hospital waiting room. It was absolute torture.

by Anonymousreply 136September 13, 2018 9:18 PM

Seinfeld episodes seem stale now.

by Anonymousreply 1August 31, 2018 2:51 AM

Old episodes of Roseanne are still funny.

by Anonymousreply 2August 31, 2018 2:52 AM

I use to enjoy Night Court, but i happen to catch one the other day and it is not good at all.... Oh and Roseanne, especially seasons 3-5 are holding up pretty well. I always thought Roseanne was so my family. The way they dressed, ate, humor.

by Anonymousreply 3August 31, 2018 2:54 AM

Friends

by Anonymousreply 4August 31, 2018 3:23 AM

Sex and The City.

by Anonymousreply 5August 31, 2018 3:29 AM

Cheers

by Anonymousreply 6August 31, 2018 3:37 AM

MASH

by Anonymousreply 7August 31, 2018 3:38 AM

Seinfeld is timeless.

by Anonymousreply 8August 31, 2018 3:39 AM

I don't think Friends holds up. I cringe with I think about it.

by Anonymousreply 9August 31, 2018 3:40 AM

BONANZA

GUNSMOKE

ALL IN THE FAMILY

by Anonymousreply 10August 31, 2018 3:44 AM

Seinfeld and Frasier hold up very well. Friends, less so, but there are some funny storylines here and there. Cheers - I used to love that show but, watching it in syndication, it doesn't hold up all that well. You can spot jokes coming from a mile away and, as funny as they can be the first few times, they tend to be variations of the same jokes over and over again.

SATC is ridiculous, in retrospect, but it makes for great hate watching, laughing at Carrie Bradhaw being a stupid, self-centered, immature girl-woman, instead of sympathizing with her.

by Anonymousreply 11August 31, 2018 3:50 AM

"Murphy Brown" owns this thread.

by Anonymousreply 12August 31, 2018 3:51 AM

I just laugh at what she's wearing.

by Anonymousreply 13August 31, 2018 3:51 AM

When it comes to Cheers I think the Diane episodes hold up better than the ones with Rebecca.

by Anonymousreply 14August 31, 2018 3:56 AM

Most family shows don’t, because they go for sentiment as much as laughs, and most shows that try to be topical age like milk. I agree that “Murphy Brown” aged terribly, because who laughs at references to GHWB and Clinton era staffers anymore?

“Frasier” has aged beautifully, and even though I was never a big “Seinfeld” fan, I think it still holds up. Whatever problems it has now were apparent back in the nineties (Jerry’s acting, George’s too hot girlfriends, the weird focus on consumer products), while its strengths remain the same.

by Anonymousreply 15August 31, 2018 4:06 AM

The Carol Burnett Show

by Anonymousreply 16August 31, 2018 4:11 AM

Webster

by Anonymousreply 17August 31, 2018 4:12 AM

Friends holds up pretty well - the themes were always about relationships, so there wasn’t too much pop culture that stales. I recently did a 30 rock marathon and too much of it was pop culture jokes that I’ve already forgotten the point of.

Seinfeld is so bad on rewatch and I don’t know why. Roseanne is still really funny (I try to pretend current Roseanne Barr doesn’t exist).

by Anonymousreply 18August 31, 2018 4:17 AM

I think that most of the less well known sitcoms from the 1980s don't really hold up. I've been trying to catch up with some of them on Antenna TV and I find them unbearably hokey (The Hogan Family, Head of the Class, etc.).

by Anonymousreply 19August 31, 2018 4:17 AM

The Waltons

by Anonymousreply 20August 31, 2018 4:17 AM

SVU. I remembered it jumping the shark immediately after Meloni left after season 12 but I've been watching reruns and seasons 13 and 14 are OK. But season 15 was abominable and it hasn't yet recovered.

by Anonymousreply 21August 31, 2018 4:18 AM

Buffy. I used to love Buffy, but I tried to watch it again recently and could not make it through an episode.

by Anonymousreply 22August 31, 2018 4:23 AM

R22 I’m rewatching Buffy and really enjoying it! I skipped season one which is terrible but am now at S3 and it’s pretty great except for how fake the fight scenes look.

by Anonymousreply 23August 31, 2018 4:25 AM

Seinfeld doesn’t hold up well? Are you kidding me? I just watched the “Puffy Shirt” episode this morning and I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time.

by Anonymousreply 24August 31, 2018 4:30 AM

Why did Carrie Bradshaw never show her tits? They're universal..

by Anonymousreply 25August 31, 2018 4:48 AM

I think the Puffy Shirt episode is a fabulous piece of comedy -- the way all those totally unrelated plot elements suddenly all come together at once in a single sudden piece of physical business is unexpected and brilliant.

