Television sucks today. Let’s just admit it, shall we? Reality shows. 20 versions of CSI and 20 versions of Law & Order. The only shows on traditional network TV worth watching are The Simpsons, King of the Hill and Ugly Betty. And since TV Land actually airs classic TV shows about three hours a day now, where you going to turn for classic TV drama? The Roku player, that’s where. If you plunk down the cash for the affordable Roku player you can enjoy some classic TV dramas from yesteryear via the Netflix instant viewing option.
Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
Let’s just admit the unpleasant and get it over with, shall we? Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy could only have had careers on TV during the late 70s and today; and even today they would have to become reality show contestants. Pamela Sue Martin is never mentioned as a great TV actress, but when you watch her during the crossover episodes featuring both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew it is kind of like watching Barbara Stanwyck act with Keanu Reeves and John Travolta. She totally blows them out of the water. Get you Roku going, pop some popcorn and bring you kids into the room to show them what Fred Silverman wrought when he took over ABC.
Emergency!
Rampart, rampart! Emergency introduced most of America to something they had never heard of before: paramedics. This was one of those shows from the early 70s that featured a recurring cast of characters who went out and met up with special guests, but also had a home to go to in which many subplots were going on. Think Adam-12 in a fire station. Funny and thrilling, Emergency reveals the sad lack of a soul that permeates such contemporary shows as CSI and Law & Order.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak is the perfect kind of TV show for the Roku. It is Friday or Saturday night and TBS is showing Spiderman 2 for the 72nd and TNT is showing yet another romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock or whatever and you are in the mood for something creepy, but not one of these current horror flicks that confuse entrails spewing out of bodies left and right being scary. Go to Netflix and choose a Kolchak episode and turn off the lights and turn on the Roku.
Xena: Warrior Princess
The end of the Golden Age of TV drama came with the signoff of Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, nothing. Xena is both a great dramatic show and, I would argue, an even greater comedy. The funny episodes of Xena produce as many laughs as a sitcom and far more than what passes for sitcoms today. Pretty much every season of Xena is available on Netflix for instant viewing so sit back and enjoy Joxer the Mighty and Xena’s sidekick Gabrielle with her little stick and, of course, Autolycus and Aphrodite.
Columbo
Columbo is probably one of those shows that seems better as you remember it than it does in the rewatching, but you never know. Use Roku to see whether I’m right or not.
Miami Vice
Gotta admit, I was never a fan of Miami Vice. The only episode I was able to make it all the way through was the legendary one where Bruce Willis played a major psychopath. Watching that episode it is hard to believe it’s the same guy who is afraid to register any emotion on his face on the big screen.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
While not quite to the same level as the best of Twilight Zone or the best of the original Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchock Presents is nevertheless a great TV show to make the Roku worth the expense. Lots of dark humor and spooks all contained in an easy to digest thirty or sixty minutes.
Quantum Leap
Take leap with Sam Beckett through a series of adventures that take place within the time span of his life life. This was a series quite beloved by its fans and used to air fairly regularly on the Sci-Fi Channel before they decided to air Stargates and Battlestar Galacatica 20 hours day. Use the Roku to revisit one of your favorite SF series from the 80s and 90s.
Amazing Stories
Steven Spielberg attempted to do for the 1980s what Rod Serling did for the 1960s. Amazing Stories will never be confused with Twilight Zone but certain episodes are worth repeated watching on the Roku, including Family Dog and Mummy Daddy.
Murder She Wrote
When did A&E; stop airing repeats of Murder She Wrote? Oh yeah, when they were misinformed that Gene Simmons and Dog the Bounty Hunter provided not just the E but the A in the network’s name. If your idea of watching Corey Haim and Corey Feldman isn’t exactly one that inspires you to sit down and watch TV, then buy the Roku and detect along with Jessica Fletcher.
