My 23yo daughter texted me recently to tell me she and her friends "discovered" this old TV show called Green Acres and they LOVE it!!! She asked rhetorically: "Why don't they make simple, fun and heart-warming shows like that any more?!
The Rural Purge killed all of those. Some shows were cancelled at the height of their popularity so new shows could be introduced to appeal to the newly favored Urban Demographic.
I laughed my head off when my brother said he and his wife were binge watching Green Acres! His wife is a city girl from Bangkok, Thailand and they moved to a rural place in the US (which she loves). She thinks the characters are so funny and makes jokes about identifying with Lisa!
I work in a bar and we had a Golden Girls trivia night and it was packed with people in their 20s to 60s. We played 4 episodes in between rounds of trivia and all of the jokes were sharp and timeless…they got big laughs. And people kept saying “I forgot how good this show is!” The performances and writing were light years above what’s on now.
Funny how current actresses always pretend that they are the first becsue women never got any roles before them.. Or they complain that the world is sexist because nobody watched their show becsue they are women. All people loved the Golden Girls.. They were just normal older women trying to live amazing lives to the end.. They did not spend their time constantly spreading hate..
I'm a young 25 year old, I watch all the old shows. The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Wagon Train. I can go on and on and on. Lost in Space, The Saint, The Man From UNCLE, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Hazel, Father Knows Best, Six Million Dollar Man etc. Paul is right, there is a comfiness and familiarity around the old shows. I have a lot of stress at my job and I'm a bachelor, so I love relaxing at home, watching a show I know my dad grew up watching. Recently discovered the 60s sitcom That Girl is streaming in its entirety on the Roku Channel. Much rather watch the sweet and funny feminine Marlo Thomas than any "strong independent woman" of today's woke TV shows.
Yeah between Roku, Pluto (samsung tv) and over air antenna I get all the shows I need. Advertisers need to catch on so I can stop watching the same 3 or 4 ads, but its tolerable.
You sound like someone after my own heart. I watched that stuff too even when I was a kid. I'm 29. I'm hispanic too but I never complained that those shows didn't represent what I look like. Stuff like gumby, mister rogers neighborhood and sesame street before the 2000s never fails to bring out that kid in me that still believes in things like wonder, innocence, sincerity, and decency, and a love for learning. But I'm still not crazy about happy days post Richie Cunningham
Same here... So much old good stuff that doesn't push Hollywood poltics or go on about more than two genders etc etc... Also less shows with actors I cant stand to watch now becsue they daily post online about hating white people or any other Hollywood insanity..
I loved the Connors when it first came on but Sarah Gilbert's WOKE crap gets old very quickly. It doesn't take long to figure it out with a gay preteen son wearing a dress, a black granddaughter, the knocked up daughter having a baby whose father is an illegal need I go on? It's like they go out of their was to being WOKE just for the sake of it.
I recently bought the dvd series set of the "Coach" tv series because only the first season is available on streaming; It's nice to watch something non-violent and a bit absurd while making dinner and eating. I don't want to get all worked up when told how to feel about things.
Also the actors were normal.. The most you would know about the actors would be who they married, dating or kid... Know you are expected to watch a show after the news showed the main actor talking about white people are evil etc... Hollywood actors will spout such evil insanity publicly and you are expected to still watch them even if they are in a non woke show.. Try watching Jumping Jack Flash without getting pissed everytime Woopi Goldberg is on becase of current insanity pushed everywhere..
I was going to say this, but the examples in the top streaming list are all recent enough to still count as heavily steeped in leftism and DEI, even if it wasn't called that then. The closest thing to non-woke on the list was Friends, which at the time it was made would have still had the creators slapping each other on the backs congratulating each other on how progressive it was. We're not talking about Bonanza or similar here. Heck, the creators of Bonanza were probably congratulating themselves on the leftism they were sneaking in to fool the rubes too.
Totally... everything is focused on purposeful inclusion and being PC like 24/7 and it's ANNOYING that that's all we talk about anymore... I say this as someone whose spouse works directly with inclusion/diversity. It's a great movement, but a lot of material/content is forcing it so much that the underlying content is so diluted anymore
The one part he missed was messaging. It's been analyzed to death, but TV/movies are demanding you conform to their ideas instead of reinforcing yours.
So it's more propaganda and less entertainment. Smart people know how to hide the former in the latter (and to parce it out in bits), but creators these days have the wit, creativity and restraint of fundamentalists.
"Instead of reinforcing yours" I would disagree with that statement. To me, it is that that they would be more ambiguous about what message they are portraying
...no. Old shows weren't "re-enforcing our ideas", they were very critical and they were pushing left, open ideologies just as much as they do today. Take that episode where Kirk tongues a black woman; giving the world the first interracial kiss on public TV; or that one in Stargate which is all about a woman fkking up a flock of Mongols who want to give her the muslim treatment? They were always progressive. The difference is, they were subtle and polite and the underlying theme was "this is how you can be better". "this is how you can be not racist." "this is how you can be not sexist." Today, the subtlety is out the window, and the underlying theme is "YOU ARE EVIL AND WHITE PEOPLE MUST BE ERADICATED BY PROCREATION WITH BROWNS IN ORDER TO BROWNINATE THE EVIL OUT OF THEM IF ANYONE IS TO HAVE SEX WITH A PERSON OF THE OPPOSITE SEX AT ALL". And I mean what can a normal person do other than want to join the KKK even if they're black?
They have lost the concept that they are only there to entertain us, not preach to us. I watch TV to escape life's troubles. When my mom was fighting cancer, she would watch a lot of MTV and TLC since she liked their reality shows. I always hated those shows, but it gave me an epiphany after she died: people NEED to escape life. She NEEDED those reality shows to help her forget her situation and the pain from the cancer and its treatments. That's what TV, movies, and books are supposed to do: help us escape. Now, there are times when it is appropriate to use them for education (I grew up watching Sesame Street, and I enjoy documentaries or watching educational videos as well as reading some autobiographies). The problem is when you bill your show as entertainment and then sneak in propaganda to "educate" your audience on morals. Not universally agreed on morals like "don't kill people" (nearly everyone wants to see the villain of the story served justice); those are fine. The problem is when you have say a female character stop and lecture a male character on something stupid like "mansplaining." It comes off as obnoxious, pretentious, and completely unnecessary. The speech is also unrealistic because a person typically won't go on a diatribe on mansplaining. That type of junk, I hate.
Like how I can watch 4 plus seasons of the "Mentalist" and only have a single epsiode pushing open borders while the rest are normal.. (one pushy director) Now every epsiode pushes Hollywood poltics with it all mixed togther and in your face.. Like watching a DC Comics show were the entire episode is about how Trans people are better people and even a Street can be a Trans Person.. Etc etc.. And dont forget having to watch actors on the show who every day are in your feed abusing you for being white or male etc etc..... I cant watch "Jumping Jack Flash" now without having Woopi Goldbergs current insanity ruining it.. Who would have thought that Lovits would turn out to be the normal person from thst show.. His social media takes are that he accepts people who vote for the right or left..
This is what I miss. Literally this. The discussion and comments. When shows where scheduled on TV, you could talk about it next day with friends, classmates, every week. Now "I watched series X the weekend on platform Y". Really? Never heard about it.
To a certain degree its also a time filter. If you look at some of Chatos TV guide talks you'll see the emount of badly acted badly scripted dreck that has vanished down a memory hole. Its only the realy popular ones which remain.
@@voiceofraisin3778that is true. The issue now is the percentage of quality shows has gone down when at worst it should have been the same. We devolved, not evolved.
Something else that I've noticed recently is that everything is dark and serious. From movies, music, and TV and even video games we've seemed to enter a dark age. Many that grew up in the 80s and 90s remember how fun things were. They didn't have to send messages or have deep plots. They just had to touch a person on an emotional level. I can't think of any popular songs these days that people actually dance to for fun and I mean "dance" not simulate sexual positions with their clothes on. Watching older shows, listening to older music is an escape from the morbidity of modern pop culture...
There is always message but old shows tend to work on overarching theme and simple stories nowadays they are trying make them "real" which isn't much fun people want wind down and relax and not be again bombarded with societal issues and dramas they want simple wholesome fun without political nonsense. Ironic part is the old show also have their political messaging and ideological push etc. but it was cleverly hidden in good writing and innuendos not bashed over you head.
I've especially noticed this since I had a kid. I don't want to watch a "dark gritty take" on something together with my toddler, and I don't want to watch some cloying kids show either. It's making me miss 3 camera sitcom
I'm 34 and I've been on this path for a while myself. I'm so glad to hear that so many other people are discovering that just because something is old does not mean it isn't worth being enjoyed. Whether its older films, TV shows, books, comics, or video games. Hell, I've even gotten into listening to old time radio shows like The Shadow, X Minus One, Suspense, Gunsmoke, and Lights Out. And you know what, they are wonderful! Such a treasure trove of entertainment waiting to be discovered. Stick with the past, there's always something to be enjoyed
Are you me? That's a lot of overlap we've got. If you havent already, give Redwall books, Brood War replays with shoutcasting, The Omega Man movie and finally Nigel and Marmalade here on RUclips a try.
I'm 50, and this post of yours gets a Hell Yeah from me! In the late 80s, I collected cassette tapes of radio plays, and Lights Out and Suspense were flat-out excellent! The Shadow was enjoyable too, but a bit comic bookish. My favorite radio episode: Lights Out's "Oxychloride X."
I started rewatching Buffy at the end of last year. I hadn’t watched since it was aired. I was able to watch intertwined with Angel (the way joss intended it to be watched) & I had an amazing time! I was also impressed with the level of quality AND quantity that these shows consistently delivered. Something Mr Iger has said we cannot have.
Just rewatched WKRP on DVD. It's sweet, from a more innocent albeit post watergate time. Station Manager Mr Carlson (Gordon Jump) is attempting to sympathize with poor secretary Jennifer (Loni Anderson) as she is being dragged through the tabloids by the family of her recently dead septuagenarian boy friend. "Gosh Jennifer, I love your hair like that. It's like spun gold." Then he leaves to go home. After Three beats he rushes back in to reassure the other woman in the room, bailey Quarters , played by Jan Smithers "You have nice hair too, Bailey." Honestly just so sweet and so careful of peoples feelings. Mostly it's a goofy show with some wacky episodes. But I loved watching it again. And God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly.
@@dbsommers1 Yes and Johnny running away cause he though the phone police were after him. Oh and WKRP not getting the Vickie Von Vickie Jeans Account "I don't think she's going to sue if that's what you mean."
How ironic you did this video when I'm in the middle of re-watching a bunch of old shows. Just got done with Mannix, which I never watched as a youth, and it wasn't half bad. Watched Rockford before that and that's a great show! Well considered video Paul!
