Recommend to me some old TV shows

[TheMasterOfOrion]

Charlie Jade
Tripods
Tales of Tomorrow
The original planet of the apes
W. Lee Wilder's phantoms from space trilogy
Undersea Kingdom
Space Precinct
The Untouchables
Logan's Run
House of Dark Shadows
Horror Theater Unbalance KyofuGekijo
Éternelle
Ijon Tichy Raumpilot
Darna
Odyssey 5
Night Gallery
Automan
The Invaders
Captain Z-Ro
The Unusuals
Captain Fathom
Funland

 

[QuarkforNagus]

I have recently rewatched X-Files, Outer Limits, King of the Hill, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Curb your Enthusiasm, and the Simpsons. And I found them all to be AWESOME.

Hopefully there's at least one or two there you might find interesting.

 

[MacLeod]

What about the two mini-series V and V: The Final Battle.


I wonder though how I would find many of the shows I watched during the 80's if I watched them today.

Dallas
L.A. Law
The Dukes of Hazard
Cagney and Lacey
Dempsey and Makepeace

 

[JirinPanthosa]

More good suggestions. I didn't know they made a new season of Yes, Prime Minister. Was it with the same cast or new cast?

 

[Guy Gardener]

The majority of the original cast is sadly dead. Quite a while ago too.

The new series, 6 episodes, was a TV adaptation of the stage play that had been touring for some time, and I suspect that they used the cast from the play, even though most of these were at least b-list celebrities.

Stage play

New series.

Because the series is based on the play, you're left disjoint after the pilot wondering where the climax was, until you realize that it's just a movie that they cut into 6 even chunks.

 

[Lord Garth]

Dick Van Dyke
The Rifleman
Dragnet
That Girl
The Jetsons (the 1962-'63 season)
The Green Hornet (a less camp version of Batman and it has Bruce Lee!)
Sanford & Son
Mission: Impossible
Charlie's Angels
Welcome Back, Kotter
I Dream of Jeannie
Bewitched
Taxi
Starsky & Hutch
Adam-12
S.W.A.T.
Wonder Woman
Three's Company
Love, American Style

 

[lennier1]

BTW: If you like anthology shows, give Metal Hurlant a try. They'Re currently producing a second series, because the DVD sales of the first one were so successful.

 

[Mysterion]

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.

And if you like Rockford, try Magnum P.I. for many of the same reasons - quirky humor, great recurring cast.

 

[the G-man]

You say you haven't seen Hill St. See it.
The recommendation for the Shield is another good one.

 

[the G-man]

What about the two mini-series V and V: The Final Battle.


I wonder though how I would find many of the shows I watched during the 80's if I watched them today...
L.A. Law...

I rewatched a lot of LA Law a few summers ago when a cable station was rerunning it.

The clothing is dated as hell but the writing and acting, at least during the pre-elevator shaft seasons, was still top notch.

 

[J.T.B.]

And if you like Rockford, try Magnum P.I. for many of the same reasons - quirky humor, great recurring cast.

Agreed. And of course Tom Selleck has said he was heavily influenced by The Rockford Files and James Garner during his two very funny guest appearances, and I think it shows.

You say you haven't seen Hill St. See it.

Also agreed, but that's tougher. Only the first two season made it to DVD; the first three are available on Hulu but not Netflix Instant. Seasons 3 and 4 are really the classic heart of the show, I would say, but the fifth was really good too (and upped the opening credits starring cast to 17!). The show slipped a little in the last two seasons, but was still one of the best things ever on TV.

Justin

 

[Gil T.Azell]

SOAP.
Night Court

 

[the G-man]

You say you haven't seen Hill St. See it.

Also agreed, but...Only the first two season made it to DVD; the first three are available on Hulu but not Netflix Instant. Seasons 3 and 4 are really the classic heart of the show, I would say....

You are correct that the show never really got bad. And 3 and 4 were great seasons.

That being said, if the only seasons a person can see are the first two I would still encourage them to watch. Those first two seasons are what set the tone for the entire series and there wasn't a bad ep or arc in the bunch. Furthermore, neither the second nor third episodes ended on cliffhangers. As such, a viewer can enjoy the first two or three seasons as a standalone.

 

[Greg Cox]

House of Dark Shadows

A minor nitpick: The TV series was simply titled DARK SHADOWS.

"House of Dark Shadows" was the first movie version.

 

[Owain Taggart]

If you like Mysteries, I'd recommend Murdoch Mysteries, a Victorian era mystery show set in Toronto. It's still ongoing, however the show recently switched networks and is technically considered a different show run, making the older seasons available for syndication. I think it's also on Netflix. There are also a series of 3 movies with a different set of actors, one of them Colm Meaney, which serve as pilots and are more directly based on the books.

 

[desertstarlover]

Well, if you haven't watched all of TOS, then what are you waiting for? It is the basis for ALL things TREK!

and here are a few other suggestions:

FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY
------------------

Dead Like Me
Cleopatra 2525
Xena: Warrior Princess
The X-Files
Dr. Who, especially 1-4

Did I mention FIREFLY?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Yeah, but I don't think that a modern woman would be entertained by a man in a gorilla suit enough to walk out on her own wedding.

It's entry level shit.

 

[J.T.B.]

That being said, if the only seasons a person can see are the first two I would still encourage them to watch. Those first two seasons are what set the tone for the entire series and there wasn't a bad ep or arc in the bunch. Furthermore, neither the second nor third episodes ended on cliffhangers. As such, a viewer can enjoy the first two or three seasons as a standalone.

You're right of course. It just strikes me wrong that one could get into the series and know there are 80 or 90 more episodes out there but not be able to see them in the foreseeable future. But that' perfect vs. good, and the first three seasons are great. And three seasons availability is better than St. Elsewhere's, anyway.

 

[the G-man]

Of course. And I identify. "The Paper Chase" was one of my favorite shows. And only the first two seasons out of four are available. So I can't even rematch them graduate again.


OTOH, if we all support the first two or three seasons, maybe they'll have an incentive to release the whole series.

 

[Admiral2]

X-Files
Original Battlestar Galactica
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Airwolf

And yes, Knight Rider