Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

What tv shows from your youth just don’t hold up anymore?

I’ve been revisiting On Our Own from 1977. A short-lived sitcom for sure. I used to watch it with my mom at age 7 and at the time thought it was good viewing. It doesn’t really hold up. I miss my mom tonight and enjoyed a bit of nostalgia but this show was a real clunker.

Yet, I continue to watch.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 120October 6, 2024 4:16 PM

Martin it’s a little too over the top even the certain episodes are still hilarious.

by Anonymousreply 1September 29, 2024 2:46 AM

Candid Camera was a favorite of mine as a kid, but it falls flat now.

by Anonymousreply 2September 29, 2024 2:48 AM

The Cosby Show.

by Anonymousreply 3September 29, 2024 2:49 AM

Nearly all of them.

by Anonymousreply 4September 29, 2024 2:50 AM

Welcome Back Kotter. Good God. How did I watch that? No wonder I got such middling SAT scores.

by Anonymousreply 5September 29, 2024 2:50 AM

R4 Ok Sarah Palin.

by Anonymousreply 6September 29, 2024 2:51 AM

As much as I’ll ever acknowledge Cheers as a brilliantly entertaining sitcom, I can barely watch most episodes now.

by Anonymousreply 7September 29, 2024 2:52 AM

R7 I discovered Cheers about 5 years ago and think it’s awesome. But I wasn’t even a fetus for much of the 80s.

by Anonymousreply 8September 29, 2024 2:54 AM

Cheers with Shelley Long hold up. After she left it just unraveled.

by Anonymousreply 9September 29, 2024 2:56 AM

Yeah, I'd rewatch Cheers, but only the Shelly Long seasons.

by Anonymousreply 10September 29, 2024 2:58 AM

I loved Saved By The Bell as a kid, but holy shit it was BAD when I revisited a few episodes.

by Anonymousreply 11September 29, 2024 3:01 AM

The Carol Burnett Show…the sketches are mostly awful.

by Anonymousreply 12September 29, 2024 3:02 AM

I loved "The Carol Burnett Show" as a kid and often watched it with my family. Now, maybe there's an occasional chuckle at best. Also I don't find "All in the Family" as funny as I remember it being. And "Seinfeld" is another one.

by Anonymousreply 13September 29, 2024 3:04 AM

Dick van Dyke.

Only the most famous episodes--"It May Look Like a Walnut," "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth," the Petries overhearing the Halperts talking about them on the walkie-talkie and then playing charades with them, Laura accidentally opening the inflatable raft--are still funny.

by Anonymousreply 14September 29, 2024 3:09 AM

THE TIME TUNNEL. I thought it was so cool when I was a kid, but in recently re-watching the bulk of the series, I found it mostly silly and stupid.

by Anonymousreply 15September 29, 2024 3:26 AM

OP you watch it for the happy nostalgia it brings you. Just enjoy it.

by Anonymousreply 16September 29, 2024 3:41 AM

Seinfeld aged like milk. Somehow The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy feel more relatable nowadays, culturally, than Seinfeld.

by Anonymousreply 17September 29, 2024 3:45 AM

Mama's Family. I laughed my ass off with the first two seasons. The syndication years made it required Saturday night viewing, second only to The Golden Girls. Then, for some reason, six years ago, I was watching my Time/ Life complete series box set, and I had to stop. Too much yelling, unnecessary insults, and Vint got on my last nerve. It's like it wasn't the same show.

Conversely, I love Sanford and Son, Sanford, and Maude more than ever and have developed new appreciation for It's a Living, The Addams Family, and The Patty Duke Show.

by Anonymousreply 18September 29, 2024 3:51 AM

[quote]R8 I discovered Cheers about 5 years ago and think it’s awesome. But I wasn’t even a fetus for much of the 80s.

Hi, Catherine Zeta Jones!

by Anonymousreply 19September 29, 2024 3:55 AM

Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley.

by Anonymousreply 20September 29, 2024 4:21 AM

Wonder Woman

by Anonymousreply 21September 29, 2024 12:38 PM

Lost in Space

by Anonymousreply 22September 29, 2024 12:39 PM

MASH. Alan Alda. At 16 he was Voltaire. At 61 he's agonizing.

by Anonymousreply 23September 29, 2024 1:03 PM

GI Joe.

by Anonymousreply 24September 29, 2024 1:56 PM

Nothing from your childhood holds up. You can't go home again.

by Anonymousreply 25September 29, 2024 2:37 PM

Knight Rider

by Anonymousreply 26September 29, 2024 2:43 PM

Not TV but I enjoyed the movie She’s All That as a teen. Great cast etc (with the exception of Freddie).

