"Shows that aren't as good as you remember....?" Topic

Reading the OFM's thread regarding the Red Skelton show, it reminded me of a revelation I had on a couple of shows I really, really, really liked when I was young.

The "Man from Uncle" and "Rat Patrol."

LOVED 'EM when I was young. I watched them a few years ago as an adult and was freakin' amazed at how bad they were!

What shows have you rewatched, and then been very disappointed?????

Original Batman tv series…my tastes have changed.

The original Battlestar Galactica. Re-watched it ahead of the reboot. Not nearly as good as I remember.

Also Robotech. On the Robotech Tactics FB group, the topic of Masers series came up, so I decided to re-watch it. It was awful. On that note, I went and watched the original Japanese version, which was better!

Damon.

Lost in Space, the first season in black and white was not bad, but after that…blech!

I still love "Have Gun Will Travel."

HR Puffenstuff.

HR Puffenstuff, LOL! A magic LSD trip for kids!

Justice League, Speed Racer, Star Trek

Unfortunately, most of the 'thriller/cop' shows from the 60's don't show up well these days. They were far more static and 'talkie' than modern shows. Mainly due to the constraints of heavy cameras and lighting needs. Having said that, I still enjoy the Avengers for the insane plots, and Mrs Peel!

I've found a lot of older comedies of yesteryear don't age well. I watched an episode of Fawty Towers with a group of friends after telling them it was the funniest show ever. After 10 minutes I wanted a hole to appear in the ground so I could jump into it

The Outer Limits. As a kid some of the episodes scared the out of me. Now they just look campy.

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Yes, it was low-budget and campy (often looked rushed into production like all weekly TV series) but there were sparks of influence for future shows such as "Supernatural" and "X-Files" in each episode. Still love the show, mind you. Also, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was a show that was great when I was a kid, yet sucks nowadays. The Flying Sub, however, was, and still, awesome…

Land Of The Lost. But then I was 6 years old. My daughter bought it for me one year for Xmas. Un-watchable to say the least.

I'll second the vote for the original Battlestar Galactica--such good memories, but it really hasn't held up well.

Combat!

Zorro

The Rifleman

NYPD Blue

Hill Street Blues – I actually suffered culture shock watching it when they trooped into the Captain's office and lit up!

Basically almost anything I grew up watching. I think its a matter of the first time it was new and you didn't know what to expect.

Now it has gotten to the point the I can quote dialog on shows I haven't even seen before.

Dragnet, Bonanza and a gazillion more. (I recently watched an episode of the Red Skelton Show, my granddad's favorite, and it wasn't the same. Maybe I needed to hear my G'dad's loud and hearty laugh to make the mugging and slapstick funny again.)

Loved the Japanese sci-fi thriller, "Atrogon" as a kid -- a technological super submarine captained by a reclusive Nemo-like Imperial Japanese Navy veteran of World War II.

The Earth imperiled by the undersea denizens of the Lost Continent of Mu.

Mentioned it to my grown son, who ordered it on NETFLIX for us to watch together.

"It even flys," he exclaimed in dismay! I was somewhat embarrassed.

Rat Patrol

Is it that the shows don't age well or that we have been conditioned by all the tech advancements and money poured into the production more modern shows? Face it, TV shows have to work harder and harder these days to fascinate and grab the attention of the viewer.

Face, what show from the 60's would even think about the stunts and special effects that can be done now. And, don't forget all the computer animation and graphics that can be added.

It is like all of our lives and the things that we consider now to be great and what was to be just so so. How many of the actors of the 50's and 60's would even be considered for an acting job today.

I agree with tberry7403, I watched an episode of Combat and was appalled at how bad it was. When I was a kid I couldn't wait for it to come on. Same for Rat Patrol, I even bought the plastic model (Airfix?)kit of it.

Some of the original Star Trek's are pretty cheesy as well. Styrofoam rocks, guys in rubber suits.

Pretty much all of Norman Leers work, it's good if you are studying the 70s but otherwise it's very dated.

Lost in Space, the first season in black and white was not bad, but after that…blech!

The switchover to color ruined a lot of shows for me.

jonny Quest

Great topic; Mine is Rat Patrol

When I read it, I thought I'd be the only one who would mention Rat Patrol…we loved it back in the day.
A year or two ago I went out and brought the DVD set…stopped watching after 4 episodes.
Now I'm afraid to watch Combat! lol
Joe

I forgot one more show: "Dark Shadows" is hilarious to watch now. That show was cheesy and campy back then and it is worse now. I think half the entries for moviemistakes.com are from that series! As for "Combat!" I find that show has stood the test of time: good writing, acting and directing always makes a show have longevity. Remember, the show lasted five seasons for American participation in Europe that lasted eleven months…

Even as a kid I was aware of 'Combat's' silliness, but what really brought it home was that episode where the mission is to take out a pillbox with an anti-tank gun.

The pillbox is constructed to defend a random pile of oil drums sitting beside a river(!), and the platoon then drags the gun by hand, but is stymied by a small hillock in the direct path to said waterway, strenuous efforts to surmount which become the dramatic fulcrum of the episode. I recall at the time (the 1970s) thinking to myself 'well, they could have just gone round it.'

