Discussion of the Day
Programmes on Television
EnBird2424-Sep-23
I believe TV was much better to watch in the olden days, as it used to have heaps of children & family programmes compared to these days. I used to love the older shows more than now, remember any animal shows like Skippy, Rin-Tin-Tin, Lassie, Flipper or such good movies like Shirly Temple, TV shows like Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, Lost in Space etc. These were the best time growing up & you never forget them. What is there on TV that kids of today can grow up & remember the good shows that they used to watch. Not much. I have no idea to why old the old programs never come back as re-runs in today's world. What does anyone think of this topic? Should we have the old shows back on TV for our kids to see? Today's TV is full of drama, killings, etc. not the very best to see, unless you pay for your shows to be watched. Not everyone can afford this.
Comments
  • Looking back on these shows we think they were great but really many were thin in content and a bit hammy. I did watch a couple of the old series especially the one with Steve McQueen but they only had about 3 sets that they changed by adding a horse trough or a few tumble weeds etc. It was very basic. The kids of today would be bored out of their brains by these old shows. That was our time they now have theirs but yes I do agree the violence in some of the shows is way over the top but good parents should be able to limit this type of viewing. My kids for instance never saw Jaws until they were older even though many of their school friends did and were scared out of their skin to go into the beach again for ages.
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    • I find the programming on tv now is not as interesting as before, and the subjects offered as pandering to controversial issues.
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      • Yeah, I was thinking pay for a satellite dish with a company that allows you to pick what channels come in. It may not be as expensive as you think. I was just looking at my Dad's bill and what he actually watches, and we're getting his down to $42/month instead of $98. He only watches 10 channels and a couple of channels that get baseball. You can choose packages as low as $8./month. That's likely doable if you trade out something you don't really need - like buying coffee outside the home rather than making it at home, for example. Cable and satellite are more controlled, but there are also options like streaming with Netflix, Disney+, etc. I wish you success in your search:) I used to enjoy watching the old shows like The Waltons, Please Don't Eat The Daisies, High Chapparelle and Bonanza (westerns), and The Brady Bunch. Oh, and I Love Lucy. I agree that television was MUCH tamer and enjoyable back then. It has gone downhill so fast with all the violence, drugs, 'reality tv', so much junk on there and it really reflects how society is going. Down in values and morals and character and the horrible stuff somehow became entertainment.
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        • I remember the olden days....sitting with my family in a hovel...around the old clockwork TV......and mum having to keep winding it up all the time.......throwing chicken bones on the fire...them was the days!
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          • Such a picture... ! Roll out the Pianola ..
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        • Parents should watch the programme with the kids, and explain to them it needed be.
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          • Watched this when I was kid.
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            • I agree I prefer the old programs to what is available now.
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              • Good topic and I couldnt' agree more. The old shows were great. And I remember Lassie and Flipper as a child too. I remember some of the lyrics they sang at the beginning of the show "They call him Flipper. Flipper, faster than lightening, No you see is smarter than he"....:. Loved that show.
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                • I like watching my old shows that I grew up on watching during my childhood.
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                  • Well, I don't wish to watch or have the same interest in shows that I watched when I was a child. I have outgrown them.
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                    • TV was great until everything went woke...
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                      • i agree with EnBird24 also used to have walt disney on sunday suppertime very uplifting
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                        • I agree with EnBird24
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                          • PUT BACK THE OLD TV SHOWS,SO MUCH BETTER FOR KID'S TO WATCH AND HAVE FUN THEN WHAT'S ON TV NOW...!!!!!
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                            • Count how many tv shows per hour feature good guys with guns vs bad guys with guns. Can't imagine how gun use is increasingly becoming normalized in the USA.
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                              • hi, ty Irene
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                                • Gliilgans Island was always a must watch, and Monty Python also had a cult following
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                                  • I loved the Addams Family and I dream of genie when I was young couldn't wait to watch each day
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                                    • I agree with EnBird24. There were good shows back then.
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                                      • I am a bit of a TV addict and a little bit tight to buy pay per view. I use YouTube which has a lot of free old TV programs that take you back in time to the good old shows.
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                                        • The Andy Griffin show was my favorite show from long ago.
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                                          • I love the old tv shows. I’ve found a lot of them on streaming platforms. One of my favorites is The Waltons. There’s nothing new worth watching.
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                                            • Good shows come today and also in the past. Different sound and visual effects.