And remember , the first season of Mannix was kind of a bust. They completely retooled it for season 2. They were willing to fix something that had potential but also had flaws.
@@dbsommers1 Ya know, I kinda liked the first season and the whole Intertect idea. I guess it didn't resonate back then 'though. Also, I LOVED that customized Olds Toronado he drove in season 1.
We have over 200 old sitcoms on our home server and we are watching Andy Griffith and Matlock right now with plans to watch The Shield next. We turned off our cable TV over 10 years ago, got an antenna, and never went back. My wife finds old DVDs at yard sales and that is how we have added to our server so we can watch whatever we want whenever we want. I have rewatched the entire run of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Star Trek TOS over 20 times each while I run on my treadmill. Both my wife and I can watch some of them over and over again and we don't get bored. We also really like Blue Bloods and a handful of newer stuff like The Big Bang Theory, Last Man Standing, and Young Sheldon but everything else is pretty much garbage. Great video.
I just read Mel Brooks' autobiography, and he writes about being a writer on "Your Show of Shows." This was the earliest days of television, where the shows were broadcast live. Mel, with just two other writers (Mel Tolkin and Lucille Kallen), and the assistance of Carl Reiner and some guest writers, churned out FIFTY ninety minute scripts, with three to five comedy sketches each, every year. They got two weeks off like every other working person for vacation. The people wanted to see that show on the TV on Fridays, and the networks just said "do it." TV should just be a job. 99% of it is not done as well as the average auto mechanic performs his daily repairs. The local baker produces a hundred higher quality baguettes each day than a Netflix writer's ten scripts a year. Maybe the baker and the mechanic should do a collabo. _I'd stream it._
"I would put Hill Street Blues up against the best cable and streaming shows have to offer..." Well said, my friend 😌. Well said. Thanks again for the link. Respect ✌️!
Old show have longer character development Old shoes have better morality and ethics Old shows have characters taking original and interesting actions....
There's one characteristic that very few people mention. Old shows (and I'm talking OLD: Outer Limits, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Batman, etc.) knew exactly what they were, and didn't pretend to be anything else for a second. Shows nowadays take themselves so seriously, they ooze with self-importance, even when it's a comedy.
I read somewhere that the large music companies still make more off The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Billy Joel, etc. etc. that they ever could off current artists. It's about quality.
Streaming music simply is no better that radio used to be the problem with streaming is the user selects what they want when they want. Very hard to make money off that. Somebody is going to create a music culture that is direct feedback based and it will not be streamed.
Alot of quality shows are missing from streaming from my generation like Hardcastle & McCormick, Simon & Simon and The Fall Guy. Quincy is another, yes, and it's wrong.
I was in the US Army for 30 years and we picked up DVDs for my many deployments and my son helped me digitize them a few years ago. We put them on a LAN that we set up in our home and never looked back. Now, my wife picks up DVDs cheap at yard sales and thrift stores and we add those as she gets them. She got Blue Bloods seasons 1 to 10 for 10 bucks at a yard sale. You can't beat those prices and if our LAN fails, we have the hard copies.
Recently started watching The Six Million Dollar Man in glorious HD, looks like it was shot yesterday (last time I saw it I was 10 years old, watching in B&W in over the air "Fuzzy Vision"TM). Love the vintage locations, cars, and clothing. Fun Fact; Steve Austin actually used the term "Gaslighting" in an episode, believe it or not, in 1975. It dawned on me that all the guest star women of that time period were completely tattoo-less... no tiny little trendy wrist or forearm tattoos! And no surgical alterations! Sigh....
I just wanted to thank you for these videos that touch on older network shows. It has certainly sparked me to dive into older series even more than I had before. Picking up used DVD sets of Cheers, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Perry Mason, Andy Griffith, and yes, even Knight Rider has been rather rewarding, even beyond the immediate nostalgia high at first. For instance, I sat down and watched the entire first season of Cheers. Didn't binge it, picked away at it an episode here and there. I knew all the characters, but as I was only four when the series premiered, I wasn't a day one viewer. And it holds up so incredibly well these 40+ years later. The Charles' brothers and James Burrows had it so right, right away. Incredible. So thank you for sparking this renewed interest, sir!
"For instance, I sat down and watched the entire first season of Cheers. Didn't binge it, picked away at it an episode here and there. I knew all the characters, but as I was only four when the series premiered, I wasn't a day one viewer. And it holds up so incredibly well these 40+ years later." I similarly deep-dove into Emergency!, that 70s NBC medical/action hit from Mark VII/Universal-- unlike you, I did a sort of a binge (not a true binge though, but I followed it through pretty faithfully). I wasn't even born when it was on (it started in 1972, and ran to 1977, with some specials in 1978 and '79), but even so, it still stands tall more than half a century from when it started (it beats out all other firefighting shows, and IMO, also all other medical shows).
Most of the shows I watch are older shows on Pluto Tv or other services. It's interesting to go back and watch these shows. Now that I am older I have a greater appreciation for the writing. Never liked Maude as a kid, but now I find that show very funny. I liked The Love Boat as a kid, but now I feel the show really had some strong comedic writing. The Night Court reboot is dreadfully unfunny whereas the original is a classic. Other shows I enjoyed recently have been That Girl, Sledge Hammer, The Fall Guy, Remington Steel, Three's Company, Rules of Engagement, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Growing Pains, The Brady Bunch and others. Really makes me miss good TV dads.
One advantage of network shows is having longer seasons that allowed the actors, writers and the production crew to click and become a well-oiled time. It's harder to do that with 8-10 episode seasons.
@@CyberLance26 Modern tv shows are not a full season. They are really just extraordinarily expensive mini series with no box office to create money from and there is no way advertising and subscriptions could justify the cost to return ratio.
I've also noticed for new shows that writing credits for each episode is to one person and different for each episode. I'm guessing this makes it incredibly difficult to actually form cohesive plot lines and character development.
Another YTuber, JesterBell, had a similar argument that the episodic nature of older tv allows you to dip in and out, while current-day productions that are shot like extended movies don't give you that break, and then also have a quality of 'get ready for next product' built in as well.
I also feel that the non-episodic structure is used to pad out the length of the show with a lot of boring but cheap to produce dialogue scenes. I think the series shot like an extended movie do give you break, most of the run time feels like an extended break really.
Older shows are definitely more relaxed, while newer shows are almost too intense for me to watch because I don't have the time or frame of mind to spend actively invested into a series. Meanwhile, Criminal Minds and NCIS are great to just play in the background for me.
they are also shot like terrible boring movies. Film stretches and condenses time, streaming 'filmic' shows just stretches time, until you're bored shitless. Usually by the endless exposition dialogue and Star wars arm folding and smell the fart look into the distance 'acting'.
@@silentrob668 Yes I totally agree with what you write here. I am starting to suspect, or rather I did it from the start, that they make the shows that way to save money! They simply want to fill the large majority with boring but cheap to produce scenes.
To me, the best thing about episodic TV is character development, and that is where films and streaming fall short. Great call on Hill Street Blues by the way.
Our family has recently been watching Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie for free on our Roku. My husband and I grew up watching those shows, but our children had never seen them. Our 22-year-old son thinks it’s the greatest most wholesome thing ever. It’s an easy thing to have on in the background while we do other things around our house like make dinner and talk about our day. It’s less stressful because even cliffhanger episodes aren’t so intense that you’re gonna have bad dreams and feel anxiety. Everything gets resolved in an episode or two and that’s really a comforting kind of feeling. You leave those shows feeling like everything is going to be OK instead of like the world is ending, why would we want to fill our heads with anxiety inducing storylines anyway?
Networks also understood human relationships better. The characters of Friends actually felt like your real friends. Having 20+ episodes per year allowed time for you to build your friendship with them. Spending half an hour with them each week was something you looked forward to. Missing an episode meant missing out on fun adventures with your friends. Chuck Lorre realized this and turned The Big Bang Theory into Friends 2.0. This is another reason why these shows outperform the newer shows offered by the streaming services
Adding to your point, one thing old (pre-streaming) shows have going for them is character and story development. When you go week by week, the writers have time and space and can begin to understand the actor’s strengths and weaknesses, they can feel out where the show is lagging and where it soars, and they can gauge what audiences are responding to. In streaming, they barf out a season all at once. Any mistakes made at the beginning will be there at the end. And you get no room for human development. Parks and Rec, The Office, MASH, Fresh Prince, All in the Family, Good Times, Seinfeld, etc. are very different from each other, but they all have tremendous character and story growth. Even years later, that is simply more interesting to watch.
Almost all those shows made serious in-season adjustments too. The Office made Michael Scott much more of a loveable bafoon after the first few episodes. He was more of a prick at first. Parks and Rec tried to recycle The Office structure but abandoned it halfway thru the 1st season. Mark was supposed to be the new Jim Halpert, but was written off the show. Seinfeld also tinkered with the characters early on. Costanza was much less eccentric in the 1st season... then they turned him into Larry David. Jesse was supposed to die at the end of s1 in Breaking Bad. But his chemistry w Bryan Cranston and the audience response led to him becoming a co-star in the show. Same with Mike Ehrmantrout. He was an emergency replacement for Bob Odenkirk for a couple episodes, but quickly became a fan favorite and co-star of Better Call Saul.
Didn't they always make a pilot and checked how interested the audience was before they commited to a whole season? Shows like She-hulk, Velma or Secret invasion wouldn't have gotten of the ground if they had cared about what the audience thought about the first episode.
Not always, but it was an option. But something like that just doesn't work for movies stretched out to six hours. I like longer stories, yes, but I much preferred fare like _B5_ or Whedon's shows, where the structure was episodic, and you always got a complete story, but the characters and their situation evolved throughout the season. And any given problem might or might not be related to the main plot, but the characters were always moving forward. They were gradual enough that you could miss an episode or two and still have the context to not be lost watching tonight's episode.
In high school, I'd spend summer days wandering around Rockefeller Center looking like a tourist just to get passes to pilot screenings at the big three networks. It was a good way to make contacts for later internship positions. I was always amazed by some of the pilots that did get green-lit for TV series. Some were just soooo bad.
I've been rewatching Bewitched lately I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid, I'm 31, Elizabeth Montgomery was amazing had a big crush on her and Barbara Eden.
Elizabeth Montgomery was rather a leftist and Bewitched was sometimes a little preachy, but mostly it was fun, occasionally excessively stupid, occasionally somewhat cringe.
@@markiangooley That's all true but it's still nowhere near as bad as a lot of the garbage being made today, it's at least written well, the actors were good and I enjoy the practical effects, one of the things that got me interested in how films are made.
