We've had threads for what is classic hits/oldies or classic rock, but apparently, nobody has made a thread yet about what comprises classic as opposed to contemporary TV. For me, it's anything that involves a show that premiered prior to 1999. Shows that premiered in 1999 such as The Sopranos, Spongebob Squarepants, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire still feel too recent and influential on current TV that they just don't capture that feeling of nostalgia. Meanwhile, shows that premiered in 1997 or 1998 such as Sex and the City, The King of Queens, South Park, The Wild Thornberries, Catdog, Just Shoot Me, Ally McBeal, Charmed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are clearly still seen as "somewhat old school" compared to the newer shows and can be considered '90s despite some lasting/peaking well into the '00s. Pharmaceutical, legal consultation, and other white collar commercials didn't dominate yet and many commercials were still made to make you enjoy the product. Also, around 2000, new shows during primetime increasingly started to be produced in HD.

It depends on the person I guess. For me anything before 1990.

It depends on your age as well. For me classic tv is the 60's shows.  Yes, there were great shows after then (i.e Hill Street Blues, MASH, Cheers, Streets of San Francisco, Rockford Files)...  etc etc etc. But the classic era (for me) was the 60's.  Here's just a few...

Dramas like:
Hawaii 5-0 
Bonanza
Gunsmoke
Star Trek
Mission Impossible
77 Sunset Strip
Hawaiian Eye

Afternoon/evening shows like:
Bewitched
I Dream of Jeannie
Hogan's Heroes
Get Smart
Batman

I think shows that premiered in the late '80s but ran primarily through the '90s like Full House (1987-1995), Roseanne (1988-1997), Family Matters (1989-1998), or really any of the earlier TGIF shows have reached classic status. I'll throw Home Improvement (1991-1999) in there too. Even Friends (1994-2004) has recently made it's way to TVLand and was on Nick@Nite a few years ago. The more recent episodes probably still seem somewhat contemporary but there's no mistaking a first season episode for something current.

I would consider classic TV before 1969.

I don't think classic t.v. only has to do with time. It also has to do with quality. Some people might think that shows like Knots Landing is classic but the show that came on right after it? How many even remember the show Kay O'Brien? Would people call that show a classic?



Cat

I voted 1985 and earlier. A lot of early 80s shows still have that "classic" vibe. Once we got to the computer age of the 80s, things changed.

Also, like oldies, the definition of what is considered "Classic TV" can shift forward over time. Back in the early '90s when I was a kid, it was basically anything pre-1979, since you could still catch many '80s shows in reruns outside of Nick at Nite, in which the honest to good classics would be shown, along with the fact that production techniques weren't that much of a leap. Nowadays, with Nick at Nite playing '90s shows, it's only natural that those can be seen as the "new classics", which while fair for their day in terms of breaking ground, now seem quaint compared to the HD era and the more intense, in your face productions of today. But it can even include some of the smaller things. Stuff that died toward the end of the '90s such as The Emergency Broadcasting System, signing off with the national anthem at late night, and daily syndicated cartoons on non-cable networks also give me this feeling that an era had passed.

I voted 1985 and earlier. A lot of early 80s shows still have that "classic" vibe. Once we got to the computer age of the 80s, things changed.


Isn't "classic" the same thing as "retro"? ???

Stuff that died toward the end of the '90s such as The Emergency Broadcasting System, signing off with the national anthem at late night, and daily syndicated cartoons on non-cable networks also give me this feeling that an era had passed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdpLWML_tDU


Emergency Broadcast System

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/6499/snoffindtvii0.jpg


http://www.akdart.com/vtr/jpeg/monoscope1y.jpg





Cat

I would say 1995 and before. TV became a lot edgier from the second half of the '90s onward and I would say shows that debuted prior to 1995 tend to have an old fashioned feel to them, including shows that aired seasons into the early 2000s.

I think shows that premiered in the late '80s but ran primarily through the '90s like Full House (1987-1995), Roseanne (1988-1997), Family Matters (1989-1998), or really any of the earlier TGIF shows have reached classic status. I'll throw Home Improvement (1991-1999) in there too. Even Friends (1994-2004) has recently made it's way to TVLand and was on Nick@Nite a few years ago. The more recent episodes probably still seem somewhat contemporary but there's no mistaking a first season episode for something current.


I would add Step by Step, Fresh Prince, Clarissa Explains It All and possibly Boy Meets World in there too. Actually I might say my definition of classic TV would be any television show that aired its first season before 1993 or '94. In that case even The Simpsons would qualify despite still being on the air. I don't think anyone would deny early '90s Simpsons is classic now.

Even some late '90s stuff might borderline qualify. Have you ever seen the Disney Channel reality show Bug Juice? It feels very dated, but it started in 1997.

Also, like oldies, the definition of what is considered "Classic TV" can shift forward over time. Back in the early '90s when I was a kid, it was basically anything pre-1979, since you could still catch many '80s shows in reruns outside of Nick at Nite, in which the honest to good classics would be shown, along with the fact that production techniques weren't that much of a leap. Nowadays, with Nick at Nite playing '90s shows, it's only natural that those can be seen as the "new classics", which while fair for their day in terms of breaking ground, now seem quaint compared to the HD era and the more intense, in your face productions of today. But it can even include some of the smaller things. Stuff that died toward the end of the '90s such as The Emergency Broadcasting System, signing off with the national anthem at late night, and daily syndicated cartoons on non-cable networks also give me this feeling that an era had passed.


I remember Emergency Broadcast System tests in the late 00s actually. They always creeped me out! I wonder if they still have them? Maybe they stopped when TV switched over to digital in 2009.

Actually I still remember the Emergency Broadcast System well into the 00s. I wonder if it died with digital broadcasts replacing anga

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/6499/snoffindtvii0.jpg


http://www.akdart.com/vtr/jpeg/monoscope1y.jpg





Cat


I remember those after a show was over and the national anthem played out.

I would say 1995 and before. TV became a lot edgier from the second half of the '90s onward and I would say shows that debuted prior to 1995 tend to have an old fashioned feel to them, including shows that aired seasons into the early 2000s.


I would think after the 1990's, reality TV shows became a thing to watch.

I remember Emergency Broadcast System tests in the late 00s actually. They always creeped me out! I wonder if they still have them? Maybe they stopped when TV switched over to digital in 2009.


I don't think they do anymore.