Classic (obscure?) TV shows you remember

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#3456448 27-Jan-2026 17:41

robjg63:

Green Acres from the 1960s.

Rewatched it recently - Still very funny.

Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor (not Zsa Zsa as some people will tell you).

It existed in the same universe as "The Bevery Hillbillies" and "Petticoat Junction" but much more Meta and often broke the fourth wall.

I watched a few of the above on YouTube recently. Of interest, they were all killed as the American network decided their audience was urban so the dropped these 'rural' shows.

I don't think anyone has mentioned MASH , had a very long run on NZ TV

ben28

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#3456459 27-Jan-2026 18:42

Paul1977:

I remember Terrorhawks fondly.

It had some feeling "grown up" concepts for a kids show if I remember correctly. Dr Ninestein was the leader and had 8 clones. In one episode he dies, so they recruited one of his clones (who had a completely different personality and life of his own) and just upload the original's memories and personality into him - presumably overwriting the clone's original persona.

At least that's how I remember it 40ish years later.

I remember watching it every weekday it was on, at my Gran's place on her old National colour TV, on TV 1. One time they showed a Christmas episode in October, and I remember her saying, "it's not Christmas!"

Brickbats to the TVNZ programmers back then 😀

sen8or

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#3456611 28-Jan-2026 08:13

Lizard1977:

Some other gems from the simpler times of the 80s and early 90s, not already mentioned:

- Face the Music, hosted by Simon Barnett

I was a contestant on that show, didn't make the final but it was a fun experience.

I used to like watching the dog trial show, and whatever the show was with Matthew (Ridge) and Marc (Ellis) where they ribbed on each other for 30 mins

Paul1977

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#3456698 28-Jan-2026 15:10

I don't think anyone has mentioned:

The A-Team
Knight Rider
Street Hawk
The Greatest American Hero
Hogan's Heroes
The Dukes of Hazzard
Jake and the Fatman
Riptide
CHiPs
Stingray
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.

gzt

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#3456707 28-Jan-2026 15:46

Definitely a classic list. None of those are obscure. I loved MacGyver. Rewatching an episode a while back it seemed a bit lame. Maybe I struck a dud episode.

allan

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#3456838 28-Jan-2026 22:25

For the oldies amongst us, how about The Prisoner from 1967 - "I am not a number, I am a free man".

I'm pretty sure that fits the obscure definition, probably also weird., incomprehensible and a few others. I would have watched it about age 14, depending on how long it took to make its way from the UK to the NZBC (as they were then) for screening. I only ever saw it in black and white, although it was made in colour. All episodes are now on YouTube.

In something of a local twist, I went to secondary school in New Plymouth with a guy called Mike Bodnar, who may be remembered as a radio host back in the day. He has written a novel, "Unity - Peace for All, Freedom for None" which develops a background story to The Prisoner" and attempts to make sense of the series. I've not begun it yet, because I wanted to rewatch "The Prisoner" first. However, it seems to have reviewed well.

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SepticSceptic

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#3456839 28-Jan-2026 22:33

Ahh, yes, The Prisoner. Really weird, bouncing weather balloon Sentinels, etc. Groovy Lotus car in the beginning sequence

There was a recent remake , don't think it has a cult following like the original.

quickymart

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#3456850 28-Jan-2026 23:29

allan:

In something of a local twist, I went to secondary school in New Plymouth with a guy called Mike Bodnar, who may be remembered as a radio host back in the day.

He also used to host Wellington regional news show Today Tonight, which (for some reason) was the show screened on the West coast, until it was switched to The Mainland Touch (from Christchurch) in the 1980s - which made more sense for local news as Canterbury is a lot closer than Wellington.

Paul1977

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#3456987 29-Jan-2026 13:52

gzt: Definitely a classic list. None of those are obscure. I loved MacGyver. Rewatching an episode a while back it seemed a bit lame. Maybe I struck a dud episode.

Yeah, I know not obscure. But can something even be classic AND obscure? Wouldn't it have to be one or the other?

Paul1977

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#3456996 29-Jan-2026 14:16

gzt: Definitely a classic list. None of those are obscure. I loved MacGyver. Rewatching an episode a while back it seemed a bit lame. Maybe I struck a dud episode.

ChatGPT says MacGyver started declining in quality after Season 4. Considering it went for 7 seasons total, the odds of a random episode not being great aren't exactly low.

Dynamic

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#3456998 29-Jan-2026 14:23

I rewatched the pilot and the first two episodes of both Knight Rider and The Greatest American Hero a couple of years ago. Small me loved those shows. Big me thinks they have not aged well.

I did enjoy re-watching the first two seasons of MacGyver at around the same time but did not watch further from there.

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Paul1977

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#3457000 29-Jan-2026 14:25

I have the faintest recollection of a 1980's show call The Tripods. I can just remember that big tripods machines (aliens?) were in it, and that humans were mind controlled by them.

EDIT: Oh, and Blake's 7. How could I forget that?

Paul1977

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#3457003 29-Jan-2026 14:33

Dynamic:

I rewatched the pilot and the first two episodes of both Knight Rider and The Greatest American Hero a couple of years ago. Small me loved those shows. Big me thinks they have not aged well.

I did enjoy re-watching the first two seasons of MacGyver at around the same time but did not watch further from there.

David Hasselhoff doing some investigation in a bar, and having a couple of drinks to blend in. Then jumping in his Trans Am and driving way too fast while not wearing a seat belt. How could that not have aged well?

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#3457006 29-Jan-2026 14:40

Super Gran

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Lizard1977

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#3457110 30-Jan-2026 08:13

Paul1977:

I have the faintest recollection of a 1980's show call The Tripods. I can just remember that big tripods machines (aliens?) were in it, and that humans were mind controlled by them.

EDIT: Oh, and Blake's 7. How could I forget that?

The Tripods was fantastic, I loved that when I was a kid. The books by John Christopher are amazing, have read them many times. To this day I remain bitter that they never got around to filming the third book The Pool of Fire.

Much later I discovered there was a prequel book written (Before the Tripods Came, I think) which explained how earth was invaded.

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