Vintage TV promotes feelings of nostalgia

By Shayla Neufeld
The Collegian

The ABC network’s original TGIF lineup consumed many people’s Friday nights from 1988-99. Hearing the phrase “Did I do that?” often triggers a memory of the distinctive voice of Steve Urkel, the “Family Matters” nerd who wore rolled-up jeans with multicolored suspenders and thick eyeglasses.

Many people would say Urkel’s show lost its audience from “back in the day,” but shows like it are more accessible than ever.

Fresno State students are tuning into older television shows for entertainment just as much as current reality show fare or network series. Some people might be emotionally attached to an older show; some come back to programs out of habit; others seem to watch shows simply because the market tells them to.

Holly Blair, a graduate student working on her master’s degree in English, wants shows that she can relate to from her own generation. She prefers reruns of “Friends” and “Will and Grace.” Select networks air both shows at numerous times throughout the day.

Cable channels are mostly responsible for airing TV shows that graced the airwaves in the ’80s and ’90s.

Nick at Nite offers the biggest variety of old favorites, with familiar faces that invite viewers to reconnect to their pasts and relax into the comfortable.

Some people, like communication major Stephanie Buchanan, think people might want to get away from reality when watching television. “People don’t want to see problems. They want to see happy shows that make them laugh,” Buchanan said.

Students looking for comfort can also find their favorite shows packed on special-edition DVD box sets.

Actors and actresses are even reappearing in the spotlight to promote their old TV shows on DVD.

According to an April article in USA Today, “stars see DVD as a way to boost their profile or immortalize their legacy.” Or to put in another way: They have a job offer and a chance to make more money. Actresses in the article said they were happy that younger generations have developed an interest in ’80s shows that aired around the time they were born.

Technology has advanced so much in recent years that it continuously is being made to fit our needs, English professor Mike Tate believes. People have been given the opportunity to pick what to watch, when they want to watch it.

“Choose what you cherish,” Tate said.

Buchanan has an interest in older TV programs because she grew up with them and they take her back to that period in her life, back to when she was a child and did not have to deal with the stress she now feels as a college student.

Students like Buchanan and Blair have been craving networks that air older television shows, according to a recent article in Broadcasting magazine. “The past couple of years have seen a resurgence of such programming, variously called ‘vintage,’ ‘classic,’ ‘perennial,’ or ‘evergreen,’ the magazine said. “But whatever it’s called, stations are buying and airing more of it than ever before.”

Blair describes TV classics as a means of pushing social boundaries, in how they define male and female relationships. Older shows such as “I Love Lucy” cast Lucy and Ricky Ricardo sleeping in separate beds but in the same room. Any newer show, Blair points out, would frown upon that, but the arrangement was appropriate for that time.

People must know the past before understanding the future. “Technology has allowed us to be able to watch everything, and we need to know what has paved the way for what we watch now,” Bernath said.

Bernath considers the older TV shows a ploy by networks to pull in older viewers. “They know the old will bring the viewers in and hopefully stay to watch the new programming,” Bernath said.

Broadcasting said price is one reason for the invasion of older TV shows. Older programs do not cost as much as newer ones. To save money, networks are showing the “classics” instead of shoveling out money to play newer shows.

Whatever the reasons may be, networks will always have viewers that long for the need to go back in time and watch older programs. People are connected to older TV shows for personal reasons. Whatever those reasons may be, most aren’t ready to give them up.

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