I always liked the episode where Endora had to go back in time to rescue Sam who was zapped to the time of Henry VIII by a jealous witch. Since time travel takes away their powers Endora had to rely on her wits and her methods reminded me of the Bene Gesserit of DUNE. There's a scene where she uses the royal command of her voice to order a guard to come to her then she quickly hypnotises him. The show was smart in some ways.
I am 49 and I had never watched The Dick Van Dyke Show until this past week. I am astounded by what I had missed all these years, the writing for that show is simply superb.
I can watch Rockford, Magnum or Simon & Simon over and over. Some of the plots are dumb, but the shows were great. I miss those days. As a film tech, I agree, I'm working on a 6 ep season of a show right after a disastrous strike. Then our lighting crew, really trying to stay together, has to go find something else. We spent nine years working on a 22 ep show, and that was great. The entire crew stayed together for a long time, and we all knew how to get the job done quickly.
@@zakofrxI watched the first ep of the reboot. It was excremental. But I get that tastes can be generational, and the show lasted for, What?, five years? Somebody must have liked it. As to opening credits: I wouldn't skip any of those old opening credits. I still remember cast freeze frames from 70s shows like Emergency! and Starsky & Hutch et al. Magnum, Rockford, and the Simon brothers' openings I can remember frame by frame.
I am watching Stargate Atlantis for the 30th time and I am on the 5th season again. I plan to go back to Stargate SG-1 next. I mostly watch on the treadmill but I love them both so much, I never get bored. After that, the Sopranos may be next or perhaps Star Trek TOS.
It recently occurred to me that, since I don't have regular cable anymore, I'm not up on the current sitcoms. So I Googled "current sitcoms" and even Google gave me a list of mostly older sitcoms!
I stopped watching TV in the '00s, never got into streaming. At least for me you nailed it - the characters stopped being people I want to spend time with. There are no good people on TV anymore. There are just jerks with the informed characteristic of being good.
That's how I feel, too. When I look back at shows I loved, that had some longevity, they were filled with characters I loved and who cared about each other. Shows that lacked this always failed.
Hugh Laurie is amazing in that show despite the ridiculousness (read: dramatization of medical diagnosis that any decent doctor would find without the extreme risks House takes). Plus I love his dry wit & humor. House MD
Northern Exposure is great until the MC mostly left the show.. (he was great in Numbers as well) The actors from that have talked about making a new season.. The indian guy from the series "Ed"? Has been trying to organise it and has youtube videos talking about it.. I hope it doesn't get stuffed around due to actors on the show being very public Republicans.. Like the main actress on the show..
Most of those old shows, with the possible exception of suits, featured likeable characters that the viewers could carry about, men and women who actually seem to like each other, and no overselytizing. Most of these characteristics are lacking from modern streaming shows.
One of the problems with serialised tv is that if your first season fails miserably it doesn’t matter if the next season turns things around because the audience still needs to suffer through that first season to understand and engage with the other seasons. I can see any episode of The Simpsons and enjoy it on its own, any episode is an entry point into enjoying the series.
I enjoy watching the old shows with my mom. She is elderly and bed ridden. TV is one way for us to share time together. Brings back many memories for both of us. We laugh and cry, boo and hiss, etc to the story characters. We know the endings but there is satisfaction in that too. It's also a way to tell time. When an episode is over, we know approx 1 hour has passed. Streaming shows can have varying lengths in time and that is very frustrating.
@@handsomedubbledeeduring Obama they started going hardcore with the woke.. Before that it was just a small thing added a bit every once in a while but suddenly everything had to be woke.. Like how a few years ago everthing had to be black no matter what.. If you worked in catering on a TV show and happend to not be black you would be fired to get the numbers up.. No more being in the center for Hollywood and their knock off's, now everything had to be their way or nothing..
As a millennial, the original Twilight Zone, Little House on the Prairie, Star Trek ToS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager, MASH, and shows like those will always win over modern stuff for me and my family. It's just better. Especially for those of us who don't want to get sucked into days long binge viewings and instead just want to watch an hour or two a week on the weekend.
Great analysis! I too am a Pluto enjoyer. I am having a blast watching series that came out when I was too young to enjoy them. They’re charming, quirky and as you mentioned, usually self contained stories.
Likable characters (and old, familiar guest stars) can carry a show regardless of script quality -- as in The Love Boat (10 seasons), Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost In Space, Hogan's Heroes, The Brady Bunch, et al. -- while many smartly written series have flopped.
I’m watching Welcome Back Kotter, Chico and The Man, Hills Street Blues, and so many others like this on TUBI. The best thing I like is no laugh tracks and they have a live studio audience.
Jackie Gleason talking about The Honeymooners said there were many reasons why the show was still popular but the main reason was "It's funny." The "old" shows were made to entertain and succeed.
getting rid of my comcast was one of the best things ever. i got an indoor antenna and can watch all the classic shows i want and my bill is $0. i only paid about $25 for the antenna on amazon. everyone should do this. and the picture quality is really good.
Our family bypasses all this with Kdramas (Korean fictional tv shows). No "The Message", very strong characters, very strong writing, and most shows are 16 episodes and done. The sense of continuity and stability you mention is still provided though, through the fact that the same production companies are making one show after another - so it is a stable job with a stable community of artists, and through the inventive variations of tropes like the Umbrella Scene, etc. I don't see anything on the horizon from the West that would take me away from Kdramas for a moment, with the possible exception of House of the Dragon Season 2.
In the past you had set choices and media to help you decide.. Now everything is just dumped out hoping that enough youitube ads or podcast spots find viewers..
If the sheer volume was good you would know about the shows but 99% of it is trash of the lowest order. A new trick as well is to make an excellent season one to rope views in to commit and they pack season two with a political message that is boring.
Writing is a big difference. The Gen Z kids they hire out of college with zero experience. TV had a heiarchy where you learned from others by working on a show for several seasons under seasoned writers. You learned to write characters and especially with sitcoms, you had an entire premise to develop, which was easier to do without always having a mystery box arc. Just a fun situation and any crises was wrapped up in under 30 minutes. Jokes and humor were huge, you hired seasoned comedians to write or star in them.
Probably a lot of the same reason why I just watch old movies now... Better quality, surprisingly accessible as entertainment, and a certain "voyage of discovery" where everything you haven't seen is new to you even if it's 80 years old. It's hard NOT to be engaged by a Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Carol Lombard, Astaire and Rogers, Marx Brothers, or Boris Karloff.
You just mentioned so many of my favorite actors. .. Try the Thin Man. "My, they're strict at the race track!" And the Marx Brothers? They would never have risen to fame with these pink haired, nose ringed babies in charge. Think of THAT tragedy!
The "Thin Man" series is amazing.. Try watching all the old Sherlock Homes movies(not based on books), Mr Wong Movies and Charlie Chan Movies.. The last lot are on RUclips.. All are great mystery adventures done before WW2.. Mr Wong was a Japanese spy who was the good guy.. As long as you dont worry about the MC being the wrong type of Asian or not Asian enough you will like them..
@@zakofrx thanks for the recommendation. I've been kinda' working my way out from horror, sci-fi, and adventure. Mostly been discovering musicals and comedy lately (Busby Berkeley, Marx Bros., etc.) but I'm sure I'll get into mysteries and noir eventually 😆
@@zakofrx Mr Wong (played by Boris Karloff) was not a Japanese spy; he was a Chinese detective, a knock-off of Charlie Chan. You're thinking of Mr Moto (played by Peter Lorre) who was a Japanese detective -- but never a spy. And those films were all pre-World War II. Charlie Chan would continue post-war moving from Fox to Monogram. They're not the "wrong type of Asian"; they're -- unfortunately -- all played yellow face (white actors made to appear Asian), 1930s Hollywood didn't think an Asian actor could carry their own film. This, of course, flies in the face of the superstar power of Sessue Hayakawa during the silent era. At least in the Charlie Chan series, number one and two sons were played by Chinese actors Keye Luke and Benson Fong.
I got fed up last summer and started watching old Westerns with John Wayne and couldn't stop watching em. Sure, they weren't always the fastest pace, but the characters and storytelling was miles ahead of anything modern..it was refreshing. I was finally relaxed and a million miles away again, instead of being reminded of how much the world sucks.
The difference with them was that the stars in them had depth and something about them. One of the reason you may find them slow is that they were made for large cinema screens in 35mm film with a resolution of about 10k. Watching them meant you would have been admiring the look as much as the stars. Those old films also had colour presentation that young people have not seen before.
Paul, I love your channels. And, i believe the next generation of producers, executives, etc can learn so much from you. I hope they watch your videos. I'm not sure which of your channels is more important, but in today's world, they ARE important!
In previous ages, shows only had to compete with the other shows that were airing back then. Right now, shows need to compete with the full catalogue of back shows in Netflix and all its clone streaming services. This is an impossible challenge to overcome.
I really enjoy watching classic movies and TV shows! I find that they are so full of depth and they rely more so on great storytelling to keep the audience engaged rather than special effects or other shortcuts! 😊
Yes you explain it well. I miss the days of the weekly dramas where you could tune in weekly but didn’t need to see every show. Like a good story or comic, it was wrapped up each time. Plus they are boring now and what happened to theme songs? I can’t hum a single theme from recent shows.
Michael Landon took most of the crew from "Bonanza" when it ended to work for him on "Little House on the Prairie" and then onto "Highway to Heaven". Also a lot of old TV shows had longer seasons that would allow you to invest in the show and you looked forward to seeing it each week. Today's shows on streaming services are more like blink and they're gone. Tubi has also built a strong following with old TV shows as well. As for myself, I find myself watching more older TV shows especially from the 1960s and 1970s when I was not around or too young to watch when they first aired. There are still a lot of "new" old shows that I have still to discover.
Michael Landon played Little Joe Cartwright for the whole 14 year run of the show. During that time he learnt how to write and direct. By the end of the show's run, he was also very influential and so when he went on to "Little House on the Prairie" he had very good ties with a lot of the "Bonanza" crew and most of them ended up working for him.
I discovered Columbo last year and turned my wife on to it. The writing, acting, music, and filmography are so good, that we never want to watch anything else together.
The main thing I did when Netflix was just a DVD rental service was rent Star Trek TNG and Classic Doctor Who. When it became streaming, I rewatched all of Magnum PI. Traditional episodic TV is like having a mini treat for the brain, 45 minutes and you can move on. Don't like the story that episode? No worries, the next one could be better. With serialized, decompressed storytelling of new streaming shows what do you do if you don't like the storyline? You don't watch it altogether. And streaming shows generally don't have enough story to pad out the season run of
When all of a tranche of episodes is one story, if that one story doesn't work, the show is dead. If you're forced to tell a different story every week, you're more likely to find something you like. Sure, more likely to find one you don't like, too, but they're characters you like and spent time with, and they'll be doing something different next time.
