Found myself nodding along throughout this. I went down the old TV rabbit hole in the last few years and I really liked Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Tidy little episodes. Tons of stuff that I imagine was probably cribbed by later shows.
You talking about preferring television to film made me feel so seen, albeit that my most immediate reason for it is that I adore long arcs and continuity (not for nothing is 24 one of my all-time shows), and there just isn't enough of films to do that.
I relate so much to wanting there to be *more* of media you like than you get today though. I'm trying to convince my die-hard Trekkie dad to watch Deep Space Nine (because it is the best Trek), and it's the duality of man: I'm like "There's 176 episodes! It'll go on forever! 🙂" and he's like "There's 176 episodes! It'll go on forever! 😭".
Yessss Deep Space Nine is my favorite show of all time and deeply underrated. Was very excited to see it mentioned here lol. Star Trek is definitely what I had in mind thinking about the best qualities of old TV.
Re: Old Trek in general, I see a lot of people complain about "filler" episodes, stuff like holodeck eps, Move Along Home (lol), Q shenanigans, campy theatre acting, episodes where "nothing really happens" - but to me the "filler" content and the camp (along with the emotional, psychological, philosophical, moral and ethical topics Star Trek explores) is a big part of what I love most about Trek.
I have always wanted more filler, more immersion into the world, day to day misadventures, character dynamics, unnecessary backstory, conversations between characters that do not serve an over-arching plot but subtly give us more about the characters themselves, their relationships with each other, with themselves, and the environment around them. I want to follow their day in the life, I want to understand who they are and how they think.
Saving the galaxy is cool and we love to see it, but its the complexity and whimsy of the small things, the reflection of people, that really steals my heart.
Extremely strong second for Homicide: Life On The Street! very clear connection to The Wire, in cast, setting, writing, etc etc.. Looked and felt like nothing else at the time, prefiguring golden age Prestige TV. Was impossible to find for ages but is now blessedly streaming on Peacock
When we got cable in the mid-80s, we picked up the NBC station out of Detroit. Every Sunday morning, they'd air Columbo as part of a rotating "mystery movie" block. I quickly fell in love with the character.
And just one more thing. In case you didn't know, the creators of Columbo went on to create another classic TV mystery show, "Murder, She Wrote".
I highly recommend the Beverly Hillbillies, it holds up after all these years. Keeping Up Appearances is an old "Britcom" my mom used to watch and I didn't have time for but when I watched it as an adult - it's without hyperbole one of the funniest shows of all time. For a non-comedy recommendation, Hunter was an old cop show I used to watch with my grandpa that was pretty awesome.
Two of my all-time favorite TV shows are Get Smart and Green Acres. Get Smart was a Mel Brooks joint, so it’s hilarious and full of memorable characters. Green Acres was very ahead of its time with its use of surreal humor. Many Simpsons writers cited it as their favorite show, and the influence of the former on the latter is clear.
I can highly recommend The Prisoner which fits this format of individual episodes but a strong season arc. Also the US remake was enjoyable in a different way.
As a kid I loved reruns of The Invaders, The Incredible Hulk (1977), Man In A Suitcase, The Fugitive.
When I was an older teenager Callan (Edward Woodward) serious drama and Budgie, comedy drama, reruns were awesome.
For contemporary stuff at the time Eerie Indiana was gold!
A more modern take on the whole nostalgia TV theme Life On Mars (uk version) hit every note perfectly.
The greatest piece of TV I’ve seen was a mini-series Edge of Darkness with Bob Peck. Devastating.
Fun read. I'm hoping you could elaborate a little bit on your comment that Always Sunny has cribbed extensively from Cheers. I grew up with Cheers on TV and have seen a lot of it, albeit not in many years. I have seen a lot of Sunny in recent years, and while it wouldn't surprise me, I haven't noticed this phenomenon. Can you think of any examples of it?
there are TONS actually, but one that stands out to me is the "Stomp" thing the gang does in the "trapped on a boat" episode is pretty one-to-one with something cheers did for a cold open. I'm not even saying they "stole" anything, Cheers is the standardbearer for a bar-set-sitcom, so of course some modern bar sitcoms are going to be downstream of it in a lot of ways
I’m a big fan of Twin Peaks (which will have storylines that will make you wonder how this was running opposite Cheers and then storylines where you will very much get it). Pretty much the entire Norman Lear extended universe is great (All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons).
I also have a soft spot for early-mid 90’s sitcoms that I watched as a weirdly precocious kid (I was the youngest with two older siblings who were 5 and 8.5 years older and my parents took a laissez-faire attitude towards tv and books. I don’t think many fourth graders were really into Friends, the Drew Carey Show, and Something So Right). Wings, which played perpetually on the USA Network also holds a soft spot (and exists in the Cheers/Frasier extended universe).
You’re gonna love MASH when you get to it
Found myself nodding along throughout this. I went down the old TV rabbit hole in the last few years and I really liked Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Tidy little episodes. Tons of stuff that I imagine was probably cribbed by later shows.
Magnum PI, hurry!
You talking about preferring television to film made me feel so seen, albeit that my most immediate reason for it is that I adore long arcs and continuity (not for nothing is 24 one of my all-time shows), and there just isn't enough of films to do that.
