Dated references/technology/etc. in media

[TMC]

Ever watch an older show or movie that had them use technology or make a reference to something that was current when it was made, but over time has become dated? What are some examples?

[Yong Fang]

What is interesting is old shows and money. "A $100?! Where will we get that kind of money!?" back when a $100 was real money. Or the Mary Tyler Moore show where Ted made $31,000 a year and everyone was shocked because he did so well. $31,000 isn't much anymore.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by TMC

Ever watch an older show or movie that had them use technology or make a reference to something that was current when it was made, but over time has become dated? What are some examples?

There are thousands of examples.

What about when Angela from Who's the Boss was poring over an old-timey spreadsheet program on her computer (in her giant 1980s glasses)?

Or the time the Facts of Life girls used a computer program to determine if Blair and Jo should stay friends? (Actually, there were quite a few computer-related episodes, now all hopelessly dated).

Home Improvement had several episodes where Jill was getting her masters degree, using an early 1990s computer.

On Roseanne, there was an episode where Roseanne didn't get a job because she didn't know the computer program the company used... I forget the name of the fake program, but the computer looked like a mid-1980s model.

Small Wonder. Nearly every episode.

Knight Rider, for obvious reasons.

The Buffy episode where Willow is stalked by an '80s robot named Malcom.



And of course that time Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston did that Windows 95 infomercial

[Yong Fang]

All In the Family was old fashioned even in their time of the early 1970's.

The show still used those (to me, before my time) those weird phone numbers like "Klondike 555". I thought those were obsolete by then.

Then they would also use telegrams. Like in the (hilarious) episode where Maude came over when everyone was sick and Archie made a telegram to keep her from coming, or when Meathead used a telegram to try to keep the Swingers away (who came a day early). Personally, I don't really know what a telegram really is, or why anyone would use them. You went to a company, sent a message and then someone sent the message to the address is listed. Sort of like an ancient form of e-mail.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

The show still used those (to me, before my time) those weird phone numbers like "Klondike 555". I thought those were obsolete by then.

There were definitely different pockets of the US that didn't upgrade to the standard NNN-NNNN scheme, even in the 1970s.

Until about 1990, my local rural telephone exchange still used a five-digit number for local calls. You didn't have to dial seven digits if you were placing a local call. For example, my phone number was 4-2974.

As the company upgraded to more modern technologies, and the telephone company began to upgrade towards the Internet age, this five-digit scheme was phased out, and we started to have to dial seven digits, even locally.

(BTW, KLondike was fictional, used only in media, much like the modern "555").

[Coffeecup]

We had a Klondike number back in the 1940's. I do get a kick of how the phone has changed over the years. The old candlestick on the wall in Jeff Millers Lassie.

[visaman666]

Telegrams were common up until email took over.

When Prime Minister Trudeau (Senior) retired, Larry & Willie at CFOX, in Vancouver, sent a telegram to his office, inviting him to be a DJ at their radio station!��

Telegrams were expensive, as you had to pay by the letter. Faxes took over telegrams, then email took over faxes.

[bgva]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

The show still used those (to me, before my time) those weird phone numbers like "Klondike 555". I thought those were obsolete by then.

The Simpsons used that in early episodes too. I didn't get it as a kid, but as an adult, it's humorous to me, considering the episodes were from the 90s.

In the Seinfeld episode where George runs over Bette Midler during a softball game, it turns out Jerry was accused of being an accomplice (his girlfriend was Bette's understudy; with George running her over, Jerry's g/f got the role). I think I got that right.

Anyway, Jerry says that someone called him "Gillooly!", referring to Tonya Harding's boyfriend accused of attacking Nancy Kerrigan.

From Fresh Prince:
WILL: Knock knock?
PHIL: Who's there?
WILL: Amy Fisher.
PHIL: Am....
WILL: Bang!

Both are jokes you probably wouldn't get had you not lived in the 90s. I haven't heard references to either one in years.

[TMC]

Technology, in the '80s and '90s, was really useful for thrillers, but it's a different story now.

[WilliamHBonney]

On Saved By The Bell the set of Bayside bookstore looked like exactly like the art deco style from season 8 of the Facts Of Life gift shop they worked at despite how many years later it was filmed.