Taking inspiration from the movies thread, what older TV show wouldn't work today due to technology advances?

The first one that came to mind is The Thunderbirds. The Tracys lived on a remote island, I don't recall where they got their wealth but work was never discussed, their ships were kept secret because they didn't want any governments taking them and when they showed up for a rescue they acted like they weren't from the Tracy family and asked no pictures be taken of their ships. Their enemy The Hood was always trying to get pictures of their ships.

None of that would work today. This episode embodies everything.


Speaking of The Hood, he and Kirano would NEVER fly today. I mean talk about your insulting Asian stereotypes. Even '2 Broke Girls' wasn't that insulting.

I still have a major soft spot for the show for all its flaws, especially after learning the sons were all named for Mercury astronauts. I still can't believe Jonathan Frakes produced that atrocity of a movie. How do you go from 'First Contact' to that turd?

Gilligan's Island- unless they landed someplace with zero cell phone reception.

I know you mentioned technological advances in your title but then you mentioned stereotypes below that. But for instance I don't think we're going to see a remake of C.O.P.S. anytime soon: it was a futuristic cartoon where everyone was on steroids (because of the Bart Sears designs). The bad guys had some stereotypes but I don't think the content is questionable (the police chief was black), just the concept.

Similarly, something like Married with Children I don't think would fly today, though as you mentioned we have stuff like Two Broke Girls so comedy sitcoms may have looser reign when it comes to stuff like chauvinism.

NewsRadio could be adapted but if you kept it as an AM radio station your cast would be like what, five people max?

Welll not just that but the Minnow was based out of Marina Del Rey. You see the harbor clearly in the opening title. A 3 hour tour meant 90 minutes out and back. I promise you there are no uncharted islands 90 minutes off MDR.

They got caught out in a storm, so while it was supposed to be only 90 minutes out, they ended up being out on the water much longer than 90 minutes and travelled much further out than planned. I don't think the cell phone reception would stretch out even 90 minutes out on the water

The Adventures of Superman. No phone booths.

If Buffy and the Scoobs used cell phones during their patrols to flush out baddies, would the baddies also start using them to level the playing field?

My Mother the Car. Automobile manufacturers have been regulated to put possession-proof technology into cars since 1972.

There are a couple of ideas here that occurred to me also, but I thought, "Old Man, you're just showing your age..."

Again, not technology-related, and certainly you could adapt the concept, but something like Family Ties wouldn't work as is without some major revisions, considering a major point of the show was the difference in the political leanings/materialism between generations.

So much of of Seinfeld could be solved with cell phones.

You need to see Two and a Half Men. Not only does it surpass Married With Children but is a lot funnier.

Are you saying because it's just as crass as Married With Children, because the concepts are pretty far apart.

And crassness aside, besides the resurrected Roseanne (the Conners), I can't even think of any modern day sitcoms that feature a lower middle class family. Two and a Half Men is basically fantasy land where Sheen is basically rich and dates supermodels. I guess Two Broke Girls were technically broke but not really... that's probably closer in concept and I'm constantly surprised that actually made it on the air. Even the series that was called Broke was basically about a wealthy family learning to live without wealth.

The Middle

Ah, good example.

I'm not certain what the explanation was for My Two Dads when it aired, but they would be able to use DNA to pin that down now.

That one kids' cartoon where the kids basically enslave wild animals, force them into little cages and them have them fight for their amusement while the main character claims he wants to be called a master. Oh wait, that's still on, just on Netflix?

I'm just trying to trigger Ash because he posted his example (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) in the wrong thread.

At one point during the show (My Two Dads), they did do a DNA test. But the girl didn't want to know so they never revealed it.

Was that a Special Episode?

Nope, Season 3 Episode 9.

Modern surveillance equipment, and its ubiquitous use, makes a whole bunch of plots that depend on being able to commit nefarious deeds without being identified, or have those deeds go unnoticed for significant periods of time, impossible.

I think the One Day at a Time reboot would count. Funny show.

Shows like All in the Family and Hogan's Hero's would never be remade in today's climate. If cell phones were available in the 80's as they are now, the crew from Miami Vice work load would have become so much easier.

What was the family situation on "Unhappily Ever After?" All I remember is how sexualized Nikki Cox was despite being underage and how she completely dominated the rest of the cast. And it was a much more crass version of MWC.