Most of you probably know I’m a TV junkie. (I’m not the only one around here, I know.)
During the summer, because there are no new episodes airing, we typically watch DVD collections of our favorite series. Right now, we are working our way through all of Lost; we are just finishing up season 2, and we still have a long way to go. (Season 6 comes out on DVD next week! Whoop!) Dexter Season 4 came out this week, and I know we’ll watch that, but we don’t have it yet.
Anyway, sometimes I get tired of watching the same show and we’ll switch to something else. Tonight (Monday, as I write this) it was The X Files. 
I have Seasons 1-7 on DVD, and yesterday, Amazon had a special for $13.99 per season—so I scooped up seasons 8 and 9, and we now have the entire series. Feeling inspired to catch up on it again, I just popped in a disc from season 3 and we watched all the episodes. I had forgotten how much I LOVE this show!
The same can’t always be said for every series. Some hold up better than others, as we discovered when we bought the entire collection of the show Moonlighting. We got through the 2 hour pilot (making the girls watch with us) and they were pretty surprised that it was ever picked up, much less that it became a hit. Yes, that fabulous chemistry between Maddie and David was there from the beginning, but the show itself was pretty bad.
The girls were a little more appreciative of Twin Peaks, and of Soap, but didn’t share my adoration of Land of the Lost (not the stupid movie, the original TV show) 
or of Bruce’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker (an old show from the 60’s that I’d never even heard of, with Darren McGavin—best known as the father from A Christmas Story.) It was a precursor to The X Files, and I could appreciate its campiness, but the kids just didn’t get it.
I dread to think what will happen when I make them sit through Dark Shadows, which I have heard is coming out on DVD soon. Can’t wait! 
What about you? Do you ever go back and watch old TV shows? What’s your favorite, and what do you recommend?
Leslie Kelly used to say she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up, but then she discovered Nancy Drew books. Being a flashlight-under-the-covers-nose-in-book reader throughout her childhood, she couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do as an adult than continue to lose herself in fictional stories. Her real life marriage of 20 years to the man of her dreams is a constant reinforcement that happily-ever-afters really can happen…and that they’re worth writing about. Living in Maryland, Leslie spends her non-writing time laughing a lot with the above-mentioned romance hero and their three daughters. Though an author of more than thirty sexy, contemporary comedies, she has recently branched out to write dark romantic suspense under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.
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I actually find a lot of things in the summer to watch because of USA. I love their shows. And I use the time to catch up on the end of the season of all my other stuff still sitting on the DVR.
Lost comes out today.
I can’t wait for Dark Shadows- they are doing the dvds since Burton is doing the movie with Depp. Can’t wait for that to hit the theaters! Loved NightStalker too- too bad the remake didn’t make it. And I had to get the Moonlight DVD when it came out even tho it was only 1 season. I hope that they fired whoever decided to cancel that show.
I have been buying House and MadMen on DVD and need to catch up on those too. And I got Netflixx and have had no time to watch anything. Hoping to next month when we go camping.
My problem is that there is so much I want to watch I don’t have time to fit it all in.Still haven’t seen the end of Lost. How lame is that???
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Actually I am probably one of the few for whom the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton bloom is off the rose. I was really disappointed to hear they were teaming up to do Dark Shadows. I’ll probably see it, but still…
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That is one of my Spawns ultimate goal is to work for them and Tarantino
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I’m catching up on shows. Just finished season 1 of Cougar Town – love it! – and before that was season 2 of Dexter. Not as good as the 1st season but enjoyable. I’m also catching season 2 of Battle Star Galactica, and a slow re-watch of Buffy, which I own. I also own seasons 1-4 of Supernatural. And Julie James persuaded me to add 24 to my Netflix too.
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And Angel. Grr-Arrgh.
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My girls are doing the whole Buffy/Angel thing. I’ve never watched them regularly, but have definitely enjoyed a few episodes here and there.
One of “their” shows that I ended up really loving was Veronica Mars!
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I loved Veronica Mars and was sad to see it go by the wayside. Les, I loved Land of the Lost. I would re-watch, Land of the Giants and The Plante of the Ape (original version of course) again. This summer I pretty much sat in front of USA and caught up on Burn Notice. It was always good to watch L&O:SVU and NCIS too, with a little Cold Case thrown in.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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I love some of the older shows like
Murder She Wrote, Columbo, MacGyver, Matlock and of course Perry Mason.
I also like Dexter, NCIS, and CSI. My favorite right now is Big Bang Theory which I have watched with my sons so many times we know the characters lines by heart.
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Do you remember to pause at the end to read the vanity cards (or you can get them online)? They are sometimes just as funny as the show.
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yes, my son pointed them out to me. you are right they are funny.
