Stressed? Watch Old TV Shows

I love watching old TV shows, it's a fun way to relax and do nothing for a few minutes. From the 1950s to the early 2000s, there are so many old shows to choose from, you will never run of things to watch. Studies have shown that watching our favorite old TV shows can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Not sure what to watch, a quick online search through the decades will give you plenty of suggestion of old shows. From retro channels to DVDs to streaming services, you should be able to watch a lot of old shows. Below are a few suggestions:

50s: I Love Lucy, Adventures of Superman, The Donna Reed Show and Leave it to Beaver

60s: Batman, Bewitched, I Dream of Jennie, The Munsters and Star Trek

70s: Good Times, Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels and The Jeffersons

80s: Mama's Family, The A-Team, A Different World and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

90s: Living Single, Friends, Daria, Xena: Warrior Princess and Sabrina The Teenage Witch

2000s: Burn Notice, Smallville, Psych, Gilmore Girls and Monk

What old TV shows have you been watching or are planning to watch?

TV Round Up: Beauty and the Beast season 1 episode 1

Beauty and the Beast

Season 1 episode 1: "Once Upon a Time in the City of New York"

I watched the first episode of 1980's Beauty and the Beast TV series and I thought it was very interesting. It follows socialite and attorney Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) who after leaving a party, was abducted by a group of men. They thought she was a woman named Carol and was leaving her a message by beating her and severely slashing her face. Afterwards, the men tossed her out of a van and left her in a park.

I love watching the original Inspector Gadget animated series

I've mentioned before that I love watching old TV shows and cartoons are no exception. One of my favorite old cartoon series is the original Inspector Gadget animated series. In this 1980s series, Inspector Gadget is constantly on assignments trying to solve crimes that are generally connected to some evil plan of Dr. Claw. However, despite the fact that Gadget loves being a detective and he's equipped with some high tech gadgets, he's still not very good at his job.

If it wasn't for his extremely intelligent niece Penny and their over enthusiastic and equally smart dog Brain, Gadget would have been captured or killed by Dr. Claw and his M.A.D. agents a million times over, let alone be considered the best detective at the police department.

Anyone else a fan of the original Inspector Gadget? I really do love watching this show, it's funny and Gadget is a complete goof who causes as much trouble as the villains do, while trying to solve his cases. Well, at least he has Penny and Brain secretly helping him.

I know there's a new version of Inspector Gadget on Netflix but I haven't watched it yet. Maybe I'll add it to my queue but until then I'm just going to keep watching and enjoying the old version.

Do you know someone who loves 80's cartoons? If so, please recommend Inspector Gadget to them.

DVD Pick: Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series

I have never seen this 1980's Beauty and the Beast TV series that starred Linda Hamilton as Catherine Chandler and Ron Perlman as Vincent. The show ran for three seasons (56 episodes) from 1987 to 1990 and the only reason I found out about it was that I recently saw that The CW's Beauty and the Beast TV series (which I love and it's still one of my favorite shows) was loosely based on the 80's version.

In fact I had no idea the original series even existed until I found out about that little bit of information. Since, I'm always looking for new (or new to me) TV series or movies I decided to get it so I can watch it.

Once I watch it, I will be see if there are any more similarities between the original series and the reboot besides the main characters names.

Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series

Description:

Once upon a time is now and forever: Beauty and the Beast, the Emmy Award-winning, fan favorite show is more captivating than ever with The Complete Series. This unique fantasy-crime drama series features the adventures and romance between Vincent (Ron Perlman), a mythic, noble man-beast and Catherine (Linda Hamilton), a savvy assistant DA in New York. These two share a strong, mystical bond that enables Vincent while in his underground lair to sense whenever Catherine is in danger in the World Above.

In Remembrance: Adam West

It's so sad to hear about the death of Adam West, it's been reported that he died Friday night in Los Angles. He was considered a fan favorite in his iconic role as Batman on the 1960s Batman TV series.

I remember as a little girl watching the colorful show when it was on one of those retro stations. I loved it because it was fun and his Batman was always so positive and Batman and Robin would always stop the villains in the end. It wasn't until a few years ago that I rediscovered the show again on another retro channel and couldn't stop watching. I loved rewatching the show so much that it was no surprise that I received the complete series as a Christmas gift. I guess my family knew how much I loved this show.

I guess to all us fans he was the best in whatever role he was in from voice acting to making special guest appearances. It's hard not to see that he enjoyed being an icon as much as fans enjoyed seeing him. I wish his family the best, he will be missed by all of his fans.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (+ a Green Acres Marathon)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I wish everyone a fun, safe and happy St. Patrick's Day. For anyone looking for something fun to watch for the holiday, there's a Green Acres marathon on the Antenna TV channel.

I love this show it's so wacky and ridiculous with Oliver Wendell Douglas tired of the rat race of New York City decides to buy a farm in Hooterville. Too bad his wife Lisa who enjoys all the glamor of living in the city doesn't share his love of wanting to live on a farm. As a lawyer I don't understand how Mr. Douglas got suckered by that crook Mr. Haney into buying that dilapidated farm.

And that farm is nothing but trouble and couple that with all the zany residents of Hooterville there is always something going wrong. I forgot that Lisa can't cook she's always making something out of that infamous hotscakes batter such as those hotskebabs or in that Christmas episode she made a hideous fruitcake. They make me cringe just thinking about them.

I really don't know why I love watching wacky TV shows but I do and there is nothing more wackier than Green Acres.

