Recently I've been re-watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I've been watching it for two reasons:

 

1. I'm super excited about the new Sabrina show that Netflix is creating.

2. I used to love the show as a kid and I love a good nostalgia trip.

 

I probably wouldn't have thought about giving it a re-watch if I hadn't stumbled upon it on Amazon Video. I've been having a lot of fun watching it as an adult and taking a trip down memory lane. What other shows are worth a re-watch (preferably available on a popular streaming service like Amazon, Netflix, or Hulu)? What were some of your favourite shows when you were a teenager?

I wonder if I'm in the minority here, but I'm not one to watch the same shows over and over again, even if I love them to death. For me, I'm only going to re-watch something if I'm trying to get someone else into it. So, with my Fiance, I will happily re-watch Doctor Who and Torchwood with her, as well as any Star Trek's, Battlestar Galactica, The Following, or Heroes. But watch something again on my own? Not gonna happen. I keep moving forward with new shows instead.

I will watch a show over and over again. Sometimes it's just for the noise and sometimes I'll sit and watch it again. Some of the older shows are intriguing like Gunsmoke and The Rifleman. I'm talking old here. Oh! I especially like The Golden Girls.

I like some old sitcoms for background noise like Will and Grace and Roseanne. When I'm settling down to watch programmes I normally binge the newer stuff though.

I've always liked Westerns and recently discovered a show called The Rifleman through Amazon. Don't know what it is, but I find myself watching it and really enjoying it. I've gone through all of the seasons and now watch them again, though not necessarily in order. Guess if I really like something, I'll watch it more than once.

This probably won't be a shocking revelation given my avatar and UN, but I rewatch Malcolm and the Middle all the time. I usually pick up on new things or find the humor behind a certain reference or joke that I didn't get before.

 

@Ogmore I like to rewatch series for background noise as well. Sitcoms really are the best for this.

 

@Zack T I know quite a few people who hate rewatching things they've already seen. I wish I liked watching new shows more. I have a huge list of shows I want to watch but still get stuck watching the same things over and over again.

@Hal I think some of my behaviour is driven by so many choices in programmes today. It's easy to get lost among the many titles and channels on the telly. It wasn't always like that.

@airgold. If you like The Rifleman, you would probably like Gunsmoke too. The earlier ones especially are better than the later ones. For 20 seasons Matt Dillon kept order and peace in Dodge City. If you look it up let me know if you like it or not. :)

Hey @Queenie, thanks for the suggestion. I've heard of Gunsmoke. One reason is that recently, it was reported that The Simpons took over as the longest running show on TV. The previous record was held by Gunsmoke. If you have any other suggestions, let me know. Thanks again.

I read that too @airgold and it really surprised me. I was never really a fan of The Simpsons though. Another one you may want to look into is Laramie. It's an old western starring Slim Sherman and Jess Harper. They get into all kinds of messes. I think you would enjoy this one.

@Ogmore, I think you are right. There are so many options to select from that it can almost be overwhelming. As silly as it may sound, there are times when I can go through all of the channels and then decide it's not worth the trouble to find something I want to watch.

Yeah. I watched a TED Talk on that one time. I mean, it wasn't about television shows, but about what can happen to our brains when we have too many options. Basically, we allow ourselves to get stuck in limbo because we're afraid of choosing one option over all the others, or we revert to the familiar.

I found a really old sitcom on YouTube called Man About the House. I think it's from the 70's. The premise is that there are two young women sharing a flat and they need a third. But then they run into a young man who is looking for a place to live, and so he becomes their flatmate. This was considered rather oh-la-la in the 1970's, apparently, which is where some of the humour from the sitcom comes from.

 

There is a lot of humour also from their downstairs neighbours, George and Mildred, and I found out that these characters eventually became a spin off sitcom of their own.

 

I'm quite into some of this retro sort of stuff that reveals a bit about the social mores of the time.

Amy. There is another one very similar to what you described. It's called Three's Company. Same scenario. It's hilarious. Suzanne Somers plays the dumb blond. John Ritter is the guy roommate and Joyce DeWitt is the level headed brunette. I love this show.

Hiya Queenie! Thanks for that! I have just looked up Three's Company on Wikipedia, and it turns out that it was the American version of Man About the House, with a similar structure of characters.

 

There used to be a famous British sitcom called Till Death Us Do Part, and that also had an American version. I wonder why they don't show the original versions in North America?

There used to be a famous British sitcom called Till Death Us Do Part, and that also had an American version. I wonder why they don't show the original versions in North America?

 

From what I just read Amy, there was a similar show in the U.S. called All in the Family. The characters were Archie and Edith Bunker and his daughter and her husband that lived with them. Go grab an old episode of this one and let me know what you think.

@Queenie, Three's Company was a great show. RIP John Ritter. He was a legend.

 

@AmyRichmond I've always wondered why there are American versions of British shows. I've read that it can be difficult logistically. British shows are typically publicly funded and don't rely as heavily on commercials. Since we need shows to fit in 30-minute slots with the appropriate amount of commercials (or what the networks deem as appropriate), it can be difficult to make it work out. I also think that sometimes British humor just doesn't translate very well to American audiences. Heavier accents can also be difficult to understand. I could barely understand a word in the UK version of The Office. It could also just be our lack of creativity.