I relate so much to wanting there to be *more* of media you like than you get today though. I'm trying to convince my die-hard Trekkie dad to watch Deep Space Nine (because it is the best Trek), and it's the duality of man: I'm like "There's 176 episodes! It'll go on forever! 🙂" and he's like "There's 176 episodes! It'll go on forever! 😭".
Yessss Deep Space Nine is my favorite show of all time and deeply underrated. Was very excited to see it mentioned here lol. Star Trek is definitely what I had in mind thinking about the best qualities of old TV.
Re: Old Trek in general, I see a lot of people complain about "filler" episodes, stuff like holodeck eps, Move Along Home (lol), Q shenanigans, campy theatre acting, episodes where "nothing really happens" - but to me the "filler" content and the camp (along with the emotional, psychological, philosophical, moral and ethical topics Star Trek explores) is a big part of what I love most about Trek.
I have always wanted more filler, more immersion into the world, day to day misadventures, character dynamics, unnecessary backstory, conversations between characters that do not serve an over-arching plot but subtly give us more about the characters themselves, their relationships with each other, with themselves, and the environment around them. I want to follow their day in the life, I want to understand who they are and how they think.
Saving the galaxy is cool and we love to see it, but its the complexity and whimsy of the small things, the reflection of people, that really steals my heart.
Star Trek, and especially DS9, is a work of art.
(Apologies for the long-winded response 😅🖖)
"It'll go on forever" for me, it could never go on enough 😭
love it! some quick recs - News Radio, Homicide, Soap!
Extremely strong second for Homicide: Life On The Street! very clear connection to The Wire, in cast, setting, writing, etc etc.. Looked and felt like nothing else at the time, prefiguring golden age Prestige TV. Was impossible to find for ages but is now blessedly streaming on Peacock
I watched Soap when I was 12 and it was so weird. I had no idea what was going on but always watched it.
When we got cable in the mid-80s, we picked up the NBC station out of Detroit. Every Sunday morning, they'd air Columbo as part of a rotating "mystery movie" block. I quickly fell in love with the character.
And just one more thing. In case you didn't know, the creators of Columbo went on to create another classic TV mystery show, "Murder, She Wrote".
I highly recommend the Beverly Hillbillies, it holds up after all these years. Keeping Up Appearances is an old "Britcom" my mom used to watch and I didn't have time for but when I watched it as an adult - it's without hyperbole one of the funniest shows of all time. For a non-comedy recommendation, Hunter was an old cop show I used to watch with my grandpa that was pretty awesome.
Two of my all-time favorite TV shows are Get Smart and Green Acres. Get Smart was a Mel Brooks joint, so it’s hilarious and full of memorable characters. Green Acres was very ahead of its time with its use of surreal humor. Many Simpsons writers cited it as their favorite show, and the influence of the former on the latter is clear.
I can highly recommend The Prisoner which fits this format of individual episodes but a strong season arc. Also the US remake was enjoyable in a different way.
As a kid I loved reruns of The Invaders, The Incredible Hulk (1977), Man In A Suitcase, The Fugitive.
When I was an older teenager Callan (Edward Woodward) serious drama and Budgie, comedy drama, reruns were awesome.
For contemporary stuff at the time Eerie Indiana was gold!
A more modern take on the whole nostalgia TV theme Life On Mars (uk version) hit every note perfectly.
The greatest piece of TV I’ve seen was a mini-series Edge of Darkness with Bob Peck. Devastating.
Fun read. I'm hoping you could elaborate a little bit on your comment that Always Sunny has cribbed extensively from Cheers. I grew up with Cheers on TV and have seen a lot of it, albeit not in many years. I have seen a lot of Sunny in recent years, and while it wouldn't surprise me, I haven't noticed this phenomenon. Can you think of any examples of it?
there are TONS actually, but one that stands out to me is the "Stomp" thing the gang does in the "trapped on a boat" episode is pretty one-to-one with something cheers did for a cold open. I'm not even saying they "stole" anything, Cheers is the standardbearer for a bar-set-sitcom, so of course some modern bar sitcoms are going to be downstream of it in a lot of ways
Its not quite as old (2007) but I would also recommend Mad Men for an immersive binge
I’m a big fan of Twin Peaks (which will have storylines that will make you wonder how this was running opposite Cheers and then storylines where you will very much get it). Pretty much the entire Norman Lear extended universe is great (All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons).
I also have a soft spot for early-mid 90’s sitcoms that I watched as a weirdly precocious kid (I was the youngest with two older siblings who were 5 and 8.5 years older and my parents took a laissez-faire attitude towards tv and books. I don’t think many fourth graders were really into Friends, the Drew Carey Show, and Something So Right). Wings, which played perpetually on the USA Network also holds a soft spot (and exists in the Cheers/Frasier extended universe).
The "mustard-carpeted pyramid bathtub" episode also doubles as the best "gotcha" moment in the entire series. What a show!
and you get extra joy when you recognise killer’s fancy house in columbo season eight as maddie’s house in moonlighting pilot
TV shows are like plastic, we’ve already made everything we need, they last forever and eventually will end up permanently in our brains.
Also, I’m in Canada and I don’t have a vhs or dvd player anymore, where can I watch the Rockford files. I’m going to die if I can’t watch that show.