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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWhat television shows did not age well? Though they were funny in their time, it is very hard to watch today.especially
comedies. My choices are ALL in the Family and I Love Lucy. What about you? Any type of show.
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OnDoutside
(20,686 posts)debm55
(42,565 posts)OnDoutside
(20,686 posts)Hard to believe nowadays
debm55
(42,565 posts)OnDoutside
(20,686 posts)debm55
(42,565 posts)Last edited Mon Oct 7, 2024, 07:18 PM - Edit history (1)
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Kittycatkat
(1,746 posts)debm55
(42,565 posts)VMA131Marine
(4,840 posts)and Morecambe and Wise
Both classics!
I still get a laugh out of Dads Army and Fawlty Towers obviously.
Meadowoak
(6,379 posts)debm55
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Freddie
(9,791 posts)Never thought it was especially funny back then, but now, yeeccch! Women are only worthwhile in tight clothes and jiggling, amirite?
debm55
(42,565 posts)hlthe2b
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brush
(58,807 posts)Last edited Sun Oct 6, 2024, 04:16 PM - Edit history (2)
I'm still a fan of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander, but even Seinfeld has made some anti-woke comments lately, and some hyper masculinity nonsense.
Too bad, I was an early fan in the '90s. No more.
Also nothing of Clint Eastwood anymore since his anti-Democrat empty chair rant at the RNC a few years back.
debm55
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BlueWaveNeverEnd
(10,774 posts)Ocelot II
(122,980 posts)The rest of them were pretty stupid, notably The Flying Nun, My Mother the Car, Happy Days, most everything from the '70s.
hlthe2b
(107,837 posts)I can't name them on the spot...
True Dough
(21,761 posts)"Spear Chucker" and he wasn't white! He wasn't a regular on the show, but when I heard that a few years ago, it turned my head.
Otherwise, a fantastic series.
hlthe2b
(107,837 posts)10 Turtle Day
(612 posts)The character was an NFL pro and a neurosurgeon. Col. Blake and others in the MASH unit requested him to be transferred to them because they were to play a football game against a generals team. He was their ringer.
Delarage
(2,371 posts)He was called that because he was a javelin thrower for his track team.
10 Turtle Day
(612 posts)The ringer on the generals team was from the NFL.
Charlie Chapulin
(330 posts)debm55
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mucifer
(25,026 posts)hates MASH for the way they depicted Koreans. The anti war message is timeless . But, lots of things on MASH didn't age well.
Darwins_Retriever
(949 posts)How many people of color graduated from medical schools?
How many people of color were Army officers?
How many people of color in the Army were in positions to order white folk around?
Actually MASH was pretty accurate. Think of the movie. How did the unit, or why did the unit get the black surgeon? He had been one of the great pro football players prior to the war, and the MASH unit needed him for their football game against the general's team which had several AA players such Buck Buchanan and Nolan Smith (who by the way was sitting next to me when I was a kid when I went to the movie, yes I was underage)
Whole different story. Just sitting there at the movie MASH and the black guy next to me looked down the row and called to my brother, they knew each other. My brother looked at me and told me that was Nolan Smith. My brother worked at one of the public golf Courses in KC. and He met several Chiefs through working there: Nolan, Buck Buchanan, Ernie Ladd, Emmitt Thomas, and few more Chiefs.
Historic NY
(38,454 posts)The character Oliver Wendell Spearchucker Jones, a neurosurgeon, who was first introduced in the novel, was subsequently written out of the series (Germ Warfare, the 11th episode of season 1 by the sitcom creator.
ailsagirl
(24,024 posts)Nothing else comes even close
yonder
(10,035 posts)The stoned by brownies episode comes to mind first though not a particularly unique storyline.
One of the best sitcoms for its time, IMO.
bedazzled
(1,863 posts)Love the werewolf episode
ailsagirl
(24,024 posts)bedazzled
(1,863 posts)Unforgettable. I love Hal linden. I think he's still around, God bless him
ailsagirl
(24,024 posts)The perfect foil for all the others. (Someone had to be sane) 😏
I loved it when Wojo thought he saw a UFO and a guy from the govt came to their office to discuss it, clearly not believing the claim. It was an added touch to have the guy wear the visor of his hat so low you couldn't see his eyes. 😆 There were a few references about it, made by the guys, which really cracked me up.
Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)bedazzled
(1,863 posts)He seemed like the real deal
Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)It was rumored he was a good guy. He was a band leader before he took up acting.
ailsagirl
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ailsagirl
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yonder
(10,035 posts)I guess I forgot just how much Dietrich added to the show.
The Pterodactyl quip about half through was good.
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(10,774 posts)ailsagirl
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Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)I still watch ir and am amazed that most of the social problems they had are still around. I liked the one where the woman wanted her husband arrested for rape and how novel it was at the time. Didn't always like Fish though.
debm55
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mucifer
(25,026 posts)that a woman accused her husband of rape. Yeah that's funny. Of course she was lying. No, that didn't age well.
https://www.wmtc.ca/2017/09/the-strange-case-of-barney-miller-rape_7.html
debm55
(42,565 posts)ailsagirl
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mucifer
(25,026 posts)It was really ugly. Stopped watching that show.
Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)And Barney treated it with respect and called in the DA and actually treated it seriously. At the time i was glad to see the subject raised..
debm55
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debm55
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thucythucy
(8,822 posts)Plus, it had some of the best opening music ever.
debm55
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thucythucy
(8,822 posts)especially early on.
I recall an episode where there was a chance the camp would be overrun by North Koreans.
Margaret asked what guarantee would the nurses have not to be "repeatedly violated"--which was as close as you could get to saying "gang rape" on TV back then.
Hawkeye answered, "What kind of guarantee do you want?" Cue the laugh track.
I think the show improved enormously once the laugh track was elminated.
In fact, for me most early TV is unwatchable precisely because of a laugh track.
debm55
(42,565 posts)hlthe2b
(107,837 posts)in its societal message, so I give it that. Same with Maude and several other shows of that era.
Even those shows that were probably funny at the time are hard to watch now because of those horrendous laugh tracks. Uggh.
debm55
(42,565 posts)legallyblondeNYC
(86 posts)Perhaps All in the Family is hard to watch because so many of the issues are still with us. Pervasive.
MiHale
(11,251 posts)Tried it again a couple years ago so misogynistic couldnt stand it. Funny thing is my wife suggested it at the time she thought was good for laughs. Time does make a difference.
underpants
(188,677 posts)8:00 was Cosby with Cheers at 9:00
Then it was Cheers and Seinfeld
Then it was Friends and Seinfeld
In between was formulatic until the 10:00 cop show.
debm55
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underpants
(188,677 posts)ER was on Thursday night too.
debm55
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Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)debm55
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Otto_Harper
(776 posts)debm55
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rsdsharp
(10,468 posts)The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Petticoat Junction. I couldnt stand Green Acres then, or now, and of the others only the Griffith show is still watchable for me.
debm55
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MichMan
(14,131 posts)Still think so.
debm55
(42,565 posts)how they were : unprepared for the country
MaryMagdaline
(7,934 posts)I think its surviving based on the good vibes we remember from the nineties, but just barely.
debm55
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BittyJenkins
(591 posts)Klarkashton
(2,857 posts)Fly these days.
BittyJenkins
(591 posts)The girls all were very emotional and dang nam it Jim always knew the right answer.
debm55
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debm55
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sanatanadharma
(4,074 posts)If for no other reason than the "Bang, zoom, to the moon, Alice" line.
ProfessorGAC
(71,571 posts)...Alice's reaction to him saying that always told me Ralph was all bluster. He'd never actually hit Alice.
And, she knew it. He brought home the paycheck, but Alice ran things.
debm55
(42,565 posts)pnwest
(3,307 posts)always yelling, and he treated his buddy like crap.
debm55
(42,565 posts)aeromanKC
(3,549 posts)TV is shit nowadays. All in the Family is one of my all time greats!! But then again, I haven't watched a TV show regularly since West Wing and Boston Legal. (Breaking Bad doesn't count since I streamed and binged it.)
