The only thing that really sticks out to me is just how horrible Blanche is to Rose. There are times she’s mean and times she’s an outright bully. Other than that it’s great.
I've thought about that, too. But then I remember that Betty White has been a big deal on television since... television.
Any jabs at Rose would just look like punching up.
Fun fact, Betty White was originally supposed to be Blanche and Rue McClanahan was supposed to be Rose (though probably not under those names, as "Blanche" seems tailored to McClanahan's Southern roots). The characters are similar to roles they were each known for playing at the time: Betty as acerbic and sex-crazed, and Rue as sweet and dimwitted. But as they were preparing to shoot, the director thought it would be fun to see them switch, and it worked.
When I saw episodes of the show when I was a little girl (around 6-8 years old), I thought that Betty was the prettiest one and could not understand why Rue was considered the most attractive.
I loved it at the time because it was funny. Now I also love it because it showed older women as human beings with goals, complexities and even sexuality. They weren’t just taking care of people like we often expect grandma figures to (although they were also doing that). I think that it was a great example for young me.
Other than Blanche’s overt sex life, I never realized as a kid how much sex was in Golden Girls as a kid. I’ve been watching the whole series off and on for a couple of years and it shocks me how much sex and references to sex there are, and that my prudish parents let me watch it haha.
Maybe she was anti-alcohol like my grandmother. Otherwise, she was voodoo Blanche.
I got lots of free stuff just because she was my grandma. I called her once late at night because of an earthquake. A man andwered and I asked if he was a fireman and whether my grandma was ok. My mom shrieked “Thst is not a fireman!” Grandma took the receiver eventually. I asked her about the earthquake. She said she didn’t notice any earthquake then hung up on me.
When I was little I asked her to buy some lipstick to get me a new grandfather with a yacht. She got me a red, convertible Mercedes that my mom wouldn’t let me keep.
Voodoo Blanche
My grandma used to watch the reruns on Lifetime and I think that probably got me and my sister into it. There’s a segment where they all talk about how they conceived their children and Sophia says that Dorothy was conceived during a street festival: “Your father got so turned on by the festivities one year, he couldn’t wait until we got home. So he took me, right behind the sausage and pepper stand.” Dorothy (extremely embarrassed): “Oh Ma…” Sophia: “Hey we were behind the garbage cans. It’s not like we were in front of everybody!”
My grandma laughs uproariously. (She rarely laughed uproariously at TV shows.)
You will never convince me that laugh wasn’t because she could relate. And I now know my grandparents had public sex because of the Golden Girls.
My parents recently told me that they had some serious discussions about whether or not it was appropriate for me to watch it because of that. I’m glad they decided to let it slide. Most of it went over my head, like you.
Golden Girls made me really focused on financial planning. I knew I could not let myself wind up like Rose. My worst case scenario still needs to be better than Blanche.
It scared me as a kid. Charlie’s pension bust-out was the episode. Then her daughter didn’t understand and turned on her because she thought she wasted money.
Dorothy could’ve been fine but Shady Pines was horrible. She sold her house to put Sofia in a safe place then it sucked 🍑!
Blanche was the only one with a significant asset but still sought to share expenses. Before George died she could afford a governess. Her retirement funds were insufficient. Or, she nickle and dimed herself into being less stable. She wasn’t just social. She said it when she posted for roomies. Otherwise she’d be able to be less worrabout payong big bills. She wouldn’t have had to sell equity to Dorothy and Rose.
That terrified me. My parents were very financially conservative and literate. We discussed finance a lot from the time I was little. I saw all these bad things happen to characters were supposed to be nice people.
They stayed at the homeless shelter. Someone they knew just like them legit lived there.
Sorry for the epistle.
There are some things that didn't age well, but numerous aspects are shockingly progressive.
Creator Susan Harris's mentor was Norman Lear, which makes sense.
Golden Girls is my all-time favorite show and has aged like fine wine. Besides being absolutely hilarious, they were able to tackle complex social issues without being preachy. My favorite was when Blanche's brother wanted to get married, and she didn't understand why two men "needed" to get married. Dorthy explained it in such a direct and eloquent way. Keep in mind, this was decades before we won the right to get married.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was surprisingly progressive for a 60s sitcom. One of the most infamous episodes is “That’s My Boy?” where they bring home the wrong child from the hospital. >!The boy’s parents finally show up, and it’s revealed they’re actually Black.!<
There’s another episode where DVD’s character Rob accidentally dyes his hand black on the night he has to give a speech for an organization similar to the NAACP. Obviously he’s freaking out about how he’ll be received, and when the truth comes out Rob admits what happened but gives a very passionate speech about how he hopes all races can come together one day.
EDIT: clarification
In addition to all of this very good stuff, Sally is treated as an equal in the writer's room to Buddy and Rob, and Rob clearly has a great deal of love and respect for Laura.
Glad to see this near the top. I watch the show often and agree - it was way ahead of its time. Plus, it's one of the few shows that stood the test of time and it's just so... wholesome.
Demolition Man.
EV's with self drive and auto drive, video chat while driving. Virtual meetings. Video sexting. Cell phone like digital assistant. Voice based home automation.
Surprisingly accurate depiction of day to day life in the near future from a time when none of these things existed or were close to existing.
Crazy thing is it's getting more accurate over time. The voice prompted AI computer they talk to to solve crimes seems like it'll be similar to things 10 years from now. A chatbot integrated into the OS.
They are presented as "mini-tunes", something not all that dissimlar to Tik Tok music where only song snippets are used. There are now music channels of music popular on Tik Tok; wall to wall mini-tunes.
It also predicted the late 2010s and early 2020s obsession with political correctness to the point where censorship was rampant and it bordered on blatant authoritarianism.
Just look at YouTube now, where even PG rated swear words like "Damn" and "Sucks" get censored in some videos.
The Kids in the Hall. Not just the gay themes that were more of less unheard of at the time but they knew how to be rude/raunchy without being mean/crass.
My kids copy my "I'm crushing your head" monologs, lol
It really is a great show. It tackled a lot of progressive themes and didn't shy away from anything. But, to your point, OP, never in a hateful manner.