It’s barely watchable.

by Anonymousreply 27September 29, 2024 2:46 PM

Archie Bunker's Place

by Anonymousreply 28September 29, 2024 3:18 PM

Archie Bunker's Place always stank on ice.

by Anonymousreply 29September 29, 2024 3:51 PM

Romper Room

by Anonymousreply 30September 29, 2024 4:28 PM

Oh! Gossip Girl. I used to love watching the clothes and the fashion.

They all look like clowns.

by Anonymousreply 31September 29, 2024 4:33 PM

The first two seasons of Happy Days still hold up, because they were like small films about life in the ‘50s. The clothing and hair styling was pretty authentic, and the storylines were funny, touching, and clear. But the show really turned into a cheesy yahoo-fest when they started shooting in front of a studio audience, and storylines suffered for the sake of one-liners and catch phrases (which really date the show to the ‘70s), BROAD characterizations played to the back of the house, and set-ups for jokes. The audience would hoot and holler whenever any main character made an entrance. Another thing that really dated the show were the ‘70s hair (feathered and permed), the ‘70s jeans, and Potsie and Mrs. Cunningham losing brain cells. They would have been right at home with the Sweathogs on Welcome Back, Kotter.

by Anonymousreply 32September 29, 2024 4:35 PM

R17 I still love Seinfeld and very much enjoy watching it. Jerry himself was not at all funny. It was the chemistry of the entire cast that made the show work beautifully. I know everyone worships Friends, but I still haven't seen every episode of it, and I don't think it aged well at all.

by Anonymousreply 33September 29, 2024 4:39 PM

R11 It’s funny because I realized Saved by the Bell was bad then like even as a kid. The plots weren’t resolved or just nonsensical. It’s hard to explain. I like it more now for the nostalgic factor.

by Anonymousreply 34September 29, 2024 4:44 PM

Three’s Company with Jack constantly badly pretending to be a queeny homo.

MASH was all kinds of problematic, yet good when it was good.

WKEP in Cincinnati somehow doesn’t hold up well at all. Feels like some 2024 douchebros’ dads were the screenwriters.

by Anonymousreply 35September 29, 2024 4:54 PM

Head of the Class

by Anonymousreply 36September 29, 2024 4:55 PM

R17 is absolutely trolling and its remained popular enough with millenials and Gen Z. If anything its one of the few shows from the 90s that have aged well

by Anonymousreply 37September 29, 2024 5:05 PM

Small Wonder...

Oh, wait... that show didn't hold up then either!

by Anonymousreply 38September 29, 2024 5:10 PM

R37 according to a 2021 study, 42% of people who streamed Seinfeld on Netflix were 34 years old or less

by Anonymousreply 39September 29, 2024 5:12 PM

Amos n Andy

by Anonymousreply 40September 29, 2024 5:12 PM

[quote] Seinfeld aged like milk. Somehow The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy feel more relatable nowadays, culturally, than Seinfeld.

I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners are shrill and not funny at all. There's nothing relatable about all that zany screaming.

by Anonymousreply 41September 29, 2024 5:14 PM

I've never bought into the notion that young people do not watch old TV shows from the past. Why wouldn't they? There is no reason to refuse to watch something just because it aired before you were born.

by Anonymousreply 42September 29, 2024 5:18 PM

I love Lucy is funny. That shit just is yo. Lucille Ball was something special. I found it funny at 9 yrs old watching Nick at Nite and I still do.

by Anonymousreply 43September 29, 2024 5:19 PM

R41 Xennial here. I love ILL AND Seinfeld. There is room in my heart for a vast array of different types of comedy. Good writting is good writting. Talent is talent

by Anonymousreply 44September 29, 2024 5:21 PM

I never bought the marriage between Lucy and Ricky. He was so out of her league, I don't understand how she managed to snag him in real life. It's a head scratcher.

