Thread: Old shows that still enthrall us Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :
 
Boy it's been a long time since I started a thread. Let's see how it goes.

There's threads on current TV shows, but what if what you really want to rave about is something older, either that you've loved for years, or that you just discovered? This is the place to let it out.

For me it's The West Wing. A friend had been trying to get me to watch it for ages, and after she forced me into a few episodes, I got caught by it. I actually joined Netflix for the express purpose of watching it, and binge watched the whole seven years in the last few weeks. I want to live in the world where Bartlett and Santos were presidents!

So anyone else want to offer up a blast frm the past?
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Since I started my new job, I have been repeatedly binge-- watching old episodes of the Carol Burnett show. Weirdly, I have come to believe it's because she was one of my major role models when I was in preschool, so in some strange way reconnecting with Carol and the gang helps me access my inner four year old.

That, and it is hard to maintain a bad mood after a couple hours of watching Tim Conway tease Harvey Korman into a collapse.
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Re "West Wing"--Once upon a time, there were "Bartlett For President" bumperstickers. The US could do worse, and often has...

I've found that some series that I initially shrug off--or avoid like the plague--turn out to be among my favorites: "Buffy", "X-Files", etc. I've tried to learn from that, and am beginning to get it right.

There are several broadcast stations here (SF Bay Area) that have retro shows. I watch "Doogie Howser, MD" most nights. (Some of it has held up well, but there are attitudes and comments that don't.) I used to watch "Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids" in the wee hours, but am avoiding it due to Cosby issues. I occasionally watch the "Burns & Allen Show". Caught a bit of "Mod Squad" the other night.

One of my long-time faves is "Scarecrow & Mrs. King", though it's not currently running here.
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
While I'm having a think this might be the place to see if there any other fans of US prison drama 'Oz' who might understand why I'm so happy that J.K. Simmons has just won an Oscar.

Oz is the reason I bought a multi-region DVD player; the first internet forum I joined was the Oz thread on Television Without Pity, and then a splinter group on Yahoo.

From the creators of Homicide: Life on the Street, Oz was notable for grizzly death, comment on social justice and having a largely female and gay male fan base, which may or may not have been the result of the crazily regular occurrence of full frontal nudity
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
I recently discovered a station that runs the old Murder, She Wrote episodes starring Angela Lansbury.

It's nice to be reminded of the practice Lansbury had of casting personalities whose star had set long ago in guest appearances (Dinah Shore appeared on a recent episode).

It's nice also to be reminded that I had made up words to the show's theme song:

Murder, murder she wrote,
And she wrote it fair.
Now ride that bike and catch that fish
And climb along the stair . . . way.
etc.
 

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Posted by teddybear (# 7842) on :
 
Gilligan's Island
Little Rascals
Three Stoodges
Daktari
In Living Color
F-Troop
Leave it to Beaver
Beverly Hillbillies
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres
Gunsmoke
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Re "Murder She Wrote":

The one scene from that show that stuck with me is from the episode where a real estate agent kills someone. (IIRC, had to do with money.) When explaining, she said "I was down to my last pair of nylons!" And, of course, Jessica did her classic sorrowful headshake.
 

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Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 
MIL loves crime shows and one of the ITV channels here has Kojak, Hawaii Five-O etc. Murder She Wrote is always on, and one time we saw Jerry Orbach guest star. So great to see two Broadway stars together but we were longing for a musical number!

Recently one of our channels was showing repeats of Due South. Still superb, should have been a massive success. And Benton Fraser is the most wonderful character.
 

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Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Having just finished Dad's Army, we're now on to Yes, Minister. Perhaps 'Alo, 'Alo should be next...

Do I need to mention Doctor Who? We recently watched 'The Invasion' and are now into .. but perhaps that's for the other thread!

M.
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
I've got hooked on MASH which is showing now on one of the UK Freeview channels. I never saw it when it was first on. I'm loving it, though I find the character of the supposed "hero" Hawkeye a complete pain in the ****, shows how much views have changed!
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
My youngest loves Dad's Army and The Good Life but the boys are not enthralled by 'Allo 'Allo. We're fans of Yes Minister and we all love Agatha Christies, especially David Suchet's Poirot. Lots of vintage Doctor Who here as we are addicts. We rent vintage DVDs from Love Film.
I've also got some favourite 80s dramas on DVD like House of Cards, Oranges are not the only fruit and The Life and Loves of a She Devil. Oranges is probably my all time favourite drama.
 