*Also, classic actors didn't shove their private lives and personal preferences down their audience's throats... For example, Raymond Burr would never wear a business suit made out of rainbow pride flags while portraying Perry Mason in a courtroom...* 😐
I have been watching shows like Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, Sanford and Son, and Starsky and Hutch to name a few. These are the shows I grew up watching and are still fond of today. It is my opinion that the television of the 70’s and 80’s were much better than any shows being released today. Maybe I am being nostalgic for that era, but I can’t help it. I would rather watch shows or listen to music I grew up with than subject myself to the garbage that is put out today. 🙂🙂🙂
Paul, you glossed over something important. By watching shows daily/weekly, you build a kinship with the people on-screen that you don't get from short binges. That's why RUclips has replaced TV. In 40 years, people won't be nostalgic for whatever Netflix show they binged once or twice, but they will *absolutely* be nostalgic for MrBeast and the hilarious rants of Paul Chato.
Yes there's something nice about sitting down to watch an episode each week. Especially shows with ongoing arcs, let's you mull over what has come before. Much more mileage than binge watch and forget.
Stands to reason that people would rather watch the best shows of all time than watch new stuff that isn’t very good. Now we have the option to do just that.
I thought about Simon and Simon a few weeks ago, and I looked to see where I could watch it. Nowhere from what the sites said. You can't tell me this isn't on purpose. They just don't want you to see competently produced TV.
You made some great points in your video, Paul. Tv networks letting shows flow and the creme rise to the top is one big difference from the streaming model: you see lots of new and new shows on stream (how to know which ones are really good?), while on tv, if it got cancelled after 1 or 2 seasons, you knew a show probably wasn't worth your time.
I've been going through a phase where I've been craving campy 1980s dramas - Dynasty, Dallas, Hotel etc. Yes, they're kitsch, but they're also pure escapism. There's nothing glamorous or fun about tv nowadays - it's all so dreary and self-important.
As I sit here watching Columbo I remember the cable company bragging about 4K resolution. Hell. I don’t need it, most of what I watch was made before 4K. 😂
Pluto TV is my goto “station”. Where else can I watch Star Trek, an old Universal Horror movie, The Wild, Wild West, or The Streets of San Francisco? I like Prime, Netflix, and Hulu but rarely are there good shows. You mentioned several but there were also Jack Ryan, Longmire, or You’re Beautiful (kdrama on Hulu). I do miss the new “Fall” shows. I remember buying the TV Guide for them and couldn’t wait to see some.
I like older shows that I've NEVER seen. I'm watching Gunsmoke, Rockford Files, and the old Mission Impossible series with some regularity (often on a slow Sunday afternoon). Why? I appreciate an adult drama where the writers and actors can restrain themselves from dropping F-bombs, flashing gratuitous nudity, and other graphic amateur porn on me. At least the old guidelines disciplined the creatives to say and do more with less. I can watch these old shows in the presence of my 5 year old without worrying about what she might see, but also knowing the adult subtext is so subtle that a grown up sees it plainly while a child never does.
I think it also has to do with the fact everyone has seen every show the past few decades. I think nerds have watched all the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Star Treks and went "Okay, what now?" and are going back further into the film and television catalog. People are rediscovering the westerns, the 60s and 70s, and they are all wholesome great material. This stuff is way before my time and watched growing up with my parents as it was THEIR time period. It still is fathoms better then todays shows.
Chato, I swear on everything that I didn't know this was a thing. I have been watching Miami Vice constantly. It's a pure example of how bad TV has gotten. I haven't watched anything new past the new Quantum Leap. The writing on the older shows was more flexible, thought out, and had so much character development. You are right, Chato. TV was way better back then
I was just thinking about shows that remain in your memory and are a pleasure to return to. Specifically the case of the series "The IT Crowd". In my experience, the main characters in this series are the friends I wish I had. In comparison, the other day I was at a party and a television was on and silent, showing the premiere of a series that I don't even know what it is. Being mute, I noticed that all the characters, the stars, the supporting actors and the waiter serving the tables, all seemed miserable, full of problems, unfriendly, threatening or simply disgusting people with great suffering. Why would I want to see that?
What i more and more notice in many aspects of life nowadays is that people tend to rely on stability and predictability. This doesn't mean that everyone ONLY wants the same old stuff, but we tend to rely MORE on things we know we like. Thats simply human nature. It's the same with food. Sure you might want to try something new now and then, but for most of the time, you order what you know tasted good before. ...and btw, if the same restaurant suddenly changes recipe for your favourite food and it now tastes like dog excrement, it would be quite baffling if they would suddenly accuse you as a hater because cook (whom you have never met) was part of a minority. To be honest, i find it quite baffling that multi billion $$$ companies (for example entertainment and tech companies) don't understand this very basic human bahaviour. Instead they try to educate people to "keep up with the time", while not asking if this new path even makes sense or is wanted in the first place. We humans are basically still the hunter gatherers that survived the ice ages. Many behaviour patterns that guaranteed surviving in cold climate (or in any environment where resources where sparse) are still deeply engrained in our everyday behaviour. (more = better, having a secure home, having a predicatable food source and so on) Most normal people like recurring patterns, like traditions or regular food, or even the plain old fashioned weekend. If many modern people like it or not, we humans are creatures of habit. We like things that are predictable, heck our very biological lives are centered around things that repeat. What modern culture is requesting from most people is simply not species appropriate to us humans. Sorry for the rant.
I'm going in for even older stuff. The two shows I'm revisiting are I Dream of Jeannie and Rat Patrol. They bring back memories of watching it with my father and brother.
LOL. "Because they don't suck" pretty much sums it up.
The Twitter thread covered it real well:
1. they ain't woke
&
2. the writing is a lot better
DEI
The old shows weren't woke propaganda done by diversity hires. Just good stories done by competent writers & staffs.
My 23yo daughter texted me recently to tell me she and her friends "discovered" this old TV show called Green Acres and they LOVE it!!! She asked rhetorically: "Why don't they make simple, fun and heart-warming shows like that any more?!
Because High Concept is dead.
The Rural Purge killed all of those. Some shows were cancelled at the height of their popularity so new shows could be introduced to appeal to the newly favored Urban Demographic.
@@GeraldWalls that answer explains the tv shows and so much more. 👍
@@CallMeChato 😂
I laughed my head off when my brother said he and his wife were binge watching Green Acres! His wife is a city girl from Bangkok, Thailand and they moved to a rural place in the US (which she loves). She thinks the characters are so funny and makes jokes about identifying with Lisa!
I work in a bar and we had a Golden Girls trivia night and it was packed with people in their 20s to 60s. We played 4 episodes in between rounds of trivia and all of the jokes were sharp and timeless…they got big laughs. And people kept saying “I forgot how good this show is!” The performances and writing were light years above what’s on now.
Funny how current actresses always pretend that they are the first becsue women never got any roles before them..
Or they complain that the world is sexist because nobody watched their show becsue they are women.
All people loved the Golden Girls..
They were just normal older women trying to live amazing lives to the end..
They did not spend their time constantly spreading hate..
Golden Girls and Designing Women... 80s female driven comedies @@zakofrx
I'm a young 25 year old, I watch all the old shows. The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Wagon Train. I can go on and on and on. Lost in Space, The Saint, The Man From UNCLE, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Hazel, Father Knows Best, Six Million Dollar Man etc. Paul is right, there is a comfiness and familiarity around the old shows. I have a lot of stress at my job and I'm a bachelor, so I love relaxing at home, watching a show I know my dad grew up watching. Recently discovered the 60s sitcom That Girl is streaming in its entirety on the Roku Channel. Much rather watch the sweet and funny feminine Marlo Thomas than any "strong independent woman" of today's woke TV shows.
Never seen the saint, it's next on my list to watch, heard its awesome
Make sure you watch Columbo and Star Trek.
@Jim-Mc oh I own Star trek TOS on Blu-ray. And I've seen the later Columbos, I'm assuming they were made in the 90s because he was older.
Yeah between Roku, Pluto (samsung tv) and over air antenna I get all the shows I need. Advertisers need to catch on so I can stop watching the same 3 or 4 ads, but its tolerable.
You sound like someone after my own heart. I watched that stuff too even when I was a kid. I'm 29. I'm hispanic too but I never complained that those shows didn't represent what I look like. Stuff like gumby, mister rogers neighborhood and sesame street before the 2000s never fails to bring out that kid in me that still believes in things like wonder, innocence, sincerity, and decency, and a love for learning. But I'm still not crazy about happy days post Richie Cunningham
I just want to watch shows that don't berate me into joining the revolution.
Like Picard season 3! LOL
Same here...
So much old good stuff that doesn't push Hollywood poltics or go on about more than two genders etc etc...
Also less shows with actors I cant stand to watch now becsue they daily post online about hating white people or any other Hollywood insanity..
The Revolution that's more a devolution.
The revolution will not be televised. Any televised revolution is probably fake. That's even more true now than when it was originally said.
Wasn't there a show called revolution?
The fact that Roseanne gets better ratings then The Conners should say it all
Conners is horrible. no redeeming qualities for the characters.
I loved the Connors when it first came on but Sarah Gilbert's WOKE crap gets old very quickly. It doesn't take long to figure it out with a gay preteen son wearing a dress, a black granddaughter, the knocked up daughter having a baby whose father is an illegal need I go on? It's like they go out of their was to being WOKE just for the sake of it.
I recently bought the dvd series set of the "Coach" tv series because only the first season is available on streaming; It's nice to watch something non-violent and a bit absurd while making dinner and eating. I don't want to get all worked up when told how to feel about things.
Also the actors were normal..
The most you would know about the actors would be who they married, dating or kid...
Know you are expected to watch a show after the news showed the main actor talking about white people are evil etc...
Hollywood actors will spout such evil insanity publicly and you are expected to still watch them even if they are in a non woke show..
Try watching Jumping Jack Flash without getting pissed everytime Woopi Goldberg is on becase of current insanity pushed everywhere..
Because the old shows are better than the shiiit for the "modern audience"
I was going to say this, but the examples in the top streaming list are all recent enough to still count as heavily steeped in leftism and DEI, even if it wasn't called that then. The closest thing to non-woke on the list was Friends, which at the time it was made would have still had the creators slapping each other on the backs congratulating each other on how progressive it was. We're not talking about Bonanza or similar here. Heck, the creators of Bonanza were probably congratulating themselves on the leftism they were sneaking in to fool the rubes too.
