Classic and/or popular series you've never really watched? (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who has never seen a full episode of Star Trek. Any of them.

You've got me beat. Straight up sci-fi isn't really my thing and even I have seen part of an episode of the original series and one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the realm of the Trek movies, I've seen First Contact (which I liked way more than I expected to) and both of the J.J. Abrams movies.

 

[benbess]

You've got me beat. Straight up sci-fi isn't really my thing and even I have seen part of an episode of the original series and one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the realm of the Trek movies, I've seen First Contact (which I liked way more than I expected to) and both of the J.J. Abrams movies.

If you liked First Contact, which as you know features the Borg, you probably would like the two-part episode The Best of Both Worlds. That's the Borg back-story for First Contact. It was the finale for the third season, and the premiere for the 4th season. Watched together it makes a nice little Star Trek "movie." This one is available in its remastered HD form on Amazon Prime. Netflix has it only in the low rez version at this point.

 

[Walsh61]

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who has never seen a full episode of Star Trek. Any of them.

No, you're not the only one.

There's at least two of us.

 

[Ron1973]

No, you're not the only one.

There's at least two of us.

I've watched every episode of Star Trek: TOS in both the original and restored versions. I was an avowed watcher of Star Trek: TNG back in the day as well. I've watched all of the Star Trek: TOS casted movies plus Star Trek: Generations. I've never been able to get into any of the series that came after Star Trek: TNG though and the newest movies don't look remotely interesting to me.

 

[JediFonger]

as an avid scifi fan. i havent seen dr who old or new. that and twilighr zone

 

[LeoA]

I've never watched Dr. Who, but if you have even the slightest interest in classic tv, you need to look at one of the threads about favorite Twilight Zone episodes around here and check a few out.

And if you like to be creeped out and your idea of a scary tv show or movie doesn't involve blood everywhere, it's also an excellent choice. While many of my favorites don't have that sort of reaction, some of them do like the one where the telephone line is down in the cemetery.

I'm definitely glad I took this show off my list a few years back and like many, it's now one of my favorites.

 

[phenri]

I've never been interested in either Little House on the Prairie, or the Waltons. I didn't watch them growing up in the 70s and don't watch them now. The only Waltons I've ever seen was the Christmas movie with Patricia Neal and Andrew Duggan playing the parents. I've seen a few episodes of Little House as reruns over the years, and it didn't interest me much.

I'm another one that never had much interest in Star Trek. My dad watch the Original Series when I was growing up, so that was the only version to which I have been exposed.

 

[JediFonger]

dr who is difficult to obtain in addition to a great deal of lost episodes. therefore hard to catch. i have tz complete on bd. i wish outer limits classic was on bd.those two are highly prized i have seen enough of who, tz and limits to love them. just not everything

 

[LeoA]

I'd suggest catching the Little House pilot movie.

While I doubt you'll be suddenly converted into a fan, a few scattered episodes of Little House isn't necessarily an accurate picture of the series. It evolved significantly and like most any long running show, it has its share of duds (Which at least in my opinion, increased as they progressed).

But that pilot movie is magnificent. If there's one bit of Little House that is a must watch, I'd certainly nominate that above the rest despite being a fan of the entire run. Especially for the fans of the books like I am, it's hard to beat.

 

[Jack P]

I'll admit that you can name just about any show post-1990 and most of them I will not be aware of since I got out of the habit of watching prime-time TV back in my college days in the 1989 or so. I think what made me quit cold turkey was the fact that I got so disgusted with being wrapped up in "Moonlighting" and seeing the show get ruined in its final two years (it remains the ONLY show in my collection where I refuse to complete the run. I have always had a sense of wanting a show's complete run on DVD but that is the one exception where I won't acknowledge the existence of the last two seasons) that I just never wanted to get sucked into a show again. Other factors also influenced my decision, many of them a personal reaction to the tone of TV shows becoming more and more political or more crude to my liking, so as a result I'm aware of what the hit shows were without watching them. I've never watched "Friends", "Seinfeld", "E.R" etc. and when I tried watching "X-Files" I stopped after one season out of total boredom. "Law And Order" I came to like because of the self-contained format, but even there I've had to make sure to avoid episodes about subjects that I know would be dealt with in a way I wouldn't like. The only other 90s shows I ended up getting were the purest of "junk food" TV escapism. Sci-fi fluff like "Lost World", "Cleopatra 2525" and the Gena Lee Nolin "Sheena" series. But other than that, my frame of reference for TV programs is always going to end with the 1980s (itself a diminished decade for me compared to the 50s-60s-70s) and leave the stuff of later years things I'll be aware of, but will remain things I'd rather not waste my time getting to know when there's still more to discover from the earlier periods (not to mention the time needed to rewatch favorites!)