But a lot of people hate it.

by Anonymousreply 26August 31, 2018 4:56 AM

Alf.

by Anonymousreply 27August 31, 2018 9:43 PM

I saw re-runs of The Nanny also at hospital. It was better than novocaine.

by Anonymousreply 28August 31, 2018 9:45 PM

Alf was always shit, even during the original run.

by Anonymousreply 29August 31, 2018 9:46 PM

Seinfeld holds up. Not every episode is great but so many are timeless and hilarious.

I never watched Friends when it first aired but find it soothing in reruns. It's a very undemanding show. I've seen Nanny reruns in every country in Europe I've ever visited. It seems insanely popular for some reason

by Anonymousreply 30August 31, 2018 9:48 PM

I liked The Nanny well enough when it was running, but now I find it out of this world good and very soothing after I had my teeth removed.

by Anonymousreply 31August 31, 2018 9:55 PM

The idiotic Facts of Life.

Saw an ep of Alice the other day. Not even remotely funny or relatable.

by Anonymousreply 32August 31, 2018 9:56 PM

I was rewatching some of season 1 Cheers and thought it had held up pretty well. The first season also benefited from the characters being more fleshed out - Diane was not as annoying, Sam was not as dumb, Cliff was not as big a buffoon Carla was not as mean, Diane and Sam was not as toxic and seemed to have some respect for each other etc. I will say, as much as I loved Coach, I did find his bits did seem stale and predictable.

The problem with Seinfeld is that they are such horrible people, that once the cleverness of the writing wears off after seeing an episode more than a few times, that it is harder to ignore how horrible they really are. Friends does have more of a comfort food feel to it that is perfect for vegging out viewing. I probably also have some nostalgia for Seinfeld from watching it with college and post-college friends.

by Anonymousreply 33August 31, 2018 9:56 PM

R6 I agree. A protagonist like Sam Malone would never fly in the #metoo era..

by Anonymousreply 34August 31, 2018 9:59 PM

I never warmed up to Seinfeld. It has Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but that's about it.

by Anonymousreply 35August 31, 2018 10:02 PM

My favorite seasons of Cheers are the ones involving both Diane and Woody.

by Anonymousreply 36August 31, 2018 10:37 PM

I didn't catch The Nanny during its original run. But I have been watching them now on reruns. And it is funny! Doesn't feel dated actually.

by Anonymousreply 37September 2, 2018 1:45 AM

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND has really lost its edge, in retrospect.

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by Anonymousreply 38September 2, 2018 1:51 AM

Friends was a POS. It was a total fantasy version of life in NYC for flyover types.

by Anonymousreply 39September 2, 2018 1:59 AM

The Cosby Show. Nothing to do w Bill Cosby's private antics, but it is just not a funny show. Not in the 80's, not now. And I think it was #1 tv for 5 years back in the day.

by Anonymousreply 40September 2, 2018 2:03 AM

Everybody Loves Feces

by Anonymousreply 41September 2, 2018 2:07 AM

Mork & Mindy

Too Close For Comfort

Empty Nest

One Day At A Time

by Anonymousreply 42September 2, 2018 2:13 AM

R40. I thought I was the only one who thought this back then

by Anonymousreply 43September 2, 2018 2:14 AM

Pretty much all sitcoms except for a few timeless ones. Bob Newhart, Dick van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore.

by Anonymousreply 44September 2, 2018 2:17 AM

MTM is not funny today.

by Anonymousreply 45September 2, 2018 2:19 AM

R45, I think the supporting cast is still hilarious, even today. Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper—those bitches were funny.

by Anonymousreply 46September 2, 2018 2:21 AM

R24 Burning a Puerto Rican flag doesn't hold up today. That next to last episode was utter shit.

by Anonymousreply 47September 2, 2018 2:23 AM

[quote]Friends was a POS. It was a total fantasy version of life in NYC for flyover types.