Totally... everything is focused on purposeful inclusion and being PC like 24/7 and it's ANNOYING that that's all we talk about anymore... I say this as someone whose spouse works directly with inclusion/diversity. It's a great movement, but a lot of material/content is forcing it so much that the underlying content is so diluted anymore
"Modern audiences" do not exist. That's why movie theaters are typically empty.
The myth of the modern audience. Modern audience is the audience. The audience wants good entertainment.
And none of "The Message".
The one part he missed was messaging. It's been analyzed to death, but TV/movies are demanding you conform to their ideas instead of reinforcing yours.
So it's more propaganda and less entertainment. Smart people know how to hide the former in the latter (and to parce it out in bits), but creators these days have the wit, creativity and restraint of fundamentalists.
"Instead of reinforcing yours" I would disagree with that statement. To me, it is that that they would be more ambiguous about what message they are portraying
...no. Old shows weren't "re-enforcing our ideas", they were very critical and they were pushing left, open ideologies just as much as they do today. Take that episode where Kirk tongues a black woman; giving the world the first interracial kiss on public TV; or that one in Stargate which is all about a woman fkking up a flock of Mongols who want to give her the muslim treatment?
They were always progressive.
The difference is, they were subtle and polite and the underlying theme was "this is how you can be better". "this is how you can be not racist." "this is how you can be not sexist."
Today, the subtlety is out the window, and the underlying theme is "YOU ARE EVIL AND WHITE PEOPLE MUST BE ERADICATED BY PROCREATION WITH BROWNS IN ORDER TO BROWNINATE THE EVIL OUT OF THEM IF ANYONE IS TO HAVE SEX WITH A PERSON OF THE OPPOSITE SEX AT ALL".
And I mean what can a normal person do other than want to join the KKK even if they're black?
They have lost the concept that they are only there to entertain us, not preach to us. I watch TV to escape life's troubles. When my mom was fighting cancer, she would watch a lot of MTV and TLC since she liked their reality shows. I always hated those shows, but it gave me an epiphany after she died: people NEED to escape life. She NEEDED those reality shows to help her forget her situation and the pain from the cancer and its treatments. That's what TV, movies, and books are supposed to do: help us escape. Now, there are times when it is appropriate to use them for education (I grew up watching Sesame Street, and I enjoy documentaries or watching educational videos as well as reading some autobiographies). The problem is when you bill your show as entertainment and then sneak in propaganda to "educate" your audience on morals. Not universally agreed on morals like "don't kill people" (nearly everyone wants to see the villain of the story served justice); those are fine. The problem is when you have say a female character stop and lecture a male character on something stupid like "mansplaining." It comes off as obnoxious, pretentious, and completely unnecessary. The speech is also unrealistic because a person typically won't go on a diatribe on mansplaining. That type of junk, I hate.
Like how I can watch 4 plus seasons of the "Mentalist" and only have a single epsiode pushing open borders while the rest are normal.. (one pushy director)
Now every epsiode pushes Hollywood poltics with it all mixed togther and in your face.. Like watching a DC Comics show were the entire episode is about how Trans people are better people and even a Street can be a Trans Person.. Etc etc..
And dont forget having to watch actors on the show who every day are in your feed abusing you for being white or male etc etc.....
I cant watch "Jumping Jack Flash" now without having Woopi Goldbergs current insanity ruining it..
Who would have thought that Lovits would turn out to be the normal person from thst show..
His social media takes are that he accepts people who vote for the right or left..
This is what I miss. Literally this. The discussion and comments. When shows where scheduled on TV, you could talk about it next day with friends, classmates, every week. Now "I watched series X the weekend on platform Y". Really? Never heard about it.
HIgher quality writing, actors chosen based on competence, and a focus on plot instead of giving their other incompetent woke friends jobs on TV
To a certain degree its also a time filter.
If you look at some of Chatos TV guide talks you'll see the emount of badly acted badly scripted dreck that has vanished down a memory hole.
Its only the realy popular ones which remain.
Ding ding ding ding 🎯
@@voiceofraisin3778that is true. The issue now is the percentage of quality shows has gone down when at worst it should have been the same.
We devolved, not evolved.
Give that fellow a cupie doll and a cigar
@@voiceofraisin3778Agreed. Why we still listen to the Beatles. Also why the Super Bowl acts are 20+ years old.
Something else that I've noticed recently is that everything is dark and serious. From movies, music, and TV and even video games we've seemed to enter a dark age. Many that grew up in the 80s and 90s remember how fun things were. They didn't have to send messages or have deep plots. They just had to touch a person on an emotional level. I can't think of any popular songs these days that people actually dance to for fun and I mean "dance" not simulate sexual positions with their clothes on. Watching older shows, listening to older music is an escape from the morbidity of modern pop culture...
70s,too
There is always message but old shows tend to work on overarching theme and simple stories nowadays they are trying make them "real" which isn't much fun people want wind down and relax and not be again bombarded with societal issues and dramas they want simple wholesome fun without political nonsense. Ironic part is the old show also have their political messaging and ideological push etc. but it was cleverly hidden in good writing and innuendos not bashed over you head.
I've especially noticed this since I had a kid. I don't want to watch a "dark gritty take" on something together with my toddler, and I don't want to watch some cloying kids show either. It's making me miss 3 camera sitcom
I love how a lot of the older shows implemented good morals for you to learn from.
I'm 34 and I've been on this path for a while myself. I'm so glad to hear that so many other people are discovering that just because something is old does not mean it isn't worth being enjoyed. Whether its older films, TV shows, books, comics, or video games. Hell, I've even gotten into listening to old time radio shows like The Shadow, X Minus One, Suspense, Gunsmoke, and Lights Out. And you know what, they are wonderful! Such a treasure trove of entertainment waiting to be discovered. Stick with the past, there's always something to be enjoyed
Try the Jimmy Stewart OTR show, The Six Shooter. Available on the Internet Archive.
Jack Benny , I listen to he's old radio shows every night while going to sleep, love the old radio shows!
Check out the radio show _Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar_ starring Bob Bailey. The five-part run of episodes are really good.
Are you me? That's a lot of overlap we've got. If you havent already, give Redwall books, Brood War replays with shoutcasting, The Omega Man movie and finally Nigel and Marmalade here on RUclips a try.
I'm 50, and this post of yours gets a Hell Yeah from me! In the late 80s, I collected cassette tapes of radio plays, and Lights Out and Suspense were flat-out excellent! The Shadow was enjoyable too, but a bit comic bookish. My favorite radio episode: Lights Out's "Oxychloride X."
I started rewatching Buffy at the end of last year. I hadn’t watched since it was aired. I was able to watch intertwined with Angel (the way joss intended it to be watched) & I had an amazing time! I was also impressed with the level of quality AND quantity that these shows consistently delivered. Something Mr Iger has said we cannot have.
Just rewatched WKRP on DVD. It's sweet, from a more innocent albeit post watergate time.
Station Manager Mr Carlson (Gordon Jump) is attempting to sympathize with poor secretary Jennifer (Loni Anderson) as she is being dragged through the tabloids by the family of her recently dead septuagenarian boy friend.
"Gosh Jennifer, I love your hair like that. It's like spun gold." Then he leaves to go home. After Three beats he rushes back in to reassure the other woman in the room, bailey Quarters , played by Jan Smithers "You have nice hair too, Bailey."
Honestly just so sweet and so careful of peoples feelings.
Mostly it's a goofy show with some wacky episodes. But I loved watching it again.
And God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly.
I loved the Turkey episode... I didn't know Turkeys can't fly! The humanity of it! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@kathleenhensley5951 Definitely the best of all of them. More Music and Les Nesman.
Dr. Johnny Fever confounding the cop when his reflexes became sharper the more intoxicated he got.
@@dbsommers1 Yes and Johnny running away cause he though the phone police were after him. Oh and WKRP not getting the Vickie Von Vickie Jeans Account "I don't think she's going to sue if that's what you mean."
@@vilyanaria9230 Jan Smithers un believable. And very sweet.
How ironic you did this video when I'm in the middle of re-watching a bunch of old shows. Just got done with Mannix, which I never watched as a youth, and it wasn't half bad. Watched Rockford before that and that's a great show! Well considered video Paul!
Rockford is fantastic...
And remember , the first season of Mannix was kind of a bust. They completely retooled it for season 2. They were willing to fix something that had potential but also had flaws.
@@dbsommers1 Ya know, I kinda liked the first season and the whole Intertect idea. I guess it didn't resonate back then 'though. Also, I LOVED that customized Olds Toronado he drove in season 1.
We have over 200 old sitcoms on our home server and we are watching Andy Griffith and Matlock right now with plans to watch The Shield next. We turned off our cable TV over 10 years ago, got an antenna, and never went back. My wife finds old DVDs at yard sales and that is how we have added to our server so we can watch whatever we want whenever we want. I have rewatched the entire run of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Star Trek TOS over 20 times each while I run on my treadmill. Both my wife and I can watch some of them over and over again and we don't get bored. We also really like Blue Bloods and a handful of newer stuff like The Big Bang Theory, Last Man Standing, and Young Sheldon but everything else is pretty much garbage. Great video.
I'm like that with "Lois and Clark" and Brisco County Jr.. I may try to tackle all of Babylon 5, again.
The Canadian sitcoms are pretty good. Letterkenny. Corner gas. Little mosque on the prairie.
Tubi is a great source of classic tv shows and movies.
I just read Mel Brooks' autobiography, and he writes about being a writer on "Your Show of Shows." This was the earliest days of television, where the shows were broadcast live. Mel, with just two other writers (Mel Tolkin and Lucille Kallen), and the assistance of Carl Reiner and some guest writers, churned out FIFTY ninety minute scripts, with three to five comedy sketches each, every year. They got two weeks off like every other working person for vacation. The people wanted to see that show on the TV on Fridays, and the networks just said "do it."
TV should just be a job. 99% of it is not done as well as the average auto mechanic performs his daily repairs. The local baker produces a hundred higher quality baguettes each day than a Netflix writer's ten scripts a year. Maybe the baker and the mechanic should do a collabo.
_I'd stream it._
Grease monkey and Baker Dan: The quest for the last golden roll.
Yes, I smoked the whole bag.
@@BrokenCornholio1537 I had to read this five times before I realized that was the name of the show. Good job.
"I would put Hill Street Blues up against the best cable and streaming shows have to offer..."
Well said, my friend 😌. Well said. Thanks again for the link. Respect ✌️!
I gotta check that one out soon since I watched the Shield recently
Oh....and be careful out there.....😊
Current entertainment just can't fill my need for escapism, probably because I'm not part of the "modern audience" 😂
Very few are part of the modern audience which begs the question, how can they economically survive.
Current entertainment simply can't offer any escapism as it is overly focused on perceived injustices.
Old show have longer character development
Old shoes have better morality and ethics
Old shows have characters taking original and interesting actions....