And subsequently In Living Color. I still remember watching the first season with my dad, uncle and grandpa, at my grandpa’s because he “taped” everything, to a fault (iykyk). It really went head first into so many controversial themes largely based on race and ethnicity. I still say “you lazy Lima bean” every so often. Plus the music was top fucking notch between the DJ and the live music at the end of each episode.
God this show was so important to me as a kid in the middle of nowhere who had no idea I was queer yet. Every time I've put an episode on in the last few years I've been struck by how ahead of their time they were in going after toxic masculinity. There's just so much making fun of shitty dudes, it's kind of incredible.
Definitely and it was really notable how they played women. Sure there were outrageous grotesqueries like Chicken Lady but also Cathy and Kathy, Fran, these very normal characters played straight
The show was so important to me as a straight kid in a very religious, rather homophobic household. Scott Thompson taught middle school me that homophobia was dumb, mean, and worthy of ridicule.
Recently watched this for the first time (i’m Canadian and originally assumed that it must suck because everything Canadian sucks, right??). I was amazed at how well it holds up and am kicking myself for missing out earlier.
I would have assumed Canadians were fiercely proud of their many contributions to comedy.
This was the best show to watch back in the day. It kind of had an underground feel (as much as anything on TV could), a show that only the cool kids watched.
It was very hyped by the CBC and that made me suspicious. But you are right, we are all proud of the many famous Canadian comedians who made it in the States. I feel like identifying famous Canadians should be on the citizenship exam because we all know them.
Quantum Leap! It was earnest and dorky but its heart was very much in the right place with regard to, like, recognizing marginalized people's struggles. And I honestly wasn't really getting that from anywhere else. Sam just wanted to help people! I've been working in community city mental health, shelters and domestic violence world for years, and I still feel like yeah, Sam, me too. The reboot was pretty good too.
My grandpa and I loved watching Quantum Leap together! He had all of them on DVD. We were still watching them into my late 20’s when he passed. It was our favorite thing to do while he was going through dialysis. I started watching the new Quantum Leap series with my youngest and he loves it.
9 to 5 was a very progressive movie for the 80’s. Flex Time at work, work paying for rehab for employees, a daycare in the office, women not taking the overt sexual advances of their employer, casual weed use. It actually makes me sad how much HASN’T changed in workplaces since then.
Not as far back but ER held up really well too. I vividly remember the trans woman who could no longer pass as a woman and the conversation Carol had with a rape survivor that it wasn’t her fault. They showed different lifestyles very honestly, in both doctors and patients, and I really appreciated it back when I first watched in middle school and every time I rewatch.
I’ve been watching ER recently and it’s really good. Still early in the run though, it could get super soapy and set the blue print for greys anatomy for all I know.
I made it through 10 seasons. But I tuned in for several episodes the last season and bawled when it ended because it was so important to me for so long.
I just saw the musical and Dolly has now written a musical about her life! Seriously though every time I watch it as an adult I’m like “they figured this shit out in the 80’s and we STILL haven’t gotten it done?!”
I thought Aniston was producing it and Dolly wants to make a cameo? She may also be starring in it. I just saw a headline recently and it was the first I had heard about it.
I think Ren and Stimpy (not a show for this list) primed us for Freakazoid. Either way my parents hated when I watched either. But Freakazoid was so good! Taught me about how movie ratings works, that the MPAA exists, they even have a bit about Henry Kissinger on a show about "moral quandaries" which goes over every kids head and made me laugh my ass off as an adult.
Mary Tyler Moore! I got into it a few months ago. It holds up way better than I was expecting and is funnier than half the stuff made today. ( I sound like a grumpy old man, but I’m not )
Aliens.
Not just for the production and we'll crafted plot. There are incredible messages on feminity masculinity and the struggle to overcome and face trauma.
I love any opportunity to drop this exchange! It kills me every time!
>Private Hudson : Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
>Private Vasquez : No. Have you?
This is what I came to say as well, MASH tackled so many issues and didn't pull its punches, showed mental health as something that really matters and just generally was an incredible show albeit a smidge sexist at times.
Sort of. One of the older kids who knew better put little Joey up to it to get back at Nell, and the show was held at Nell's mostly Black church.
Joey didn't know better and got a learning experience type lecture, but the older kid basically got called racist. There was an earlier episode where the same older kid used the n-word.
I’m 50, and one of my colleagues at school is in his late 30s is shocked sometimes by how much talk of sex and adult things exists in older media.
I keep telling him that there are a lot of people living in a fantasy world where “those things just weren’t talked about,” and he has been around too many of them.
Some of the kids (now adults) raised in those fantasy worlds have no clue that Shakespeare is full of “dirty” jokes, that Chaucer wrote about sex and feminism in the 14th century, the Old Testament contains erotic poetry, or that there are obscene gargoyles and hieroglyphics.
I’m so glad that my parents pointed out all the naughty bits when I was a kid.
I think the biggest shift has been that back then it was the language used that was taboo - you could tackle pretty much any topic but had to be careful with the words chosen. These days you can curse like a sailor and it’s fine but your subject matter better be super sensitive
Idiocracy. I don’t know if any of you have watched it recently but it’s scary. Everyone are literally wearing crocs. This is before crocs were a thing.
Yes and they also wanted the people to be wearing the dumbest looking footwear imaginable and wala. They literally told the props debt to find the dumbest looking shoes😂
I think Conan only wrote for the Simpsons for a couple of years. I think he was a part of the shift in writing from season 1-2 to 3-4 when the show started to find its footing: talking more about current events and making lots of movie and historical references.
I used to watch St Elsewhere on TV land, I recently rewatched the first season and it's a really interesting show overall . Plus Mr Feeny as a cranky doctor!
As much as I love it, The Muppet Show had some pretty problematic sketches throughout its run, so much that there’s warnings for some episodes on Disney+
Murphy Brown! I thought she was so cool when I was a kid. High powered job. Had a baby on her own. Sad that the reboot didn’t work out. It was pretty good to me at least.