Elessar Zappa
(16,295 posts)I think television from the past 25 years is far, far, better than television pre-2000. Racism, sexism, homophobia and general un-funniness were the order of the day.
debm55
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Not Heidi
(1,480 posts)I don't watch it today, but I liked it back in the day - except for the way Archie treated Edith. That just pissed me off.
I remember only the ending of one episode.
Archie was mistaken for a Jew and a swastika was painted on his door. A Jewish extremist named Paul (I think) visited the Bunker home. Surprisingly Archie and Paul hit it off. When Paul left the house, after Archie closed the door, there was an explosion. Archie looked out the door and said "It's Paul . . . they blew him up in his car."
Anyone else remember that one?
appmanga
(1,018 posts)...and I believe the very Hispanic Gregory Sierra played Paul.
Different Drummer
(8,993 posts)I remember, at the time, they had content advisories before the episodes and, because of those, I had the "thrill" of feeling like I was getting away with doing something I shouldn't be doing when I watched. Of course, the content was relatively mild by today's standards.
In reviewing the reruns nowadays, there are only a few episodes I still like. The ones with Bea Arthur as Edith's cousin, Maude Findlay, still make me laugh. Also, I still like the episodes with Betty Garrett as the Bunkers'/Stivics' neighbor, Irene Lorenzo, and Vincent Gardenia as Irene's husband, Frank. Other than those, I can skip the rest of the reruns and not feel like I've missed anything.
debm55
(42,565 posts)her because of it. Beverly was good friends of Edith.
ellemb
(109 posts)debm55
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CabbageAndBeans
(39 posts)but Cheers certainly did. I re-watched it in its entirety a few months ago and felt is was just as funny now as it was in the 80's.
debm55
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VMA131Marine
(4,840 posts)Barney Miller too!
CabbageAndBeans
(39 posts)debm55
(42,565 posts)Tetrachloride
(8,571 posts)the later years.
Margaret Houlihans character and other nurses changed.
The Honeymooners is not on my
watch list.
debm55
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BlueWaveNeverEnd
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debm55
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no_hypocrisy
(50,198 posts)Call me a heretic. It just isn't funny.
debm55
(42,565 posts)3catwoman3
(26,164 posts)...I was bothered by how stupid, inept, deceitful and manipulative the Lucy character had to act in order to get what she wanted and needed.
Gleason's character seemed very mean to my young self.
Never could stand the Barney Fife character or either Gomer or Goober Pyle characters.
debm55
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canuckledragger
(1,992 posts)Knowing what we know about him now, all that fake virtue signalling he did in the Cosby Show makes me sick.
And then there's a scene in one of those shows that reminds me of my abusive step father, whom couldn't see past his own motives and prejudices and always projected that onto myself and others.
The scene in question is where he rips into his TV son, Theo, for not doing well in school, accusing him of all sorts of things, where later on we find out the reason he did so poorly was dyslexia, something he was born with and couldn't fix easily on his own. That scene made me want to punch Cosby for emotionally abusing his son that way.
Shermann
(8,823 posts)debm55
(42,565 posts)BlueWaveNeverEnd
(10,774 posts)weird how it all turned out.. that Cosby was a serial rapist.
doc03
(37,422 posts)annoying. Never thought Lucy was funny. Friends I don't know never watched one episode.
debm55
(42,565 posts)LisaM
(28,971 posts)Which was going on at the time. I think that made for some cognitive dissonance and they also kind of ran out of plot lines once they'd exhausted all the schtick (Jamie Farr in women's clothing, the Hot Lips Houlihan storyline, Radar being kind of dorky, the snarky surgeons). That was one show that went way past its shelf life, IMO.
debm55
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debm55
(42,565 posts)The Madcap
(912 posts)Couldn't stand it then, even worse now.
debm55
(42,565 posts)ellemb
(109 posts)johnp3907
(3,936 posts)I actually wish it didn't hold up as well as it does, because we're still fighting a lot of the same battles.
debm55
(42,565 posts)Keepthesoulalive
(1,017 posts)She had to become suburban housewife instead of the powerful witch who could make her own way.
Sequoia
(12,605 posts)It used to bug me when she did housework instead of hocus pocus. Both Darren's were dweeb.
debm55
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Bok_Tukalo
(4,431 posts)That poor woman.
debm55
(42,565 posts)brave woman.