Considering what I just posted on another thread I was highly amused by the comments above re 'Fawlty Towers' (but not as much as by 'Fawlty Towers', I hasten to add).

Space 1999 and Welcome back Kotter.
F troop is still funny though :)

Miami Vice. I was so into that show as a teenager. Tried to watch the first season on DVD and…turned it off in the first episode.

I learned not to binge watch The Monkees….

I could forgive Rat Patrol for using Dodge Power Wagons and Greyhounds as German vehicles, but after I saw a Rat Patrol coloring book (yes, there were such things!) that contained a drawing of a Grant described as a "German Heavy Tank", I gave up all hope and abandoned them.

Black Sheep Squadron. Was not great when I was a kid and really bad when I watch it these days.

Starsky and Hutch.

The Batmobile thread some weeks ago got me thinking about my favorite childhood cartoons. Unfortunatly GI Joe, Ninja Turtles and Tiny Toons didn't age well at all.

However, EXO Squad and Batman the Animated Series have held up quite well.

Star Trek: TNG is really bad. There are still a handful of really good episodes, but the signal-to-noise ratio is dreadful.

Surprisingly good after all these years: Barney Miller. It's a period piece now, and Abe Vigoda's asides to the camera are a bit forced, but it's still good.

Though don't binge-watch it: the trope that the weirdo of the week is an ex-Marine gets old real fast.

I think some of the shows mentioned (e.g.,Hill Street Blues, and Norman Lear's sitcoms) suffer from what I call "Citizen Kane Syndrome". They were innovative and cutting edge for their time and in some cases permanently influenced their genre. If you're too young to know what things were like "before", or you're so old you've forgotten , it's understandable to cock snooks.

But yes, most of what we watched as kids was awful. Just. Awful.

Hey, now. I have watched Johnny Quest fairly recently, and I feel it hold up well.

All of the Sid &Marty Krofft toxic waste has aged about as well as you might imagine. It was always going to be the children's programming version of novelty X-Ray machines.

Anything with a laugh track. I just can't watch them anymore.

Also, not a show but the movie Serpent and the Rainbow. Scarred the crap out of me as a kid. Pretty lame as of 10 years ago.

The trailer gave me nasty dreams!

The original Americanized version of Ultraman is about as "good" as I remember it being, though the kid brother is now painful to watch instead of just amusing.

Robotech really needs a switch to turn off that relentless music track. I could tolerate most of the rest of it.

I've recently watched a few episodes of Combat and Rat Patrol and didn't strike me as too terrible, but then I didn't religiously watch them way back, so didn't have expectations of really great TV.

Star Trek TNG--definitely bad, especially the first season.

I need to watch a few episodes of Get Smart--I wonder if it made it or has suffered. I'm hoping it is still good.

Rob

I loved Rat Patrol as a kid, even had a Rat Patrol lunch box. But now can't stand the show. Watched a few Combat episodes thought they were ok.

Dr Who, completely destroyed for me by the new crud that's been on the last however long.

Doctor Who was, and is, in 'updated' form, a kid's show. I gave up on it when I was old enough and critical enough to notice the sets wobbling.

I usually never go back and rewatch shows from when I was a kid. I prefer leaving them as they are in my mind.

Daniel Boone with Fess Parker and Ed Ames. Woof.

The first few years of The Three Stooges are the best, then through the following years one starts to notice how many of the episodes were "recycled" (mostly the stories, but sometimes literally by adding previously cut footage.) But there were still some gems…. ;-)

Just about everything. My list would be too long. The few which have aged well, for me, are, Rockford Files, a few Star Trek OS episodes (most are pretty drekful), Combat!, again a few episodes, Robin of Sherwood (the earliest episodes, mainly, as the show progresses the stories get hokey and far less rewatchable), Gilligan's Island holds up pretty well, if you're in the right mood (my then-preteen daughter watched all of them, some more than once, and loved them), Secret Agent Man has a few good episodes, ditto The Prisoner, but most are pretty dull and some are just stupid.

Movies: Let's face it, the older they get the harder they are to watch. You have to be a movie buff to like old movies. Most of my kids had no patience for the "old stuff", especially BW. Some films age well because they were directed and edited with real talent, which is timeless. I was surprised at how good "Operation Pacific" was recently. John Wayne movies are usually pretentious and too full of, well, John Wayne. But that one works, still (don't criticize my lack of "rivet counting" submarine movies, that isn't the point). The War Lord has held up well, despite obvious flaws. I'm done sharing on this one….

Daniel Boone show.

Time Tunnel.

This Is Spinal Tap was horrible to watch on it's own. But watching it with the commentary on turned it into a greatly funny movie…. ;-)

I would disagree on Combat, recently finished watching every episode beginning to end and there are many very good episodes in every year. On the other hand I'm watching Rat Patrol and episode 14 was bad. Been loving the Rockford files on Sundays on Me-Tv and watched a few Black Sheep and they are not as good as I remembered. Oh well going to watch S1 E15 Rat Patrol, I always remembered Hitch's "Who was there, you or me?"
P.S. 12 O'clock High is also a favorite and I've re-watched many on Me-TV and seems to be on You Tube now, wasn't no long ago.