OLD TV SERIES

Doesn’t look like there’s been a lot of action on here recently.

Anyway, which old TV series did you enjoy, be they British or American, from the 70s and 80s?

I’ve been binge watching, London’s Burning on You Tube which started in the 80s and I think it’s a brilliant series. I never watched it back then, so I’m really enjoying it now, and I’m on Series 10 of 11.

Which old TV series would you like to watch again? Columbo, for me, but it isn’t available on You Tube.

I like columbo and its on free tv every Sunday afternoon channel 46 I think but, they put the same episodes on time and time again,

my favs are the early Jordie's going to work in Germany in the 1970's
Auf Wiedersehen Pet

The Beverly Hill Billies is another program as funny today as it was in the 1960's, Available on free view channel 82 with an old one every Monday ,

Oh yes, that was a good one as well.

I’ve watched quite a few American ones like Barnaby Jones, Trapper John MD, Quincy ME, McCloud, Diagnosis Murder, and a few others which, compared to British ones, they’re a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the British ones have some sense of reality to a certain degree, so I’ve started on the British ones now.

A re-watch of Prime Suspect and Wire in the Blood are on my hit list.

I agree with you mollie, The yanks do good comedy albeit a bit too fast for me, The Simpsons for instance is, one quick gag after another and, I need to watch it a few times, The British do Drama better by a long chalk and the BBC are better by far,
Hollywood is now losing actors because, Netflix and Amazon prime are buying all the good actors and making , box collection series instead of movies, Its evolution

I can't stand American comedy as I don't find it funny, and I've never seen even just one episode of The Simpsons. I've seen little bits of it and it was more than enough to put me off with those ugly yellow faces and stupid voices.

I prefer a good drama, and I've seen some good ones on ITVX like Unforgotten, A Touch of Frost and Endeavour, etc which I can get me teeth into. I did enjoy the American ones I've seen, particularly Cannon, and Jake and the Fatman. I started to watch The Fugitive with David Janssen, but there weren't enough episodes as You Tube has a habit of removing even really old ones, but are still in copyright.

I stopped watching Tv for a good while because when Yvonne was still with me she would watch a programme one day and the day after it was on again and she wanted to watch it again because she had forgotten she had already watched it. I now use catch up TV and watch things like gardening nature and farming programmes. I used to like watching Frost/Endeavour

Hill St Blues for me every time..I just loved it and the intro music,and it was all filmed with a hand held camera,I always felt like I knew them all personally…I loved every minute of it.

yea Momac , I used to love that one too,

Hey, lets be careful out there !!!

Does anyone remember Hyram Holiday, something similar to an early Mr Bean. It was a little earlier than Gilligans Island and the hillbillies?

The original “All creatures great and small”.
How about “Dallas” wide shoulders an’all.

Try Still Game on youtube It's hilarious

Love thy neighbour...on the buses...catweazel.

Love thy neighbour, till death us do part, the comedians

Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, Rising Damp. Steptoe and Son, Til death do us part, etc, etc

I wasn’t thinking about sit-com series when I started this, but I’m glad they were brought up because they’re just as valid. I’ve watched Keeping Up Appearances, Waiting for God, George & Mildred, all of which are very funny. Hiram Holliday rang a distant bell but, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember anything about it, but I’ve looked it up on You Tube, so I’ll give that a watch when I’ve finished the others. In the meantime I’ve bookmarked it.

mollie m

Funny British sitcoms ended after Del Boy and Rodney became millionaires and may be the reason why posters incuding myself remember them so much!

One Foot in the Grave and Waiting for God were two of my favourites.

Some other good ones there. One Foot in the Gravy was a really good sitcom, and I thoroughly enjoyed Dallas as well.

Owd Codger: Oddly enough, I've never seen Only Fools & Horses. Don't know why exactly, but it didn't appeal to me. I know those were two of the characters in it though.

Reading the comments reminded me of my mother's television favorites. She loved mysteries and police stories. Murder She Wrote, Black Adder, Inspector Morse, Poirot, The Bill, and Colombo are a few I can remember her saying never missed.

mollie m

I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes series featuring Douglas Wilmer who in my opinion was the best actor ever to play him and also the Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson.

Mrs M: Mysteries and Police stories are also my choices to watch.

Owd Codger: I prefer Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, but the only Miss Marple I've ever seen was played by that brilliant old gal, Margaret Rutherford.

Another one I started to watch long after its initial airing was Midsomer Murders. Didn't fancy them in the earlier years, but I started to watch and found that I liked them.

In a similar way of that Mollie, In the Mid eighties we only had one telly and of a night time I was hooked on Coronation St,, Mrs Plum worked in a shop at night and I was the baby sitter, My lad who was about 8 or 9 then wanted to watch the Simpsons but I wouldn't let him because , like you, Its American and 'orrible, Any road one night I dozed off and while I'm non mentos compus my lad turned the telly to the Simpsons and as I'm coming out out my stupor , I awoke to a funny line and laughed and wonder, What is this ? I was watching the Simpsons and enjoying it, Since that day, Coronation St was off the menu Except for when Mrs Plum was home

The best american comedy for me was the The Phil Silvers show in which he was Sargeant Ernie Bilko and Lucille Ball was also very funny.

Owd Codger: Ah yes, but those were in the 50s if memory serves, and they were funny, unlike today's poor efforts. I've never watched Friends, or Cheers, or any of that lot. Mind you, I don't have a telly, so wouldn't have watched them anyway.

Tom: I quit watching Corrie just over two years ago now. It was becoming depressing with watching one guy slowly dying and there was bullying at school, so I stick to Emmerdale now, but that's still going on so not an old series.

I love Lucy LINK

Brilliant!

Basil Rathbone was excellent as Sherlock Holmes in the old black and white films,some have now been colourised,but Jeremy Brett was the best on TV.Margaret Rutherford to me was the worst Miss Marple ever,it was just a spoof

Just about all of the old TV series mentioned in this topic are being shown on the Freeview Channels, it is not just the Talking Pictures channel which shows old stuff, there are many other channels too, which specialise in showing the old stuff, so have a look at the Freeview Guide LINK

More series I really enjoyed were "Allo, Allo'" , "The Darling Buds of May" and "Porridge" with the wonderful Ronnie Barker. Also "Cracker" with Robbie Coltrane, the "Avengers" and the "Prisoner"

HollyH

You can watch all episodes of the original 'The Prisoner' on ITVX for free, and it is in full HD, because in the 1960s they filmed the production using film, which means that can be it can be shown on todays TV in glorious HD quality

Am nodda number, am a free mon

Thanks apls. I'm going to enjoy that all over again. Yaay!!

Just found Cracker on ITVX as well. Thanks again apls.

You are most welcome

“We want information number 6”. “You won’t get it”

Holly, yes Cracker for me as well, and probably my favourite of all time were The Avengers, especially with Emma Peel (Diana Rigg). It started to tail off for me though after Purdey when Tara came onto the scene, but I loved her basement flat with its wacky 60s "psychedelic" theme.

APLS, thanks for the link to the Freeview Guide. I've bookmarked that so will scan through at some point to see what, if anything, I'm missing.

In this day and age you are but a number your name comes well down the list