CanonRay
(15,051 posts)Bill turned out to be not so wholesome.
debm55
(42,565 posts)FullySupportDems
(276 posts)Loved him then. Turns my stomach now.
I also loved Johnny Csrson, and I'll always respect the hell out of what he did, but watching one a few years ago was too sexist to enjoy. Not the cutesy flirty kind, but the putting a woman down as stupid bits. Over and over, like okay, we get it. It just didn't register much when I was a young woman, which is a little surprising now. I'm glad those jokes aren't cool anymore.
arkielib
(392 posts)Even watching reruns as a kid I cringed.
underpants
(188,677 posts)NewDayOranges
(735 posts)But as a woman, the episodes based on her antics to get Ricky to buy her this dress or that hat get on my last nerve...
The show is still killer phunny, tho!😊
Polly Hennessey
(7,678 posts)will be equally cringe worthy.
MichMan
(14,131 posts)Can't imagine a TV executive today suggesting a comedy about a Nazi POW camp.
Ursus Rex
(319 posts)They had a maxim that the Germans/Nazis were ALWAYS the butt of the jokes. In fact, according to wikipedia:
"The actors who played the four major German rolesWerner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (General Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter)were all Jewish." It was relentless mocking and parody.
The REAL villain turned out to be the creepy-in-his-private-life star, Bob Crane.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogan%27s_Heroes#
MichMan
(14,131 posts)What I find interesting is that the people back then that actually lived during the war could find humor in it. Not now. This show would have never happened in today's climate. Never.
Hell, Dukes of Hazard is now demonized for having a Confederate flag on the roof of the Dodge Charger.
malthaussen
(17,928 posts)They would insist on a total rewrite making the Germans the heroes.
-- Mal
debm55
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Turbineguy
(38,756 posts)My mother claimed that my Father would have loved that show after his experience as a POW in WW2.
debm55
(42,565 posts)Permanut
(6,821 posts)Unwatchable then, unwatchable now.
FuzzyRabbit
(2,116 posts)debm55
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Kittycatkat
(1,746 posts)Cant watch Seinfeld, Frasier, Two and a half Men, Cosby, That 70s Show, Freaks & Geeks, Glee.
Polly Hennessey
(7,678 posts)debm55
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debm55
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Upthevibe
(9,408 posts)Columbo rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that show....
Kittycatkat
(1,746 posts)Upthevibe
(9,408 posts)I've seen every episode countless times. In fact, the more I watch them the better they get.
Kittycatkat
(1,746 posts)Columbo is brilliant!
debm55
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bedazzled
(1,863 posts)Best I've ever seen...
debm55
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USAF Brat
(54 posts)Whats so funny about being stingy about everything?
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Mike Nelson
(10,472 posts)... we part company on Lucy. Her shows still make me laugh, while many TV "comedies" don't... I do agree on All in the Family. I can watch a bit, but I get bored...while I feel the series had good intentions, it has not aged well. There are so many others... Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch... maybe they were supposed to be silly-coms, or dramadies...
Zambero
(9,801 posts)My favorite episodes are the ones with her and Ethel working the chocolate bon-bon factory conveyor belt, and one where she gets plastered doing the Vitameatavegimin commercial.
debm55
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debm55
(42,565 posts)Last edited Mon Oct 7, 2024, 04:39 PM - Edit history (1)
GoCubsGo
(33,453 posts)And, not just because of the pervasive gun violence. The way they portrayed Mexicans and Native Americans, particularly the way they used white actors and actresses in "brown-face" to play them. Lots of the use of "Injuns," too. Come to think of it, F-Troop wasn't all that great in that department, either, IIRC.
debm55
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sinkingfeeling
(54,060 posts)debm55
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Different Drummer
(8,993 posts)Hazel: I liked the first four seasons but then after the show switched from NBC to CBS and Don DeFore and Whitney Blake were replaced, the show seemed to lose something. Fortunately, the fifth season was the last one.
The Big Bang Theory: I liked it as long as the guys were unlucky in love. When they started getting girlfriends, I started losing interest.
