Sometimes you come across a show on a cable rerun that you used to love back when you were a kid or young adult and find that years later, it's not as good as you remembered it being.

Two recent examples:

Family Ties -- I enjoyed it during it's first run, but now it just comes across as cheesy and a bit dated.

Night Court -- Loved this show in the '80s, but I just don't find it as funny as I did back in the '80s.

Anyone else here have examples of shows you loved then...but no so much now?

When I was a kid, I thought Batman and Lost in space were the coolest
shows ever made. Then I got to watch them 30 years later and began
to wonder if I had a hole in my marble bag as a child.

A lot of 80's and 90's cartoons seemed so great back them but look terrible today, including:

Jem and The Holograms
She-Ra: Princess Of Power
Rainbow Bright (or is it Brite).

Also, for live-action series:

Punky Brewster is so cheesy today, as is Saved By The Bell

areyouserious? night corut stil good show i Laguh every time iwatch night court te my favortepeson is dan hes so funy. i dis argee with you on family ties i still watch the showwt to this very day it not out dated. i even own one thurfour on dvd if i chose i never like The Partridge Familyor Gilligan's Island

:confused:

Every show I liked from the 50s-70s holds up today--I have spoken!! :wave:

I used to love these shows, but they don't interest me anymore.

Gilligan's Island
Beverly Hillbillies
Dukes of Hazard
Charlies Angels

In general to me many of the 80's sitcoms don't hold up as a whole. Not sure if it's because I'm not ready to go back there or they just aren't as good as I think.

As we get older, our tastes change, we mature (well, some of us do) and it's inevitable that some show you thought was great when you were a kid is not going to be as good as you remember it being.

Recently, I watched a Family Ties episode, where Alex takes speed on Monday in order to stay up and study for exams. By Wednesday, he's an addict. By Friday, he realizes he's in trouble. He has a meltdown and withdraws overnight on Friday. By Saturday, he's cured and has learned his lesson.

It came off more as an Afterschool Special than a sitcom. And the acting was a bit over the top. I'm not saying Family Ties is a bad show, but it's not as good as I remember it being when I watched it in it's network run.

On the other hand, I find myself watching DVDs many of the tv shows that used to dominate the airwaves every Saturday Morning in the 1960s and 70s. I find some of them more enjoyable than what's being laughingly passed off as "Programming" in Prime-Time TV Today! :( :mad: :angryfire :lol:

I feel sorry for todays kids. IMHO The "EI" Shows geared for them do not hold a candle to the shows I watched as a child. For those of you who have Children or Grandchildren, I STRONGLY urge you to purchase DVD Box Sets of those "Golden Age" Children's Shows. I'm certain your Kids will find these even more enjoyable than what they are watching these days. You can Motivate your kids by insisting they have all their Household Chores and Homework done before you let them watch these shows, and you're safe from being asked embarrasing questions about certain Products aired before them during a Commercial Break, if you know what I mean! :angryfire

I used to watch Cheers every Thursday night, now I cant watch it at all. Used to watch Roseanne but it is not funny now.

Welcome Back, Kotter, for sure. Used to watch that every week, but if I can an episode now, honestly, I kind of cringe at how over the top and really silly it was.

Dr. Thong is right about changing tastes. Sometimes you will experience a show that is timeless, that is, you loved it as a kid and it still holds up today. But really a lot of the shows I loved as a kid were MADE FOR kids and once you are an adult it makes sense that they would not have the same appeal. I was lucky to have grown up in an era where there was a lot of quality sitcoms in first run broadcast, and also to have parents with good taste who watched them and exposed me to them, so I loved them then and I still love them now (AITF, TMTMS, MASH, Bob Newhart, Barney Miller, Taxi, WKRP, and on and on...).

I used to watch Cheers every Thursday night, now I cant watch it at all. Used to watch Roseanne but it is not funny now.
I used to love Roseanne but after she cracked up, I have a hard time watching it anymore.

I think it all has to do with your tastes in shows just changing. It doesn't mean that the show's are no longer good...witness how some people still enjoy them. And Dr. Thong, I still love Family Ties. However Gilligan's Island, I have a hard time watching anymore but I know it's still a beloved show for many and I have great memories of watching it as a kid.

The Cosby Show
Family Ties
Gilligan's Island
Designing Women

Charles in Charge - It used to be guilty pleasure fun. Nowadays it's just cheesy and that theme song creeps me out at times. Not to mention I've noticed how incredibly dumb Buddy gets as the run goes on with this show.