Rewatching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

What is it about Lazy Sundays that makes me want to watch old TV shows. I decided to dig out my box set of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series and start a rewatch. This box set includes 155 episodes (145 episodes for the first three seasons and an additional 10 episodes for Alien Rangers).

So far, I've only rewatched the first four episodes but I found this show is still fun to watch. The Power Rangers always felt like a cross between cheerleaders and superheroes because of how enthusiastic they were and the exaggerated gestures they used to make whenever they went up against Rita Repulsa's monsters.

Ever since this show premiered on Fox Kids in 1993, I was instantly a fan and I loved the characters: Jason (Red Ranger), Trini (Yellow Ranger), Zack (Black Ranger), Billy (Blue Ranger), Kimberly (Pink Ranger), Zordon, Alpha 5 and Ernie. Tommy (Green Ranger then later became the White Ranger) who joined the series a little later on turned out to be a good addition to the team once he stopped being Rita's evil minion. I can't believe how annoying Bulk and Skull were, they had to be the most incompetent bullies I've ever seen.

Every now and then I think it's fun to recapture a bit your childhood and I can't wait to rewatch the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to seeing all the wacky fun adventures and all the 90s fashions from overalls to all the plaid. I want to see when Tommy first appeared and sadly when Jason, Trini and Zack left with Rocky, Aisha and Adam eventually taking over their respective ranger colors. By the end of the series Kimberly left and was replaced by Katherine but unlike Aisha, Adam and Rocky, she didn't leave a lasting impression with me. Other than her name, I don't recall much about her and Aisha also left and was later replaced by Tanya.

I will admit that I had stopped watching the series after these first three seasons, Alien Rangers and the first movie. But with the series currently in it's 24th season I might be interested in continuing on with it especially since I believe Billy left by the fourth season and I would like to see his last episode. I would also like to see if there are any more seasons or cast that might capture my attention but for now I will be happy rewatching these episodes.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Green Hornet!

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Green Hornet! It premiered on September 9, 1966 and although it only stayed on for one season, it has endured as a cult classic.

Van Williams and Bruce Lee starred as the legendary duo Green Hornet and Kato. Gaining clues and insight into the criminal world as millionaire charismatic newspaper owner Britt Reid, it gives the Green Hornet the leverage he needs to be the villain that's really the hero. Britt Reid and Kato got a little help from Lenore Case and District Attorney Frank Scanlan while they all tried to keep Mike Axford from trying to cause trouble while investigating the Green Hornet.

Van Williams' calm and cool demeanor gave off the appearance that the Green Hornet was more dangerous and calculating than the average crook or villain. While Bruce Lee's martial art skills were on display making Kato one of the most dangerous sidekicks around. The portrayal of Lenore Case by Wende Wagner was amazing because she wasn't shown as a damsel-in-distress but instead as a smart, capable and confident woman.

Something that I always paid attention to was that this show had great fashion from Britt Reid's stylish suits to Lenore Case's entire wardrobe. The clothes were simply amazing, the styles are still very wearable even today. I also noticed that even the Green Hornet and Kato's costumes had fantastic details to them. This show was a win-win overall with the action and adventure, acting and fashion.

I first saw this show on one of the retro channels and instantly became a fan. Although The Green Hornet premiered several month after the Batman TV series, I thought it was interesting that it had a more grittier feel to it compared to the wonderful campiness of Batman.

The Green Hornet was a great show and definitely deserves more appreciation. I do hope one day that series will eventually be available on DVD/Blu-ray. So far there has been no information about it. Until then I will just enjoy the show whenever it's shown on one of the retro channels. And speaking of retro channels, the Decades TV channel is currently showing a block of The Green Hornet episodes throughout the day, so check your local listing for times.

Fashion Meets Comics: Barbara Gordon's Yellow Coat (Batman 60s TV series)

For this Fashion Meets Comics post I was inspired by Barbara Gordon's yellow coat. It's very feminine and sophisticated but also has this youthful look to it.

In the third season of the Batman TV series, Barbara was shown wearing this mod yellow coat in various episodes including her very first appearance in the episode "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin". This coat has a A-line shape that was very of the moment back in the 60s. I love that this coat was such a bold yellow instead of in classic black or gray. Looking at that coat I wonder if all of those pockets were just decorative or actually functional.

This coat has a simple look but it's very polished yet still fun. Although Barbara is a librarian, she was never shown dressed in a stereotypical "stuffy librarian" sort of way. Many of her outfits on the show were in bright colors and patterns that gave her a ladylike look for her days working at the Gotham City Library.

As I was putting together this post, I wanted to find something that had a similar feel to Barbara's coat instead of something that gives off the appearance of a 60s inspired costume. These three coats that I found have a modern look but also gives off a retro vibe.

What do you think, are they Barbara Gordon worthy?

Stadium-Cloth Cocoon Coat     $350.00   J.Crew (jcrew.com)

Ellen Tracy Wool Blend Stadium Coat    $198.00   Nordstrom (shop.nordstrom.com)

Double-Coth Lady Day Coat    $365.00    J.Crew (jcrew.com)

Throwback Thursday: Julia (Diahann Carroll)

Diahann Carroll in her groundbreaking non-stereotypical role as Julia, which was also the title of the classic TV series that premiered in 1968.

Art of the Day: The Munsters

Artwork: The Munsters by DennisBudd

I love watching those old TV shows like The Munsters on the retro channels. They're crazy and zany and really funny. Herman is so gullible and always end up getting tricked into doing something like being the get away driver for a couple of crooks.