by Anonymousreply 45September 29, 2024 5:21 PM

R45 I'm going to pretend you're trolling or have eyesight....issues

by Anonymousreply 46September 29, 2024 5:30 PM

R43 I would watch it in the early 90s on TBS and managed to turn my preteen niece into it now too. She loves it ñ

by Anonymousreply 47September 29, 2024 5:31 PM

My Three Sons

Not funny. Bunch of robotic acting including frugal Fred MacMurray.

by Anonymousreply 48September 29, 2024 5:36 PM

What doesn’t hold up to me are those legal and medical dramas from the 80s and 90s. Law & Order being an exception. I tried watching ER the other day. Whew it was a chore. There has been so much heightened realism on cable tv/streaming that they just seem phony now.

by Anonymousreply 49September 29, 2024 5:38 PM

New Zoo Revue

by Anonymousreply 50September 29, 2024 5:45 PM

It is interesting that every show mentioned so far has been sitcom or a children's show. Not one drama has been named.

Dynasty ---- bad acting, cheesy sets and campy plots.

by Anonymousreply 51September 29, 2024 5:50 PM

R51 well the Op did say youth implying childhood/teens. I would say DL is about 70% Gen X/Boomers and 30% milllenials/gen Z. There weren’t many dramas before the 80s.

by Anonymousreply 52September 29, 2024 5:56 PM

LaVerne and Shirley's humor, which was always suspect, now just seems moronic.

by Anonymousreply 53September 29, 2024 5:58 PM

R17 What are you talking about? Seinfeld is as funny as it was when it was first released. I still watch clips occasionally on YouTube. It's hilarious.

by Anonymousreply 54September 29, 2024 6:15 PM

[quote]There has been so much heightened realism on cable tv/streaming that they just seem phony now.

The first few years of ER with Clooney was some compelling TV. Watching Hathaway get wheeled in after a suicide attempt in the pilot episode was shocking.

To each their own, but I find that people grossly have grossly overhyped the current slate TV in the last ten- fifteen years. Not saying there hasn't been great television (there has), but the hit/miss ratio really hasn't improved much.

You get "realism" with a show like VEEP, but it's all surface. Once you quickly realize all the characters have the same biting, sarcastic style of insults, it's tedious. The writing on some these shows still leaves a lot to be desired.

by Anonymousreply 55September 29, 2024 6:17 PM

[quote] The Carol Burnett Show…the sketches are mostly awful.

I think many of the sketches are solid or still funny

BUT

yes, there are some serious clunkers in there, too.

The defined character sketches (The Family, Mrs. Wiggins, etc.) hold up the best, in general.

by Anonymousreply 56September 29, 2024 6:18 PM

I'm a child of the 80s and all of the "family" sitcoms from that era - Growing Pains, Family Ties, Different Strokes, Mr. Belvedere, Webster, etc.

I watched all of them as a child but as an adult I can't watch more than three minutes if I catch a rerun while channel surfing. Absolute garbage. They were fucking awful.

The only family-friendly sitcom from that era I can still appreciate is The Facts of Life because it has a certain charming campy kitschiness about it.

by Anonymousreply 57September 29, 2024 6:32 PM

I forgot to mention that even as a child I hated The Cosby Show. Claire was such a bitch to those kids and Cliff was always giving some sanctimonious lecture. Of course now all I can think of is how Bill Cosby was drugging and raping women the whole time the show was on the air.

by Anonymousreply 58September 29, 2024 6:33 PM

Even when I was little, watching the Carol Burnett Show, I could not figure out what was so funny about Tim Conway. Carol was always breaking character to laugh at Tim and I just didn't get it.

by Anonymousreply 59September 29, 2024 7:24 PM

Watching the entire episodes of The Carol Burnett show can be torture. There are so many lousy skits and the musical numbers are often dreadful because Carol just couldn't sing.

by Anonymousreply 60September 29, 2024 7:28 PM

What was wrong with Carol's singing voice? I wouldn't say it was pleasant, but it wasn't off-key or flat. I don't think she was given challenging songs to sing, though.

by Anonymousreply 61September 29, 2024 7:38 PM

R45, have you ever heard of the word Dickmitized? He was talented with a 9" thick cuban sausage, and handsome. She lucked out.

by Anonymousreply 62September 29, 2024 9:44 PM

Lucille Ball was a very pretty woman in her youth, before the cigs and booze ravaged her looks.

by Anonymousreply 63September 29, 2024 9:48 PM

That wobble in her voice was horrible, It made me think in every song she was going to go into her Tarzan yell.