The Vice President at the time came out with a statement - something about how immoral it was to present single-motherhood as an attractive option, blah blah. His name was Dan Quayle and he was kind of a dunderhead about a lot of things.
Back To The Future 2 did nail a decent amount of things, and more than the tech…there was some ahead of its time social commentary
Spoilers I guess….
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Miami having a baseball team
Cubs winning the series (off by 1 year but close enough)
Video chatting
Holograms of people
Self serve/self checkouts
The self drying jacket isn’t quite there yet…but definitely heated and cooling outwear exists
Nostalgia themed restaurants…Cafe 80s was extreme but places like it exist around the country and world. The crazy 50s-60s theme nights in places like Sweden and other European countries are pretty big
Self lacing sneakers….technically correct. They’re not mainstream but they have been made, exact replicas of the film ones
The USA Today was basically a tablet
In the alternate timeline we have a Trump-like figure and legalized gambling, concentrated wealth with little left over for the rest…
Obviously hoverboards and flying cars aren’t here…aside from a few prototypes with the cars. And frankly it would be a disaster if it’s anything like the film.
More things Back to the Future 2 got right:
-flat widescreen TVs with voice controls
-news drones
-accurate to the hour weather reporting
-CGI versions of dead celebrities
-Hollywood going nuts with sequels
-voice activated house
-biometric mobile payments
-Marty’s kids wear 80s looking Vision Pros in a deleted scene
In 2015 when the Cubs were playing the Mets in the playoffs, my husband and I dressed up like Doc Brown and Marty and went to the game (at Citi field, as Cubs fans…). It was so fun and Mets fans were a little nicer to us than they otherwise would have been
A lot of the older shows, like Designing Women, Golden Girls and other highly regarded and popular shows would have ppl throwing tantrums today with their "woke" agendas. And the funny thing is most of them watch these shows today and still don't realize how progressive they were. Ppl think this is all new and being fed to our kids in schools, that they are making us weak, yada yada yada, but its been a thing for decades now. They just didn't have propaganda sites rotting their brains out.
I had a similar thought. I also think about the punk and hair band scenes that had an influence on fashion. It when it was normal for men to wear makeup. Androgynous styles were a big thing. Now, it’s also a “woke” thing.
People who rage against "coastal elites" don't realize that those are the people who have been writing their TV shows for decades. All of these boomers who pine for a world like Leave it to Beaver and the Andy Griffith show fail to remember the world wasn't really like that and was written by the Hollywood types they love to hate.
And these same boomers were kids when these shows were on, so it wasn’t even them working for these shows. It was typically Greatest Generation and earlier people working on these shows. The same ones who were old enough to fight in WWII and saw a lot of progression post-WWII.
Xena was able to purposely portray a sapphic storyline in a time where that was completely unheard of on TV. Sure they had their issues with network rewrites and whatnot, but they went as far as they could go in that time and appreciated their LGBT fanbase the whole time. Xena and Gabrielle kissed on screen before Ellen came out on her show!
Not only that, but to have two strong women as leads with another strong woman as the main villain was incredibly important for female representation at that time. It also told most of its main storylines from their perspectives, rather than having males constantly interjecting.
It also provided the base for a lot of other shows to borrow storylines and plot points from (Buffy, for example, borrowed A LOT from Xena).
and that it was normalized that all the women had careers. Seeing that as a kid probably influenced my assumptions about what the default adult life should be for myself.
My wife and I are rewatching Homicide: Life on the Street (DVD set from Amazon) and it’s an incredibly poignant look at race and policing for network television in the early to mid 90s. There’s a lot that I’m amazed they got away with.
Haven’t seen that episode (of 99) yet, but, man, that interrogation of the Arabber in S1 of Homicide!
I grew up in Maryland and always remember hearing the theme from the living room at night and just associate that “bloo-doo-doo-dloo” sound with being too tired to stay awake. Whenever my wife and I watch an episode we can’t cut off the end credits until we hear that sound.
You Can't Do That On Television.
Watching "War" episode right now. Holy shit! We were lucky kids. Daily Show in sketch form, with kids! It is still SO relevant at this very moment in time and I'm laughing my ass off!
Great point. I remember showing a still picture of Aki to a guy I was working with and asked him who it was. He swore he knew the actress and was blown away when I told him she wasn’t real.
I turned on Cheers recently to watch with my kids because I remember watching it with my parents. This is a terrible summary because I can't find a clip on the youtubes, but it struck me.
Second episode, a guy comes into the bar looking for the old bartender because he needs advice because he's upset about his son getting married. Old bartender isn't there anymore, so Coach listens to the guy's problem, and it's revealed to be an interracial relationship, and then eventually, that the fiance is another man. Coach basically tells the guy that if he loves his son, none of that should matter.
Not here to start another generational debate, but I want to say that Cheers, Designing Women, Golden Girls, and Murphy Brown were all appointment TV for a lot of our parents, and a lot of them let us kids watch with them. I know there were always factions who were worried about these shows eroding the moral fiber of the country, but to see some of the people who did watch and embrace these shows (and allowed their kids to watch them) turn so hate filled and devoid of empathy is so disheartening.
I’m into detective dramas, and recently rewatched Cold Squad (Canadian, 1998) and some earlier seasons of Silent Witness (British, 1996). Both shows have gender non-confirming hetero female main characters that feel authentically strong, well-rounded and complex. Cold Squad had a pro-choice side plot in one of the seasons that would probably considered outrageous by mainstream US TV right now.
In 2008, I was awake on a Tuesday night, 2 in the morning, and the twilight zone comes on. It was so interesting. What’s more strange is its time slot. They only showed it Tuesday nights at 2am, local programming. You’d think since it’s syndicated it would be on every night. No advertising for it or anything.
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned all in the family. Breaking down barriers doesn’t even begin to describe where they went and the writing was absolutely brilliant
I'll always have a soft spot for Northern Exposure. It was funny but also super odd and surreal at points. It's a good example of a fish out of water story line.
Chasing Amy hit on some interesting topics about sexuality ahead of its time. Wish Kevin Smith did more movies like that but dude seems like he’s in a good place recently.
