timeless tv

[molly1216]

say what you will about netflix, instant watch has allowed me to taste things, i wouldn't bother checking out on disk.

I clicked on the pilot of 21 Jump st which i hadn't seen since 1987. I hadn't realized it was directed by Kim Manners, but then again...until X Files Kim Manners wasn't 'Kim Manners' anyway. Most of Stephen J Cannell's shows are 'of their time' part of what makes the popular trash TV but once you get 10 years out or more they do start to date and become hard to take seriously. It's hard for me to watch shows from the 70s and 80s the unrealistic acting and trite dialog make me squirm. ...you practically have to wait until they are 30 years out as with Rockford Files for them to be considered 'classic' tv and you can take them in context: "well that's the way they did things back then'.

Cop, doctor and lawyer shows, the backbone of TV seem to date very quickly as we now expect these shows to be realistic, and in retrospect they are mostly the writer's IMPRESSION of how doctors, lawyers and cops behaved. Futuristic shows become dated at a much slower rate - but then space shows like Lost in Space still has a dated 60's attitude that can't be overlooked. (how much hair spray did June bring with her?) One would think that Westerns wouldn't become dated but there seems be only individual episodes that can stand up over time, the attitude of the writers AT the time of writing dictates thatd women remain wimmen and people of color are nary to be seen even though we now know most of the cowboys were Black, Hispanic and/or Native.

back to my original thought:
What TV shows don't 'date' or at least date very little? shows where you don't have to explain away stereotypes or a misogynistic attitude, or overwhelmingly faddish fashion trends. Shows that if you saw it for the 1st time wouldn't scream anachronism. Perhaps a show that could run on tv today?

IMHO
Addams Family - nuff said
Futurama - 11 years on and it's still better than a lot of other sci fi.
X-Files...expect for some of Dana Scully's shoulder padded suits in the 1st season it seems to have a timeless look about it.
Twilight Zone - this may just be my opinion since i haven't seen MOST of the episodes yet. aside from the fashions i find the stories and acting timeless.
Bewitched - kinda odd choice i know...but if you stacked it up against stereotypical shows of the era say Dick Van Dyke Show - where Dad works and Mom stays at home..you realize that Sam was infinitely more powerful than Darin and the show was about her trying (and failing) to fit into our stereotypical pigeon holing of the american housewife. I think of it as very subversive for its time. I kept trying to think of what Laura Petry did all day with herself.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - most probably - if we can discount some of the fashion choices (bra straps are still uncouth) and some of the High School era language, it will most likely hold up pretty well.

I need to think on this some more i am sure there are some OLDER programs I can peg. I'd like to say Dr Who but i just can't, cardboard sets and daleks not withstanding..what WAS the fascination with silver lamé and pointy shoulders in future fashion? i am sure someone else out there will have a better argument for its not dated qualities.

[Steve T Power]

Two shows that stick out for me:

Miami Vice - The music and the look definitely place it in the 80's, but the writing is still solid and entertaining. I look at it like a period piece now, it still holds up quite well.

Magnum P.I - Still an entertaining detective romp that crackles with wit, and actually plays a little better now, twice removed from the incredible amount of hype that accompanied "the biggest show on TV" while it aired. Selleck was the man, and there's a layer of grit and darkness that many other shows didn't manage to pull off (Miami Vice included).

Also, a huge honking ditto on [b]the X Files[\b]. Had a few customers (newlyweds who were too young when the show aired) i recommended it to grab the first season off of our used shelf, and they were blown away. they've since grabbed the rest of the series.

[Dan Mancini]

Magnum P.I - Still an entertaining detective romp that crackles with wit, and actually plays a little better now, twice removed from the incredible amount of hype that accompanied "the biggest show on TV" while it aired. Selleck was the man, and there's a layer of grit and darkness that many other shows didn't manage to pull off (Miami Vice included).

Take everything you just said, but change Magnum P.I. to The Rockford Files, and it all remains true.

[J.M. Vargas]

^^^ Girls, girls, GIRLS... please! Both Magnum and Rockford are pretty, can we move on?

I need time to think about it but "X-Files" was also the first name that came to mind.

[Dan Mancini]

^^^ Girls, girls, GIRLS... please! Both Magnum and Rockford are pretty, can we move on?

Chauvinist. And I wasn't disagreeing with Steve, just adding to his comment. Both shows were teh awesome.

[BrettCullum]

Bewitched - kinda odd choice i know...but if you stacked it up against stereotypical shows of the era say Dick Van Dyke Show - where Dad works and Mom stays at home..you realize that Sam was infinitely more powerful than Darin and the show was about her trying (and failing) to fit into our stereotypical pigeon holing of the american housewife. I think of it as very subversive for its time. I kept trying to think of what Laura Petry did all day with herself.