Dear_Prudence
(843 posts)Whitney Blake, who played Dorothy Baxter and was edged out by the new cast, became a director and producer. She was a co-creator of the sitcom One Day at a Time. So, I was glad she continued to be successful. I agree that the show wasn't as good with the second cast.
debm55
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debm55
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rubbersole
(9,271 posts)debm55
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Luciferous
(6,368 posts)some of it is pretty cringy.
debm55
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Ursus Rex
(319 posts)I did watch some premium shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, but nothing with ads, esp not broadcast. When I finally decided to go back and try it a little, Friends was the biggest disappointment (I did watch a couple of eps leading to the finale).
debm55
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RandySF
(71,988 posts)debm55
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Doc_Technical
(3,638 posts)debm55
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TexasTowelie
(118,829 posts)debm55
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Figarosmom
(4,446 posts)Comes off as too glib now
debm55
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OLDMDDEM
(2,278 posts)debm55
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OLDMDDEM
(2,278 posts)Different Drummer
(8,993 posts)John Charles Daly (What's My Line?) as the narrator.
debm55
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epreic01
(262 posts)Americas Next Top Model
The Swan
X Factor
Worst of All:
The Apprentice
debm55
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Enter stage left
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debm55
(42,565 posts)called it a day. Never watched again.
Freddie
(9,791 posts)Like when Jane Leeves (Daphne) was pregnant in real life and they had her as fat on the show. And the jokes about Rozs sex life when Frasier was more promiscuous, but being male, that was ok. But on the whole, well written, great character-driven plots, still really funny after all these years. The new Frasier? I try to like it but not yet. The laugh track (why do they still do that?) is incredibly annoying.
debm55
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snpsmom
(791 posts)debm55
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Prairie_Seagull
(3,969 posts)Guiligans Island. When I was a kid I loved it. Didn't make it 2 minutes probably because there wasn't a scene with Maryann in it. I could only make it 2 minutes waiting. Nostalgia being what it is could not convince me to watch it.
It needed the laugh track. Simpler times I suppose.
debm55
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BlueWaveNeverEnd
(10,774 posts)the boat's doctor was a creep, by today's standards.
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(10,774 posts)the episode played it very 1970s with Sanford making that hand gesture in place of the word gay. hand held out, palm down and shaken slightly side to side. And of course, much happiness when Lamont was determined to NOT be gay.
debm55
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NBachers
(18,304 posts)Never could stand Lucy
I couldn't watch Hogan's Heroes because Bob Crane ruined the entire show.
I could probably sit through some episodes of Sgt. Bilko- the Phil Silvers Show
debm55
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electric_blue68
(20,050 posts)For ILL: the 2 eps someone mentioned; Lucy & Ethel trying keep up w the factory's chocolate bon bon cconveyer, and Lucy getting drunk on the Vitamina Vegimita tonic between takeswhile it's TV commercial is being filmed.
debm55
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MichMan
(14,131 posts)Not too bad for a while, but wore off quick. Should have ended a couple years sooner than it did.
debm55
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Paladin
(29,404 posts)The one with Wally Cox as the computer expert. Absolutely dreadful. A useful reminder that, as good as "Twilight Zone" was, some of the shows sucked out loud.
debm55
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Joe Cool
(1,047 posts)It's the spin-off to Bewitched. Tabitha lacks the charm of Bewitched.
If you watch the series, in every episode Tabitha is either sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, and, in one episode, a man attempts to rape her. Any time a man harasses or assaults her, it's played off as a joke.
It's actually shocking how harassment and assault was played off as being funny.
debm55
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valleyrogue
(1,666 posts)I Love Lucy is absolutely timeless and will never "age poorly." I feel sorry for people who don't understand that show.
I have both series on DVD, so I am not going off long ago memories. Both shows hold up very well.
debm55
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PoindexterOglethorpe
(27,183 posts)I saw it in a theater when it came out in 1968, and I recall laughing so hard at parts I missed the next couple of lines.
I didn't get 15 minutes into it when I tried to watch it recently. Dear lord.
debm55
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legallyblondeNYC
(86 posts)In the Honeymooners, Ralph Kramden routinely threatened his wife with physical violence as a laugh line.