Thanks to today’s streaming services, more new movies and TV shows are being produced than ever. Yet many of the old favorite TV series continue to appeal of fresh audiences who are eager to discover the timeless appeal of these classics. These oldies are popular with both old fans and new viewers and can be viewed at any time on streaming sites. When you’re ready for a change from your Fair Go pokies gaming activities, grab a bowl of popcorn and a nice hot drink and settle into your favorite living room chair for some fun-filled nostalgia.
A selection of some of the best of the nostalgic TV shows streaming today:
Contents
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy can now be viewed on CBS and Hulu. I Love Lucy pioneered the sitcom genre on TV. The six-season show, which aired from 1951-1957, paved the way for a good chunk of subsequent TV comedy and even today is seen as a pioneer.
The show centers around Lucy Ricardo, played by Lucille Ball, who lives with her Cuban bandleader husband Ricky in New York. Ricky is a nightclub owner and he runs his business while trying to control the uncontrollable Lucy who gets into one wacky situation after another.
The same kind of loving relationship and friendship with neighbors Fred and Ethel that attracted people to the show in the ‘50s continues to attract them today.
Golden Girls
A snappy show about a trio of fifty-something ladies and the mother of one of them who live together in a Miami home is the premise of this popular show of the ‘80s. Golden Girls was known for its witty lines and fearlessness about tacking the era’s big issues – abortion, gay rights, menopause, etc.
Beneath the humor the show emphasized the strong friendship among the women who were happy to plunge neck-deep into what was deemed raunchy humor for that time. Each of the women had her own personality – sex-starved Blanche Devereux, sarcastic school-teacher Dorothy Zbornak, Dorothy’s sharp-witted mother Sophia Petrillo and not-the-sharpest-penny-in-the-purse Rose Nylund. The ultimate message of the show continues to resonate – friends will always be there for each other. Streaming on Hulu.
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons was a popular 1970s spin-off of All in the Family which pushed all the buttons when it came to race relations in America.
Husband George was, in his own way, as big a bigot as was Archie and it was all his wife Louise could do to control his excesses. The cast was rounded out by son Lionel, in-laws Tom and Helen and maid Florence (Florence later got her own show).
The series ran for 11 seasons and followed George and Louise who experienced success in their dry-cleaning business and moved from the working class neighborhood in Brooklyn into upper-middle-class life in Manhattan. Today The Jeffersons is remembered as one of the shows that changed white America’s views of black America but in the ‘70s, it was deemed “risky.” The Jeffersons can be found streaming on Amazon Prime.
Murder She Wrote
Angela Lansbury played detective Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, now streaming on Peacock. This was a different type of detective show, one that didn’t feature gore, dead bodies, unpleasant storylines and spooky clues.
Instead, Landsbury’s detective got to the truth of each mystery through good old gumshoe detecting. Murder She Wrote ran from 1984 to 1996. It is known for popularizing the “cozy mysteries” genre of entertainment.
MASH
There are few shows as completely good as MASH. MASH, which stood for Mobile Army Surgical Unit, debuted during America’s involvement in Vietnam and though the premise of the show was the Korean War, no one missed the burning questions that the show raised regarding America’s military presence in Southeast Asia and the human toll that the involvement took.
The show’s writing was, at once, funny and poignant, the characters complemented each other completely and the material, that focused on the torments of Army doctors and other medical staff sent to an impossible situation and their attempts to do their best in difficult circumstances, was completely relatable. Twelve seasons of MASH are now streaming on Hulu.
Friends
Friends is a show of the ‘90s, not old enough to be nostalgia but old enough to have fans ready to binge watch all 10 seasons. The show held back no punches in references to the sexual antics of its characters but in the end, after bouncing from partner to partner, 5 of the 6 main characters went the traditional route and married to have children of their own. Friends is now streaming on Netflix.
The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years was best known for its engaging cast that lived in the ‘60s and made their way through realistic plots that didn’t rely on crazy characters or silly situations. It’s a coming-of-age story where each episode is another chapter in the protagonist Kevin’s life as he navigates the crucial years between 13 and 18. Many people look back to the Wonder Years to enjoy good, clean fun even while thinking deeply about the questions raised. On Hulu.
Frasier
Frasier, a series about neurotic radio psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, can now be viewed on Peacock. Frasier was a success partly because of Kelsey Graham who played the good doctor and partly because of the cast of characters and the relationships between them. Each character brought his or her unique perspective and personality to the screen and the interactions are, till today, priceless.