Murphy Brown - I can see why this show's rerun life hasn't been very successful. It's just too topical for its time and it hasn't held up very well either.

Empty Nest - while I still enjoy this show, it just gets boring at times.

ALF - see Empty Nest above.

Thundercats - I liked this show as a kid, but not as much nowadays and I found Snarf to be quite annoying after awhile.

You know what show I'd like to have the opportunity to see if it could stand up to my tastes today: Knots Landing. Man I loved that show.

Night Court is one that I loved growing up, but I was sad to discover I couldn't get on board anymore. Step by Step was another one...I'm not quite sure what it was when I attempted to watch it again, but it just wasn't everything I remembered it to be.

A lot of 80's and 90's cartoons seemed so great back them but look terrible today, including:

Jem and The Holograms
She-Ra: Princess Of Power
Rainbow Bright (or is it Brite).

Also, for live-action series:

Punky Brewster is so cheesy today, as is Saved By The Bell

Jem and the Holograms can still be enjoyed as long as you look at it as a time-capsule of 1980s culture (i.e. music, fashion, etc.). It was also made during a time in which computers (e.g. Syngery) were perhaps still looked at as one big "voodoo box" (like in the movies Tron and Wargames).

Three's Company is one I used to love to watch reruns of and now I have no interest in watching. I don't even know why, it's not a bad show I think I just seen it too much.

"Dallas," most definitely. I got bored with it around #5 (on the DVD releases).

Dynasty---not in terms of the over-the-top plots, but the excesses of the wealthy characters. It wouldn't fly for a lot of people with today's economic issues, but if you look at it from an 80's pop culture perspective, it can still be a lot of fun to watch.

Frankly, I tend to remain quite pleased with the old shows I liked from my youth. There might have admittedly been a time when I was college-age and suddenly became more cognizant of holes in plotlines, slipshod production values, and whatnot, regarding old favorites. That can put a damper on one's memories. But ultimately, the opposite happens too, in which you start appreciating to talent and craft that went into such shows, despite the limitations of the respective eras.

If I did have to pinpoint a possible disappointment, I guess I'd cite the old "Batman" series. I loved it as a kid, but I've found it somewhat hard to take in these later years. I think the reason for this is the series' inherent reflixive humor and self-consciousness. It was a nice element many years ago when such things were not commonplace. But nowadays, every darned show (and even commercial) is awash in this kind of self-consciousness, and I'm pretty sick of it, to put it mildly.

I don't know if it's me but it seems like a lot of shows from 1986 haven't aged really well at all, let alone get much long-running air time these days.

I was born in the mid 1950's but I still love all the shows I watched growing up. That would be late 50's-70's.

Many will disagree but I don't think Daria has really aged well. I remember watching the reruns a few years ago when it was on Teen Nick when it was The N and the show just reeks of late 90s. I think most of what made it "great" is fueled by nostalgia.

The Nanny, like Daria is beginning to show signs of being very 90s judging by the clubbing attire Fran wears all the time.

As for Night Court, I think that show is enjoyed a bit better if you get some of the obscure geekery references and the Mel Torme stuff. Season 4 onward, the scenes missing Dan, Roz and Mac seem to suffer most because of Bull, Harry and Christine's mutual need to be corny. I've noticed that some of the best jokes actually come from Mac and Roz.

Recently, I watched a Family Ties episode, where Alex takes speed on Monday in order to stay up and study for exams. By Wednesday, he's an addict. By Friday, he realizes he's in trouble. He has a meltdown and withdraws overnight on Friday. By Saturday, he's cured and has learned his lesson.

It came off more as an Afterschool Special than a sitcom.

Probably done in the wake of Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No' campaign. TV tried to get on board with the spirit of that message, I remember. All such efforts seem to come off as cornball.

***

Laugh-In: what was hip, and now, and trendsetting, and hilarious in 1969 had become totally unwatchable only ten years later...much more fit for time-capsule material than anything else.

Sometimes I find I don't like re watching a show from the past for Now I am older. I remember seeing Charlies Angels in the 70's and ten years ago happened upon it and thought it was foolish to see one angel lose her handbag to outrun a thief. A few months back was half listening to I Dream of Jeannie and my brother said "do you like that? . I said well it is a little corny but nothing better is on. So a lot has to do of how old you are well you first saw it. I tend to think Westerns do the best although when I was a kid didn't understand them. Understood them better as I aged.

Game shows, for sure.

Those shows for me are

Saved by the Bell

Family matters

Martin

Living Single