I remember researching BEWITCHED for a review, and I found out the original premise was to have a rich girl marrying a poor working class guy. She would fight the urge to use her family's money to bail them out of messes, but weekly would somehow have to. They changed it to the supernatural WITCH instead of RICH, and the show became a lot better. It does feel like timeless television in many ways. I have to say I prefer the early years though which for some reason don't date as badly - probably since they restrained the locations to just a few areas and filmed in black and white.

Even though DARK SHADOWS looks like a soap opera filmed in the time it was produced, the show's Gothic feel and sense of dread keep it timeless. It was a family drama where EVERYBODY looked like a ghost or a vampire. In the end I think everyone was... They even have an episode arc where they travel to 1999, and don't miss the mark too much other than TV sets and a lack of computers...

TWIN PEAKS can't escape that late '80s hair and fashion sense, but the incredible cinematography married to the signature score made it timeless. Well all of that, and an absurdist plot that fell to ribbons.

In recent years I would have to say PUSHING DAISIES will still look great and not too dated since it had its own style visually divorced from our trends.

I wonder how badly LOST will date...

[Dimwitted]

I think that a lot of the Lear stable should do well. Archie and the gang of course, but the Jeffersons dealt with the same issues that still exist, Maude etc. Yes they are '70s but I think that the writing and acting hold up pretty good. Far better than a lot of others. Sanford and Son equally so, just because it was always about Foxx and he was timeless.

[Gabriel Girard]

Daria - you can call it generation x or whatever but teens will always be angsty - this show can never grow old. Now can we get it on DVD pretty please?

[Mach6]

I agree about Buffy & The X-Files.

Batman The Animated Series: The animation is still solid & I still wish most of today's cartoons would use the Dark Deco art style. Gotham City, even though BATS was set in the present day, looking like a 1930's Chicago gangster type city will always have that timeless appeal. The writing & stories are intelligent & it wasn't dumbed down for a "kid's show". The voice acting is incredible & Kevin Conroy will always be the definite Batman voice.

On the other hand, I never thought I would say this, but X-Men The Animated Series hasn't aged that well. The storylines were solid & would sometimes continue throughout the whole season (there would be Previously on X-Men recaps that would rival the Previously on 24 recaps for length), the writing relied on too many one-liners & screams. The animation was also very clunky. It was set in the 90's, but a lot of the characters still had outdated 80's hairstyles.

[molly1216]

so far I agree with about everything mentioned...indeed the Lear productions were always about issues and ideas, and i think they make damn good radio. - stuff you can put on in the background and don't have to SEE to enjoy.

Magnum and Rockford both do and did stand up remarkably well, much better than their contemporaries.

and I agree, shows with a unique 'look' like Dark Shadows, Twin Peaks and Pushing Daisies will always 'work' because they were so odd to begin with. I always think Dark Shadows looks like a Roger Corman/Hammer production...1860s meets 1960s

I WAS less inclined to agree about Miami Vice, I would have thought it to be 'of' its time...but most all of the music has moved from contemporary to classic - not much fadish pop crap, and if we overlook the 90s fashion - yep the stories are more or less the SAME cops and robbers stories we are still telling. good choice.

I think MASH will always 'work' because the anachronistic features were already there to begin with. I am a little MASHed out, as i have seen them all many times, but if i were seeing it for the 1st time, I would be in heaven.

[molly1216]

I agree about Buffy & The X-Files.

Batman The Animated Series: The animation is still solid & I still wish most of today's cartoons would use the Dark Deco art style. Gotham City, even though BATS was set in the present day, looking like a 1930's Chicago gangster type city will always have that timeless appeal. The writing & stories are intelligent & it wasn't dumbed down for a "kid's show". The voice acting is incredible & Kevin Conroy will always be the definite Batman voice.

On the other hand, I never thought I would say this, but X-Men The Animated Series hasn't aged that well. The storylines were solid & would sometimes continue throughout the whole season (there would be Previously on X-Men recaps that would rival the Previously on 24 recaps for length), the writing relied on too many one-liners & screams. The animation was also very clunky. It was set in the 90's, but a lot of the characters still had outdated 80's hairstyles.

I agree about X-Men animated series and I want to add Justice League - basically all the Bruce Timm animated shows i think will hold up very well, when i look at the DC super hero shows done in previous decades I am always MORE pleased with the ones they are doing now. I don't think SuperFriends and such holds up well at all.

[Bryan Pope]

Daria - you can call it generation x or whatever but teens will always be angsty - this show can never grow old. Now can we get it on DVD pretty please?

I absolutely must second that.

[J.M. Vargas]

Daria - you can call it generation x or whatever but teens will always be angsty - this show can never grow old. Now can we get it on DVD pretty please?

