Hit shows that are now forgotten

[TMC]

There are hundreds of forgotten TV shows...shows that came and went quickly, but what's interesting are the shows that where big hits and ran for years but are completely forgotten about today.

[factsoflife]

Originally Posted by TMC

There are hundreds of forgotten TV shows...shows that came and went quickly, but what's interesting are the shows that where big hits and ran for years but are completely forgotten about today.

I agree. It is very interesting how shows like "NYPD Blue" or "E.R." were huge massive hits, critically acclaimed and at the time considered groundbreaking and yet now they are rarely remembered at all. Especially, NYPD Blue which at the time was not just a big hit but was considered a trailblazer for how edgy it was. Now hardly anybody talks about or remembers it.

[tlc38tlc38]

Desperate Housewives was huge in its day and now no one talks about it and it's not in syndication.

[Svenfan1234]

I think of St. Elsewhere because it was a huge hit when it debuted and ran for 6 seasons, yet it's no longer aired in syndication and only Season 1 is available officially on DVD. Hopefully Heroes & Icons can change this!

[tlc38tlc38]

L.A. Law: 8 seasons yet no one seems to remember this show. It's never been in syndication for any long period of time.

Baywatch: 11 seasons and even a spin-off. The idea and stars of the show haven't been forgotten but the actual show has. Since when has this show been aired in reruns? All anyone can seem to remember about the show is Pamela Anderson running on the beach....lame.

[Svenfan1234]

Originally Posted by tlc38tlc38

L.A. Law: 8 seasons yet no one seems to remember this show. It's never been in syndication for any long period of time.

Baywatch: 11 seasons and even a spin-off. The idea and stars of the show haven't been forgotten but the actual show has. Since when has this show been aired in rerun?

I hope "L.A. Law" gets completed by Shout! at the very least.

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

I agree. It is very interesting how shows like "NYPD Blue" or "E.R." were huge massive hits, critically acclaimed and at the time considered groundbreaking and yet now they are rarely remembered at all. Especially, NYPD Blue which at the time was not just a big hit but was considered a trailblazer for how edgy it was. Now hardly anybody talks about or remembers it.

I've never been a fan of NYPD Blue, but I can confirm for you that it is available on Me-TV's sister channel, H&I (Heroes & Icons), at least 2 episodes per weeknight.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

I agree. It is very interesting how shows like "NYPD Blue" or "E.R." were huge massive hits, critically acclaimed and at the time considered groundbreaking and yet now they are rarely remembered at all. Especially, NYPD Blue which at the time was not just a big hit but was considered a trailblazer for how edgy it was. Now hardly anybody talks about or remembers it.

With ER, I think that it was simply a case of a) Being on the air too long (it arguably started decaying around 2001-02) b) too many medical rip-offs (e.g. House, Grey's Anatomy, Code Black, Chicago Med, etc.) c) Being hard to screen for syndication because its so heavily serialized

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Svenfan1234

I think of St. Elsewhere because it was a huge hit when it debuted and ran for 6 seasons, yet it's no longer aired in syndication and only Season 1 is available officially on DVD. Hopefully Heroes & Icons can change this!

St. Elsewhere is sort of up there with is "sister" show Hill Street Blues, in that it was considered cutting edge for its time (e.g. implementing a kind of gritty, documentary style approach), but many shows since that time have borrowed/ripped off from it. Most people who now have a vague idea of what St. Elsewhere was seem to only know it because a) it helped launch Denzel Washington's career and b) the ending, where it was revealed to all be apart of an autistic boy's imagination.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by tlc38tlc38

L.A. Law: 8 seasons yet no one seems to remember this show. It's never been in syndication for any long period of time.

Baywatch: 11 seasons and even a spin-off. The idea and stars of the show haven't been forgotten but the actual show has. Since when has this show been aired in reruns? All anyone can seem to remember about the show is Pamela Anderson running on the beach....lame.

Baywatch was basically the ultimate embodiment of "the jiggle show", which started w/ Charlie's Angels. In effect, show was definitely seen by people for the hot people involved and not for the storyline. It's just that a show like Baywatch that are expected to coast solely on the beauty of their casts doesn't work that easily anymore. This could be because of the rise of easily accessible pornography on the internet and more liberal views towards sexual matters. It doesn't help that Baywatch itself probably hasn't aged all that well.

[JJM]

Step by Step, 7 seasons
Perfect Strangers, 8 seasons
Night Court

comes to mind

[mets82]

I don't know if you want to add Reality tv to this but about American Idol and to a certain extent, Survivor? Yes, AI just ended and Survivor is still on but remember both shows in there heyday? EVERYBODY was talking about both shows. Me, I didn't watch either of them.


I agree about Desperate Housewives. That show had a huge first season and was pretty consistent over the years.

[factsoflife]

One i just thought of is Ally McBeal. when it debuted it became something of a revolution. It was very popular and everybody was talking about it. Even people who didn't like it had an opinion about it. Then it quickly faded from popularity and hardly anybody talks about it any more.

[Mr. Television]

I haven't seen The Practice in years.

[jimpickens]

ALF
In Living Color
MASH
BJ and the Bear