by Anonymousreply 64September 29, 2024 9:49 PM

The Texaco Star Theater starring Milton Berle. He isn't funny.

by Anonymousreply 65September 29, 2024 9:56 PM

I remember when cable stations began playing reruns of the first few seasons of Saturday Night Live. They were already legendary but watching them was, for the most part, a snoozefest of amateurish, drug-fuelled hubris interrupted by the occasional flash of brilliance. They had FUCKING MUPPETS!!!????

by Anonymousreply 66September 29, 2024 9:56 PM

Make Room For Daddy. The hookers taking a shit on the glass coffee table while Danny Thomas jerked off underneath just isn't as funny as it was when I was a kid.

by Anonymousreply 67September 29, 2024 9:58 PM

Dixie Carter was the best thing about On Our Own.

by Anonymousreply 68September 29, 2024 10:00 PM

Very few shows hold up. ILL and Frasier are the exception IMO.

by Anonymousreply 69September 29, 2024 10:07 PM

Exxon Presents The Helen Lawson Sunday Revue.

You can't see those chorus boys smiles as anything but - oh, I can't even say it, but we all know.

Ans [italic]Sundays![/italic]

by Anonymousreply 70September 29, 2024 10:18 PM

Saved by the Bell still holds up as really bad schlock. It was bad then and remains bad now. And we can still perv out over young Mario Lopez!

by Anonymousreply 71September 29, 2024 10:35 PM

The Saturday morning cartoons I used to watch in the '80s and '90s (GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, etc.) look like garbage today. The animation was so obviously done as cheaply as possible.

by Anonymousreply 72September 29, 2024 11:16 PM

Heresy to some but I tried watching a few episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore show and the comedy just didn't hit me...I know it was the " smart" sitcom of the 70s and "30 rock", one of my favorite shows, was inspired by it but....nope. I feel it was too tame/not edgy enough in comparison to more modern shows yet it didnt have the "good old days" old fashioned nostalgic appeal like ILL or The Honeymooners. I feel similarly about Cheers.

by Anonymousreply 73September 30, 2024 2:39 AM

Manamal

by Anonymousreply 74September 30, 2024 2:40 AM

Most of the ABC TGIF shows- boy meets world, home improvement, sabrina the teenaged witch

by Anonymousreply 75September 30, 2024 3:03 AM

R75 Home improvement wasn’t TGIF.

by Anonymousreply 76September 30, 2024 3:03 AM

Oh, I got it mixed up then R76. But also family matters, step-by-step, hanging with Mr. Cooper. Pure unwatchable trash.

by Anonymousreply 77September 30, 2024 3:08 AM

Actually Boy Meets World had its moments.

by Anonymousreply 78September 30, 2024 3:10 AM

I haven’t seen Boy Meets World since my early 20s but I imagine it still holds up. Home Improvement is a good show always and forever.

by Anonymousreply 79September 30, 2024 3:19 AM

When I was a kid I'd watch tv with my parents and they liked St. Elsewhere, LA Law and Hill Street Blues. I guess these shows were "edgy" for the times but they're so dated now, in light of modern hourlong dramas and what can be shown and said.

by Anonymousreply 80September 30, 2024 3:22 AM

I can't watch Laverne and Shirley at all as an adult, it's so corny and unfunny.

by Anonymousreply 81September 30, 2024 3:23 AM

r21 I think the World War II episodes of Wonder Woman hold up better than the episodes that took place in the 70s, which ironically seem much more dated now.

by Anonymousreply 82September 30, 2024 3:24 AM

You Can’t Do That On Television

by Anonymousreply 83September 30, 2024 3:25 AM

LA Law, Thirtysomething

by Anonymousreply 84September 30, 2024 3:52 AM

Penny Dreadful.

by Anonymousreply 85September 30, 2024 3:56 AM

Barney

by Anonymousreply 86September 30, 2024 4:08 AM

Few TV shows from my youth hold up. I thought Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show were the greatest thing ever. Most of it is painfully unfunny now.

Certainly the original CBS "What's My Line?", is still fascinating as the never ending thread here attests.

A lot of the The Dick Van Dyke Show is still fun to watch. A lot of "Leave It To Beaver" too. Some of "The Andy Griffith Show".

Thank God for "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the other variety shows that have given us individual performances that are still worth watching although I wouldn't want to sit through a full show.