Not a fantasy. A warning of what was to come. Someone I knew recently visited Downtown Brooklyn. She said the entire area looked just like an episode of Friends, thanks to all the gentrification. Just a sea of young upscale white transplants sipping lattes in outdoor cafes.

by Anonymousreply 48September 2, 2018 2:28 AM

"The Golden Girls" would be the inverse of this - a show that's been left out of the appraisals of great TV shows that's only become more and more popular since its been off the air.

by Anonymousreply 49September 2, 2018 2:31 AM

Mr. Belvidere.

by Anonymousreply 50September 2, 2018 2:31 AM

As opposed to this R48

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by Anonymousreply 51September 2, 2018 2:32 AM

R11. Frasier holds up really well for me. I always liked the chemistry between the characters. It seemed like the actors liked working together immensely.

by Anonymousreply 52September 2, 2018 2:40 AM

Girls, girls... try to think about the actual show, not the fashion.

by Anonymousreply 53September 2, 2018 2:41 AM

Murphy Brown, oh my goodness -- not only is it filled with dated political references but the writing is terrible and the supporting cast lacks comic timing. Faith Ford shouts her lines like Jerry Carmichael from "The Lucy Show" and Grant Shaud is just never, ever, ever funny or even amusing.

by Anonymousreply 54September 2, 2018 3:05 AM

Miles on Murphy Brown should have been a gay character. He seemed like a gay yuppie anyway. That show was for baby boomer yuppies.

by Anonymousreply 55September 2, 2018 3:14 AM

I agree with the two DL reply's about The Cosby Show. NOT a funny show. What's Happening!-THAT was FUNNY show.

by Anonymousreply 56September 2, 2018 3:15 AM

Agree that Murphy Brown is very dated with all the then-current events used as punchlines, and the supporting cast wasn't all that funny.

by Anonymousreply 57September 2, 2018 3:18 AM

Mad About You

by Anonymousreply 58September 2, 2018 3:18 AM

Happy Days

by Anonymousreply 59September 2, 2018 3:20 AM

I also disagree about Seinfeld. I know young adults in their late 20s-early 30s who quote Seinfeld lines. Classic sitcom, still funny.

by Anonymousreply 60September 2, 2018 3:28 AM

I was in middle school when Growing Pains was popular, and the ONLY reason that show stayed on the air was because pre-teen girls thought Kirk Cameron was cute. They were the only ones who watched that piece of shit show.

by Anonymousreply 61September 2, 2018 3:34 AM

Saved by the Bell is still good lol. Zack and Slater are goals.

by Anonymousreply 62September 2, 2018 3:58 AM

The now-forgotten Just Shoot Me, which inexplicably ran for 105 years.

by Anonymousreply 63September 2, 2018 3:59 AM

Wings. I think the pattern here is that white ppl at NBC like safe, domineering shit. Omg, SEINFELD IS NOT FUNNY LOL

by Anonymousreply 64September 2, 2018 4:21 AM

Sorry, R51, but posting that pic doesn't make R48's point any less valid.

by Anonymousreply 65September 2, 2018 2:52 PM

Seinfeld (at least the first few years) still holds up, as does Frasier.

by Anonymousreply 66September 2, 2018 2:55 PM

[quote]As opposed to this [R48]

Hey, jackass, gentrification also destroyed the quaint, predominantly white and bohemian neighborhoods of SoHo and Greenwich Village . They use to be thriving artistic, music and fashion enclaves. Now they're ghost towns. It's so funny how morons who don't live in NYC like to play that "white people cleaned up the ghetto card" when they don't realize that gentrification also destroyed all the nice white neighborhoods that used to be filled with quirky artists, musicians, designers and activists.