 

[Gary OS]

I'd suggest catching the Little House pilot movie.

While I doubt you'll be suddenly converted into a fan, a few scattered episodes of Little House isn't necessarily an accurate picture of the series. It evolved significantly and like most any long running show, it has its share of duds (Which at least in my opinion, increased as they progressed).

But that pilot movie is magnificent. If there's one bit of Little House that is a must watch, I'd certainly nominate that above the rest despite being a fan of the entire run. Especially for the fans of the books like I am, it's hard to beat.

I agree with this sentiment on Little House. It has some great episodes, and some duds. I think the good outweighs the bad by a significant percentage, but as Leo said it did seem to have more duds as it progressed toward the later years.

Besides the pilot, I'd recommend the first episode from Season One. "A Harvest of Friends" really sets the table nicely for the series. I a person watches that episode and hates it, I'd question whether the show would be for them.


Gary "just my two cents on what I think is a fabulous TV series" O.

 

[Gary OS]

There were only a few shows I watched in the 90's, and fewer still in the 2000's. In the 90's I regularly watched The Wonder Years, In the Heat of the Night, Family Matters, 7th Heaven and Road to Avonlea. In the 2000's I did watch Enterprise, Smallville and Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye. I never watched any of the so-called popular shows like Friends, The Simpsons, or The Soprano's. I just don't find the newer stuff to be very appealing most of the time.

Anything from the 50's or 60's that I've have access to I've at least tried out. And I've enjoyed the vast majority of it. Once the 70's hit it changed a lot for me. There are any number of "classics" from that decade that I don't care for at all. The same could be said of the 80's, although I thought there was a slight uptick in that decade from the previous one. But after that, it certainly started going downhill fast for me personally. But to each his own.


Gary "thankful for the advent of TV on DVD, that's for sure!" O.

 

[David Weicker]

dr who is difficult to obtain in addition to a great deal of lost episodes. therefore hard to catch.

I don't understand this statement.Doctor Who is the second best represented show on home video. 702 out of 800 episodes have been released on DVD (with an additional 9 episodes animated using the original soundtrack - bringing the total to 711 of 800). Only Dark Shadows with 1224 out of 1225 exceeds it.And hundreds of episodes are available on I-Tunes.David

 

[JohnMor]

Our family never watched The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie, but I did catch up with the first few seasons of TW on dvd and really enjoyed it. Now I may do the same with LHOTP since it's newly remastered on blu-ray.

 

[LeoA]

How did Dark Shadows manage to lose one episode out of 1225?

 

[maskedmala]

I was looking at my DVD collection and I must confess that almost half of it consist of TV shows of the 50's, 60's and 70's that I've never seen before (you may call me a Blind Buyer). Titles like Mike Hammer, Maverick, Riverboar, bat Masterson, Yancy Derringer, State Trooper, F-Troop, Hogan's Heroes, Hardcastle and McCormick, Vega$, Rockford Files, Mister Ed ... and the list goes on an on. Thanks to the DVD era, I can watch all the TV shows I've missed the first time around.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Never ever seen a single, complete episode of Friends. Only ever saw Will & Grace while flipping channels... every time I would end up seeing that chipmunk lady whining about her breasts.

 

[BobO'Link]

There were only a few shows I watched in the 90's, and fewer still in the 2000's. In the 90's I regularly watched The Wonder Years, In the Heat of the Night, Family Matters, 7th Heaven and Road to Avonlea. In the 2000's I did watch Enterprise, Smallville and Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye. I never watched any of the so-called popular shows like Friends, The Simpsons, or The Soprano's. I just don't find the newer stuff to be very appealing most of the time.