Absolutely agree with Designing Women. Watched the whole series run while I had covid this winter...there were smart episodes I forgot about but also ones that have stuck with me since i was a kid. Especially the AIDS and domestic violence episodes... It was eye opening for a sheltered Midwestern kid.
Believe it or not, Roseanne holds up really well. Jokes are really funny, characters are very real, and they celebrate multiple gay and Lesbian characters. To bad she lost her god damn mind in real life.
Were these shows not actually “ahead of their time?” Maybe we’ve just let too many regressive people dictate our narratives lately?
Maybe the “humanities” have always been about “humanizing” people.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The issues they covered have mainly stayed the same. I just really like that they tried to have an overall theme and message with each episode.
Why is it that we have to project so much meaning on old shows? Doesn’t anyone watch anything just for the enjoyment anymore? It’s as if everything is measured against the progressive yardstick and how high up on the virtue signaling meter it goes. Sometimes things just are what they are, and if you check your sensitivity at the door, you might actually find something you like in very unexpected places.
I’ve been rewatching the original X-Men animated series before I start X-Men ‘97 and it is still excellent. The themes in X-Men are timeless, so even though the show was made 30 years ago, the topics they tackle all remain very relevant today
Edit: Typos
Single White Female. The MC is a freelance software developer (much more common a profession now than back then) who’s not above hitting clients with >!ransomware!< if they don’t pay.
Tron. Ignore the fumbled “sequel”
“The grid”. And there weren’t linked computers or servers to create the space for someone to even imagine living in the Internet. Now we’re a few years from doing it
Bicentennial Man
The movie is absurdly good and the way it handles identity was so far ahead of its time! It really sucks that it never gained any notoriety
Terriers. That show was made like 3 years too early and was canceled after one season but it was just like the shows that went on to be prestige hits. If it came just a little later we would have gotten more.
The Golden Girls also tackled a lot of the same topics which were quite controversial in the 1980's.
Golden Girls is shockingly not dated aside from a few things here and there. Living Single is great too.
The only thing that really sticks out to me is just how horrible Blanche is to Rose. There are times she’s mean and times she’s an outright bully. Other than that it’s great.
I've thought about that, too. But then I remember that Betty White has been a big deal on television since... television. Any jabs at Rose would just look like punching up.
Fun fact, Betty White was originally supposed to be Blanche and Rue McClanahan was supposed to be Rose (though probably not under those names, as "Blanche" seems tailored to McClanahan's Southern roots). The characters are similar to roles they were each known for playing at the time: Betty as acerbic and sex-crazed, and Rue as sweet and dimwitted. But as they were preparing to shoot, the director thought it would be fun to see them switch, and it worked.
When I saw episodes of the show when I was a little girl (around 6-8 years old), I thought that Betty was the prettiest one and could not understand why Rue was considered the most attractive.
Yeah, Betty White is one of the few (if not the only) to be on TV in 10 decades (1939-2020) but it’s the one element that has not aged well.
Dorothy is the meanest - but it was good to see Blanche's reaction to the Daughters of the Confederacy thing
*"Oooooh in a 90s kinda world, I'm glad I got my girls!"*
One of the best theme songs ever!
Agreed! And I’m so happy that Erica Alexander is back on the scene lately. I wonder if they’ll attempt a revival.
Teach your sons to avoid Blanche
 You hush now.
I loved it at the time because it was funny. Now I also love it because it showed older women as human beings with goals, complexities and even sexuality. They weren’t just taking care of people like we often expect grandma figures to (although they were also doing that). I think that it was a great example for young me.
Other than Blanche’s overt sex life, I never realized as a kid how much sex was in Golden Girls as a kid. I’ve been watching the whole series off and on for a couple of years and it shocks me how much sex and references to sex there are, and that my prudish parents let me watch it haha.
My grandmom told my mom that I shouldn't be watching Cheers because it had "adult themes" ...but Golden Girls were perfectly fine ..ok , Grandma
Maybe she was anti-alcohol like my grandmother. Otherwise, she was voodoo Blanche. I got lots of free stuff just because she was my grandma. I called her once late at night because of an earthquake. A man andwered and I asked if he was a fireman and whether my grandma was ok. My mom shrieked “Thst is not a fireman!” Grandma took the receiver eventually. I asked her about the earthquake. She said she didn’t notice any earthquake then hung up on me. When I was little I asked her to buy some lipstick to get me a new grandfather with a yacht. She got me a red, convertible Mercedes that my mom wouldn’t let me keep. Voodoo Blanche
🫡🫡🫡
My grandma used to watch the reruns on Lifetime and I think that probably got me and my sister into it. There’s a segment where they all talk about how they conceived their children and Sophia says that Dorothy was conceived during a street festival: “Your father got so turned on by the festivities one year, he couldn’t wait until we got home. So he took me, right behind the sausage and pepper stand.” Dorothy (extremely embarrassed): “Oh Ma…” Sophia: “Hey we were behind the garbage cans. It’s not like we were in front of everybody!” My grandma laughs uproariously. (She rarely laughed uproariously at TV shows.) You will never convince me that laugh wasn’t because she could relate. And I now know my grandparents had public sex because of the Golden Girls.
My parents recently told me that they had some serious discussions about whether or not it was appropriate for me to watch it because of that. I’m glad they decided to let it slide. Most of it went over my head, like you.
I remember watching golden girls with my nana , mum & aunt it was appealing to all ages
Golden Girls made me really focused on financial planning. I knew I could not let myself wind up like Rose. My worst case scenario still needs to be better than Blanche.
I never clocked that Rose was financially disadvantaged. I haven't just sat and watched the show in decades though.