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by Anonymousreply 67September 2, 2018 4:03 PM

I've been watching "I Married Joan" on DECADES. It really is the (very) poor man's "I Love Lucy."

by Anonymousreply 68September 2, 2018 8:10 PM

R67, oh the horror of neighborhoods (slums) devoid of quirky ( unemployed) artists, musicians, and whatevers (untalented nobodies) . Instead of safe clean neighborhoods where people who actually live in the real world make the city a better place where people would actually want to live.

by Anonymousreply 69September 2, 2018 10:09 PM

MASH. Alan Alda is video root canal.

by Anonymousreply 70September 2, 2018 11:03 PM

The photo that r51 posted isn't even Brooklyn. That's Lenox Ave (Sixth Ave) in Harlem looking south. The bell tower is part of St Martin's Episcopal Church at Lenox and W 122nd St.

by Anonymousreply 71September 2, 2018 11:33 PM

Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!

by Anonymousreply 72September 2, 2018 11:56 PM

Growing Pains was indeed shiteous. Kirk Cameron was toxic both on- and off-screen.

I actually enjoy I Married Joan, though! True, it doesn't always work, but Joan herself had an offbeat charm that I find fascinating. She was a real comedian and I wish she had lived to do more.

by Anonymousreply 73September 3, 2018 1:19 AM

Three's Company

by Anonymousreply 74September 3, 2018 2:03 AM

Small Wonder

by Anonymousreply 75September 3, 2018 3:11 AM

R74 not true for Three's Company, it's on like 3 different channels in reruns and has always been a huge syndication juggernaut, in part because it's "timeless" farce and slapstick comedy humor and NOT the Norman Lear political 70s type of humor

I have nieces and nephews under the age of 10 who love Three's Company but have no idea what an All in the Family is...

by Anonymousreply 76September 3, 2018 3:22 AM

Three's Company was 30 minutes of entertainment. It was a silly, fun show.

by Anonymousreply 77September 3, 2018 3:25 AM

R77 I'm watching a marathon now on the gay channel LOGO, actually

by Anonymousreply 78September 3, 2018 3:26 AM

R76 totally agree I’ve said it many times before on here. Actually (of pre-friends era), Three’s Company, Golden Girls and I love Lucy have been the 3 best selling dvds and do consistently the best in syndication.

The early seasons date a bit more but the middle and later “more slapticky” seasons hold up especially well, they really do.

by Anonymousreply 79September 3, 2018 3:38 AM

R78 oh and thanks for telling me, I’m watching it now. I like this season.

by Anonymousreply 80September 3, 2018 3:48 AM

R80 yes the season of Lana Shields!

by Anonymousreply 81September 3, 2018 3:59 AM

Trying to watch SATC nowadays is just painful.

They were such self-centred cunts and awful people. It sure isn't funny now if it was then. Can't watch it.

It has also spawned a generation of cunts who think they are one of the SATC girls and think they are owed something because of it.

by Anonymousreply 82September 3, 2018 4:05 AM

Interesting R21. I never really watched SVU until the last year or so (reruns) and some of the plots are so contrived I lose the will to live halfway through. I'll have to try and catch just the earlier episodes. I guess they all run out of ideas eventually.

by Anonymousreply 83September 3, 2018 4:08 AM

For the people talking about how Three's Company is still popular in reruns, that's true, but I think R74's post was meant as a personal opinion on the quality of the show (which is the point of the thread), not a comment on how well it still plays today.

by Anonymousreply 84September 3, 2018 4:11 AM

GOOD TIMES is still mostly relevant. Would Michael be a BLM supporter, or in the more extreme Black Panthers?

by Anonymousreply 85September 3, 2018 5:05 AM

I still enjoy Seinfeld but the very early episodes are weak and don't hold up so well. The show at its peak is still great.

by Anonymousreply 86September 3, 2018 5:20 AM

I think most of Roseanne holds up because they look like people you'd see at your local Wal-Mart. So long as the lower middle class exists, the show will hold up. It reminds your how much things have not changed for many over the past 25 years.

by Anonymousreply 87September 3, 2018 6:14 AM

As if the number of viewers was a sign that a show was good...Three's Company is funny to a 10 year old, I'll give you that...but are there people here that would binge watch the show. It's as funny as a cream pie in the face and water coming out of a plastic flower.

by Anonymousreply 88September 3, 2018 3:26 PM

I can't watch SATC today, Carrie was such a self-centered twat you just want to smack her. I agree that the show has not aged well at all. I also think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the divide between the haves and the have-nots is much more of an issue today than it was 20 years ago and the show just makes people mad because of all the rampant materialism and shallow consumerism. It's like "fuck those people."