I was still a teen when "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premiered. That still holds up well.

by Anonymousreply 87September 30, 2024 4:15 AM

[quote]There weren’t many dramas before the 80s.

Please explain, R52. The 50s-70s were chock-a-block with dramas, both one-hour and half-hour, and you can find a decent number of them on the various strea.ing services.

On topic: I find Wagon Train, Laramie, and *some* of Tales From Wells Fargo hold up VERY well. My sibs and I watched Wagon Train after school, but it wasn't exactly kid-friendly so I didn't remember anything about it. Then 4-5 years ago I caught WT on MeTV, and got hooked. Same with Laramie (the 2 hot "bachelor" stud housemates, John Smith and his VPL, and the delicious Robert Fuller).

Speaking of Robert Fuller, I've been on an EMERGENCY! kick since Cozi TV started airing it on Saturday afternoons and weekday mornings. It holds up well, and surprisingly so considering the massive advances in both emergency medicine and paramedic/EMT/first responder protocols (and also considering how much I HAAATED Athat show as a kid in the 70s). But that makes it even more fun to watch now, because I get to ask my nurse sister if Thing 1 or Thing 3 is still done today, or nah.

by Anonymousreply 88September 30, 2024 5:01 AM

I watched the entire run of "Maude" a few years ago and was surprised by how well much of the episodic subject matter held up. 50 years later and those are STILL topical issues being debated. However, sadly, I didn't think it was as funny or charming as I remembered it being when I was young kid watching it first run. A lot of the "jokes" felt repetitive and obvious.

by Anonymousreply 89September 30, 2024 12:04 PM

Much of the run of "Happy Days" (once Fonzie swallowed the show) was unwatchable even as a kid. I hated "Welcome Back, Kotter" and if anything it's aged even worse. Even as a little boy I though "M*A*S*H" was unfunny, sanctimonious claptrap.

While dated, I do still find reruns of "Soap" funny -- the earlier seasons had brilliant writing, and both Katherine Helmond and Richard Mulligan were genius standouts amongst a generally solid cast. Weirdly, I like "Golden Girls" more now than I did first run. The writing can be hit or miss, but those ladies were amazing to watch. During college, I would watch and love Nick-at-Nite reruns of "Our Miss Brooks", "Car 54 - Where Are You?" and "Private Secretary" -- all as enjoyable decades later as was "I Love Lucy", "Dick Van Dyke Show", and "The Honeymooners".

by Anonymousreply 90September 30, 2024 12:14 PM

R88, you will then probably be glad to know that MeTV is finally (after almost 5 years) about to take ADAM-12 off its afternoon lineup and replace it with -- wait for it -- EMERGENCY! I must admit that I have never seen not one single episode (not even when it was on during its original run on NBC back in the '70s), but since I usually watch ADAM at that time, I guess I might as well take this opportunity to check it out (plus any chance to look at the gorgeous Robert Fuller is fine by me).

by Anonymousreply 91September 30, 2024 4:17 PM

I liked the Cheers - Shelley Long’s Diane Chambers role. She portrayed an uppity white woman who doesn’t quite have what it takes to excel with the literary world or really success in general no matter how hard she tries to succeed.

by Anonymousreply 92September 30, 2024 4:36 PM

Silver Spoons. Mind you I was at the age when I was mixing play "potions" from kitchen spices and whatever berries grew in my neighbourhood.

by Anonymousreply 93September 30, 2024 4:42 PM

I loved Madame’s Place!! I was 7 yrs old and I also loved loved loved Filthy Rich

by Anonymousreply 94September 30, 2024 4:47 PM

While watching "Emergency" it helps to imagine between takes Bob Fuller strapping Randy Mantooth to a gurney and having his way with him.

by Anonymousreply 95September 30, 2024 4:52 PM

Another World. I mean just what the fuck was Iris's problem with Mac and Rachel???

by Anonymousreply 96October 1, 2024 12:13 AM

Lassie.

by Anonymousreply 97October 1, 2024 12:17 AM

R96. Iris loved her daddy...

by Anonymousreply 98October 1, 2024 12:50 AM

The thing with Diane though is she THOUGHT she had succeeded and was better than everyone else.

by Anonymousreply 99October 1, 2024 1:10 AM

Start a thread on ones that have held up well.