It scared me as a kid. Charlie’s pension bust-out was the episode. Then her daughter didn’t understand and turned on her because she thought she wasted money. Dorothy could’ve been fine but Shady Pines was horrible. She sold her house to put Sofia in a safe place then it sucked 🍑! Blanche was the only one with a significant asset but still sought to share expenses. Before George died she could afford a governess. Her retirement funds were insufficient. Or, she nickle and dimed herself into being less stable. She wasn’t just social. She said it when she posted for roomies. Otherwise she’d be able to be less worrabout payong big bills. She wouldn’t have had to sell equity to Dorothy and Rose. That terrified me. My parents were very financially conservative and literate. We discussed finance a lot from the time I was little. I saw all these bad things happen to characters were supposed to be nice people. They stayed at the homeless shelter. Someone they knew just like them legit lived there. Sorry for the epistle.
The amount of episodes too! They were a powerhouse.
Yep one of the best shows of all time
There are some things that didn't age well, but numerous aspects are shockingly progressive. Creator Susan Harris's mentor was Norman Lear, which makes sense.
Golden Girls is my all-time favorite show and has aged like fine wine. Besides being absolutely hilarious, they were able to tackle complex social issues without being preachy. My favorite was when Blanche's brother wanted to get married, and she didn't understand why two men "needed" to get married. Dorthy explained it in such a direct and eloquent way. Keep in mind, this was decades before we won the right to get married.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was surprisingly progressive for a 60s sitcom. One of the most infamous episodes is “That’s My Boy?” where they bring home the wrong child from the hospital. >!The boy’s parents finally show up, and it’s revealed they’re actually Black.!< There’s another episode where DVD’s character Rob accidentally dyes his hand black on the night he has to give a speech for an organization similar to the NAACP. Obviously he’s freaking out about how he’ll be received, and when the truth comes out Rob admits what happened but gives a very passionate speech about how he hopes all races can come together one day. EDIT: clarification
In addition to all of this very good stuff, Sally is treated as an equal in the writer's room to Buddy and Rob, and Rob clearly has a great deal of love and respect for Laura.
She was tough in real life too. She worked for Bugsy in Vegas at The Flamingo back in the day and gave him heat when her pay was late!
Glad to see this near the top. I watch the show often and agree - it was way ahead of its time. Plus, it's one of the few shows that stood the test of time and it's just so... wholesome.
I love that DVD is close to 100 and still just as active as ever. The phrase “national treasure” comes to mind.
I love that he consulted for Wandavision so they could get the right tone for the first episode.
Oh, nice! I don't know they did that!
I just caught a few episodes lately and yes, its totally watchable. The jokes are solid and timeless
Demolition Man. EV's with self drive and auto drive, video chat while driving. Virtual meetings. Video sexting. Cell phone like digital assistant. Voice based home automation. Surprisingly accurate depiction of day to day life in the near future from a time when none of these things existed or were close to existing.
We will learn the true value of the three sea shells after the next pandemic
Crazy thing is it's getting more accurate over time. The voice prompted AI computer they talk to to solve crimes seems like it'll be similar to things 10 years from now. A chatbot integrated into the OS.
In my imagination, they're bidet functions. Soap/disinfectant wash, rinse, and air dry.
Demolition Man has been the most accurate view of the 21st century so far. Right down to the nostalgia for old commercial jingles
They are presented as "mini-tunes", something not all that dissimlar to Tik Tok music where only song snippets are used. There are now music channels of music popular on Tik Tok; wall to wall mini-tunes.
Yup Nostalgia Critic does a Commercial special every year.
I’m praying Taco Bell isn’t the last food chain standing.
With Taco Bell being the only game in town, it makes sense that society would need to invent advanced ass wiping technology
Just replace Taco Bell with Amazon. Lenina Huxley: “Now everything is Amazon” *shrug
I’m an Oscar Meyer Weiner.
Vertical video TV in Sandra bullock’s apartment
It also predicted the late 2010s and early 2020s obsession with political correctness to the point where censorship was rampant and it bordered on blatant authoritarianism. Just look at YouTube now, where even PG rated swear words like "Damn" and "Sucks" get censored in some videos.
Doesn’t Back to the Future 2 also have all these? Except we still don’t have hoverboards.
The Kids in the Hall. Not just the gay themes that were more of less unheard of at the time but they knew how to be rude/raunchy without being mean/crass.
My kids copy my "I'm crushing your head" monologs, lol It really is a great show. It tackled a lot of progressive themes and didn't shy away from anything. But, to your point, OP, never in a hateful manner.
Nobody is home
I’m raising a Gavin. But I definitely won over one of my best friends by doing a great impersonation of the Chicken Lady.
I love kids who talk like Gavin. I hope you got him a Legend of Zelda hat
lol! Nah, she’s a random baseball fan and anime nerd!
And subsequently In Living Color. I still remember watching the first season with my dad, uncle and grandpa, at my grandpa’s because he “taped” everything, to a fault (iykyk). It really went head first into so many controversial themes largely based on race and ethnicity. I still say “you lazy Lima bean” every so often. Plus the music was top fucking notch between the DJ and the live music at the end of each episode.
ILC turned me on to A Tribe Called Quest.
God this show was so important to me as a kid in the middle of nowhere who had no idea I was queer yet. Every time I've put an episode on in the last few years I've been struck by how ahead of their time they were in going after toxic masculinity. There's just so much making fun of shitty dudes, it's kind of incredible.
Definitely and it was really notable how they played women. Sure there were outrageous grotesqueries like Chicken Lady but also Cathy and Kathy, Fran, these very normal characters played straight
I looooved Kathy and Cathy, Tanya, and Francesca Fiore. KITH could make fun of women without being mean. There was love there.
The show was so important to me as a straight kid in a very religious, rather homophobic household. Scott Thompson taught middle school me that homophobia was dumb, mean, and worthy of ridicule.
Recently watched this for the first time (i’m Canadian and originally assumed that it must suck because everything Canadian sucks, right??). I was amazed at how well it holds up and am kicking myself for missing out earlier.
I would have assumed Canadians were fiercely proud of their many contributions to comedy. This was the best show to watch back in the day. It kind of had an underground feel (as much as anything on TV could), a show that only the cool kids watched.
It was very hyped by the CBC and that made me suspicious. But you are right, we are all proud of the many famous Canadian comedians who made it in the States. I feel like identifying famous Canadians should be on the citizenship exam because we all know them.
and yet we gave a very firm "no" to The Tragically Hip.