by Anonymousreply 89September 3, 2018 3:44 PM

Frasier and many episodes of Seinfeld, plus I think a lot of X-Files and early Simpsons holds up. So does Star Trek the Next Generation. But the 1990s in general weren't great for TV.

by Anonymousreply 90September 3, 2018 4:11 PM

Step by step.

by Anonymousreply 91September 11, 2018 10:59 AM

Laverne & Shirley

by Anonymousreply 92September 11, 2018 11:04 AM

Home Improvement.

by Anonymousreply 93September 11, 2018 11:08 AM

R92 no way. Laverne & Shirley holds up great because it's slapstick/physical comedy and people will ALWAYS relate to blue collar people struggling to pay the rent every month. It's timeless

It's been in reruns NON STOP since the early 80s

Compared to say the more critically acclaimed and prestigious Emmy monster, The Mary Tyler Moore Show

by Anonymousreply 94September 11, 2018 11:18 AM

One Tree Hill

by Anonymousreply 95September 11, 2018 11:26 AM

Home Improvement sucked then as much as it does today.

by Anonymousreply 96September 11, 2018 11:29 AM

Designing Women -- almost unwatchable now.

by Anonymousreply 97September 11, 2018 11:31 AM

Agreed r97. Which is too bad, because I thought it was Hilarious at the time.

by Anonymousreply 98September 11, 2018 11:34 AM

Laverne & Shirley was appealing to me when I was 6 years old. I recently saw an episode and I thought to myself "I can't believe I liked that shit when I was a kid." It was extremely stupid and moronic in nature.

by Anonymousreply 99September 11, 2018 11:42 AM

For some reason, I like the Hollywood episodes of Laverne & Shirley. Not enough to seek them out, but if I run across one, I’ll watch it. I know I’m basically alone in that opinion.

by Anonymousreply 100September 11, 2018 11:48 AM

A few years back I saw an interview of Mary Tyler Moore from the 90s on YouTube and she was asked her own favorite sitcoms and she said MASH, Cheers and I watch Friends every Thursday night, then she blurted out that she LOVED Laverne & Shirley because "I love physical comedy and am secretly jealous that Im bad at it " and said that Penny was on MTM and they wanted to keep her on but she signed on to do Laverne and Shirley and that she's friends with both Penny and Garry Marshall, I believe he worked with her as a producer in The Dick Van Dyke Show, and MTM said that they were "good people" and that Penny was supposed to direct me in a movie about 10 years ago, which would of been the 80s, but it never for past the development stage

The interviewer seemed surprised when MTM mentioned Laverne and Shirley among her favorite sitcoms of all time

LOL

by Anonymousreply 101September 11, 2018 12:17 PM

I've been watching reruns of the early seasons of Gunsmoke and am surprised by how dark, pessimistic, and violent they often are. I think they hold up very well--truly timeless. Has anyone ever counted up (a.) how many bad guys Matt blew away during the show's run, and (b.) how many bullets he took, himself?

by Anonymousreply 102September 11, 2018 12:28 PM

"Laverne & Shirley" was a great show its first few seasons and it was a shame that neither Penny Marshall nor Cindy Williams were ever recognized with Emmy nominations for their work. (Let's not forget that John Ritter won an Emmy for "Three's Company" for basically doing the same things as Marshall and Williams.) As others have noted, the show was more than about its great physical comedy, it really was about two single girls struggling to make ends meet, pay the rent, and hopefully, one day, meet their prince charmings. I recall Robert Bianco, the one-time critic of USA Today, stating in his column once that it would probably be hard to get a show like "Laverne & Shirley" made today because the network would likely never hire actresses now who looked like everyday girls like Penny and Cindy; instead they would insist they look like sophisticated city women like Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox on "Friends" or Sarah Jessica Parker on "Sex and the City" and I think he's absolutely right about that, unfortunately.

[quote]For some reason, I like the Hollywood episodes of Laverne & Shirley. Not enough to seek them out, but if I run across one, I’ll watch it. I know I’m basically alone in that opinion.