Your shoes talk? You better get that looked at.
@@Hedgehobbit theatre
@@dogstick12 You missed one.
My shoes’ ethics are impeccable.
There's one characteristic that very few people mention. Old shows (and I'm talking OLD: Outer Limits, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Batman, etc.) knew exactly what they were, and didn't pretend to be anything else for a second. Shows nowadays take themselves so seriously, they ooze with self-importance, even when it's a comedy.
I read somewhere that the large music companies still make more off The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Billy Joel, etc. etc. that they ever could off current artists. It's about quality.
Streaming music simply is no better that radio used to be the problem with streaming is the user selects what they want when they want. Very hard to make money off that. Somebody is going to create a music culture that is direct feedback based and it will not be streamed.
Yes Spotify has a similar issue, most people use to stream old music and the new release songs don't get the traction of interest.
Quincy M.E. not being on any streaming service is a crime against humanity.
Although some Quincy eps are very woke. Bleh, it is sad not to have all that go over my head, like when I was a kid.
@@suburbanbanshee Notice that in the latter seasons, Jack Klugman took quite a few episodes off, and showed up only at the end.
Alot of quality shows are missing from streaming from my generation like Hardcastle & McCormick, Simon & Simon and The Fall Guy. Quincy is another, yes, and it's wrong.
@@suburbanbanshee As long as it was a crime episode it was good. There were more public crusade episodes in later seasons. Those didn't work for me.
columbo holds up very well and is worth a rewatch. rip peter falk
The Rockford Files is also really good. James Garner. ♥️
I've been watching it too. Strange how you can still enjoy a mystery when you already know the ending.
Great show.
Also closer to a Streaming show as they only did between 6 to 8 episodes a season
Columbo and Rockford Files were two of my favorites. Loved James Garner he had so much charisma.
I consider physical copies more important than streaming.
Agreed! Worth the cost in the long run, particularly in light of continued rate increases for streaming platforms.
@@doberski6855 At the same time, you can't find everything on streaming.
Same here, it's cheaper in the long run and you don't have to worry about content being edited.
@@Lonovavir At the same time, you can't find everything on streaming.
I was in the US Army for 30 years and we picked up DVDs for my many deployments and my son helped me digitize them a few years ago. We put them on a LAN that we set up in our home and never looked back. Now, my wife picks up DVDs cheap at yard sales and thrift stores and we add those as she gets them. She got Blue Bloods seasons 1 to 10 for 10 bucks at a yard sale. You can't beat those prices and if our LAN fails, we have the hard copies.
Recently started watching The Six Million Dollar Man in glorious HD, looks like it was shot yesterday (last time I saw it I was 10 years old, watching in B&W in over the air "Fuzzy Vision"TM). Love the vintage locations, cars, and clothing. Fun Fact; Steve Austin actually used the term "Gaslighting" in an episode, believe it or not, in 1975. It dawned on me that all the guest star women of that time period were completely tattoo-less... no tiny little trendy wrist or forearm tattoos! And no surgical alterations! Sigh....
The term "gaslighting" refers to the old movie Gaslight. Scary stuff.
That Bigfoot episode was amazing to a 7 year old
@CHRISMED2 I was unaware until I was around 40, 45 how Bigfoot was in fact huge wrestler Andre The Giant. That actor was massive.
@@suburbanbanshee _Gaslight_ was a 1944 release.
One of the best intros in TV history - that alone is better than a majority of new stuff.
I just wanted to thank you for these videos that touch on older network shows. It has certainly sparked me to dive into older series even more than I had before. Picking up used DVD sets of Cheers, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Perry Mason, Andy Griffith, and yes, even Knight Rider has been rather rewarding, even beyond the immediate nostalgia high at first.
For instance, I sat down and watched the entire first season of Cheers. Didn't binge it, picked away at it an episode here and there. I knew all the characters, but as I was only four when the series premiered, I wasn't a day one viewer. And it holds up so incredibly well these 40+ years later. The Charles' brothers and James Burrows had it so right, right away. Incredible.
So thank you for sparking this renewed interest, sir!
"For instance, I sat down and watched the entire first season of Cheers. Didn't binge it, picked away at it an episode here and there. I knew all the characters, but as I was only four when the series premiered, I wasn't a day one viewer. And it holds up so incredibly well these 40+ years later."
I similarly deep-dove into Emergency!, that 70s NBC medical/action hit from Mark VII/Universal-- unlike you, I did a sort of a binge (not a true binge though, but I followed it through pretty faithfully). I wasn't even born when it was on (it started in 1972, and ran to 1977, with some specials in 1978 and '79), but even so, it still stands tall more than half a century from when it started (it beats out all other firefighting shows, and IMO, also all other medical shows).
It seems like Chato might have had some experience working in network TV 🤔
Most of the shows I watch are older shows on Pluto Tv or other services. It's interesting to go back and watch these shows. Now that I am older I have a greater appreciation for the writing. Never liked Maude as a kid, but now I find that show very funny. I liked The Love Boat as a kid, but now I feel the show really had some strong comedic writing. The Night Court reboot is dreadfully unfunny whereas the original is a classic. Other shows I enjoyed recently have been That Girl, Sledge Hammer, The Fall Guy, Remington Steel, Three's Company, Rules of Engagement, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Growing Pains, The Brady Bunch and others. Really makes me miss good TV dads.
One advantage of network shows is having longer seasons that allowed the actors, writers and the production crew to click and become a well-oiled time. It's harder to do that with 8-10 episode seasons.
true, some shows didnt hit their strides for a season or two
This is true. Kevin Smith noted when he did a few episodes of tv he had vary little to do because the crew had it down pat.
Yea i have noticed that TV show seasons nowadays are extremely short compared to TV show seasons in the past.
@@CyberLance26
Modern tv shows are not a full season. They are really just extraordinarily expensive mini series with no box office to create money from and there is no way advertising and subscriptions could justify the cost to return ratio.
I've also noticed for new shows that writing credits for each episode is to one person and different for each episode.
I'm guessing this makes it incredibly difficult to actually form cohesive plot lines and character development.
Another YTuber, JesterBell, had a similar argument that the episodic nature of older tv allows you to dip in and out, while current-day productions that are shot like extended movies don't give you that break, and then also have a quality of 'get ready for next product' built in as well.
I also feel that the non-episodic structure is used to pad out the length of the show with a lot of boring but cheap to produce dialogue scenes. I think the series shot like an extended movie do give you break, most of the run time feels like an extended break really.
"Get excited for the next product" that may, or may not, show up two years from now.
Older shows are definitely more relaxed, while newer shows are almost too intense for me to watch because I don't have the time or frame of mind to spend actively invested into a series. Meanwhile, Criminal Minds and NCIS are great to just play in the background for me.
they are also shot like terrible boring movies. Film stretches and condenses time, streaming 'filmic' shows just stretches time, until you're bored shitless. Usually by the endless exposition dialogue and Star wars arm folding and smell the fart look into the distance 'acting'.
@@silentrob668 Yes I totally agree with what you write here. I am starting to suspect, or rather I did it from the start, that they make the shows that way to save money! They simply want to fill the large majority with boring but cheap to produce scenes.
To me, the best thing about episodic TV is character development, and that is where films and streaming fall short. Great call on Hill Street Blues by the way.
Our family has recently been watching Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie for free on our Roku. My husband and I grew up watching those shows, but our children had never seen them. Our 22-year-old son thinks it’s the greatest most wholesome thing ever. It’s an easy thing to have on in the background while we do other things around our house like make dinner and talk about our day. It’s less stressful because even cliffhanger episodes aren’t so intense that you’re gonna have bad dreams and feel anxiety. Everything gets resolved in an episode or two and that’s really a comforting kind of feeling. You leave those shows feeling like everything is going to be OK instead of like the world is ending, why would we want to fill our heads with anxiety inducing storylines anyway?
Because modern stuff sucks.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 😉👍🏻
Networks also understood human relationships better. The characters of Friends actually felt like your real friends. Having 20+ episodes per year allowed time for you to build your friendship with them. Spending half an hour with them each week was something you looked forward to. Missing an episode meant missing out on fun adventures with your friends. Chuck Lorre realized this and turned The Big Bang Theory into Friends 2.0. This is another reason why these shows outperform the newer shows offered by the streaming services
Lorre's great. Consistently. I don't know how he does it.
Adding to your point, one thing old (pre-streaming) shows have going for them is character and story development. When you go week by week, the writers have time and space and can begin to understand the actor’s strengths and weaknesses, they can feel out where the show is lagging and where it soars, and they can gauge what audiences are responding to. In streaming, they barf out a season all at once. Any mistakes made at the beginning will be there at the end. And you get no room for human development. Parks and Rec, The Office, MASH, Fresh Prince, All in the Family, Good Times, Seinfeld, etc. are very different from each other, but they all have tremendous character and story growth. Even years later, that is simply more interesting to watch.
Almost all those shows made serious in-season adjustments too. The Office made Michael Scott much more of a loveable bafoon after the first few episodes. He was more of a prick at first.
Parks and Rec tried to recycle The Office structure but abandoned it halfway thru the 1st season. Mark was supposed to be the new Jim Halpert, but was written off the show.
Seinfeld also tinkered with the characters early on. Costanza was much less eccentric in the 1st season... then they turned him into Larry David. Jesse was supposed to die at the end of s1 in Breaking Bad. But his chemistry w Bryan Cranston and the audience response led to him becoming a co-star in the show. Same with Mike Ehrmantrout. He was an emergency replacement for Bob Odenkirk for a couple episodes, but quickly became a fan favorite and co-star of Better Call Saul.
Seinfeld: “Tuck or no tuck?”
Transparent: “Like the tuck or you’re a bigot!”
Didn't they always make a pilot and checked how interested the audience was before they commited to a whole season? Shows like She-hulk, Velma or Secret invasion wouldn't have gotten of the ground if they had cared about what the audience thought about the first episode.
Not always, but it was an option. But something like that just doesn't work for movies stretched out to six hours.
I like longer stories, yes, but I much preferred fare like _B5_ or Whedon's shows, where the structure was episodic, and you always got a complete story, but the characters and their situation evolved throughout the season. And any given problem might or might not be related to the main plot, but the characters were always moving forward. They were gradual enough that you could miss an episode or two and still have the context to not be lost watching tonight's episode.
Pilots were for pitches from production companies. Some shows were just produced directly from the networks.
In high school, I'd spend summer days wandering around Rockefeller Center looking like a tourist just to get passes to pilot screenings at the big three networks. It was a good way to make contacts for later internship positions.
I was always amazed by some of the pilots that did get green-lit for TV series. Some were just soooo bad.