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Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 

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Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've got hooked on MASH which is showing now on one of the UK Freeview channels. I never saw it when it was first on. I'm loving it, though I find the character of the supposed "hero" Hawkeye a complete pain in the ****, shows how much views have changed!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Heavenly Anarchist:
we all love Agatha Christies, especially David Suchet's Poirot.

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
When in doubt, a rerun of STNG (Star Trek the Next Generation). I love talking to Wesley and telling him that we'll chuck him out an air lock.

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quote:

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:



But the one I really want is WKRP, which I understand cannot be had on DVD due to the music licensing. I swear I thought turkeys could fly!

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WKRP is available over here on HuluPlus, I was very excited and sat with tea and biscuits for a happy hour of nostalgia while ACBaby was asleep. Unfortunately my 9 year old self had missed the horrendous sexism the first time round. The outdated attitudes made unwatchable for me this time round and I can normally forgive a lot in older programmes.


 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Blake's Seven .....

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... Avon .........
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

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Eigon: I've found videos in the local charity shops of The Champions

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Originally posted by Sparrow:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Blake's Seven .....

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... Avon .........

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quote:

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Originally posted by Gill H:

quote:

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Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've got hooked on MASH which is showing now on one of the UK Freeview channels. I never saw it when it was first on. I'm loving it, though I find the character of the supposed "hero" Hawkeye a complete pain in the ****, shows how much views have changed!

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I find it weird having the laugh track. It was originally shown on BBC2 with no laugh track. I like being treated as a grown up and allowed to decide what's funny!

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Originally posted by Hedgehog:

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Originally posted by Gill H:

quote:

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Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've got hooked on MASH which is showing now on one of the UK Freeview channels. I never saw it when it was first on. I'm loving it, though I find the character of the supposed "hero" Hawkeye a complete pain in the ****, shows how much views have changed!

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I find it weird having the laugh track. It was originally shown on BBC2 with no laugh track. I like being treated as a grown up and allowed to decide what's funny!

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That's US television for you. If you are a comedy, the network bosses will put a laugh track on it even if the show personnel do not want it there. The show SportsNight (circa 1999-2000) fought hard to not have one. The early episodes do, but the later episodes either have none or it is very subdued (I forget which). And then the network canceled the show for no good reason.

M*A*S*H at least was successful in insisting that no laugh track would be played whenever they were in the operating room. It didn't matter how many jokes were being told--no laugh track when operating.

I have so many old TV shows on DVD to watch when I want. Doctor Who, The Addams Family, a few seasons of Mission: Impossible. Of more recent vintage, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Burn Notice and the aforementioned SportsNight.

One that I did not watch in my childhood but stumbled upon a few years back is the 1954 Ronald Howard/H. Marion Crawford Sherlock Holmes. Simply love it. It is a rare Holmes-Watson pairing where you can really believe that they are friends.

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Originally posted by betjemaniac:
Am I alone (probably) in coming late to the M*A*S*H party (say post 2000), seeing the film first, and thus just never clicking with the series?

I mean, Hawkeye just is Donald Sutherland...

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Let me join your club. The film is a classic that the TV series could never begin to approach. Perfect casting: not only Sutherland, but Elliott Gould as Trapper John, Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips Houlihan, René Auberjonois as Father Mulcahy, Bud Cort as Boone -- the list is endless! "This isn't a hospital -- it's an insane asylum!"
 

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Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
Too young for its first run, I fell in love with the Barney Miller series when it was already old and hoary a couple of decades later. The characters were wonderful, the ensemble acting of the cast was terrific, and (having lived in Alphabet City a little previously in my own life), found the utterly bizarre situations the detectives dealt with hilariously reminiscent of my time in the Apple.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Delighted to see just now "Old shows that still enthrall us - Porridge". And indeed it does
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
All Gas and Gaiters

Possibly because a lot of it was shot near where I grew up but it was wonderful - Robertson Hare's Archdeacon was a riot and I knew the chap the Dean was based on!
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Indeed. 'It's the - Dean!' Is still a catchphrase in our house.