Anything from the 50's or 60's that I've have access to I've at least tried out. And I've enjoyed the vast majority of it. Once the 70's hit it changed a lot for me. There are any number of "classics" from that decade that I don't care for at all. The same could be said of the 80's, although I thought there was a slight uptick in that decade from the previous one. But after that, it certainly started going downhill fast for me personally. But to each his own.


Gary "thankful for the advent of TV on DVD, that's for sure!" O.

Your comments made me look up what I watched, and more importantly, *liked* in the 90s. Here's the "liked" list (these are all shows I own or would purchase if available - and it's larger than I'd have thought before looking them up):

Northern Exposure (a favorite of my wife)
Head of the Class
The Wonder Years
Doogie Howser M.D.
Wings
Seinfeld
That 70s Show (which can also be considered a 2000s show)
Home Improvement (until it got "preachy")
Quantum Leap (one my wife actually liked)
Bob
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Dave's World
The John Larroquette Show
Eerie, Indiana
Frasier
The Drew Carey Show
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Diagnosis: Murder (one of a handful I watched with my wife)
Star Trek: Voyager
Newsradio
3rd Rock from the Sun (although I thought it was "stupid" the first season - it grew on me...)
Everybody Loves Raymond
Becker

I actually *watched* quite a bit of TV but it was mainly controlled by my kids so there were many nights of "ABC TGIF" style shows. I'd read and tape what I wanted to watch, saving it for later in the evening.

And then the 2000s hit... stuff really started to go downhill... Here are the few series I liked from 2000-05:

The Tick
Birds of Prey
Firefly

Notice a trend here... If I liked it, it would be cancelled. Most of what I watched up until ~2005 was stuff that had started in the 90s.

Then I got a DVD player and haven't looked back. Yes, there are a couple of "current" shows I like but I tend to sample a few episodes here and there and if I like it just purchase seasons to avoid commercials and the other junk on the screen. To get that treatment shows must get good "buzz" from people I know before I bother with a sampling. I do not watch *any* "live" TV these days unless it's Discovery, History, Travel, or Cooking Channel on in the background while I do random stuff on the computer. My "active" TV viewing is 99% DVD these days.

Yes, the 70s got worse (I'm part of the handful of people who never cared for the Norman Lear sitcoms) and there was a bit of uptick in the 80s, but IMHO there's *never* been as good a all around group of programs as those you can find from the 50s and 60s.

Like you, almost *every* series from the 50s/60s I've purchased or sampled I've like. Of course many of them I saw during the original runs growing up but there were always those choices of what to watch which eliminated many good programs. TVonDVD has allowed me to go back and see those lost gems plus revisit favorites and I'm thankful indeed!

 

[Ejanss]

as an avid scifi fan. i havent seen dr who old or new. that and twilighr zone

Skip the New, until you've seen the Old, but if you have to start the Old, start with Tom Baker--
Here's an example of an actor permanently changing the tone of a show for good.

Spoiler

(The Classic show was traditionally kidded for its low BBC budget and homemade monsters...But it still trumps the flashy new movie-wannabe version for being a half-hour Saturday-afternoon cliffhanger, and having more time and less props, to concentrate on the writing. Filming on 60's/70's BBC sound stages, you feel like you're watching a stage play of Dr. Who, and the built-in kid appeal of that is obvious.)

Oh, and for Twilight Zone, skip the glasses and bandages and episodes "everybody knows", and go straight for "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"--There's Rod's entire premise for the series in a nutshell.

 

[Vic Pardo]

Until last year (January 2013) I had never seen an episode of the original 1950s "Dragnet." But then I got that 22-episode box set from, I think, Mill Creek, and watched all 22 and love the show.

There are quite a few shows I've located on YouTube and watched for the first time this year, including "M Squad" and "Mike Hammer" (with Darren McGavin) and those are great.

I have to admit I've never seen an episode of "The Fugitive," but I did pick up a box set from the first season earlier this year, so I will remedy that very soon.