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                                              • Invest in Sky & you will get a lot of the old programmes.eg the Jones channels have a lot of old reruns & there is a family channel & Disney channel
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                                                • Depending on where you are, the old shows and movies do get repeated. Here in New Zealand, "Friends" and "The Simpsons" have both been on almost continuous repeat since they first aired, although keep swapping between the two different networks as deals change. Sky TV here also has the "Jones!" and "Jones! Too" channels which are especially for repeats of old shows (as well as the very occasional new season of "Still Open All Hours" for some peculiar reason). Many of the old movies / shows have passed their copyright restriction dates and are available on The Internet Archive at https://archive.org although the quality often isn't great and they can be difficult to find.
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                                                  • There are some good shows today and some bad some in yesteryear. The problem these days is that shows and movies tend to have too much pointless swearing, sex scenes, and over-the-top violence. :-(
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                                                    • we are lucky to have you tube premium is 25 a month but all the old shows are there and the grand kids love them
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                                                      • I loved Flipper Lassie etc but don't know about being in "the olden days"!!
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                                                        • They won’t watch black and white fuzzy pictures
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                                                          • Totally agree
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                                                            • Absolutely agree with you. In fact the only thing I watch now is music such as the talent shows from different countries.
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                                                              • Agree a bit. I think all the good ideas have been taken so it's more difficult to come up with something fresh and engaging. I think cartoon network channel has changed over the years and feel like the older cartoons were better - Tom Cat, Wacky Racers, Tin Tin, Dink the Little Dinosaur, Flintstones, Jetsons. All these cartoons have mainly been replaced with stuff that looks like it would have been on Adult Swim back in the days. That's the culture change I guess, maybe that's what kids these days find more engaging? Otherwise they're not coming up with fresh, engaging ideas anymore.
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                                                                • HI Helena H,, HAVE FUN..!!!
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                                                                  • I agree with you the old shows should come back for the kids I loved them when I was a kid
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                                                                    • CAPTAIN PUGWASH : :MR. MAGOO
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                                                                      • nobody wants to see the same old stuff over and over,, things change, the world changes,, i like the new shows and films,, way better graffix etc than back in the day,,
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                                                                        • I love wide range of shows
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                                                                          • SERIOUSLY?! I did not grow up watching TV or going to Theaters! I do not have KIDS! MY suggestion is try becoming a PARENT and not let TV programmers raise your CHILD(REN)!
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                                                                            • View all 6 replies
                                                                            • Wow! Was that really necessary?
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                                                                            • BLACK LIVES MATTERLinda B 907610
                                                                              Hi Linda B 907610. YES - it was really necessary! Because when you become a parent, then it is the responsibility of the parent to raise their kids not TV programmers.
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                                                                            • Linda B 907610BLACK LIVES MATTER
                                                                              I watched TV as a child and my parents still raised me! Nobody is suggesting that anyone is leaving the raising of children to TV. For someone that says they don't have children, you're very opinionated! All that was suggested is that the old programs we watched as children were more wholesome than today's rubbish. You need to get off your soapbox!
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                                                                            • BLACK LIVES MATTERLinda B 907610
                                                                              In 'your' opinion (not everybody opinion) TV programs were more wholesome (once upon a time - HAHA - which is pure BS) and you need to get off your 'soapbox'! I was expressing my opinion - which you did not like - TOUGHT!
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                                                                            • I understand what you are saying Walter and thoroughly agree with you and yes of course you can state your opinion without being criticised !!
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                                                                            • THANKS :-))!
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                                                                          • I don't think today's kids would watch what we watched. They are more interested in online influencers and reality shows. Stuff that we find ridiculous. I am gobsmacked at what my teenage step-daughters are allowed to watch! Even if it had been available in our day, my parents would never have let me watch the stuff they watch.
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                                                                            • Ure right
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                                                                              • I agree with you, values have changed and there are no wholesome program's anymore. We as kids were outside and played after school after a chore or two was done after school. Didn't have a tv until I was about 10, and then it was only for an hour after dinner, if dad had some shillings to put in the slot. Frustrating would be watching something and it would just go off ! No making a fuss though, just how it was.
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                                                                                • I absolutely agree with you. Amazing times. I'm very nostalgic about them.
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                                                                                  • I t.oo agree with you
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                                                                                    • I loved TV and the shows that we watched back then.
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                                                                                      • What about The Beverly Hillbillys....Jethro was a classic and pretty witty script that you had to keep up with at times. Mash was well written and still on TV. Not sure I want to watch it anymore than I have already though!
