Although we can all admit to being addicted to at least one current show on TV these days, sometimes it’s just too hard to let go of some of the best ones from the past. Thanks to syndication of some of the most popular shows from the past 20 years or so, we’re lucky enough to avoid paying for the 10 DVD set with all the extra scenes just so we can watch our favorite episodes during a long weekend. Assuming we’re not the only ones who enjoy bringing it back to the old school, here are five TV shows that we hope you still set your DVR for–because they’re that timeless.
Friends
We know that the concept itself is a little bit worn out these days–just look at New Girl or the former show, Happy Endings–where a bunch of friends hang out all the time to joke with each other and make your real-life friends seem like a character on the show. But Friends was one of the first to do it–and the writing and delivery were supreme, making this one show that we can always sit and watch.
The Wonder Years
Who would have ever thought that Marv from the holiday movie Home Alone had more in his acting ensemble than just screaming when a tarantula was placed on his face? Turns out the idea of him narrating main character Kevin Arnold on this family show was one of his best decisions ever, as it’s his voice that makes you follow Kevin through all the shenanigans from a pre-teen up through high school. Its last episode was all the way back in 1993, but it’s still a story that most of us can relate with.
Cheers
Just as we told you the other day about Sam Malone as being one of the TV characters we wish were real, the TV show that he helped carry for 11 seasons wasn’t too shabby in its own right. Watching this while under the age of 10 was funny already, but as we’ve gotten older and realized that becoming a regular at a bar has both its perks and disadvantages, relating to this show now makes it even that much better.
Seinfeld
Much like the aforementioned Friends, Seinfeld told a story about a group of super close friends and made their lives meaningful–even if the entire story of each episode had no meaning at all. As the show often poked fun at in saying that the entire thing was “about nothing,” the writers and characters were clearly doing something right, because it’s arguably the most successful TV comedy ever–and admitting that you still stay awake to watch an episode you’ve already seen a handful of times, isn’t a bad thing.
The Real World
We know that this show technically still has new seasons and episodes coming out, but we’re talking about the down-home, nitty, gritty, real stuff that happened during the mid-90s, before everyone knew they could fake being crazy to get famous. Early seasons of The Real World tackled norms like homosexuality, cultural and gender differences and backgrounds that showed housemates forced to make a relationship work–or, in some cases, not work. The show was more of a documentary of seven strangers’ lives, rather than an actual episode pieced together from drunken college kids as it is now.
Follow Us
Actually, I caught up on The Wonder Years and Cheers (both great) on Netflix over the past couple years. I’m not sure when their respective licenses lapsed, but they were already available on Netflix. I definitely agree that Friends and Seinfeld need to be on Netflix though. The Real World would definitely be interesting as well. I’ve also been holding out to revisit The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.