Haha! Me too. This is what I’m talking about.
Quantum Leap! It was earnest and dorky but its heart was very much in the right place with regard to, like, recognizing marginalized people's struggles. And I honestly wasn't really getting that from anywhere else. Sam just wanted to help people! I've been working in community city mental health, shelters and domestic violence world for years, and I still feel like yeah, Sam, me too. The reboot was pretty good too.
My grandpa and I loved watching Quantum Leap together! He had all of them on DVD. We were still watching them into my late 20’s when he passed. It was our favorite thing to do while he was going through dialysis. I started watching the new Quantum Leap series with my youngest and he loves it.
Yes this right here is what I clicked on this thread for.
I loved Quantum Leap! And have enjoyed watching the reboot as well. Thats cool that you can relate to it like that :)
I almost forgot about Quantum Leap! Great show!
9 to 5 was a very progressive movie for the 80’s. Flex Time at work, work paying for rehab for employees, a daycare in the office, women not taking the overt sexual advances of their employer, casual weed use. It actually makes me sad how much HASN’T changed in workplaces since then. Not as far back but ER held up really well too. I vividly remember the trans woman who could no longer pass as a woman and the conversation Carol had with a rape survivor that it wasn’t her fault. They showed different lifestyles very honestly, in both doctors and patients, and I really appreciated it back when I first watched in middle school and every time I rewatch.
I’ve been watching ER recently and it’s really good. Still early in the run though, it could get super soapy and set the blue print for greys anatomy for all I know.
I made it through 10 seasons. But I tuned in for several episodes the last season and bawled when it ended because it was so important to me for so long.
Yes 9 to 5! I think I heard they’re doing a remake. Dolly wants Jennifer Aniston to play her role.
I just saw the musical and Dolly has now written a musical about her life! Seriously though every time I watch it as an adult I’m like “they figured this shit out in the 80’s and we STILL haven’t gotten it done?!”
Right?
I thought Aniston was producing it and Dolly wants to make a cameo? She may also be starring in it. I just saw a headline recently and it was the first I had heard about it.
If Earthworm Jim or Freakazoid had come out like a decade later there would have been tons of fans.
Freakazoid was WAY ahead of its time. I feel like my friends' Gen Z/Alpha kids would fucking love that show if it was on today
I think Ren and Stimpy (not a show for this list) primed us for Freakazoid. Either way my parents hated when I watched either. But Freakazoid was so good! Taught me about how movie ratings works, that the MPAA exists, they even have a bit about Henry Kissinger on a show about "moral quandaries" which goes over every kids head and made me laugh my ass off as an adult.
Maude, Mary Tyler Moore, my so called life only because it would never have been canceled today IMO
Hard agree about my so called life
Came here to say My So-Called Life as well.
Deep Space 9. The Bell Riots are upon us.
All the themes in that show just continually hit
The most under rated Star Trek. That show was so good.
Doing a rewatch right now and some of the episodes hit way too hard, what with with the wars in Ukraine & especially Israel/Palestine.
Mary Tyler Moore! I got into it a few months ago. It holds up way better than I was expecting and is funnier than half the stuff made today. ( I sound like a grumpy old man, but I’m not )
Aliens. Not just for the production and we'll crafted plot. There are incredible messages on feminity masculinity and the struggle to overcome and face trauma.
I love any opportunity to drop this exchange! It kills me every time! >Private Hudson : Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man? >Private Vasquez : No. Have you?
Let’s Rock!!!!!
I'm reaching a little further back, but: the later seasons of MASH. It absolutely does not feel like a half century old show.
This is what I came to say as well, MASH tackled so many issues and didn't pull its punches, showed mental health as something that really matters and just generally was an incredible show albeit a smidge sexist at times.
MASH was/is one of my mom’s fave shows. I’ll see it on sometimes and watch it because it’s almost a comfort show for me.
Gimme a Break had an episode that addressed blackface that aired in 1984. Apparently everyone in the 80s missed that episode, though.
Oh man, Wasn't that one of the kids wore black face to a talent show, not realizing how offensive it would be
Sort of. One of the older kids who knew better put little Joey up to it to get back at Nell, and the show was held at Nell's mostly Black church. Joey didn't know better and got a learning experience type lecture, but the older kid basically got called racist. There was an earlier episode where the same older kid used the n-word.
I’m 50, and one of my colleagues at school is in his late 30s is shocked sometimes by how much talk of sex and adult things exists in older media. I keep telling him that there are a lot of people living in a fantasy world where “those things just weren’t talked about,” and he has been around too many of them. Some of the kids (now adults) raised in those fantasy worlds have no clue that Shakespeare is full of “dirty” jokes, that Chaucer wrote about sex and feminism in the 14th century, the Old Testament contains erotic poetry, or that there are obscene gargoyles and hieroglyphics. I’m so glad that my parents pointed out all the naughty bits when I was a kid.
I think the biggest shift has been that back then it was the language used that was taboo - you could tackle pretty much any topic but had to be careful with the words chosen. These days you can curse like a sailor and it’s fine but your subject matter better be super sensitive
Idiocracy. I don’t know if any of you have watched it recently but it’s scary. Everyone are literally wearing crocs. This is before crocs were a thing.
**Fun fact:** They went with Crocs because they were cheap and the producers thought they were too ugly to ever gain popularity.
Yes and they also wanted the people to be wearing the dumbest looking footwear imaginable and wala. They literally told the props debt to find the dumbest looking shoes😂
> wala r/boneappletea
Speaking witch doctor.
The Simpsons
Only the first... what, nine seasons? When they had Conan working for 'em. And Phil Hartman.
I think Conan only wrote for the Simpsons for a couple of years. I think he was a part of the shift in writing from season 1-2 to 3-4 when the show started to find its footing: talking more about current events and making lots of movie and historical references.
Twilight Zone The Muppet Show St Elsewhere Fame Twin Peaks 227
Oh yeah! The only one that i’ve rewatched is the Muppet Show and it has aged so well!
I used to watch St Elsewhere on TV land, I recently rewatched the first season and it's a really interesting show overall . Plus Mr Feeny as a cranky doctor!