I agree that the show suffered when they made the not-so-wise decision to move the setting to Hollywood; however, I do think it doesn't get enough credit for producing some very real gems out of those seasons. The show could still be very funny and was, just more off and on, right up until the day Cindy left (after which it completely cratered without her).

by Anonymousreply 103September 11, 2018 12:40 PM

Sorry R69 has to be called out as complete moron who obviously does not live in NYC.

by Anonymousreply 104September 11, 2018 12:42 PM

How dare you, R97 & R98? You speak sacrilege regarding "Designing Women"!

The show really found it's footing around S3: once Delta gained weight, when Bernice was featured more, Mary Jo became more sarcastic and Anthony was written more intelligently.

by Anonymousreply 105September 11, 2018 1:10 PM

R103 that has to be the biggest fuck up in Emmy history. You're nominating the ACTORS NOT the show, Penny and Cindy gave 100% to EVERY performance of every episode of L&S, even injuring themselves during the physical comedy scenes and they both ELEVATED the not so great writing with their work, that's much harder than being an actor on a sitcom with already great writing, Taxi, Cherrs, MTM, All in the Family (which starred Penny's husband at the time Rob Reiner).

The irony is that the two other shows in the L&S universe, Happy Days and Mork and Mindy would get occasional Emmy nominations in major categories

by Anonymousreply 106September 11, 2018 1:41 PM

I loved Laverne & Shirley. Ah the 70's.

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by Anonymousreply 107September 11, 2018 2:01 PM

Penny and Cindy did a joint interview for the Archive of American Television a while back and it's worth watching.

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by Anonymousreply 108September 11, 2018 2:24 PM

Maude kinda sucks now.

by Anonymousreply 109September 11, 2018 4:30 PM

Amen is fun to watch. 227 not so much. Jeffersons falls somewhere in the middle. Then again, I think Madea is a comic genius.

by Anonymousreply 110September 11, 2018 5:10 PM

I always knew Seinfeld wouldn't hold up. I saw each episode once in syndication and never looked back. Julia's own Veep is vastly superior.

by Anonymousreply 111September 11, 2018 5:13 PM

[quote] I was in middle school when Growing Pains was popular, and the ONLY reason that show stayed on the air was because pre-teen girls thought Kirk Cameron was cute. They were the only ones who watched that piece of shit show.

The gay boys continued to watch after Alan Thicke displayed his furry chest in the 2-part Hawaii episode.

by Anonymousreply 112September 11, 2018 5:15 PM

Will and Grace.

by Anonymousreply 113September 11, 2018 5:16 PM

I loved Alan Thicke saying, about Kurt's Christian fanaticism, "We need to get Kurt another book to read."

by Anonymousreply 114September 11, 2018 5:17 PM

Family Matters. I thought it was the funniest show on the planet when i was growing up. But I caught an episode the other night and it's not good. Looking back Urkel ruined it in going I'm thinking. The first Harriet was cool af but I don't know why they changed her.

by Anonymousreply 115September 12, 2018 10:18 PM

I never understood the scorn and ridicule that a show like Three's Company received. The critics that didn't like the show have ZERO idea of how a farce sitcom like TC is written, by definition of it being a farce alone you have to dumb the characters and situations down and to keep it entertaining and fresh for 8 years is NOT EASY

Joyce DeWitt said when she found out the great Larry Gelbart from MASH was writing the pilot and a lot of the producers and writers came from All In The Family, she thought it would be a real intelligent and prestige sitcom, until she got the pilot script. But she quickly realized that the writers of TC wrote the show in a different style than they would AITF, because TC is a FARCE and it doesn't mean that it's not a good show it just means that it's a different type of sitcom and the critics made the mistake of comparing it to character driven or political type sitcoms of the 70s TC was it's own thing with an enormous amount of talent involved in it

by Anonymousreply 116September 12, 2018 10:51 PM

Joyce DeHalfwit (her SCTV name) sure proved how "enormously talented" she was by disappearing into total obscurity after TC was canceled. John Ritter was moderately talent and went on to better things.

by Anonymousreply 117September 12, 2018 11:56 PM

Grace Under Fire --i'd like to know who thought Brett Butler could act. It comes on the Laff channel at night, i'd rather watch the Drew Carey show

by Anonymousreply 118September 13, 2018 12:23 AM

Gunsmoke. Miss Kitty was a whore.

