Popular Things You're Just Not Interested In

[Rothman]

You not hearing about One Day at a Time doesn't make a lick of sense given the other shows you have seen or heard of.

Umm...  I'm sorry.  🤷

Apology not accepted.

[wxfree]

The TV shows that "everyone watches"  Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Modern Family, The Wire.....  I like older shows or offbeat shows, all these people who just watch everything everyone tells them to watch.

I watched Breaking Bad several years ago (I've never seen any of the others you mention).  To me, it was as great as people said.  But I have no interest in watching it again.  Maybe when it's been 10 or 15 years I will.  In part, it's intense.  My mind makes things more intense than they need to be, and I'm not eager to get into a period of chronic overstimulation.  But also, it's done.  Even though it was really good, I like the sense of finality that I've already seen it.  When it's been a long while and I've forgotten most of it and not thought about it in a while, I may want a rewatch.  I don't know the psychology behind it, but to me there are things I want to watch again because they're so good and things like Breaking Bad that I don't want to watch again, also because they're so good.  I stopped watching Better Call Saul because it was too similar and I wasn't ready for it.  I think around 2030 or 2035 I'll want to watch them, starting with Better Call Saul since it happened first.

[JayhawkCO]

You not hearing about One Day at a Time doesn't make a lick of sense given the other shows you have seen or heard of.

Umm...  I'm sorry.  🤷

It's vaaaaaggguuueeelly familiar to me, having Googled it, but I can't say 100%.

[kphoger]

It's vaaaaaggguuueeelly familiar to me, having Googled it, but I can't say 100%.

Likewise, there might be one or two that I put in the wrong category (have I really heard of Wagon Train, or is that a false memory), but I don't expect my list to be audited by the IRS or anything.

[JayhawkCO]

I think around 2030 or 2035 I'll want to watch them, starting with Better Call Saul since it happened first.

Just FYI, this isn't 100% accurate. Better Call Saul jumps around a little bit chronologically.

[wxfree]

Here's my list for the old television shows.  I wanted to write up this list mainly because I thought it would be fun to categorize them, making up the categories.

The first list is shows I watched regularly in the old days, but haven't seen recently.
Beverly Hillbillies, The
Cosby Show, The
Different World, A
ER
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Happy Days
I Love Lucy
Jeffersons, The
Sanford and Son

The second list is shows that I remember watching but wasn't a regular viewer of.
Andy Griffith Show, The
All in the Family
Bewitched
Cheers
Everybody Loves Raymond
Hawaii Five-O
Laverne & Shirley
Three's Company
Two and a Half Men
Who's the Boss?

These are shows I'm inclined to watch again.  I've seen all of them somewhat recently (past decade).
Frasier
Golden Girls, The
Home Improvement
M*A*S*H
Roseanne
Seinfeld

Shows I remember hearing of and may have seen because someone else had it on, but wasn't a regular viewer of
Alice
Bonanza
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Miami
Dallas
Desperate Housewives
Dragnet
Dynasty
Falcon Crest      
Friends      
Grey's Anatomy
Gunsmoke
Law & Order
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Maude
Murder, She Wrote
Murphy Brown
NCIS
NYPD Blue
One Day at a Time
Touched by an Angel
Will & Grace
Without a Trace

Shows I have no memory of
Danny Thomas Show, The
December Bride      
Family Affair
Have Gun – Will Travel (I've heard of this only in "Stand by Me."  I didn't know it was a television show when I first heard the song.)   
Here's Lucy      
Life of Riley, The
Lucy Show, The   
Wagon Train

[SEWIGuy]

You not hearing about One Day at a Time doesn't make a lick of sense given the other shows you have seen or heard of.

Umm...  I'm sorry.  🤷

It's vaaaaaggguuueeelly familiar to me, having Googled it, but I can't say 100%.

It was how Valerie Bertenelli, a babe back in the day, first got famous before marrying Eddie Van Halen.

Also Mackenzie Phillips was pretty notorious because she had terrible drug problems that eventually cost her a role on the show.

It was a very early 80s show that didn't stand up with time.

[kphoger]

Valerie Bertenelli
Eddie Van Halen ← the only one I've heard of
Mackenzie Phillips

[Big John]

One Day at a Time intro:

[Rothman]

[DTComposer]

I did my list similar to wxfree:

Shows I have watched all or most episodes, either in first-run or syndication
Cheers
Fraiser
Friends
M*A*S*H
Will & Grace

Shows I have watched 10+ episodes of during first-run
Alice
The Cosby Show
ER
The Golden Girls
Murder, She Wrote

Shows I have watched 10+ episodes in syndication
The Andy Griffith Show
All in the Family
The Beverly Hillbillies
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Dragnet
Happy Days
I Love Lucy
The Jeffersons
Laverne & Shirley
Law & Order
One Day at a Time
Seinfeld
Three's Company

Shows I have watched maybe 4-10 episodes of, enough to discuss character and plot arcs, tropes and memes
Bewitched
Bonanza
Dallas
Desperate Housewives
A Different World
Gomer Pyle, USMC
Grey's Anatomy
Gunsmoke
Hawaii Five-O
Maude
Murphy Brown
Sanford and Son
Who's the Boss?