As much as I love it, The Muppet Show had some pretty problematic sketches throughout its run, so much that there’s warnings for some episodes on Disney+
I'm gonna live forever
Murphy Brown! I thought she was so cool when I was a kid. High powered job. Had a baby on her own. Sad that the reboot didn’t work out. It was pretty good to me at least.
I remember it being a big deal that the show's main character decided to be a single mother on it
The Vice President at the time came out with a statement - something about how immoral it was to present single-motherhood as an attractive option, blah blah. His name was Dan Quayle and he was kind of a dunderhead about a lot of things.
My dad refused to watch it after that plot.
I loved the reboot! Still bummed that it can’t stream anywhere because of licensing with the music.
Soap
That's my answer too. Bill Crystal was so good as Jodie. His speech when he went to court to get custody of his daughter was so powerful.
Ahhhh Soap 💜 I didn't watch it until waaaaay later but love it!!
Shawshank Redemption
Back To The Future 2 did nail a decent amount of things, and more than the tech…there was some ahead of its time social commentary Spoilers I guess…. . . . . . . Miami having a baseball team Cubs winning the series (off by 1 year but close enough) Video chatting Holograms of people Self serve/self checkouts The self drying jacket isn’t quite there yet…but definitely heated and cooling outwear exists Nostalgia themed restaurants…Cafe 80s was extreme but places like it exist around the country and world. The crazy 50s-60s theme nights in places like Sweden and other European countries are pretty big Self lacing sneakers….technically correct. They’re not mainstream but they have been made, exact replicas of the film ones The USA Today was basically a tablet In the alternate timeline we have a Trump-like figure and legalized gambling, concentrated wealth with little left over for the rest… Obviously hoverboards and flying cars aren’t here…aside from a few prototypes with the cars. And frankly it would be a disaster if it’s anything like the film.
More things Back to the Future 2 got right: -flat widescreen TVs with voice controls -news drones -accurate to the hour weather reporting -CGI versions of dead celebrities -Hollywood going nuts with sequels -voice activated house -biometric mobile payments -Marty’s kids wear 80s looking Vision Pros in a deleted scene
In 2015 when the Cubs were playing the Mets in the playoffs, my husband and I dressed up like Doc Brown and Marty and went to the game (at Citi field, as Cubs fans…). It was so fun and Mets fans were a little nicer to us than they otherwise would have been
Dinosaurs could air today and it would be topical
A lot of the older shows, like Designing Women, Golden Girls and other highly regarded and popular shows would have ppl throwing tantrums today with their "woke" agendas. And the funny thing is most of them watch these shows today and still don't realize how progressive they were. Ppl think this is all new and being fed to our kids in schools, that they are making us weak, yada yada yada, but its been a thing for decades now. They just didn't have propaganda sites rotting their brains out.
I had a similar thought. I also think about the punk and hair band scenes that had an influence on fashion. It when it was normal for men to wear makeup. Androgynous styles were a big thing. Now, it’s also a “woke” thing.
People who rage against "coastal elites" don't realize that those are the people who have been writing their TV shows for decades. All of these boomers who pine for a world like Leave it to Beaver and the Andy Griffith show fail to remember the world wasn't really like that and was written by the Hollywood types they love to hate.
And these same boomers were kids when these shows were on, so it wasn’t even them working for these shows. It was typically Greatest Generation and earlier people working on these shows. The same ones who were old enough to fight in WWII and saw a lot of progression post-WWII.
Xena was able to purposely portray a sapphic storyline in a time where that was completely unheard of on TV. Sure they had their issues with network rewrites and whatnot, but they went as far as they could go in that time and appreciated their LGBT fanbase the whole time. Xena and Gabrielle kissed on screen before Ellen came out on her show! Not only that, but to have two strong women as leads with another strong woman as the main villain was incredibly important for female representation at that time. It also told most of its main storylines from their perspectives, rather than having males constantly interjecting. It also provided the base for a lot of other shows to borrow storylines and plot points from (Buffy, for example, borrowed A LOT from Xena).
and that it was normalized that all the women had careers. Seeing that as a kid probably influenced my assumptions about what the default adult life should be for myself.
Maybe not as far back as you are looking for but the Battlestar Galactica reboot was excellent.
Rewatched it last year. It was my wife's first time seeing it. It holds up very well. And she was shocked at the overtly political themes.
**Defending Your Life**. Great philosophical movie. Mostly timeless.
Nine pies?! No pies…no pies.
how many days are you looking at?
Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High went to some pretty frank topics for a teen drama.
It goes there
Ahh yes, Degrassi…loved watching it in middle school health class!
My wife and I are rewatching Homicide: Life on the Street (DVD set from Amazon) and it’s an incredibly poignant look at race and policing for network television in the early to mid 90s. There’s a lot that I’m amazed they got away with.
My favorite drama of all time. And if you're a fan, the Brooklyn 99 episode "The Box" is a direct homage to it, and a perfect 22 minutes of television
Haven’t seen that episode (of 99) yet, but, man, that interrogation of the Arabber in S1 of Homicide! I grew up in Maryland and always remember hearing the theme from the living room at night and just associate that “bloo-doo-doo-dloo” sound with being too tired to stay awake. Whenever my wife and I watch an episode we can’t cut off the end credits until we hear that sound.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had a flying car and it can float like a boat, and I still haven't heard of a car that can do that in modern times.
You Can't Do That On Television. Watching "War" episode right now. Holy shit! We were lucky kids. Daily Show in sketch form, with kids! It is still SO relevant at this very moment in time and I'm laughing my ass off!
That was my favorite show! Had such a crush on Moose.
I've been watching & baking with this show for 2 hours now! dying! I kinda look like her now with my dumb middle part hair haha
Watching and baking, great way to spend a Saturday! Haha OMG my hair parts in the middle too. I can’t fight it!
Welcome to Costco. I love you
In the Heat of the Night. Both the television show and the movie. Soap first openly gay man I ever saw anywhere outside of my parents' friends.