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I LOVED!! Land of the Lost. Sometimes, if I’m really annoyed with someone, I’ll make the Sleestack sound.
They have no clue what I’m doing, but it amuses me and I’m able to let go of my frustration with them easier. This usually being my kids or husband or inlaws, not random people on the street!
I used to never watch TV, but then I discovered NCIS. If I watch anything, it’s that. I have the first 2 seasons on DVD, but they play them so often on USA, that by the time we watch all the ones we have DVR’d we don’t have time to watch the DVDs.
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Brenda Chin is another big Land of the Lost fan–which was funny because a line about that show in my very first book caught her eye when she was reading off the slush pile! Gave us a connection long before we ever met.
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I don’t really watch TV any more. Sometimes, I’ll flip on to watch an episode of Seinfeld or Friends and I could seriously watch the entire collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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My hubby and I like to watch TVLand and tune in to see Sanford and Son. Still funny. I was watching the old Love Boat episodes on cable for a while but they took them off. I remember watching them as a kid on Saturday night followed by Fantasy Island with my family….
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I got the entire Partridge Family on DVD. So funny watching those old TV Shows!
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I still have all my old vinyls of theirs too
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Any one else looking forward to the remake of Hawaii 5-0?
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I have heard it is good (Hawaii 5-0, the new series).
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*raises hand*
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As soon as I heard Jin from Lost was going to be in it I got very excited!
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We do a one hour “movie time’ each night before bed with the boys. I think it is so my husband can watch the old shows. We’ve watched all of the Krofft Brother’s series (like “Land of the Lost”, etc) and now, we are watching old episodes of “Amazing Race” (good geography learning and then learning about some ‘culture’ things). Nothing was funnier when I was in Paris with my folks this summer and I would say, “well, on the “Amazing Race” when they were in Paris, blah, blah, blah”. It’s made it so my boys want to travel now.
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I have yet to get into that show, though I hear about it all the time from family–I love to travel, so I’d probably liike it.
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It’s fun, Leslie (TAR). I love to travel and you learn a little bit of culture/history about places (has made me interested in travelling to some places I would not have thought of). PLUS, it has helped me when I travel (in airports). LOL.
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There are some terrific shows out right now that are first run: Leverage, The Glades, Memphis Beat, Flashpoint, and Rizzoli and Isles. I DVR them. Old shows…I have Twin Peaks on DVD. I never watched it the first time around but can appreciate it now for the campy weirdness. Oh, Miami Vice! Have all the seasons of it. LOVE it! There was a quirky little show called Key West. We managed to get our hands on some old copies of it.
Like Ev, I’m looking forward to Hawaii 5-0. Loved the original and Lawyer Guy and I still say, “Book ‘em, Dano!” and crack up. We’ll be watching the premier with bated breath, hoping they say it just once.
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I love Burn Notice too.
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Loved Twin Peaks…Kyle MCLaughlin was sooooo hot. I am lovin’ Rizzoli & Isles too, Silver. Last night’s episode was great.
I will give the new Hawaii 5-0 a try, but I am still partial to the old one. I got quite nostalgic when I saw the building where it was filmed when I had gone to HI.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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I have been watching Charmed and I love it. I didn’t watch it when it was on but now I don’t miss it, and even tape the episodes.
I also love Malcom in the Middle, its another classic comedy that I love to watch over and over.
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Count me in for Hawaii Five 0.
For old tv shows, I love to watch MacMillan and Wife, Emergency and Magnum P.I. I am so excited about Dark Shadows coming out on DVD.
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About the only old TV show I ever see is I Love Lucy! They are just classic & apparently timeless!!
Currently I love Flashpoint but wish it was on before 10 pm because nothing much is on before that! I have never understood why TV is so crappy on Friday & Saturday nights. I’m sure there are people that love some of the shows that are on but there isn’t much that appeals to me. I only have Basic Cable so there is a lot of the cable networks I don’t get. The nights when nothing appeals to me I watch a Netflix movie or read! 
I am looking forward to the new fall programs starting. I’ve heard good things about the new Hawaii Five 0, the old one was a favorite. I’m hoping some of the new ones I want to watch don’t conflict with programs I already love! Time will tell. 
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Twilight Zone and Star Trek. Two of my all time favorites!
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We watched a couple of episodes of the first season of the original Star Trek the other day!
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I am a tv junkie too…..actually don’t watch a whole lot in first run. Prefer to get a season at a time and watch back to back. Currently watching 1st season of Chuck and 1st season of Angel.
Can’t wait for last season of HOUSE to hit the shelves. I think the release date is Aug 31st. LOVE LOVE LOVE that show. Saw some of the episodes last year but missed just as many so really looking forward to it.