I've been rewatching Bewitched lately I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid, I'm 31, Elizabeth Montgomery was amazing had a big crush on her and Barbara Eden.
Barbara Eden was a hotty.
I lusted them both as a teenager!
Elizabeth Montgomery was rather a leftist and Bewitched was sometimes a little preachy, but mostly it was fun, occasionally excessively stupid, occasionally somewhat cringe.
@@markiangooley That's all true but it's still nowhere near as bad as a lot of the garbage being made today, it's at least written well, the actors were good and I enjoy the practical effects, one of the things that got me interested in how films are made.
I always liked the episode where Endora had to go back in time to rescue Sam who was zapped to the time of Henry VIII by a jealous witch.
Since time travel takes away their powers Endora had to rely on her wits and her methods reminded me of the Bene Gesserit of DUNE. There's a scene where she uses the royal command of her voice to order a guard to come to her then she quickly hypnotises him.
The show was smart in some ways.
I am 49 and I had never watched The Dick Van Dyke Show until this past week. I am astounded by what I had missed all these years, the writing for that show is simply superb.
Older shows were so good, we used to tolerate ad breaks for them. I will never watch an ad for youtube/netflix/amazon.
Tbh, I'd put up with ads for more episodes of Arcane. Probably the best show of the last 5 years
Make sure you have:
YT Vanced for phone
A VPN for Netflix
Brave Browser for PC
Those help a lot. I havent seen a proper ad in ages
I can watch Rockford, Magnum or Simon & Simon over and over. Some of the plots are dumb, but the shows were great. I miss those days. As a film tech, I agree, I'm working on a 6 ep season of a show right after a disastrous strike. Then our lighting crew, really trying to stay together, has to go find something else. We spent nine years working on a 22 ep show, and that was great. The entire crew stayed together for a long time, and we all knew how to get the job done quickly.
You can watch those shows just for the opening songs...
Shame they remade magnum into rubbish..
@@zakofrxI watched the first ep of the reboot. It was excremental. But I get that tastes can be generational, and the show lasted for, What?, five years? Somebody must have liked it.
As to opening credits: I wouldn't skip any of those old opening credits. I still remember cast freeze frames from 70s shows like Emergency! and Starsky & Hutch et al. Magnum, Rockford, and the Simon brothers' openings I can remember frame by frame.
Have faith in humanity. My kids like the old shows. They feel they are much better.
"Get Smart" say no more.
mycompasstv, you are a true expert on television. If only today's writers could come up with something like Get Smart today. Simple, but fun.
I'd forgotten that show.. he talks to his shoe!! That can still make me laugh!
I’ve been rewatching it for the first time since I was a kid… and loving it.
@@timkelly Greatest show ever IMO.
would you believe...
Been binging Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Best Star Trek series ever.
I am watching Stargate Atlantis for the 30th time and I am on the 5th season again. I plan to go back to Stargate SG-1 next. I mostly watch on the treadmill but I love them both so much, I never get bored. After that, the Sopranos may be next or perhaps Star Trek TOS.
@@markmunroe-hz8rf was in college when it first aired, so never really saw it. Great series!
@@magnificus8581 found it more mature and the universe more three dimensional and was not afraid to tackle spiritually.
I do that too but B5 is my primary rewatch (it is my favourite show bar none) followed by SG1.
It recently occurred to me that, since I don't have regular cable anymore, I'm not up on the current sitcoms. So I Googled "current sitcoms" and even Google gave me a list of mostly older sitcoms!
I stopped watching TV in the '00s, never got into streaming.
At least for me you nailed it - the characters stopped being people I want to spend time with. There are no good people on TV anymore. There are just jerks with the informed characteristic of being good.
I agree
That's how I feel, too. When I look back at shows I loved, that had some longevity, they were filled with characters I loved and who cared about each other. Shows that lacked this always failed.
Michael Landon. Whether he was Little Joe/Pa Ingalls/Johnathan Smith always had family values on his shows & those shows were on for years!
Someone has said, television brings people into your living room that you wouldn't have as guests in your house....😢
I've been watching Scarecrow And Mrs. King lately and you wouldn't believe how many shows were inspired by it.
Great actors in that show..
Have been looking for the later seasons..
When you said the Andy Griffith show and other classics were on Pluto TV I immediately downloaded it! ☺️
My wife and I are rewatching House and just last night started rewatching Northern Exposure. Good stuff!😬
We just finished Ed a few weeks ago. I suggested NE but my wife got her way and we are on Blue Bloods, Andy Griffith and Matlock.
It's no Lupus! :D
Hugh Laurie is amazing in that show despite the ridiculousness (read: dramatization of medical diagnosis that any decent doctor would find without the extreme risks House takes). Plus I love his dry wit & humor. House MD
Oh, I just bought Northern Exposure for me and hubby to watch when we finish the Office... so excited!
Northern Exposure is great until the MC mostly left the show.. (he was great in Numbers as well)
The actors from that have talked about making a new season..
The indian guy from the series "Ed"? Has been trying to organise it and has youtube videos talking about it..
I hope it doesn't get stuffed around due to actors on the show being very public Republicans.. Like the main actress on the show..
Most of those old shows, with the possible exception of suits, featured likeable characters that the viewers could carry about, men and women who actually seem to like each other, and no overselytizing. Most of these characteristics are lacking from modern streaming shows.
Yes, I found the untalented and unlikeable, megan m. of Suits, made the show unwatchable.
But then there's married with children
I love my Miami Vice DVD box set. Been buying all my old favorites on DVD before they get memory holed.
The former network executive brilliantly summarizes the reason once again!
Always an excellent job job.
One of the problems with serialised tv is that if your first season fails miserably it doesn’t matter if the next season turns things around because the audience still needs to suffer through that first season to understand and engage with the other seasons. I can see any episode of The Simpsons and enjoy it on its own, any episode is an entry point into enjoying the series.
I used to start watching shows from about s3 or 4 and then watch the earlier ones later and the only difference was hairstyles.
I enjoy watching the old shows with my mom. She is elderly and bed ridden. TV is one way for us to share time together. Brings back many memories for both of us. We laugh and cry, boo and hiss, etc to the story characters. We know the endings but there is satisfaction in that too. It's also a way to tell time. When an episode is over, we know approx 1 hour has passed. Streaming shows can have varying lengths in time and that is very frustrating.
GF and I are currently watching The X Files, and prior to that we watched Lost. Seen both shows all the way through more than once. Why? They’re good.
X-Files holds up today. Very well because every other show has taken something from it. The old shows were just better. Everything til 2015
@@handsomedubbledeeduring Obama they started going hardcore with the woke..
Before that it was just a small thing added a bit every once in a while but suddenly everything had to be woke..
Like how a few years ago everthing had to be black no matter what..
If you worked in catering on a TV show and happend to not be black you would be fired to get the numbers up..
No more being in the center for Hollywood and their knock off's, now everything had to be their way or nothing..
2018* Daredevil was still on till then along with the beginning of Better Call Saul
As a millennial, the original Twilight Zone, Little House on the Prairie, Star Trek ToS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager, MASH, and shows like those will always win over modern stuff for me and my family. It's just better. Especially for those of us who don't want to get sucked into days long binge viewings and instead just want to watch an hour or two a week on the weekend.
Great analysis! I too am a Pluto enjoyer. I am having a blast watching series that came out when I was too young to enjoy them. They’re charming, quirky and as you mentioned, usually self contained stories.
Likable characters (and old, familiar guest stars) can carry a show regardless of script quality -- as in The Love Boat (10 seasons), Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost In Space, Hogan's Heroes, The Brady Bunch, et al. -- while many smartly written series have flopped.
I’m watching Welcome Back Kotter, Chico and The Man, Hills Street Blues, and so many others like this on TUBI. The best thing I like is no laugh tracks and they have a live studio audience.
So I’m not the only one watching The Waltons with my kids and the Rockford Files with my wife.
Jackie Gleason talking about The Honeymooners said there were many reasons why the show was still popular but the main reason was "It's funny." The "old" shows were made to entertain and succeed.
He didn't get the nickname " The Great One," for nothing.
getting rid of my comcast was one of the best things ever. i got an indoor antenna and can watch all the classic shows i want and my bill is $0. i only paid about $25 for the antenna on amazon. everyone should do this. and the picture quality is really good.
Our family bypasses all this with Kdramas (Korean fictional tv shows). No "The Message", very strong characters, very strong writing, and most shows are 16 episodes and done. The sense of continuity and stability you mention is still provided though, through the fact that the same production companies are making one show after another - so it is a stable job with a stable community of artists, and through the inventive variations of tropes like the Umbrella Scene, etc. I don't see anything on the horizon from the West that would take me away from Kdramas for a moment, with the possible exception of House of the Dragon Season 2.
I honestly do not know how people keep up with the sheer volume of shows that get churned out. I have no idea what is on or good anymore.
In the past you had set choices and media to help you decide..
Now everything is just dumped out hoping that enough youitube ads or podcast spots find viewers..
If the sheer volume was good you would know about the shows but 99% of it is trash of the lowest order. A new trick as well is to make an excellent season one to rope views in to commit and they pack season two with a political message that is boring.
Writing is a big difference. The Gen Z kids they hire out of college with zero experience. TV had a heiarchy where you learned from others by working on a show for several seasons under seasoned writers. You learned to write characters and especially with sitcoms, you had an entire premise to develop, which was easier to do without always having a mystery box arc. Just a fun situation and any crises was wrapped up in under 30 minutes. Jokes and humor were huge, you hired seasoned comedians to write or star in them.
Probably a lot of the same reason why I just watch old movies now... Better quality, surprisingly accessible as entertainment, and a certain "voyage of discovery" where everything you haven't seen is new to you even if it's 80 years old. It's hard NOT to be engaged by a Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Carol Lombard, Astaire and Rogers, Marx Brothers, or Boris Karloff.
You just mentioned so many of my favorite actors. .. Try the Thin Man. "My, they're strict at the race track!" And the Marx Brothers? They would never have risen to fame with these pink haired, nose ringed babies in charge. Think of THAT tragedy!
The "Thin Man" series is amazing..
Try watching all the old Sherlock Homes movies(not based on books), Mr Wong Movies and Charlie Chan Movies..
The last lot are on RUclips..
All are great mystery adventures done before WW2..
Mr Wong was a Japanese spy who was the good guy..
As long as you dont worry about the MC being the wrong type of Asian or not Asian enough you will like them..
@@zakofrx thanks for the recommendation. I've been kinda' working my way out from horror, sci-fi, and adventure. Mostly been discovering musicals and comedy lately (Busby Berkeley, Marx Bros., etc.) but I'm sure I'll get into mysteries and noir eventually 😆
@@zakofrx Mr Wong (played by Boris Karloff) was not a Japanese spy; he was a Chinese detective, a knock-off of Charlie Chan.