by Anonymousreply 100October 1, 2024 1:10 AM

There is a very very mentally ill person on DL. Real talk. It’s sad.

by Anonymousreply 101October 1, 2024 6:29 AM

No, Diane Chambers KNEW she was a loser. She thought it was only temporary, though.

by Anonymousreply 102October 1, 2024 6:35 AM

“Sabrina the Teenage Witch” still has its moments, but viewing it through adult eyes reveals a lot of the seams. The laugh track is unevenly distributed and the editing sometimes off. Also, Melissa Joan Hart may have been pretty and charming but she wasn’t a great actress.

by Anonymousreply 103October 1, 2024 6:50 AM

Hugely unpopular opinion but I preferred Rebecca over Diane who came of as shrill, high maintenance and corny. And though I was invested in Sam and Diane at first I soon realized they really were too different and ultimately not meant for each other, which is when their ups and downs became tedious.

by Anonymousreply 104October 1, 2024 1:43 PM

Also appreciated the show more as an ensemble in the later years, because of the fact it was less focused on the central couple.

by Anonymousreply 105October 1, 2024 1:49 PM

Sabrina was unwatchable for me. The cat was terrible, Sabrina looked a softball playing soft butch lez. 1 episode and I was done.

by Anonymousreply 106October 1, 2024 2:38 PM

R101, isn't it you?

by Anonymousreply 107October 1, 2024 2:38 PM

One Day at a Time, mainly because of Bonnie Franklin's cringe-inducing overacting. God she was awful.

by Anonymousreply 108October 1, 2024 2:48 PM

OP I'm sad that Amazon doesn't have the pilot episode of "On Our Own" with shirtless John Getz parading around as model.

by Anonymousreply 109October 1, 2024 2:56 PM

Brady Bunch

by Anonymousreply 110October 1, 2024 3:36 PM

r108 ODAAT is DL's favorite hate watch. We can't help ourselves.

by Anonymousreply 111October 1, 2024 8:55 PM

The Brady Bunch. It's really cringe-worthy. Especially when they get to the singing specials. Stop trying to be the Partridges. The kids were embarrassing singers. The perms at the end.

by Anonymousreply 112October 1, 2024 9:02 PM

LHOTP

by Anonymousreply 113October 1, 2024 9:03 PM

R113. Why so?

by Anonymousreply 114October 1, 2024 10:31 PM

I will halfway disagree about Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Seasons 1-4 hold up well with a strong cast: Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Salem, and Libby.

It went downhill when Libby exited and was unwatchable when Sabrina went off to college without her aunts.

by Anonymousreply 115October 1, 2024 10:59 PM

Any show that has Martin Mull AND the Violent Femmes is okay with me.

by Anonymousreply 116October 5, 2024 10:42 AM

I remember an episode of Charles in Charge where the teenage girl is debating whether she should date a boy at her school because he's... MEXICAN!

by Anonymousreply 117October 6, 2024 3:59 PM

I hope she chose not to.

by Anonymousreply 118October 6, 2024 4:00 PM

It's funny when you watch sitcoms from the 70s to mid-80s and realize how much cultural sensitivity has changed. During lunch I've been streaming old episodes of Too Close for Comfort which is about as banal a TV show as they come -- yet peppered throughout are questionable references to gays, Asians, Latinos, women -- and all of it played mostly matter-of-fact straight, not for a laugh like in some Norman Lear show. Old reruns are like a time capsule.

by Anonymousreply 119October 6, 2024 4:16 PM

I feel like the 70's and 80's was the last of the Vaudeville-influenced older producers and studio executives in Hollywood. The physical humor, the obvious gags, the cutesy/corny jokes.

It all screams of a different time - and I have a theory that's what these older execs remember and loved from their youth going to the Vaudeville/cinema in the 20s/30s/40s.

I remember Susan Olsen (yes - we all hate her) HATING having to do the Shirley Temple shtick in one of the latter episodes. She didn't know who she was and thought it was corny AF - but Sherwood Schwartz was like - SHIRLEY TEMPLE was a STAH! EVERYONE loves Shirley Temple!

Then TV changed dramatically in the late 80's, 90s and 2000s. Observational humor (Seinfeld), realistic portrayals (Roseanne, ER), gutting honesty (My So Called Life) - made it more real and less staged and phony.

by Anonymousreply 120October 6, 2024 4:16 PM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!