Top 10 TV Shows That Aged Badly

[TMC]

It’s hard to believe we used to never miss an episode of these TV shows that are unwatcable with age. we’re taking a look at various older TV shows that are difficult to watch now due to their acting, directing, or production values. To be clear, we aren’t saying that these shows are BAD – in fact, some of them are absolute classics, but even the classics can age poorly. WatchMojo ranks the shows that are unwatchable with age. What show do you think hasn’t aged well?

10. Walker, Texas Ranger



9. Everybody Loves Raymond



8. Full House



7. 7th Heaven



6. Knight Rider



5. Saved by the Bell



4. Home Improvement



3. The Cosby Show



2. The A-Team



1. Dawson's Creek



HONORABLE MENTIONS:

*Touched by an Angel



*Baywatch



*Magnum, P.I. (the Tom Selleck version)

[bmasters9]

I agree very much with the HM on the Selleck Magnum-- it has been said that Riptide on NBC was somewhat of a Magnum ripoff, but I think that because of how the trio of leads on Riptide were very much like a band of brothers, Riptide was far more enjoyable to me (I'm just about to complete the entire run of it).

[Mr. Television]

Hogwash list.

[TMC]

Saved by the Bell was undoubtedly and perhaps unabashedly, a very campy show. But it was never meant to be a super grounded (outside of it's attempts at doing special message episodes like the infamous "Jessie's Song" one) or realistic depiction of high school like say, Degrassi or My So Called Life. In a way, Saved by the Bell was the progenitor of the type of bright and colorful youth oriented sitcoms that would later make their way on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Then again, the whole "Zack Morris is Trash" series online, hammers the point home that Zack Morris was awfully sociopathtic for a lead character on a sitcom of this kind.

I suspect that the rise of the "Chuck Norris Facts" memes and the running gag by Conan O'Brien is a large reason why Walker, Texas Ranger is on this list.

As for 7th Heaven, I'm surprised that WatchMojo.com didn't mention the controversy surrounding Stephen Collins for why that particular show hasn't aged well. I mean, it might as well be fair game since they mentioned Bill Cosby's off-screen antics tainting The Cosby Show.

I think that if you're going to mentioned Full House, you also have to mention Family Matters. I've addressed this several times over on the Family Matters board, but Steve Urkel's behavior (especially towards Laura) around the Winslows was in hindsight, incredibly creepy and downright stalkerish. Plus, you have to take for account how the show just completely went off the rails in the last few years.

As for Full House itself, it was a show that even when it was originally on, really wore its earnestness and sentimentality on its sleeve. It was also a pretty formulaic show, where everybody learns a moral at the end of the day and hug it out.

Besides the issues surrounding Bill Cosby in real life, The Cosby Show I don't think has aged well because it was simply put, a show that wanted to give forth the message that the parents were always right and the kids always recognized the adults' wisdom. Bill Cosby himself, basically wanted a show where there could be anything that could generate conflict. Therefore, the parents didn't argue, and that their kids didn't lie. Also, there could be episodes of The Cosby Show where there's hardly any real plot.

[TMC]

I wonder if another reason why Full House has arguably not aged well is because it was a show where while the adults were good people, they were always goofy in the first half of the episode. Simply put, a lot of shows of the era made the adults basically cartoon characters (Dave Coulier's character should be a no-brainer in this regard), because that's an easy way to make kids laugh.

Compare that to something like Boy Meets World, which came on TGIF a few years later. The adults on the show were generally depicted as being responsible, reasonable people. The adults on that show I don't believe were portrayed as clowns. They were always teaching the kids valuable lessons and not afraid to discipline.

From what I've heard, William Daniels (who was Mr. Feeny) would only agree to take on the show if his character was treated as a good teacher and not goofy or somebody to laugh at. Also, William Russ (who played Corey and Eric's dad, Alan) only booked the show because he was a theater actor at heart and really wanted to work with William Daniels.

[factsoflife]

I don't see anything about Dawson's Creek that should put it on this list. Especially not compared to many other shows that could be on this list.

[dee2364]

Originally Posted by TMC

As for 7th Heaven, I'm surprised that WatchMojo.com didn't mention the controversy surrounding Stephen Collins for why that particular show hasn't aged well. I mean, it might as well be fair game since they mentioned Bill Cosby's off-screen antics tainting The Cosby Show.

