Classic Vs. Current Tv On Dvd (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

The reason for this thread: Which tv on dvd do you feel more strongly about, classic, or current? Desperate Housewives, or Dallas? Old Battlestar Galactica, or new? My feeling on the matter is simple. I love classic TV, nothing new comes close. Although I did love Buffy, and Firefly, classic tv will always be my favorite. I re-watched Planet of the Apes tv series recently, and realized that brilliant, escapist tv like this will never be duplicated, which is very sad. Kung Fu, forget about it. No current tv shows can compare to this series. I would watch Space 1999 over Lost any day of the week.
So which side are you on? Or do you like both equally, and remain neutral on the subject?

 

[JohnMor]

While my preference is definitely for classic TV, there are a few shows, like Buffy and Angel and Friends that I like and am glad to have on DVD.

However, my main reason for preferring Classic shows on DVD isn't so much the lack of quality today (although that's frequently true) as much as it is seeing the complete episodes. If you watch or DVR a new show on network or cable, you're seeing the whole episode (or at least the whole broadcast version at any rate). With classic shows, in 99% of the cases, the only way to see the complete ep is on DVD. I hate the way series are butchered in reruns. Therefore, I automatically have a much stronger desire to seek out the classics on DVD than the newer shows, which I can pretty much DVR as they air.

 

[TravisR]

I think it can depend if you grew up watching a particular show. I was born about two decades after shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, The Adventures Of Superman and I Love Lucy debuted but I caught reruns when I was young and have a fond place in my heart for all of them. The nostalgia factor plays a big part in it. People say movies/TV/books/music* aren't as good as they used to be but I think that's partly because no one remembers the crap from thirty or forty years ago. The further away from a time period, the more fondly you look back on what was good from that time and forget about the bad things that were also on so it ends up looking even better to you.

In other words, the few actual good shows of today will be remembered as classics and the junk will be forgotten. That's probably the way it'll always be. And to finally your question, I like both



*well, music is pretty crappy today

 

[JohnMor]

TravisR: That is so true!

 

[ElijahS]

I usually just go for shows that I know I will watch multiple times. While that in itself won't limit anything, there are less older shows that I am familiar with and want that I can't watch in reruns. It just depends on if I can watch it elsewhere, or if I really want the show regardless of availability elsewhere, that determines whether I purchase or not.

Also, I do enjoy watching shows that have widescreen versions that I don't see otherwise (I know it's not a part of the question directly, but that does apply to newer shows).

 

[Randall Cyrenne]

TravisR hit the nail on the head: Nostalgia rules the mind and heart when it comes to TV-on-DVD purchases for me. My buys tend to be from the 60s and 70s (I was born in 1970 myself). I either remember these shows (first run or syndicated), or have heard of them and think I will like them if they remind me of shows I liked while growing up.

I do collect a number of more recent shows, too, but am most excited about seeing older ones that are more distant in my memory. Plus, being a sci-fi and animation buff, I appreciate the naivete of the earlier productions.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Well unfortunately there's alot of Dreck on TV, there's also some very good shows. Too much reality TV and not enough Dead Zone, Sopranos, Rescue Me, The Shield, Deadwood. I just bought the first Season of Adam 12 and Emergency, While both these shows are corny as hell no they are so watchable it's not funny. They are just amiable and very easy to watch.. So I gues I would vote classic TV, although don't discount the shows I listed above

 

[Bonnie*F]

Overall...Classic definitely.

Some of the newer stuff, yea, but the majority is classic 60's through 80's.

 

[Gary OS]

I guess my feelings on this issue are clear enough after posting for the last year & half on these boards. I strongly prefer Classic to Current. But the issue for me isn't so much one of quality. Yes, I do admit I think that today's tv is garbage (with precious few exceptions) and can't hold a candle to older, vintage television shows.

Having stated that, I actually advocate more classic tv on dvd for the simple reason that they are not available for viewing like newer shows are. It's just that simple. I can watch/record shows in their full run if they are airing now, and if I can't do that for whatever reason, the chances are excellent that I can still pick them up on one of the multiple cable stations we all have to choose from. The same can not be said for many great classics. Even stations that used to be committed to airing "classics" (like TVLand, for one example) are now leaning away from 50's and 60's series and are airing more and more "modern" series.

The availibility of any particular era of tv makes this thread an easy choice for me - Classics all the way.

Gary "we've seen some great classics released on dvd, but there are so many more that haven't seen the light of even 'rumored to be released' day" O.