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                                                                                        • TY Zebra
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                                                                                          • I don't watch TV much these days, only the news & NFL as there's too much crap so called reality.
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                                                                                            • I mainly just watch the news now days on TV, and some sport. I just can't bare adds. Since the internet and computers came I have just watched TV less. Of course I watch old shows to pass time.
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                                                                                              • I agree the old tv was better for children
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                                                                                                • I miss the Midday Movies,and the movie reviews. I was sick as a young child and looked forward to seeing them every day. From silver screen,musicals,comedic and even Elvis movies. Some of the t.v shows will never be screened again I believe because the culture of society has changed. Not that they are violent,but because women are spoken to,or treated differently or cast in submissive roles. I believe they still have value looking back on the way things were. But will not be accepted by the current generation.
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                                                                                                  • What about Run Joe Run, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Petticoat Junction, Beverley Hillbillies, Flipper, Lassie, Fury, Skippy, Family Affair, Dick Van Dyke, Real McCoys, Danny Thomas Show, Patty Duke Show, Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle and the list goes on. All good clean shows.
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                                                                                                    • yeah way better back in the 60's---90's because OMG we now have to push all the crap, gay, lesbian, autistic, non binary - whatever that is, no such thing as black and white or male and female anymore
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                                                                                                      • Absolutely they were so much better, Life back then was simpler and care free than today. We wonder why young boys are running around the streets with axes, wanting some thing to kill. I guess boys want to feel that, taking a life. Shouldn't the parents be saying don't because once some thing is dead it doesn't come back. It's not like the movies. TV is our only entertainment too as we also can't afford pay tv so we get what we get. We do record movies to watch when there isn't any thing on tv so that helps. We still have some good shows we like now like The Masked Singer, The Voice, The Amazing Race, I am a celebrity get me out of here, Australia's Got Talent good family fun to watch. I enjoy programs from here too like Summer House, Savage River, Packet to the Rafters, Winners and Losers, A place to call Home. Was certainly upset when a few went to pay tv so we never saw the endings. Oh well never mind.
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                                                                                                        • i agree the older shows were the best they had clean acting not like today guns and killing drugs family shows were the best
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                                                                                                          • hi ty JENNY....
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                                                                                                            • It seems you have grown up
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                                                                                                              • I agree to older shows were the best yes the old shows should come back some already have
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                                                                                                                • I have seen The Addams family back on tv up on 9Gem in the arvos. Good to see after all these years. Shame is that many old programs may offend people these days, as in the old days, anything went!
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                                                                                                                  • Older shows were better as far as kindness, morals and manners were concerned. The only thing that irks me was how women deferred to men, like in Bewitched and I dream of Jeannie. I loved these shows and still do but I cringe when these men keep assert they are the boss. Couldn't Samantha just zapped Darrin into a big pile of manure when he got uppity? I'm lucky I have bought a lot of old TV on DVD and I can watch those.
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                                                                                                                    • A lot of those type of shows have aged badly - one of the worst was the honeymooners with Ralph's catchphrase "one of these days, Alice - Pow! Right in the kisser!" - imagine doing that today, although they did have shows with strong female characters like The Beverly Hillbillies with Ellie May and granny.
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                                                                                                                  • love the old UK crime dramas eg Vera, Endeavour etc all for free on Channels 72 and 92
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                                                                                                                    • The old shows were entirely unrealistic. Did you ever see a family with a super dog, an absolutely perfect family life, no shouting at each other, any people of colour? Please, they were just white dream sequences or as the conservatives say "just indoctrination?"
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                                                                                                                      • View all 4 replies
                                                                                                                      • So we missed out on people swearing at one another and shouting no less? Don't think so !! I hate watching todays TV where everyone swears and talks about toilet habits. For Heavens sake - is this entertainment? We all know what happens in a household and we watch the TV enactments to laugh or learn - not a mirror image...TV, like it's toilet talk, has gone down the drain.
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                                                                                                                      • Shawn B 1061185Terry S 676925
                                                                                                                        I'm so sorry that all you can garner from today's TV shows is the foul language. Commentaries on real life are often uncomfortable for the unenlightened, or more precisely, the "unwoke." Life is hard and ignoring the reality means there is no chance of any change coming about. Things only get worse. Is that what you're after?
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                                                                                                                      • My daughter and daughter-in-law work in different TV channels so when I say TV shows are encouraged to make headlines for the ratings and bugger sensitivities, I ACTUALLY KNOW what I'm talking about.