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Looking forward to the remake of Hawaii 5-0…(book em’ Daniel), the previews look good, we’ll have to wait and see. Use to like Stoney Burke, also with Jack Lord (Hawaii 5-0 fame) it was about rodeo circut riders… Dark Shadows, now there’s a blast from the past, who could forget Barnabas Collins, Angelique and the rest of the blood suckers…
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MASH is always good too
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I was talking to my Dad the other day and things got a little “political” and he said, “Sometimes I’m just tempted to turn off Fox News and watch Mash or something.” I am already planning to somehow find Mash and make sure I give it to him for Christmas!
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It’s out there. We have it. Hubby took it with him when he went to the hospital for heart surgery, along with his dvd player.
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I love watching old shows, although some of them don’t wear well. I remember thinking Airwolf was the coolest when I was a kid. But, I saw a rerun recently and it was pretty bad. Of course you expect the effects to be lame compared to today, but the acting was pitiful.
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I agree that I love X-files. I also go back and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Forever Knight
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I only watch old shows if they are on TV when I’m channel surfing. For whatever reason, I haven’t been paying any attention to network TV in years (except the occasional Dancing With the Stars).
I’m looking forward to the new Hawaii 5-O as well.
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I’m over in Ireland, so some of my must watches are old BBC programmes…. ‘Only fools and horses’, a comedy about a family always trying to get ahead in life… if you can check out youtube for Del boy falling in the wine bar, cleaning the chandalier, etc… if must be 20 years old but cable replay it daily.
Mash is one I’m watching again, its so poignant alongside the humour, thankfully here they cut the canned laughter, and it makes it better.
Buffy I do watch again and again, and I’m hoping that Battlestar Galactica will soon start the re-runs that most Sci-Fi series get.
Up to date, gotta admit my most recent must watch are My Name is Earl and Big Bang Theory… intellectually miles apart, but close together in humour.
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Dark Shadows used to be shown daily just after the boys came home from
school. We all watched the show together and eldest son David is still a fan.
(Even if he did watch the show by peeking around the buffet!) LOL! I will
have to watch for the release of the DVDs!! It would be a great Christmas
gift!
Pat Cochran
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with the exception of Dexter and Lost, I’ve not seen any of the above shows yet; but I like & recommend Weeds with the crazy Nancy Botwin character; plus Silas is hot!lol
I’ve also been catching up with Grey’s Anatomy which I hadnt watched since season 3, and just saw Moonlight which only had one season cuz of the writer’s strike but was really sweet. And True Blood has been all new episodes this summer too. My mom got me into watching this show called Celebrity Ghost Stories on Biography and Michael Urie’s story is awesome! As for really old shows, my boyfriend and I love to see Roseanne and All in the Family which are really funny, but havent gotten too much farther than season 3 in them both so far.
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how old are we talking here? MASH is my favorite oldie to watch…and I can watch it all day, probably know all the episodes by heart and I can’t even watch two minutes of the episode where henry blake dies without bawling like a friggin baby… also, little house on the prairie still holds appeal, but my favorite older but not too old show would be THE NANNY..My daughters and I stay up all night watching it when it’s on plus we have the DVDs of the seasons that we share with my mom whos addicted as well..lmao
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Love The Nanny too! And Golden Girls. Humor that never grows old!!
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Kolchak, now there’s a memory!
Now that you mention it, it was a pre-cursor to The X Files. I hadn’t thought of it ’til now. Is there such a thing as a 30-year senior moment? LOL!
To me, though, Darren McGavin will always be Kolchak. I’ve never seen A Christmas Story, and didn’t know he was in it.
Thanks for posting this up. You have a really nice blog here!
Steve
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BURN NOTICE&WHITECOLLAR!!!!!!!!
They are both sooooo amazing!Plus the main characters are 
.If your looking for something a little more paranormal there’s always WAREHOUSE13!LOVE all of them!You should give ‘em a try 
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You can usually count on USA Network, TNT, and even A&E and a couple of others to come up with some good Summer Doldrums entertainment. I’ve seen Burn Notice, and it IS really good. Haven’t seen the other two, but now I’m keeping my DVR peeled LOL!
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I LOVED Kolchak!! Great story, great writing. We’re tv/movie junkies at our house, and I got my daughters hooked on “Forever Knight”, “Beauty & the Beast”, “Night Gallery” (which scared the bejeepers out of them), “Twilight Zone” and “Dead Like Me”. We also have an extensive collection of old B movies, and the kids will invite their friends over for a MST3K style marathon. It’s so funny watching “Tarantula” or “The Creeping Eye”, and listening to the comments from a bunch of teens. The Dark Shadows that’s coming out, is it the old one that was a soap opera, or the newer version that came out in the 1990s? I thought the original had already come out, but maybe that was on VHS.