Let me be the first to say that no TV series has or will ever stand up to the scrutiny of time . Our society is constantly evolving and as such our humor, outrage, and definition of what constitutes the status quo evolve along with it.
This isn’t me trying to infuse decades-dead TV shows with 2022 morality , but I also think it goes without saying that certain series inevitably age better than others. With that being said, here are 15 TV shows that, unfortunately, didn’t age very well .
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‘The Walking Dead’
The first two seasons of The Walking Dead are still pretty much perfect. However, after that point, too many main characters are killed off and the ones that remain to take their place are just altogether uninteresting.
‘Baywatch’
Joey and Chandler from Friends were making fun of this show while it was still on the air. At the end of the day, the best/worst part of this series was being able to watch Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff run in slow-motion.
‘Dexter’
I used to love Dexter until I recently went back and rewatched it. The acting in the first two seasons is abysmal; the plotline in Season 3 is laughable. When John Lithgow comes along in Season 4, admittedly that is still pretty great, but the show completely falls apart from thereon.
‘Community’
I love Community but the show does rely on a lot of racial and chauvinistic humor. On-set conflict aside, Chevy Chase really did help to anchor the show . Then, when the series lost Donald Glover, it became little more than a dog chasing its own tail.
‘The Big Bang Theory’
I don’t know how many times I can say this: Howard Wolowitz is creepy. There’s no way that anyone can go back and rewatch episodes from the show’s first three seasons without feeling like they need to take a bath immediately after.
‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’
I feel blasphemous even saying this, and rest assured that the 5-year-old me would want to kick my ass, but as long-lasting and impactful as the Power Rangers franchise undoubtedly was — the acting is borderline laughable.
‘MASH’
In its heyday, MASH was considered to be the best show on TV and is often hailed as one of the best series of all time. But when you give the only Black character on the show the incredibly racist nickname “Spearchucker, ” it goes without saying that won’t play well to a 21st-century audience.
‘Just Shoot Me!’
David Spade’s Just Shoot Me! sought out to prove to the world that all women, deep down, want to be ogled, groped, and objectified. Any woman who would dare argue otherwise is nothing more than a bleeding heart feminist with a stick firmly shoved up her rear end.
No, thank you.
‘Walker, Texas Ranger’
When I was a kid, I used to think that watching Chuck Norris roundhouse kick bad guys through walls was about the coolest thing I’d ever seen . Now that I’m north of 30, I realize that I may have been mistaken.
‘Family Matters’
Was Family Matters iconic? Unquestionably. Did it help to bridge the gap between white and Black viewing audiences ? Of that, there is no doubt. But when push comes to shove, the episodes are largely formulaic, the climax of which all hangs on Steve Urkle uttering “Did I do that?”
‘Weeds’
In the beginning, Weeds was less about drugs and more so about the struggles of Nancy Botwin navigating the pressures and pitfalls of suburbia, and her newfound life as a single mom. As the years went by, it lost its way, and as a result — has become largely forgotten.
‘Entourage’
When I was in high school, the idea of being a famous actor and bringing your best friends along for the ride seemed like a dream worth exploring. Looking back on the ways in which the characters in Entourage interact, specifically Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold, it’s a wonder this show ever got made in the first place.
‘How I Met Your Mother’
There are moments in How I Met Your Mother that will make you burst out laughing and have you reaching for the box of tissue. Sure, Barney Stinson might be a terrible person, but his chauvinistic transgressions are only part and parcel of what truly tarnished this show’s legacy — a bad ending.
“Beavis And Butt-Head’
I’ve said it before: comedy is situational and referential. It’s almost impossible to explain the humor behind Beavis and Butt-Head to someone who didn’t grow up watching them on MTV . If I’m being quite honest, even I have a hard time remembering what was so funny about them.
‘Game Of Thrones’
That’s right, I said it. I don’t care how groundbreaking and monumental you found GoT to be. Every single fan theory on Reddit would’ve been better than how the series actually played out, it’s as if Benioff and Weiss just didn’t care.
