Recommend to me some old TV shows

[JirinPanthosa]

I'm caught up on all the newer TV shows I want to be caught up on (Except Game of Thrones, but I finished season 2 and 3 isn't on iTunes yet), and I just got through power-watching Community and Parks and Rec, and got through all the Star Treks except the original in the last year and a half.

So I'm looking for more shows to watch. I'm in the middle of Twilight Zone which is excellent but not always something I'm in the mood for. I've seen Twin Peaks and The Prisoner already, and the first few seasons of Columbo, but there's tons of shows I haven't seen. Hill Street Blues, MASH, about a zillion sitcoms I avoid out of bias against sitcoms.

What do you recommend? Preferably something on Netflix and long. Serial preferred, episodic is fine, something that isn't too formulaic.

I just remembered I never got through The Wire so maybe I'll go back to that.

 

[jayceee]

The original Knight Rider.

 

[Davros]

Mission Impossible
Night Gallery
The Avengers
Trailer Park Boys
Blake's 7
Dark Shadows

 

[Guy Gardener]

Dead like Me. Cute sarcastic girl gets hit in the head by a toilet seat that fell off the Mir Space Station. Before she goes to heaven, Cute girl has to work as a Grim reaper collecting the souls of the dead for Mandy Patinkin.

The Middle Man. Everything from Comicbooks is real and that is how the world really works, and some one has to stand between al that and normal people. The Middle Man has also taken on a cute sarcastic female apprentice.

Pushing Daisies. The story of a pie maker who can bring people back from the dead with a single touch, briefly until he touches them again and they die again forever permanently. The Pickle is that he brought the cute saccharinely sweet girl he loves back from the dead and now they can never ever ever touch each other again. They also fight crime.

Wonderfalls. The Universe animates the plastic trinkets (with cgi) in a Niagara Falls gift shop, who order a cute sarcastic girl into going about insane ridiculous tasks which eventually makes the world a better place.

Journey Man. Slow, almost awful in the beginning. But by the end it's a pretty solid series about time travel starring Owen from Gray's Anatomy and (young) Moon Bloodgood from Falling Skies. Seriously the first couple episodes are unforgivably bad, but the Producers get their shit together and turn it around.

 

[Opus]

The Shield

 

[Guy Gardener]

The original Knight Rider.

I was watching season 2 of Sabina the teenaged Witch last night and someone was trying to prove that they were with it, so started talking about how "cool" last nights episode of TEAM Knightrider was.

 

[Davros]

Freaks and Geeks

 

[sojourner]

Magnum P.I.

Northern Exposure (but skip the last season)

St. Elsewhere

E.R. (is it considered "old" now?)

Xena

WKRP

 

[Greg Cox]

The Avengers (old British spy show, not the Marvel superheroes)

Kolchack: The Night Stalker

Xena: Warrior Princess

 

[Pondwater]

Twin Peaks

 

[SiddFinch1]

The shield
The sopranos
Babylon 5
Farscape
Hill street blues
Nypd blue

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

Party Down
Thriller
Freaks and Geeks
Entourage
Surface

 

[Spot's Meow]

If you haven't already seen them, I highly recommend The Wonder Years and Family Ties, both available on Netflix. I'd seen bits and pieces of these shows throughout the years, but now I've been sitting down and watching them in full, and they are really great. The Wonder Years is my top choice. It has a lot of variety to it; certain episodes are very poignant, serious, and even heartbreaking. And then the very next episode will be really hilarious and light-hearted. It's really a classic show that I love spending my time on.

Another suggestion, also on Netflix and still airing new seasons, is Bones. A really awesome show, and not as formulaic as it may sometimes appear!

 

[J.T.B.]

The Rockford Files is on Netflix, six seasons, 120-ish episodes. One of the greatest detective shows, great writing (David Chase got his star there), a wonderful sense of humor and a terrific ensemble of recurring characters.

 

[MacLeod]

Dead like Me. Cute sarcastic girl gets hit in the head by a toilet seat that fell off the Mir Space Station. Before she goes to heaven, Cute girl has to work as a Grim reaper collecting the souls of the dead for Mandy Patinkin.

Wonderfalls. The Universe animates the plastic trinkets (with cgi) in a Niagara Falls gift shop, who order a cute sarcastic girl into going about insane ridiculous tasks which eventually makes the world a better place.

Journey Man. Slow, almost awful in the beginning. But by the end it's a pretty solid series about time travel starring Owen from Gray's Anatomy and (young) Moon Bloodgood from Falling Skies. Seriously the first couple episodes are unforgivably bad, but the Producers get their shit together and turn it around.

Thos were all decent enough shows to pass a few hours but they were too good to last and so were unfortunatly cancelled. But still worth a look.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking in terms of 1980s and earlier because I'm familiar with TV since 1995 or so, but I haven't seen a few of these such as The Shield.

Is there any way to get a comprehensive viewing of classic Dr Who, or is the collection on Netflix the only option? Like, a collection of all the episodes that weren't destroyed? The only episodes I have seen are a handful of ninth doctor episodes. Community is making me really curious.

 

[MacLeod]

Lets see what are some of the shows I was watching prior to 1995.

The Equalizer

Blackaddaer (II, the Third, Goes Forth) are the better ones, the first is a bit weaker.

Agatha Christise Poirot (David Suchet as Poirot)

Red Dwarf

Yes Minister/Prime Minister

Quantum Leap

 

[Guy Gardener]

What did you think of the new season of Yes Prime Minister which aired a couple months ago?

 

[lennier1]

Might as well add some to the list:
Due South
This Is Not My Life
The Almighty Johnsons
Sea Patrol
Rush (no, not the nutjob)
The Highwayman
Stingray
The Pretender

 

[Mistral]

Life. A detective show with a really unique detective.

Journeyman. Like Guy said.

The Rockford Files.

Over There-about the first Gulf War. Just get past the pilot and you are good to go.

Eli Stone-about a lawyer with hallucinations(or are they?)

The West Wing-some of the smartest tv ever made

Amazing Stories-for when Twilight Zone seems too dark