Like a lot of people here I'm sure, there are certain tv series and movies that I loved when I was kid and when I watched them again as an adult, after not having seen them in some time, I re-evaluated them and either appreciated more or couldn't believe I ever enjoyed them.
Some examples.
Appreciated more: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Rocky & Bullwinke both appeal to children but contain jokes that only adults can get.
The movie M*A*S*H. I enjoyed it as a kid for the most part but the enjoyment was parasitic on my love for the tv show, and the differences were distracting. Now I appreciate it for the fine film Robert Altman made.
The Looney Tunes was just a series I'd watch to kill time with after school. Now I really appreciate them, and the B&W ones which I'd never seen before their DVD release are ever better.
Green Acres: Didn't appreciate how surreal it was back then.
The original Planet of the Apes, for reasons given below.
Liked less: all the other Planet of the Apes movies. Only the first one had something to say which generated a story. The rest were just 'The further adventures of' type of stories which occasionally tried to say something. Big difference. (They're still fun romps once in a while though.)
The tv show Fame. I was eagerly awaiting the DVD release of the first series and now: God some of the acting is terrible, the writing isn't much better (as early as episode three we see two character stuck in an elevator) and the character exposition really obvious. Coco's still hot though.
The Twilight Zone. Funny how we always remember the best episodes. Watching them all together now, I'm amazed at how uneven the quality is. The half-hour format doesn't serve most of these stories very well. (But there still are some really good episodes.) Working my way through the first season, I find Alfred Hitchcock Presents to be more even in quality (relatively speaking only).
The old Spider-Man cartoons. Boy those sound effects are distracting! Theme song's still great though.
A best of The Electric Company DVD will be released next year. Hope that one fares well. I'm beginning to approach anything with nostalgic value with trepidation.
Okay, those are some of mine. How about your about-faces? (And feel free to extend this to music, comic books, etc.)
Liked more and less:
Batman
I like it more now because I never got to see the original in color, and the garish costumes now just pop off the screen. Having recently become a musician, I also appreciate the cool jazz music. And listening to it with an (ostensibly) adult mind, I now catch a lot of innuendo that I'm sure was intentional when it was created. The best car ever -- The Batmobile.
Less (mildly) because of the now-obvious cheapness of some of the production. Always using the production offices for outside scenes, cheap props, etc. The third season was awful by far with every criminal's lair being a black soundstage with a few cardboard props included.
Lost in Space: More, for the nostalgia factor. Less for the the obvious recycling of sets, props, even creatures and stock footage. The best robot ever -- The Robot. I still love the big guy.
I will agree with Green Acres above. I've caught it a few times on TV Land and am still entertained by the absurdity of it all. I think when it was originally on I only wanted to see what Arnold would do next.
I missed several episodes of Fame but always liked it. Have not seen it since. Coco? Nah -- Nia! Gene Anthony Ray wasn't too bad, either (you know he died recently, right?)
The Fame DVDs arrived the same day as the White Shadow set, which has edged it out for my screen time, so my Fame viewing has stalled. (White Shadow = always loved it though I didn't watch it when it first aired.) Coincidentally, both are about inner city high school students and their dreams. Even a bigger coincidence: How the Grinch Stole Christmas also arrived on the same day, and the music was composed by the same guy who played the music teacher on Fame, something I didn't know until after I had them.
At least two of the kids on The White Shadow grew up to be prominent (TV) directors as well -- Kevin Hooks and Eric Laneuville. I believe Eric directed last week's episode of Lost.
Had to look up Eric Laneville on imdb. He was only in one episode of The White Shadow. However, you're still correct about at least two of the kids being tv directors. Timothy Van Patten (Salami) is one of the most (if not the most) frequent directors on The Sopranos, and a d*mn good job he does.
Thomas Carter (Hayward) has done quite a few, although not as much as the other two.
Kevin Hooks, by the way, directed some episodes of Fame.
Kevin Hooks also directed the Wesley Snipes Die Hard knockoff Passenger 57. Look for dad Robert Hooks (Star Trek III) in a supporting role.
The movie Fame was far superior to the TV series, which seemed to have a weekly "Let's Put On A Show" attitude. Andy Hardy it wasn't. Plus, it added Janet Jackson, and those rumors that she was pregnant during her tenure on that show began.
I liked The Beverly Hillbillies as a kid (it came on right after Lost In Space.) Now, it's borderline unwatchable.
I avoided thirtysomething like the plague in its original run from 1987-91, and in its subsequent rerun life on Lifetime. I caught up with it when Bravo repeated it (briefly) from July 2001 to early 2002. I regret missing it now, as the quality of the writing and acting were first rate.
>The Twilight Zone. Funny how we always remember >the best episodes. Watching them all together >now, I'm amazed at how uneven the quality is. >The half-hour format doesn't serve most of these >stories very well. (But there still are some >really good episodes.) Working my way through >the first season, I find Alfred Hitchcock >Presents to be more even in quality (relatively >speaking only).
I agree with you, Kevin, about the Twilight Zone being uneven in quality. It was definitely a peaks and valleys series which had some really all-time top-notch classic episode and then would follow it up with a really lame one. In addition, Serling's writing could often tend to be on the heavy-handed side. And I personally don't care much at all for all Earl Hamner's "hillbilly" episodes. Still an all-time classic series, though, as you said, with much more good than bad.
You are right too about Alfred Hitchcock Presents being far more consistent in quality. There is a good tangible reason for this, though. Although the Zone occassionally would adapt an existing short story, the vast majority of its shows were original material. By contrast, Alfred Hitchcock Presents based just about all of its episodes on extant published short stories so that they never had to worry about coming up with material out of whole cloth. And Hitch is a more fun host than Serling, ain't he?
Oh boy,when I was growing up all of my friends & I loved The Man From U.N.C.L.E. with its cool gadgets,action & musical score.I've seen some episodes recently & all I can think is that I would have had to be a kid to ever think that this TV series was great.It does not hold up well at all,except for the first season which isn't bad.After that they got silly & campy & you could not take it seriously at all.The theme music is still nifty though.