This isn't all that surprising to me. This is just the disgusting double standard that American media always plays out when it comes to race. If a minority person commits a crime, it's justifiably called out as evil, but if a white person does it, he's just a victim and his crime downplayed or swept under the rug.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

I don't see anything about Dawson's Creek that should put it on this list. Especially not compared to many other shows that could be on this list.

I'm kind of surprised that Beverly Hills, 90210, which was really the progenitor of the teen soap opera in the United States wasn't on that list. I mean, 90210 could've been on that list due in no small part the way those types of shows have evolved over the past 20-25 years. Also, it's easy now to pick 90210 apart for its hilariously dated fashions, heavy-amounts of melodrama, and trying to suspend your disbelief over fully grown adults playing kids in high school.

[Tubehead]

my top picks are
full house
fresh prince of bel air
the flying nun
mork & mindy
gadit
growing pains
the cosby show
roseann
mash
gunsmoke
sabrina the teenage witch
sister ,sister

ones i agree on
full house
7th heaven i stopped watching it after the kids starting growing up & when it became an soap opera!!


one couldn't get into still agree on
every one loves raymond
Knight rider
dawson creek

ones ok shows i still watch form time to time
home inmprovment
family matters


Ones i still think are still good & watchable :
walker texas rangers
saved by the bell

other shows aged badly
the original hawaii five o
designing women
most of the 195O's to 1960s westerns
the Adam's family
the patty duke show
family affair
leave it to beaver
my three sons
mister ed
the monkees


shows aged badly but i still watch
parry mason
the rockford files
the orignal magnum pi
the orignal the A-team
mannix
sea hunt
rout 66
the orignal the odd couple
family ties my favorite 1980s show!! im big micheal j fox fan!!
happy days didn't liked the later years much!
sanford & son
perfect strangers
the wonder years
boy meets world
the honeymooners
I love lucy
night court
mama's family
home improvement
saved by the bell



other 1980s to 1990s shows i still watch some but they didn't put them on the list:
the wonder years
boy meets world
night court
mama's family
perfect strangers
my two dads
step by step
hanging with mr cooper
california dreams

[king of comedy]

I still enjoy Walker Texas Ranger but I agree on The A Team. After I saw that scene with George Peppard in blackface, I will never buy this show and never want to see it again.

[MIKEPR]

I don't see why this should be discussed.

An old show is a product of its time and should be appreciated for its time.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

I still enjoy Walker Texas Ranger but I agree on The A Team. After I saw that scene with George Peppard in blackface, I will never buy this show and never want to see it again.

The Dukes of Hazard also should've been on that list simply because the fact that the Confederate flag is on top of the General Lee makes it extremely uncomfortable to overlook.

[favoriteshow]

I disagree with some of the inclusions. Saved By the Bell, Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House in particular.

They are still remembered, watchable if changing channels or found on a streaming service, family friendly, and referred in pop culture. Saved by the Bell is early 90s and cheesy but that's just what it is. No sense trying to make it need to conform to now and then disqualify it for that reason.

Everybody Loves Raymond comes on often on TV Land. It still seems like a show that could have aired not too long ago, even though sometime has passed. Ray Romano looks a lot older now, and the actors portraying his parents have both passed away.

The lady narrating the video says it's funny as it was ever was but then discounts it as beginning to show it's age. Ok maybe to her, but there is an audience of viewers that like to rewatch shows or maybe didn't watch it the first time around.

The spinoff Fuller House wouldn't have come to fruition, if Full House aged poorly.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by dee2364

This isn't all that surprising to me. This is just the disgusting double standard that American media always plays out when it comes to race. If a minority person commits a crime, it's justifiably called out as evil, but if a white person does it, he's just a victim and his crime downplayed or swept under the rug.

Even if you take out the horrible stuff that Stephen Collins has admitted to doing, 7th Heaven on its own, was quite frankly a very corny and cheesy show. I think that a lot of the faulty presentation of that and The Secret Life of the American Teenager ultimately boils down to Brenda Hampton, who I would consider to be a hack producer-writer.

[merlinjones]

Mork & Mindy
Welcome Back, Kotter
Family Ties
Alice
The Lucy Show
Hazel
Dennis the Menace
Abbot & Costello
My Three Sons (color)
Happy Days
Laverne & Shirley