DONE: http://www.amazon.com/Daria-Complete-Animated-Tracy-Grandstaff/dp/B0019N8P2W.

Also, how do the complete "Larry Sanders Show" and "Max Headroom" TV series' sound? DONE (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Larry-Sanders-DVD-Plans/13400) & DONE (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Max-Headroom-DVDs-Planned/13399). Damn, I'm good.

[Bryan Pope]

Daria - you can call it generation x or whatever but teens will always be angsty - this show can never grow old. Now can we get it on DVD pretty please?

DONE: http://www.amazon.com/Daria-Complete-Animated-Tracy-Grandstaff/dp/B0019N8P2W.

Also, how do the complete "Larry Sanders Show" and "Max Headroom" TV series' sound? DONE (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Larry-Sanders-DVD-Plans/13400) & DONE (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Max-Headroom-DVDs-Planned/13399). Damn, I'm good.

By the power of Grayskull!

[Gabriel Girard]

Daria - you can call it generation x or whatever but teens will always be angsty - this show can never grow old. Now can we get it on DVD pretty please?

DONE: http://www.amazon.com/Daria-Complete-Animated-Tracy-Grandstaff/dp/B0019N8P2W.]

If you weren't male and miles away, I'd kiss you! I wish I had molly's dancing smileys in order to express my joy.

[jcankerhuxley]

I have mentioned this before, but Seinfield is virtually timeless. Outside of a few references to dates, a CRT screen in the background, no cell phones, and Jerry's suits in the comedy bits that bookend the show, the show topics play as well today as they did almost 10-20 years ago.

[Gabriel Girard]

Thanks for the smileys Joyce!

I can't believe no one has mentionned The SImpsons yet. Sure some celebrity gags don't age that well, but the gist of the show is timeless.

I also have to mention one of my favorite shows ever - That 70's Show - The ''retro'' feel mixed with interesting character development makes it timeless. I do have to admit that the audience often overreacts to the jokes - especially to Fez.

[molly1216]

i have serious reservations about the timelessness of that 70s show...but then i had reservations about the show period
i didn't think the 70s were funny the 1st time around. but hey to each his own.

I DID make a discovery today.
I caught the 1st season of SOAP this week..another show i haven't seen since it ran on broadcast
and much to my surprise so far, aside from a few fashion choices, the show doesn't date.
there are no pop references at all, it is still quite charming farce.
not AS funny the 1st time around, but just as completely silly. I am a little shocked
it is another show i wouldn't not have thought about rewatching, except i wanted to see it was anything like i remembered.
I can't wait for Burt to be taken by aliens and then to become invisible.

[Dunnyman]

i have serious reservations about the timelessness of that 70s show...but then i had reservations about the show period
i didn't think the 70s were funny the 1st time around. but hey to each his own.

I DID make a discovery today.
I caught the 1st season of SOAP this week..another show i haven't seen since it ran on broadcast
and much to my surprise so far, aside from a few fashion choices, the show doesn't date.
there are no pop references at all, it is still quite charming farce.
not AS funny the 1st time around, but just as completely silly. I am a little shocked
it is another show i wouldn't not have thought about rewatching, except i wanted to see it was anything like i remembered.
I can't wait for Burt to be taken by aliens and then to become invisible.

To me, still one of the funniest things on TV, ever. Burt being kidnapped by aliens, Burt as the Sheriff, Katherine Helmond stealing every scene she was in, El Puerco, Who killed Peter Campbell, Chuck and Bob, etc, etc. Timeless indeed.

[Mach6]

I can't believe no one has mentionned The SImpsons yet. Sure some celebrity gags don't age that well, but the gist of the show is timeless.

The Simpsons' earlier seasons definitely age better than South Park or (especially) Family Guy.

The Simpsons focused more on their characters & basic storylines with 1 or 2 pop culture/celebrity jokes per show. The original Santa's Helper Christmas show is still hilarious.

Most Family Guy episodes are 95% one pop culture "If you think that's bad, remember the time" joke after another & 5% plot if the writers actually try to use half their brains. As for South Park, the earlier seasons relied way too much on shock value. What was controversial in 1997-98 (Big Gay Al, Cartman's mom/dad?) is very tame by today's standards. It was around seasons 4 or 5 where Matt & Trey's writing really improved to the point where I was looking more forward to what they had to say about a certain topic than on what "shocking" thing will they do next.

[Dimwitted]

One of the truly timeless classics would be the Honeymooners. Between that and Lucy it defined comedy on TV for me. For something that was only 39 episodes it has had a huge influence on the sitcom. Sadly, it could never be made today. Certainly not with the same verve and brilliance.

[Steve T Power]

A little HBO love:

Band of Brothers - This just plays so amazingly well.
Deadwood
Rome