TV shows that hold up

How the hell are you going to know if it holds up if it never ends?

 

It's hard to evaluate Saved By the Bell now because the actresses don't do much for me. But back in middle school, Kelly Kapowski melted little Ickey's underpants. She alone was worth watching. I still think it's entertaining now, just in a cheesy, catchy, pop song kind of way.

Seinfeld still holds up pretty well for me. It's hard to imagine that show losing its luster.

 

The Honeymooners - timeless.

 

For a show that had its fair share of pop culture references, Futurama has held up well.
Same with The Simpsons.

Law & Order, too, although one episode makes me cringe. The one where they're investigating a murder at a biker bar and have to track down the perp through an online bulletin board. Came out around 1998 or so. Halfway through, Briscoe has a line -- "...This 'e-mail' or whatever the hell it is ..." that's practically prehistoric.

 

Sounds like a sports editor circa 2007.

 

A show being dated and holding up are two very different things.

I'd add "Police Squad" to the list.

 

Right on, Sonner.

I've watched it in syndication -- still do -- Tebow knows how many times and I still laugh at most jokes. You watch it enough, you'll realize the scenes are so predictable: Peg and the kids never fail to rip Al a new one, Marcy is called a chicken so many times you think there's a quota, etc.

Hell, maybe that's part of the charm.

 

Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere are still outstanding. Especially the first 3-4 years of each.

And the John Kelly year and half of NYPD Blue is as good as TV gets, as are the first 3-4 years of West Wing.

Well-done drams seem to hold up better than sitcoms. Heck, even "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza" are still watchable.

 

Good point.

 

Most have been mentioned here, but the Cheers comments that started this intrigue me. For a few years I watched it all the time in syndication. Now I can barely even find it in syndication and if I do I'm not taking the time to watch it.

But I'll watch M*A*S*H any time it's on. I wish I could find The Bob Newhart Show or Mary Tyler Moore, but I rarely ever see it in any guides.

 

I love Home Improvement. It was the only show I watched continuously throughout the 90s.

And All in the Family rules. I just wish I could find a channel who would play it. Nick at Nite has transitioned to Nick plays TV shows from the 90s and TV Land has started playing movies and its own reality shows and all sorts of crap. Play the good old stuff. There's nothing else good on TV worth watching anyway.

I also like the Drew Carey Show. I think it still holds up decently.

 

WKRP is dated with the equipment and all, but I still get a chuckle out of it.