[ 27. February 2015, 07:02: Message edited by: Firenze ]
 

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Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Oh, yes! We bought the dvds a few years ago of All Gas and Gaiters (well, the episodes that survive) - might have to dig them out and watch them now.

M.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 

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Originally posted by Galilit:

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Originally posted by Sparrow:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Blake's Seven .....

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... Avon .........

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Ach! (As we say in the Kirk).
It was a long time ago and far away and a very short series (at least where I lived/watched tv) but I've never forgotten him either

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quote:

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Originally posted by L'organist:
Remember those BBC TV tea-time serials on a Sunday? Tom Brown's Schooldays, The Last of the Mohicans (with Philip Madoc), the E Nesbit books, some Dickens (I remember A tale of Two Cities and Nicholas Nickleby), Lorna Doone, etc, etc, etc.

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Originally posted by Jane R:
Does anyone else remember 'The Chinese Detective'? I can't remember the plots of any of the stories and it's probably horridly dated now (when it first aired, casting a non-white character in the lead role was considered very daring) but what I do remember is that I had a huge crush on David Yip...

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quote:

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Originally posted by L'organist:
All Gas and Gaiters ...

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Originally posted by Piglet:

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Originally posted by L'organist:
All Gas and Gaiters ...

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It's funny you should mention that - it was the first show that came to my mind when I saw the thread.

I remember watching it when I was very young - and although I had no clue whatsoever of the church politics I still found it funny. Now, having been involved in Anglican cathedrals for the last 25+ years, I suspect I'd laugh like a drain.

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
... Drop the Dead Donkey & Chelsmford 123 ...

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Yes yes yes.
 

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Posted by Amika (# 15785) on :
 

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Originally posted by Eigon:
I've been going back to my childhood, as I've found videos in the local charity shops of The Champions (how I wanted to be Sharon McCready, with that very 1960s bun and the ability to hear/communicate telepathically with the other Champions), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).

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Originally posted by Lord Jestocost:

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Originally posted by Jane R:
Does anyone else remember 'The Chinese Detective'? I can't remember the plots of any of the stories and it's probably horridly dated now (when it first aired, casting a non-white character in the lead role was considered very daring) but what I do remember is that I had a huge crush on David Yip...

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Yup - a title like that would just get a big "so what?" today, but I remember it. It rubs shoulders in my memory with Trevor Eve as the eponymous "Shoestring", a P.I. working for a local radio station who took on listeners' cases.

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
... Drop the Dead Donkey & Chelsmford 123 ...

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Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
Besides, isn't a bloke in a bowler hat and a lass in lycra far more interesting than a bunch of superheroes?

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Different tastes...
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 

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Originally posted by L'organist:
Anyone else out there remember Budgie with Adam Faith and Iain Cuthbertson?

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You nicked their dug - they want you deid.

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Originally posted by L'organist:
Iain Cuthbertson also starred in Sutherland's Law, an interesting drama series about a procurator fiscal and used Hamish McCunn's Land of the Mountain and the Flood for its theme music.

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I was a bit too young to appreciate it, although I remember the music, and my parents watching it. I think it would bear repeating.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
I remember the music, too (and of course have heard it many times since). On a tangent, think about Hamish MacCunn's reputation: he was the star pupil of his year at the RCM, he composed Land of the Mountain and the Flood when he was 19, he lived another thirty years- but that piece is all that anyone remembers him for.

[ 02. March 2015, 16:52: Message edited by: Albertus ]
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Speaking of Hamish, I was given a DVD of "Hamish Macbeth" at Christmas. I'd forgotten what an enjoyable series that was.
 

