Programmes that have aged poorly and programmes that have aged well?

[HaveYouHadYourBreak]

What programmes that you loved have surprised you on rewatching?

I've just finished the first series of This Life and was surprised at how well it has aged for the most part (but so much smoking!). It was refreshing to see people with imperfect teeth and pubic hair and wobbly bums living in a grotty house share past their early 20s. I'm re-living my youth with the music too.

But Coupling! Oof! I remember it being really good but some clips I've seen (like making sex videos without consent and the way women are talked about) demonstrate exactly why I've never seen any re-runs.

Still relevant. The thick of it. It doesn’t matter what party is in power, I’m sure they’re all like this.
Sadly outdated (although I wish it wasn’t). Howard’s way.

Yes love the music too! I managed to find all of the DVDs years ago and recently found the soundtrack by Vonda Shepard in two different charity shops. Bought both of the CDs one for indoors and one for the car - so many great uplifting songs to sing along to.

The Thick of it was and still is absolutely brilliant and so was Veep - you never needed to know what side of the isle they were representing - both were equally awful 🤭.

Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby is up there with any of TV and movie history's most brilliant pieces of casting. They don't write comedy like they used to, sadly.

Dinnerladies has aged beautifully

On the buses was crap at the time ..I hated it even as a kid.
Porridge was genius ..loved it.

Till death us do part and Love thy neighbour definitely haven’t aged well

I actually caught a program this morning called “oh Dr Beeching “ from 95 about a train station , I’ve never seen it before but in one clip 2 girls were going on on their bikes and the father remarked on his girls short skirt , a neighbour poked his head out of an upstairs window asking who had a short skirt and to wait a minute while he put his glasses on to have a look , he came back with his glasses and said how he never got to see the girl in the short skirt . It was so cringy and just shows how not that long ago girls were still fair game for men to ogle at .

Yes prime minister is still brilliant, I relisten to it on bbc sounds whenever it's on.
Open all hours , porridge, only fools and horses, are all great.
Rising damp , alf garnett , mrs browns boys are terrible but I thought they were they 1st time round too.

Rewatching Dawson's Creek for the first time in 10 years and it feels like series 1 was shot on 1.5x speed because everyone is speaking faster and at a higher pitch than I remember. Still sort of enjoying it though.

I think the Thick of It is timeless, but haven't had a watch through in a couple of years.

Little Britain has not aged well, although it was very popular when it was first on. Mocking weak stereotypes isn’t “acceptable humour” any more.

Most of Fawlty Towers is still very relevant: customer service, class snobbery, couples who hate each other, and is a masterclass in comic writing and timing. Certain practical things have dated: young viewers say “it’s weird to see them smoking indoors”, or Basil and Sybil in separate beds: there used to be strict rules about showing couples in the same bed on TV. There is of course the bumbling Major’s casual racism, and it has often been pointed out that the show is mocking the Major, not the people he refers to; and similarly, the Germans: the show does not mock the Germans, but Basil’s attitude to them.

Another vote for Porridge aging well. Reportedly, prisoners loved the show, because of how real it was. The video orderly would have the important duty of taping it.

Edited to add: with Fawlty Towers, there is a lot of physical violence: Basil to manuel, and Sybil to Basil, all played for laughs, but does that make uncomfortable viewing now?

I think Buffy aged quite well, not perfectly, you view the characters differently with a modern eye (likely like Xander less and will raise an eyebrow more to Buffy and Angel than I remembered doing in 2003!) and I know Joss Wheden and the way he wrote for some female characters isn’t great, but when you compare it to shows like Friends it was far more progressive in how it displayed lesbian relationships. And Buffy just being an awesome strong female. It doesn’t make me flinch like some shows of that time. And I still enjoy it.

We tried to watch Game On again recently. Unbearably sexist.

Star Trek DS9 and Voyager- I thought they were rocking it at the time with female captains and black captains, lesbians etc.

But now rewatching all the lingering close ups of female characters breasts in super tight clingy outfits is very jarring.

The Young Ones - l thought it was fab when l was a kid and it's beyond awful now. Totally agree about The Good Life, my Mum loved it and l'm Team Margo all the way! Barbara should have battered Tom with a shovel and buried him under the brassicas ... ( l think l was probably forced to watch the DVD more than was healthy )

Keeping up appearances is very fondly remembered, and has mostly aged well. Just imagine if Hyacinth had been on Mumsnet, or Facebook, or had been a Covid marshal!

It breaks my heart into tiny pieces to say it, but The West Wing hasn't aged well. The early series have some very patronising attitudes, but the main thing is that - due to You Know Who - what once seemed aspirational and idealistic about government now seems horribly naive.

I watched an episode last week. I agree that it’s very dated and un PC, but I still think it’s funny. I think Only Fools and Horses has aged well, and Benidorm, although it’s not nearly as old as some of the other programmes mentioned.

I came on to see Little Britain but someone beat me to it!

Yes Minister/Prime Minister hasn't aged a day - there's something about comedy based on clever wordplay (and a fairly cynical worldview) that just doesn't age as much.

It was. My favourite comedy ever.

Next Generation is worse. 2 female characters, one is a doctor and one a counsellor. And the counsellor mysteriously always has her tits out.

The Good Old Days - it was out of fashion years ago but it's still really good fun

Thank you! I hated it even at the time because of the character of Tom, and everyone said I wasn't understanding the show.

I think Deanna’s outfits are modest in comparison to Leeta’s and Seven of Nine’s