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                                                                                                                      • Shawn B 1061185Terry S 676925
                                                                                                                        Absolutely! That's why, when crime statistics show a drop in certain types of crime, the stations try and find as many examples as possible (of the decreasing crime) to try and scare you more afraid than you may already be. Then of course, the advertisers ramp up their "home security" stuff to try and give you a false sense of security. It's a fear based society out there folks.
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                                                                                                                    • The shows were more 'wholesome' back in the day.. Kids see too much too soon these days...
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                                                                                                                      • HI TY TERRY
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                                                                                                                        • I like some shows that are on today. But I do agree the older ones were better. No violence or bad language and there were often lessons learned in the shows of yesteryear.
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                                                                                                                          • Well Thunderbirds is being rerun to death these days about all that I can see but what they make for kids today have to be believable so Humphry B Bear got shafter along with Fat Cat and Fiends. From looking at what the nephews used to watch i t was all animated probably cheaper to make but even back when mum and dad first got a TV most of the shows where American so you got ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE's instead of Z and so many things that simply did not apply here that they where not worth watching at that time let alone today. Even the old Dick Tracy with his radio Wrist Watch ro call the office is today unbelievable because no one wears a wrist watch.
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                                                                                                                            • EnBird24,Did you know that there is a full animation feature film of Rin-tin-tin. I bought it quite a few years ago now for my son so he could see something that was more from my gen. He loved it.
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                                                                                                                              • I used to watch TV when I was a kid and I remember any old school TV shows are Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, old Crawford's cop shows, Grundy quiz shows, early Neighbours and Home and Away from the beginning, The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters, A Country Practice, Young Talent Time, Hey Hey It's Saturday, Countdown, VFL football shows are World of Sport and League Teams, TV sitcoms are The Naked Vicar Show, Kingswood Country and Mother and Son. It's much better watching today's contemporary TV shows are on now except for AFL, Melbourne Cup and Australian Open.
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                                                                                                                              • The TV stations have become extraordinarily Lazy! All they can think of is as to how cheaply they can operate but at the same time they want to attract viewers. they do this by showing ALL the horrible things that are going on around the world as often as possible, with the so-called Journalists breathlessly telling us all the gory details. In Australia on the ABC it is all repeats, all about houses which the majority haven't a hope in hell of ever living in, SBS can think of nothing other than Cycling, Ch10 is all Cheap American garbage, Ch7 is all repeats, unless you wait up until the wee small hours when you get great new programmes such as Law & Order UK. Ch9 is all repeats and both Ch7 and Ch9 simply broadcast Repeats of shows which were once on the ABC! Then when they have cycled through them all they simply run the tape again and again. How many times have shows like New Tricks, Midsomer Murders, Endeavour, Lewis, Morse, Frost, Frasier, Seinfeld, Louis Theroux to mention but a few been repeated? The more violence the better seems tobe be the mantra of all of them.
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                                                                                                                                • There is one particular repeat I wish was thrown in the deepest cesspit there was and then set fire to. And that is Friends. It has been done to death on NZ channels. .
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                                                                                                                              • I was born in the earlys 80s and I agree with you, TV shows were better used to love full house., 7th heaven, touched by an angel, party of five, Alf, z lost in space and many more. Now days TV shows have to much swearing, and sex.
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                                                                                                                                • It is a shame most of those shows can be watched on pay tv today. Maybe that is why you have to pay they were that good.
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                                                                                                                                  • I agree
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                                                                                                                                    • They where just nice shows to watch no swearing or killing
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                                                                                                                                      • 1 word for TV now = Rubbish
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                                                                                                                                        • All we get now are reality shows. Love island etc,married at first sight,the Ks,desperate housewives.yes some good old shows but long gone.
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                                                                                                                                          • I loved all the old shows such as flipper, Addams family etc shows of today have too much killing all the old were so much better for kids
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                                                                                                                                            • we now can choose more programs with thenew appts
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                                                                                                                                              • EnBird in total agreement
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                                                                                                                                                • Cool topic...i miss those golden days of wholesome sometimes sickly sweet tv too...but there are still some pretty awesome shows on now...my faves are ghosts, everything from ricky gervais and most other english comics and the discovery and history channels. The advent of reality tv brought a tsunami of desperado wannabes and were the bain of many an actor desperate to develop their craft on tv...but ultimately leading to a host of these disgruntled actors carving out their own niches and writing their own stories. This coupled with the proliferation of streaming services meant a planet of viewers could access their shows whenever and whereever they wanted. Sadly this has meant that tv watching as a cultural phenomenon that at one point in time united families and communities as they gathered around their sets to enjoy a weekly show, is now no longer that. I can still find reruns of dukes of hazard, wonder woman, charlies angels, bionic woman, six million dollar man, love boat and the hillbillies, so I'm happy
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                                                                                                                                                  • I grew up with the old tv shows. They were down to earth and high quality. They were shows the whole family could enjoy. These days you get mainly reality shows and they are not as good. Wish some of the old shows we grew up with could be brough back.