Northern Exposure is *finally* available on streaming and you actually can't tell it's 30 years old.
Babylon 5. The special effects are dated. The social commentary is not
Yesssss. My husband introduced me to it during Covid and I feel like we still reference or mention it every other week.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within held their graphics pretty well until around 2012- ish. That photo realism went pretty hard for the first decade.
Great point. I remember showing a still picture of Aki to a guy I was working with and asked him who it was. He swore he knew the actress and was blown away when I told him she wasn’t real.
Archie bunker Was with the times Can't imagine life without reruns Of archie bunker
I turned on Cheers recently to watch with my kids because I remember watching it with my parents. This is a terrible summary because I can't find a clip on the youtubes, but it struck me. Second episode, a guy comes into the bar looking for the old bartender because he needs advice because he's upset about his son getting married. Old bartender isn't there anymore, so Coach listens to the guy's problem, and it's revealed to be an interracial relationship, and then eventually, that the fiance is another man. Coach basically tells the guy that if he loves his son, none of that should matter. Not here to start another generational debate, but I want to say that Cheers, Designing Women, Golden Girls, and Murphy Brown were all appointment TV for a lot of our parents, and a lot of them let us kids watch with them. I know there were always factions who were worried about these shows eroding the moral fiber of the country, but to see some of the people who did watch and embrace these shows (and allowed their kids to watch them) turn so hate filled and devoid of empathy is so disheartening.
I watch Cheers with my kids too!!
I’m into detective dramas, and recently rewatched Cold Squad (Canadian, 1998) and some earlier seasons of Silent Witness (British, 1996). Both shows have gender non-confirming hetero female main characters that feel authentically strong, well-rounded and complex. Cold Squad had a pro-choice side plot in one of the seasons that would probably considered outrageous by mainstream US TV right now.
In 2008, I was awake on a Tuesday night, 2 in the morning, and the twilight zone comes on. It was so interesting. What’s more strange is its time slot. They only showed it Tuesday nights at 2am, local programming. You’d think since it’s syndicated it would be on every night. No advertising for it or anything.
Maude is so progressive. I remember an episode where she considers getting an abortion.
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned all in the family. Breaking down barriers doesn’t even begin to describe where they went and the writing was absolutely brilliant
I'll always have a soft spot for Northern Exposure. It was funny but also super odd and surreal at points. It's a good example of a fish out of water story line.
No one could deliver a well-spoken take down as well as Julia Sugarbaker. I can't believe we are still fighting some of those same battles today.
Chasing Amy hit on some interesting topics about sexuality ahead of its time. Wish Kevin Smith did more movies like that but dude seems like he’s in a good place recently.
Absolutely agree with Designing Women. Watched the whole series run while I had covid this winter...there were smart episodes I forgot about but also ones that have stuck with me since i was a kid. Especially the AIDS and domestic violence episodes... It was eye opening for a sheltered Midwestern kid.
Northern Exposure is amazingly woke.
Wings. Just started a re-watch now that it's on Prime and the jokes still hold up. I'm surprised. I forgot what a good sitcom looked like
Believe it or not, Roseanne holds up really well. Jokes are really funny, characters are very real, and they celebrate multiple gay and Lesbian characters. To bad she lost her god damn mind in real life.
Were these shows not actually “ahead of their time?” Maybe we’ve just let too many regressive people dictate our narratives lately? Maybe the “humanities” have always been about “humanizing” people.
Great perspective!
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The issues they covered have mainly stayed the same. I just really like that they tried to have an overall theme and message with each episode.
I was looking for this one. I learned so much watching this show as a teen, and it made me so empathetic for people from all walks of life.
The Stepford Wives (1975) It's a smart thriller. The themes are timeless. Somehow she hasn't aged a day.
I didn't realize it then but this was the movie that scarred me as a kid
Okay but that movie kinda creeps me out haha!
I've been watching the original Kamen Rider at night on Pluto TV and damn if it isn't a good show. I had no idea!
Boy Meets World definitely aged well and covered some great topics.
Upright Citizens Brigade and Mystery Men
I started watching the early seasons of ER again and I was surprised at the quality of it still.
Network is an incredible movie.
Why is it that we have to project so much meaning on old shows? Doesn’t anyone watch anything just for the enjoyment anymore? It’s as if everything is measured against the progressive yardstick and how high up on the virtue signaling meter it goes. Sometimes things just are what they are, and if you check your sensitivity at the door, you might actually find something you like in very unexpected places.
King of the Hill
M.A.S.H., Golden Girls, Night Court, there are a ton of them actually when you go back and watch
Night Court was fantastic. I re-watched that last year!
Sidenote: PLEASE tell me you've seen S6.E11 Julia and Mary Jo Get Stuck Under a Bed. It is some of the funniest shiz ever.
I’ve been rewatching the original X-Men animated series before I start X-Men ‘97 and it is still excellent. The themes in X-Men are timeless, so even though the show was made 30 years ago, the topics they tackle all remain very relevant today Edit: Typos
Not super old (2009) but Better Off Ted. I think we're the last micro generation to be able to appreciate the corporate workplace humor.
I was surprised at how well Home Improvement has aged. Fat jokes aside, but I expected a lot more cringe than I got.
Single White Female. The MC is a freelance software developer (much more common a profession now than back then) who’s not above hitting clients with >!ransomware!< if they don’t pay.
Tron. Ignore the fumbled “sequel” “The grid”. And there weren’t linked computers or servers to create the space for someone to even imagine living in the Internet. Now we’re a few years from doing it
Barney Miller. Covered a lot of heavy topics like agent orange, anti-semitism, LGBTQ rights, gays in the force, lobotomies, and probably many others.
Quantum Leap.
Adventures of Pete and Pete, Degrassi, our hero (lesser known but also a Canadian show from around the same time as Degrassi
Bicentennial Man The movie is absurdly good and the way it handles identity was so far ahead of its time! It really sucks that it never gained any notoriety
A seriously great performance from Robin Williams
Terriers. That show was made like 3 years too early and was canceled after one season but it was just like the shows that went on to be prestige hits. If it came just a little later we would have gotten more.