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Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
I remember being hot under the collar about the sexism of "I Dream Of Jeanie" after not having seen it for at least a decade and then rediscovering it this past year--and laughing my ass off. The late Larry Hagman was a genius at physical comedy and the show is hilarious. Yeah, the "Master" stuff gets tired but hey, she IS a genie, after all and she never "obeys" her Master as much as she does whatever the hell she wants anyway. "Bewitched" is more sexist than "I Dream Of Jeanie". Both shows are on, back to back on some obscure station we get with our AT&T Cable package. Both are hilarious but Jeanie gets to use her magic more than poor Samantha. I'll tell you, if I found out my wife was really a witch, I would NEVER forbid her from using her powers. We'd be out stopping crime and zipping around the world with a blink of whatever body part caused her magic to manifest!
 

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Posted by Mere Nick (# 11827) on :
 

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Originally posted by Twilight:
[QB] The Andy Griffith Show is my all time favorite. It can be very funny, but the main reason I like it is that I just love all the characters.

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Originally posted by Ariel:
I'd forgotten what an enjoyable series [Hamish Macbeth] was.

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I loved that too, especially Wee Jock.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Indeed, Wee Jock was the star of the show.

On another note, I'’ll be interested to see the new Poldark series when it starts. I loved the original one, and enjoyed the books as well as the TV version with Robin Ellis. I can’t say the new replacement looks as if he has the charisma that Ellis had, but I'll wait and see how it goes. Meanwhile, I've sent off for a DVD for the first (original) series.

It's going to be odd seeing Robin Ellis back in it but as an elderly clergyman. No doubt he felt the same.
 

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Posted by Teilhard (# 16342) on :
 
Hands down, "The Twilight Zone" …

The writing was often outstanding, the plot twists intriguing, often with a deep philosophical mystery … How far can Reality bend and still be really real … ???

In addition, many young actors made an early career appearance before they hit their stride and became famous … I recall William Shatner as an unfortunate soul just out of a psych hospital … He's on a commercial airliner going home, and is apparently the only one who can see the monster on the wing tearing into the engine nacelle … (In later episodes he would have called up "Scotty" ti fix it …)
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I agree- Twilight Zone. One episode firmly etched in my mind is about an old man, a book lover, who seems to be the only survivor of a war which demolished everything but the library. He was delighted to have the place all to himself, and looks forward to reading to his heart's content for the rest of his life. As he climbs the steps to the library his glasses fall off (he was virtually blind without them). While trying to locate the glasses, he steps on them & smashes the lenses. Brings me to tears just remembering it.
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 

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Originally posted by Ariel:
... It's going to be odd seeing Robin Ellis back in it but as an elderly clergyman. No doubt he felt the same.

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Originally posted by The5thMary:
"Bewitched" is more sexist than "I Dream Of Jeanie". Both shows are on, back to back on some obscure station we get with our AT&T Cable package. Both are hilarious but Jeanie gets to use her magic more than poor Samantha. I'll tell you, if I found out my wife was really a witch, I would NEVER forbid her from using her powers. We'd be out stopping crime and zipping around the world with a blink of whatever body part caused her magic to manifest!

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Well, I would say that Darrin was sexist, but I don't think the show was. Indeed, Samantha was pretty much the most competent person on the show and figured out how to resolve the various issues that came up.
 

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Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
I especially miss the programmes which never get repeated any more:

• The Goodies (I've never worked out why that's never been repeated on UK Gold or stuff like that)
• Tales of the Riverbank (The original ones)
• The Herbs
• White Horses (seriously -I loved the awful overdubs into English)

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Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
...And I had a strange love for Watching, with Paul Bown and Emma Wray. It was not that good, but I adored it.
...

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:

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Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
...And I had a strange love for Watching, with Paul Bown and Emma Wray. It was not that good, but I adored it.
...

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and Liza Tarbuck too, if I remember correctly.

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Originally posted by Eigon:
Endorra was my favourite character in Bewitched!
There was a spin-off, too, called Tabitha, in which Samantha's daughter becomes a teenager.

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Originally posted by Teilhard:
I love every appearance by Paul Lynde -- funny, funny, funny guy ...

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Originally posted by Oscar the Grouch:
...
[*]The Goodies (I've never worked out why that's never been repeated on UK Gold or stuff like that)

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Originally posted by L'organist:
How come everyone raves about Bewitched while ignoring I dream of Jeannie?

The latter was not a bad show and the chemistry between Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden was far better than the perpetual froideur between Dick York and Elizabeth Montgomery.