by Anonymousreply 119September 13, 2018 12:48 AM

Despite loving Brett, I never warmed up to her sitcom either. So obviously an inferior clone of Roseanne.

by Anonymousreply 120September 13, 2018 12:50 AM

Agreed: Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman and Betty White are the bright spots of MTM reruns. So much of the rest seems contrived and shtick-y.

by Anonymousreply 121September 13, 2018 1:27 AM

R116 all true. And Ritter was very talented, as were Richard Kline and Don Knotts.

Someone upthread said something like of Ritter had won an Emmy then Penny and Cindy should have at least been nominated - couldn’t agree less. Watching it now they’re mostly shrill and annoying and not very good comedic actresses. But yes it was funny when I was 10.

by Anonymousreply 122September 13, 2018 5:04 AM

Family Ties

by Anonymousreply 123September 13, 2018 5:14 AM

[quote]r87 09/02/2018 I think most of Roseanne holds up because they look like people you'd see at your local Wal-Mart.

Having never been inside one, I wouldn't know.

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by Anonymousreply 124September 13, 2018 5:25 AM

AbFab was e first "peak-TV" level sitcom. the first 3 seasons anyway. Props to Jennifer Saunders for writing every word of it. Comic genius.

by Anonymousreply 125September 13, 2018 5:28 AM

I stopped watching TV in the late '70s, when I was 16. Grew out of its stupidity and couldn't take it anymore. And I didn't start up again till the early 2000s, with cable shows. Having sampled some popular fare in between those years, I'm pretty confident I didn't miss much.

by Anonymousreply 126September 13, 2018 7:09 AM

Any of the Lucy shows after ILL. Even most of the hour long shows sucked.

by Anonymousreply 127September 13, 2018 7:32 AM

MASH, for sure. It is literally depressing to watch. So dull and drab. I don’t know how it lasted so long.

by Anonymousreply 128September 13, 2018 7:35 AM

F-Troop

by Anonymousreply 129September 13, 2018 4:02 PM

It’s a risk to get so political like Designing Women and Murphy Brown. It works in the short term but forget reruns.

by Anonymousreply 130September 13, 2018 5:27 PM

I also disagree about Seinfeld. Far and away, the best and original writing. Maybe you've had had to live in New York City in the 90s.

by Anonymousreply 131September 13, 2018 5:50 PM

A lot of Designing Women has aged horribly. Some of the episodes are still great, but a lot of them grate my nerves. Remember the one where Julia keeps plowing into a newsstand that sells porn mags and we're supposed to be all "yay Julia!" even though she comes off like a horrible, self-righteous harridan the entire time?

I actually think a lot of Friends has held up. Christ knows, it was never a realistic portrait of NYC life anyway. That cast really was a great ensemble and they all supported one another, on stage and off.

Nip/Tuck seemed super edgy at the time, but looking back at it now, it does feel more like a campy soap than the racy game changer it originally was hailed as. I still enjoy the first 3 seasons, though.

by Anonymousreply 132September 13, 2018 6:49 PM

I Love Lucy, Three's Company and The Golden Girls seem to be the ONLY pre 1990 sitcoms that get discovered from generation to generation, that's why they're ALWAYS on in reruns on like 3 channels at a time

There's a timeless feel to them

by Anonymousreply 133September 13, 2018 6:52 PM

The last episode of Grace Under Fire (on Amazon) is a MUST watch. Butler is stoned or drunk out of her mind. The run time is also very short - they couldn't even get enough material to finish the episode. Production was shut down after it.

by Anonymousreply 134September 13, 2018 6:54 PM

I don't know why it is, but it does seem like Three's Company, The Golden Girls, and I Love Lucy have breached generations. For I Love Lucy, that's especially rare since it's in black and white and people feel like young people don't want to watch things in black and white. I feel like, if you're exposed to them early enough, it's not an issue. Good storytelling is good storytelling.

by Anonymousreply 135September 13, 2018 9:10 PM

Perfect Strangers and Mad About You

by Anonymousreply 136September 13, 2018 9:18 PM
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