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                                                                                                                                                    • TV was our family fun together. I can remember my Dad who was very strait laced banning the Mavis Brampton Show as "not suitable for children"! I was about 16 and by the time I did see some of it and laughed at the slightly rude jokes, there were more programs with much raunchier subjects. Can't we be light hearted about TV any more.
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                                                                                                                                                      • Also the black and white movies had meaning in their words
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                                                                                                                                                        • I miss the old tv shows, sad what has become of tv now, all about reality shows, its a joke, its boring and not worth what we pay for Sky monthly, just repeats all the time. Though Jones and Jones 2 on sky have the older tv shows.
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                                                                                                                                                          • I love the old shows..but remember there are things in those shows that this generation look down on too.. Smoking, swearing and even some of the jokes. We could stomach alot more back then. This generation are too sensitive
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                                                                                                                                                            • I simply don’t watch tv anymore.
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                                                                                                                                                              • One of the old movies. His, hers & theirs.Mum was a widow, Dad was a widower, they got married and had a baby together. another was "the long long road" The wife kept collecting rocks everywhere they stopped until the vehicle just wouldn't tow the caravan up a hill at all, he threw out more than large mound of rocks - and that was only some of them. The vehicle would go up hill them
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                                                                                                                                                                • The movie was "The Long Long Trailer" starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez.
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                                                                                                                                                              • Not watch much, youtube is better
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                                                                                                                                                                • I don't watch TV any more.....nothing worth watching...I stream my entertainment
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                                                                                                                                                                  • I like old day when "off couple" it's was amazing
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                                                                                                                                                                    • I agree with you completely, TV was better in my childhood. There was no bad language, no sex and no bloody murders. We lived in a blissful world where we were allowed to have a childhood. Right was right and wrong was wrong and there was no grey area, Superman would always save the day. Around the 70's the so called educators graduated from uni and decided for us that children should not grow up thinking everything will work out for the best and that they should not be taught about God but sex instead. Noddy and Big ears were perverts and we can't have a golly wog. Children should know that you die, can be murdered and all sorts of horrible things can happen to you so stranger danger dialled up full speed. No more fairy tales or dreaming of meeting a prince. I couldn't believe a mother told her son that Prince Charming was molesting Snow White. How sad is that. Children are now confronted with the horrible facts of life, and it's cruel in my opinion. They are afraid of climate change, endangered species and being buried alive underneath piles of rubbish. They get political correctness, gender issues and now having to apologise to indigenous people for stealing their land. Is it any wonder young people feel that they have no hope, they need drugs, are depressed and have high rates of suicide. On the other hand, how are we coping, we who grew up with Superman and fairy tales? Very well thank you.
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                                                                                                                                                                      • Oh I agree wholeheartedly with your Words !
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                                                                                                                                                                      • Paula J 395266Bev M 90375
                                                                                                                                                                        What was offered back then was entertainment.
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                                                                                                                                                                    • If I want to watch a good movie or show I google one from yesteryear for free.
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                                                                                                                                                                      • Not reruns, Why can't good series be made ????
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                                                                                                                                                                        • Old days were the best remember black and white tellies shows were great Charlie Caplan was great
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                                                                                                                                                                          • Totally agree with you. Now a days shows are rubbish. The children shows were so much better.
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                                                                                                                                                                            • Totally agree. Our cartoons were so much more colourful than today's boring dull colours. Bring back Scooby Doo, The Flintstones etc!
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                                                                                                                                                                              • They are still making Scooby Doo, but the show has become woke. One of the characters has "come out". Why can't they just make kids' shows that are fun to watch, without including politically correct messages.
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                                                                                                                                                                              • Robert F 1161011Paul G 348946
                                                                                                                                                                                Yeah, the newer versions of older cartoons like Scooby-Doo and Inspector Gadget are the worst.
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                                                                                                                                                                            • The Waltons...so good. We were rewatching last year.
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