Shows I have watched maybe 1-3 complete episodes of, probably clips of other episodes online
Everybody Loves Raymond
Home Improvement
Marcus Welby, MD
Two and a Half Men

Shows I haven't watched, but familiar with the overall genre/setting/plot
CSI: Miami
Dynasty
Falcon Crest
NCIS
NYPD Blue
Roseanne
Touched by an Angel
Without a Trace

Shows I haven't watched, but have heard of (may or may not know more than that)
The Danny Thomas Show
December Bride
Have Gun – Will Travel
Here's Lucy
The Life of Riley
The Lucy Show
Wagon Train

Shows I haven't heard of
Family Affair

[SEWIGuy]

Valerie Bertenelli
Eddie Van Halen ← the only one I've heard of
Mackenzie Phillips

You would have definitely heard of Bertinelli had you been born 5-10 years earlier.

[kphoger]

You would have definitely heard of Bertinelli had you been born 5-10 years earlier.

Umm...  I'm sorry.  🤷

[DTComposer]

Re: One Day at a Time - I also would have thought anyone born before 1975 or so would remember it - it ran for nine seasons, was a Norman Lear creation, had the above-mentioned "scandals" with its stars, and had the (also shown above) 2017 re-boot with Rita Moreno.

But I'm sure there's plenty I don't recall from that era that would feel like common knowledge to others.

In making the list of shows, I thought it was interesting that some shows that many now consider very representative of their era on TV never cracked the top 10:
-Leave it to Beaver - six seasons, never cracked the top 30
-Gilligan's Island - three seasons, top 30 in two seasons (18, 22)
-The Brady Bunch - five seasons, never cracked the top 30
-The Streets of San Francisco - five seasons, top 30 in three seasons (22, 22, 26)
-CHiPs - six seasons, top 30 in three seasons (25, 18, 24)
-Knight Rider - four seasons, top 30 in one season (25)
-The Simpsons - 36 seasons, top 30 in three seasons (28, 30, 18), none since 1998
-Malcolm in the Middle - seven seasons, top 30 in one season (28)

In spite of their lesser popularity during first-run, syndication helped the nostalgia factor to be heavy enough on the first three that they spawned sequels and remakes throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

[SEWIGuy]

You would have definitely heard of Bertinelli had you been born 5-10 years earlier.

Umm...  I'm sorry.  🤷

Heh. No need to apologize. I think it was a show that people of a certain age certainly remember, but it wasn't memorable enough to cause nostalgia.

[SEWIGuy]

Re: One Day at a Time - I also would have thought anyone born before 1975 or so would remember it - it ran for nine seasons, was a Norman Lear creation, had the above-mentioned "scandals" with its stars, and had the (also shown above) 2017 re-boot with Rita Moreno.

But I'm sure there's plenty I don't recall from that era that would feel like common knowledge to others.

In making the list of shows, I thought it was interesting that some shows that many now consider very representative of their era on TV never cracked the top 10:
-Leave it to Beaver - six seasons, never cracked the top 30
-Gilligan's Island - three seasons, top 30 in two seasons (18, 22)
-The Brady Bunch - five seasons, never cracked the top 30
-The Streets of San Francisco - five seasons, top 30 in three seasons (22, 22, 26)
-CHiPs - six seasons, top 30 in three seasons (25, 18, 24)
-Knight Rider - four seasons, top 30 in one season (25)
-The Simpsons - 36 seasons, top 30 in three seasons (28, 30, 18), none since 1998
-Malcolm in the Middle - seven seasons, top 30 in one season (28)

In spite of their lesser popularity during first-run, syndication helped the nostalgia factor to be heavy enough on the first three that they spawned sequels and remakes throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

WKRP in Cincinnati is another that I think was larger in syndication than as a first run show.

[kphoger]

I thought it was interesting that some shows that many now consider very representative of their era on TV never cracked the top 10:

-Leave it to Beaver - six seasons, never cracked the top 30
-Gilligan's Island - three seasons, top 30 in two seasons (18, 22)
-The Brady Bunch - five seasons, never cracked the top 30

-CHiPs - six seasons, top 30 in three seasons (25, 18, 24)

-The Simpsons - 36 seasons, top 30 in three seasons (28, 30, 18), none since 1998

Those are the ones that surprise me the most.

[kkt]

I'm surprised Star Trek didn't make the list.  It seems to have more of a cultural impact than its ratings would suggest.