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By any chance is the "obscure station" on which you see it "KRON Classic TV"? That's one of the broadcast retro stations we have here in San Francisco. It has the "Bewitched"-->"Jeannie" lineup you mentioned, with "Doogie Howser, MD" right before.

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Originally posted by Nicolemr:
There are other old shows which I've discovered or rediscovered in the past. Starsky and Hutch, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Danger: UXB, and Ellery Queen. I saw Starsky and Hutch mentioned above, anyone remember any of the others?

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Ellery Queen was great, but a victim of bad timing. I have the complete series on DVD. Jim Hutton was brilliant as Ellery. David Wayne made a perfect father to him as Inspector Queen. The series only lasted one year.

I say it had bad timing because it ran in 1975-76 and didn't get a following. Eight years later, "Murder She Wrote" with Angela Lansbury came along, being very similar in concept and tone (folksy mystery, with clues a-plenty for the viewer to try to figure out the mystery before the detective) and it became very successful.
 

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Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :
 
Hedgehog, yes, it was ahead of it's time. I loved it so when it was on... I had my first crush on Jim Hutton. I have the dvds and they hold up really well to time.
 

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Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :
 

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Originally posted by jbohn:
My favorites include ... Father Ted

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Flipping heck! I was going to say that Father Ted is not an old show but we are six weeks away from the twentieth anniversary of the first episode!

Down with this sort of thing!

Careful now...
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
At one stage Father Ted was banned for students at Maynooth and any seminarian found watching it was sent home
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 

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Originally posted by L'organist:
At one stage Father Ted was banned for students at Maynooth ...

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A friend of ours who was at the Church of Ireland theological college when Father Ted first came out told us about a class trip to Maynooth, where they met their RC counterparts. When the subject came up, one wag said "But of course we've watched it. It's used here as a training video".


 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
I just saw a great "Bewitched" episode, called "Sisters At Heart".

{SPOILERS, because it's such a great episode.}

An African-American man had joined the advertising company. He and his wife bring their daughter, Lisa, for a sleepover with her friend Tabitha, 2 days before Christmas. Everyone is ok about it.

Larry (the boss) and Darrin have been trying to get a big account. Through one thing and another, the client thinks Darrin is married to Lisa's mom...and he cancels the account, without explaining.

Meanwhile, the girls are playing at being sisters, and Tabitha changes their colors back and forth.

The client rethinks, and comes over for a Christmas Eve party. He brings a black doll for Lisa, a white one for Tabitha--and he jokes that, since he didn't know what color baby Adam is, he wanted to cover his bases...and hands over a black and white, toy panda. The matter gets explained.

While Samantha and Darrin are upstairs, explaining to the girls that they don't have to be the same color to be sisters, and trying to change them back, Larry is chatting with the client, who wants to bring his account back. Having watched the dynamics, Larry asks, "You canceled the account when you thought there was a mixed marriage, and came back when you found there wasn't, right?", and the client agreed. Larry (who is practically sociopathic in his work life) shocks even himself by telling the client to take his business elsewhere.

Darrin and Samantha come downstairs during this. He suggests this might be a really good time to break the household rule about magic--and Samantha makes the client see himself and everyone else as having dark skin. He leaves

Next day, the two families are having Christmas dinner together. The client comes by, and apologizes very well. Quite openly says that he discovered he's not only a racist, but a sneaky one. There are various peace-making comments (acknowledging that, while he has a problem, he's at least starting down the right path). Sam invites him to stay for dinner. Client accepts, and asks Darrin if there's any chance of hiring the firm again. Darrin says to wait until after dinner.

I don't remember this episode from childhood at all--but I'm very please with the way it was so honest and blunt about racism.

Watch it, if you get the chance!
 

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Posted by goperryrevs (# 13504) on :
 
When I heard that a new series of Twin Peaks is in production, I was super excited. I really hope they don't screw it up. I still think it's one of the best shows ever. So much modern TV owes a lot to it.
 

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Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 

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Originally posted by goperryrevs:
When I heard that a new series of Twin Peaks is in production, I was super excited. I really hope they don't screw it up. I still think it's one of the best shows ever. So much modern TV owes a lot to it.

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