You're thinking of Mr Moto (played by Peter Lorre) who was a Japanese detective -- but never a spy. And those films were all pre-World War II. Charlie Chan would continue post-war moving from Fox to Monogram.
They're not the "wrong type of Asian"; they're -- unfortunately -- all played yellow face (white actors made to appear Asian), 1930s Hollywood didn't think an Asian actor could carry their own film. This, of course, flies in the face of the superstar power of Sessue Hayakawa during the silent era.
At least in the Charlie Chan series, number one and two sons were played by Chinese actors Keye Luke and Benson Fong.
I got fed up last summer and started watching old Westerns with John Wayne and couldn't stop watching em. Sure, they weren't always the fastest pace, but the characters and storytelling was miles ahead of anything modern..it was refreshing. I was finally relaxed and a million miles away again, instead of being reminded of how much the world sucks.
The difference with them was that the stars in them had depth and something about them. One of the reason you may find them slow is that they were made for large cinema screens in 35mm film with a resolution of about 10k. Watching them meant you would have been admiring the look as much as the stars. Those old films also had colour presentation that young people have not seen before.
Paul, I love your channels. And, i believe the next generation of producers, executives, etc can learn so much from you. I hope they watch your videos. I'm not sure which of your channels is more important, but in today's world, they ARE important!
In previous ages, shows only had to compete with the other shows that were airing back then.
Right now, shows need to compete with the full catalogue of back shows in Netflix and all its clone streaming services.
This is an impossible challenge to overcome.
I really enjoy watching classic movies and TV shows! I find that they are so full of depth and they rely more so on great storytelling to keep the audience engaged rather than special effects or other shortcuts! 😊
Old shows are full of American family values. Major difference between the woke crap produced today.
So true our family moved away from network to dvd of classics
Yes you explain it well. I miss the days of the weekly dramas where you could tune in weekly but didn’t need to see every show. Like a good story or comic, it was wrapped up each time. Plus they are boring now and what happened to theme songs? I can’t hum a single theme from recent shows.
Michael Landon took most of the crew from "Bonanza" when it ended to work for him on "Little House on the Prairie" and then onto "Highway to Heaven". Also a lot of old TV shows had longer seasons that would allow you to invest in the show and you looked forward to seeing it each week. Today's shows on streaming services are more like blink and they're gone. Tubi has also built a strong following with old TV shows as well.
As for myself, I find myself watching more older TV shows especially from the 1960s and 1970s when I was not around or too young to watch when they first aired. There are still a lot of "new" old shows that I have still to discover.
I don't remember Michael Landon being on _Bonanza._ And I'm pretty sure I knew who he was by the time I saw it. Huh.
Michael Landon played Little Joe Cartwright for the whole 14 year run of the show. During that time he learnt how to write and direct. By the end of the show's run, he was also very influential and so when he went on to "Little House on the Prairie" he had very good ties with a lot of the "Bonanza" crew and most of them ended up working for him.
I discovered Columbo last year and turned my wife on to it. The writing, acting, music, and filmography are so good, that we never want to watch anything else together.
Beverly Hilbilies, Wild Wild West, Columbo are just a few of my favorites I never get tired of. Great entertainment.
The main thing I did when Netflix was just a DVD rental service was rent Star Trek TNG and Classic Doctor Who. When it became streaming, I rewatched all of Magnum PI.
Traditional episodic TV is like having a mini treat for the brain, 45 minutes and you can move on. Don't like the story that episode? No worries, the next one could be better. With serialized, decompressed storytelling of new streaming shows what do you do if you don't like the storyline? You don't watch it altogether.
And streaming shows generally don't have enough story to pad out the season run of
When all of a tranche of episodes is one story, if that one story doesn't work, the show is dead. If you're forced to tell a different story every week, you're more likely to find something you like. Sure, more likely to find one you don't like, too, but they're characters you like and spent time with, and they'll be doing something different next time.
*Also, classic actors didn't shove their private lives and personal preferences down their audience's throats... For example, Raymond Burr would never wear a business suit made out of rainbow pride flags while portraying Perry Mason in a courtroom...* 😐
You can lead a TV viewer to the TV, but you can't make him leave Hooterville.
I am rewatching the X-Files right now. It's insane how well the writing holds up on that show. It's equally as sad how crappy new shows are nowadays
Yes, it’s so sad how badly the networks themselves have lost it
This is such a great video, Paul. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!
Not being made "for modern audiences" really helped those TV shows a lot.
I have been watching shows like Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, Sanford and Son, and Starsky and Hutch to name a few. These are the shows I grew up watching and are still fond of today. It is my opinion that the television of the 70’s and 80’s were much better than any shows being released today. Maybe I am being nostalgic for that era, but I can’t help it. I would rather watch shows or listen to music I grew up with than subject myself to the garbage that is put out today. 🙂🙂🙂
Agreed 100% X infinity.😎👍
Paul, you glossed over something important. By watching shows daily/weekly, you build a kinship with the people on-screen that you don't get from short binges. That's why RUclips has replaced TV. In 40 years, people won't be nostalgic for whatever Netflix show they binged once or twice, but they will *absolutely* be nostalgic for MrBeast and the hilarious rants of Paul Chato.
This is a really good point.
Yes there's something nice about sitting down to watch an episode each week. Especially shows with ongoing arcs, let's you mull over what has come before. Much more mileage than binge watch and forget.
That would explain why tv shows hit a lot harder the longer they go and then they just finish one day
Great video, Paul. At the moment I'm waiting for a boxset of Are You Being Served to arrive, and am looking forward to rewatching it ❤
That is a classic for sure. My favourite was probably Keeping up with Appearances.
@@CallMeChato Ahh, good old Mrs Bucket. I felt sorry for her husband having to deal with her being ridiculous all the time.
There shouldn't be a price tag on the box set.
Instead the price sticker should say "I'm Free!".
Tired of streaming shows that have enough plot for a movie, but stretches 2 hours of content out to 10-13 episodes.
Stands to reason that people would rather watch the best shows of all time than watch new stuff that isn’t very good. Now we have the option to do just that.
I thought about Simon and Simon a few weeks ago, and I looked to see where I could watch it.
Nowhere from what the sites said.
You can't tell me this isn't on purpose. They just don't want you to see competently produced TV.
You made some great points in your video, Paul. Tv networks letting shows flow and the creme rise to the top is one big difference from the streaming model: you see lots of new and new shows on stream (how to know which ones are really good?), while on tv, if it got cancelled after 1 or 2 seasons, you knew a show probably wasn't worth your time.
I've been going through a phase where I've been craving campy 1980s dramas - Dynasty, Dallas, Hotel etc. Yes, they're kitsch, but they're also pure escapism. There's nothing glamorous or fun about tv nowadays - it's all so dreary and self-important.
Oooh! The Rockford Files. I loved that show back when I had hair.
As I sit here watching Columbo I remember the cable company bragging about 4K resolution. Hell. I don’t need it, most of what I watch was made before 4K. 😂
Pluto TV is my goto “station”. Where else can I watch Star Trek, an old Universal Horror movie, The Wild, Wild West, or The Streets of San Francisco?
I like Prime, Netflix, and Hulu but rarely are there good shows. You mentioned several but there were also Jack Ryan, Longmire, or You’re Beautiful (kdrama on Hulu).
I do miss the new “Fall” shows. I remember buying the TV Guide for them and couldn’t wait to see some.
I like older shows that I've NEVER seen. I'm watching Gunsmoke, Rockford Files, and the old Mission Impossible series with some regularity (often on a slow Sunday afternoon). Why? I appreciate an adult drama where the writers and actors can restrain themselves from dropping F-bombs, flashing gratuitous nudity, and other graphic amateur porn on me. At least the old guidelines disciplined the creatives to say and do more with less. I can watch these old shows in the presence of my 5 year old without worrying about what she might see, but also knowing the adult subtext is so subtle that a grown up sees it plainly while a child never does.
Yep. Good slate of shows.
@@CallMeChato A lot of early "Gunsmoke" episodes could easily have been Alfred Hitchcock episodes with a little tinkering.
I think it also has to do with the fact everyone has seen every show the past few decades. I think nerds have watched all the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Star Treks and went "Okay, what now?" and are going back further into the film and television catalog. People are rediscovering the westerns, the 60s and 70s, and they are all wholesome great material. This stuff is way before my time and watched growing up with my parents as it was THEIR time period.
It still is fathoms better then todays shows.
Chato, I swear on everything that I didn't know this was a thing. I have been watching Miami Vice constantly. It's a pure example of how bad TV has gotten. I haven't watched anything new past the new Quantum Leap. The writing on the older shows was more flexible, thought out, and had so much character development. You are right, Chato. TV was way better back then
I was just thinking about shows that remain in your memory and are a pleasure to return to. Specifically the case of the series "The IT Crowd". In my experience, the main characters in this series are the friends I wish I had. In comparison, the other day I was at a party and a television was on and silent, showing the premiere of a series that I don't even know what it is. Being mute, I noticed that all the characters, the stars, the supporting actors and the waiter serving the tables, all seemed miserable, full of problems, unfriendly, threatening or simply disgusting people with great suffering. Why would I want to see that?
What i more and more notice in many aspects of life nowadays is that people tend to rely on stability and predictability. This doesn't mean that everyone ONLY wants the same old stuff, but we tend to rely MORE on things we know we like.
Thats simply human nature. It's the same with food. Sure you might want to try something new now and then, but for most of the time, you order what you know tasted good before.
...and btw, if the same restaurant suddenly changes recipe for your favourite food and it now tastes like dog excrement, it would be quite baffling if they would suddenly accuse you as a hater because cook (whom you have never met) was part of a minority.
To be honest, i find it quite baffling that multi billion $$$ companies (for example entertainment and tech companies) don't understand this very basic human bahaviour. Instead they try to educate people to "keep up with the time", while not asking if this new path even makes sense or is wanted in the first place. We humans are basically still the hunter gatherers that survived the ice ages.
Many behaviour patterns that guaranteed surviving in cold climate (or in any environment where resources where sparse) are still deeply engrained in our everyday behaviour. (more = better, having a secure home, having a predicatable food source and so on)
Most normal people like recurring patterns, like traditions or regular food, or even the plain old fashioned weekend.
If many modern people like it or not, we humans are creatures of habit. We like things that are predictable, heck our very biological lives are centered around things that repeat.
What modern culture is requesting from most people is simply not species appropriate to us humans.
Sorry for the rant.
Rant away
I'm going in for even older stuff. The two shows I'm revisiting are I Dream of Jeannie and Rat Patrol. They bring back memories of watching it with my father and brother.