[Rothman]

I'm surprised Star Trek didn't make the list.  It seems to have more of a cultural impact than its ratings would suggest.

Heh.  Star Trek was an infamous flop of sorts...until...syndication.

[Henry]

Re: One Day at a Time - I also would have thought anyone born before 1975 or so would remember it - it ran for nine seasons, was a Norman Lear creation, had the above-mentioned "scandals" with its stars, and had the (also shown above) 2017 re-boot with Rita Moreno.

But I'm sure there's plenty I don't recall from that era that would feel like common knowledge to others.

In making the list of shows, I thought it was interesting that some shows that many now consider very representative of their era on TV never cracked the top 10:
-Leave it to Beaver - six seasons, never cracked the top 30
-Gilligan's Island - three seasons, top 30 in two seasons (18, 22)
-The Brady Bunch - five seasons, never cracked the top 30
-The Streets of San Francisco - five seasons, top 30 in three seasons (22, 22, 26)
-CHiPs - six seasons, top 30 in three seasons (25, 18, 24)
-Knight Rider - four seasons, top 30 in one season (25)
-The Simpsons - 36 seasons, top 30 in three seasons (28, 30, 18), none since 1998
-Malcolm in the Middle - seven seasons, top 30 in one season (28)

In spite of their lesser popularity during first-run, syndication helped the nostalgia factor to be heavy enough on the first three that they spawned sequels and remakes throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

WKRP in Cincinnati is another that I think was larger in syndication than as a first run show.

Especially when that ill-fated spinoff aired in the early 90s...

[Molandfreak]

I'm surprised Star Trek didn't make the list.  It seems to have more of a cultural impact than its ratings would suggest.

Plus I would say it throws a wrench into the theory that earlier television shows were meant to be disposable. Really the only shows that were "disposable" were those that the studio had purposely discarded after they aired. So, basically just daytime soap operas were ever considered truly disposable. Anything else was assumed to have at least some staying power.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm surprised Star Trek didn't make the list.  It seems to have more of a cultural impact than its ratings would suggest.

Plus I would say it throws a wrench into the theory that earlier television shows were meant to be disposable. Really the only shows that were "disposable" were those that the studio had purposely discarded after they aired. So, basically just daytime soap operas were ever considered truly disposable. Anything else was assumed to have at least some staying power.

Weren't the ratings on the original Star Trek bad by the standards of the time?

[kkt]

I'm surprised Star Trek didn't make the list.  It seems to have more of a cultural impact than its ratings would suggest.

Plus I would say it throws a wrench into the theory that earlier television shows were meant to be disposable. Really the only shows that were "disposable" were those that the studio had purposely discarded after they aired. So, basically just daytime soap operas were ever considered truly disposable. Anything else was assumed to have at least some staying power.

Weren't the ratings on the original Star Trek bad by the standards of the time?

They were pretty mediocre especially considering it was an expensive show to produce.

However, ratings at the time just measured sets tuned in.  Later on, Nielson started rating numbers of people, their ages, and their incomes.  Advertisers liked viewers in their teens especially in upper income brackets, because their buying habits might stay with them for life.

[kphoger]

I read off the list to my wife yesterday evening, and her list of "heard of" and "hadn't heard of" was almost exactly the same as mine, other than just a couple of them.  She's only seven months younger than I am, but she grew up in a very different home environment from mine, and her mom's age is in between my parents' and my sister's ages.

[SEWIGuy]

Re: One Day at a Time - I also would have thought anyone born before 1975 or so would remember it - it ran for nine seasons, was a Norman Lear creation, had the above-mentioned "scandals" with its stars, and had the (also shown above) 2017 re-boot with Rita Moreno.

But I'm sure there's plenty I don't recall from that era that would feel like common knowledge to others.

In making the list of shows, I thought it was interesting that some shows that many now consider very representative of their era on TV never cracked the top 10:
-Leave it to Beaver - six seasons, never cracked the top 30
-Gilligan's Island - three seasons, top 30 in two seasons (18, 22)
-The Brady Bunch - five seasons, never cracked the top 30
-The Streets of San Francisco - five seasons, top 30 in three seasons (22, 22, 26)
-CHiPs - six seasons, top 30 in three seasons (25, 18, 24)
-Knight Rider - four seasons, top 30 in one season (25)
-The Simpsons - 36 seasons, top 30 in three seasons (28, 30, 18), none since 1998
-Malcolm in the Middle - seven seasons, top 30 in one season (28)

In spite of their lesser popularity during first-run, syndication helped the nostalgia factor to be heavy enough on the first three that they spawned sequels and remakes throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

WKRP in Cincinnati is another that I think was larger in syndication than as a first run show.

Especially when that ill-fated spinoff aired in the early 90s...

I completely forgot about that!