 

[AnthonyC]

To be honest, as a child of the 90s, there are only a few classic TV shows that I'd consider picking up. I definitely prefer current shows, although if you ask me again in 20-30 years, I'll probably prefer TV from this era.

 

[Elena S]

Classic.

I want to be able to watch shows I haven't seen in years and never had the capability to record.

 

[george kaplan]

Classic. Even most of the 'current' shows I like aren't so current anymore (e.g., Seinfeld, Frasier, etc.) The only really current shows I like are King of Queens and Monk. My buying of tv on dvd goes from the 50s through the current decade, but certainly leans more heavily towards older shows. Growing up I used to watch a lot of tv, but as the years went by, there was just less and less worth watching.

 

[Sam Favate]

Both current and classic shows have their place, but I prefer classic shows. The vast majority of shows that are on my TVShowsOnDVD list are classic shows. The ones I am most anxious for are Get Smart and Batman (1966). I have a long list of other classic shows I am hoping to see released to DVD too. That said, releases like The West Wing, The Sopranos, Alias and The Simpsons every year are good too, and I look forward to them too.

 

[Bob Hug]

My collection most definitely tends toward classic TV (heavy on the Fifties through Seventies), but I do have a few contemporary series in my collection like 24, and The Shield. As other have posted here, the DVDs are really the only way that you can see some of the older series. For example, Adam-12 and Emergency! were just released yesterday but haven't been broadcast on TV Land for several years.

 

[Kieran Brown]

I am on equal sides. Although there are more Classic shows I want released to DVD than Current. Then again it gets harder and harder for things like music rights etc as the years go on so it makes sense to release the Current shows pretty much straight away after each season.

 

[Kevin L McCorry]

Classic. No contest.

 

[DanMel]

Nostalgia plays no part in my preferences for 50's, 60's and early 70's shows. I like shows that are well written and if they are a comedy then they should be funny.

Shows like Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Hogan's Heroes, Andy Griffith, Bob Newhart, Bewitched and the Honeymooners were well written shows and very funny. Much the same as more modern show Seinfeld was also well written and very funny.

I like the original Twilight Zone no more than the New Outer Limits show from the 90's. They were both well written and played on the morality issue a great deal. To me there is no drop in quality and I like them both the same.

However, most shows that I grew up watching, I no longer like and have not bought them on DVD. I was born in 1967 and grew up watching all that stuff in the 70's that did not have well written scripts and were not that funny. Shows like Happy Days, the Dukes of hazard, mork and mindy, Laverne and Shirly ect. In fact I will only be buying two shows that were from the 70's and they are The Bob Newhart show and Columbo.

It all comes down to preference. I have read hundreds of lists that fans give each day on here with their favorite shows coming out. In most cases if I dislike one of their chooses, I am pretty much in aggreement with not likeing any of them. What is funny and good to one person is not all that funny and good to another and vise versa. I only buy TV sows on DVD that I currently like right now in the present which may be the same or quite different than what I thought was good as a kid.

 

[Brian Himes]

Classic, classic, classic. However, that all depends on what people define as classic. While I do collect mainly shows from the 70s, I do have a few of what I call modern classics. Mad About You, and Sex and the City just to name a couple. I would also like to add the few 60s shows that I consider to be real gems. Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, That Girl. But mainly I stick to the 70s.

 

[John Carr]

It appears that I am the odd man out here. Going by what I actually watch (since I'm buying far more season sets than I have time to play), I prefer the newer shows, such as Dead Like Me, Shield, Scrubs, Sopranos, Carnivale, Deadwood and Arrested Development. The older shows are enjoyable, but for pure entertainment, for the most part (due to subject and language censorship), classic TV shows in my opinion are not as good as the BEST of the newer shows, especially cable TV shows.

Actually, considering that I hadn't watched TV since the 80s, I'm surprised as anyone at this development!

Very few of the older shows have story arcs and in some cases the humor of classic TV has not aged well. Many of the sitcoms are repetitive, 'slow' or dated: I have to watch -- even favorites like The Andy Griffith Show -- in small doses... But that shouldn't surprise me, as I rarely watched these shows after I taped them. I like having them, but I probably won't buy additional seasons of classic shows until I actually 'watch' the ones I have.

The majority of my viewing time is with the newer shows, which do have the advantage of my never having seent them, too. Still, this is both the best of times (cable shows) and the worst of times (reality shows) for TV.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

Good tv comes from any era.

The real "make or break" for me comes from how often it's being run on tv. The Muppet Show was my most coveted set this year and it took some effort to buy Simpsons season 6. I still haven't decided if I'm picking up Arrested Development. And once TV Land started rerunning Sanford and Son again, I never finished buying the series.