Good family-friendly series on DVD

[Teaching3bears]

We are watching all of Gilligan’s Island and really enjoying it.  What should we watch next?

[saraha]

We LOVE, like have watched the whole series at least three times, the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew series from the 70s. Just enough action and spookiness without being too much. 

[PeterPan]

Sue Thomas FBI 

[fairfarmhand]

Andy griffith and

hogans heroes are our two favorites. My son in particular loves hogans heroes.

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

Andy griffith and

hogans heroes are our two favorites. My son in particular loves hogans heroes.

If you like Hogan's Heros - you'll probably also like F-Troop.

 

Sabrina the teenage witch

Alias Smith and Jones

Kung Fu, the series with Keith Carradine

 

[Innisfree]

If you enjoy humor but want to move beyond sitcoms, try BBC's Jeeves and Wooster with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. That's been a huge hit here, from upper elementary/middle school onward.

Adding that some classic shows like I Love Lucy and Laurel and Hardy might also be good.

Edited November 28, 2020 by Innisfree

[Innisfree]

Oh, I have another... All Creatures Great and Small. 

[matrips]

I went through our library DVDs today and put some of these on hold for us.  
 

Mission impossible 

Murder she wrote

Doctor who

6million dollar man

Father dowling series

I love Lucy 

Little House on the orairie

Gilligans islands

Hogans heroes

Bewitched

Brady Bunch

Highway to heaven

Dick van dyke

[MercyA]

The Brady Bunch!

I like Little House on the Prairie but some of the episodes are quite dark.

[frankincense]

10 minutes ago, MercyA said:

The Brady Bunch!

I like Little House on the Prairie but some of the episodes are quite dark.

Yes, I found this out the hard way. The shows in the early seasons were heartwarming and quite benign, so I admit I wasn't always watching with DD when she watched some of the episodes. As it went on the subject matter seemed to get more sensationalized/intense, including such topics as suicide and r*p*. I regretted not previewing those episodes -- live and learn. 

[J-rap]

Bewitched was my favorite as a kid.   Get Smart was probably next...  And it seems even funnier from an adult perspective.  It still cracks me up.  🙂 

[Terabith]

1 hour ago, J-rap said:

Bewitched was my favorite as a kid.   Get Smart was probably next...  And it seems even funnier from an adult perspective.  It still cracks me up.  🙂 

I loved Bewitched as a kid, but there is a LOT of drinking/ using alcohol as a coping mechanism.  

[J-rap]

7 hours ago, Terabith said:

I loved Bewitched as a kid, but there is a LOT of drinking/ using alcohol as a coping mechanism.  

You know, you're right!  Although I don't think I ever picked up on that as a kid.  It IS surprising to though me how many "family friendly" movies and shows that I loved in the 60's and early 70's are ones that I'd have second-thoughts about now for similar reasons.

[EmilyGF]

8 hours ago, Terabith said:

I loved Bewitched as a kid, but there is a LOT of drinking/ using alcohol as a coping mechanism.  

I am constantly amazed by how much drinking and drunkenness there is in old TV shows and movies. We tend to talk about it and the kids usually find it off-putting.

My brother tells me that smoking and drinking were introduced into early movies because, post-overdramatic silent films, actors were doing all sorts of bizarre movements with their hands. A drink in one hand and a cigarette in other other kept their hands occupied without looking weird. 

[gardenmom5]

12 hours ago, J-rap said:

Bewitched was my favorite as a kid.   Get Smart was probably next...  And it seems even funnier from an adult perspective.  It still cracks me up.  🙂 

In the same vein - I dream of Jennie

Rocky and Bullwinkle - I loved it as a kid, but it is so an adult's cartoon!  As in, a lot of the humor goes over the heads of kids.

10 hours ago, Terabith said:

I loved Bewitched as a kid, but there is a LOT of drinking/ using alcohol as a coping mechanism.  

Apparently - it was real booze.   very much a crutch to be able to "socialize" too. 

 The actress who played Tabitha (her fraternal twin was used for "back of the head" shots.)  said they never drank around the kids on set.

[J-rap]

4 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

In the same vein - I dream of Jennie

Rocky and Bullwinkle - I loved it as a kid, but it is so an adult's cartoon!  As in, a lot of the humor goes over the heads of kids.

Apparently - it was real booze.   very much a crutch to be able to "socialize" too. 

 The actress who played Tabitha (her fraternal twin was used for "back of the head" shots.)  said they never drank around the kids on set.

Whoa, they really drank booze on set?  But not around the kids...  hmmm....   I always heard that it was a set of twins that played Tabitha, but I didn't realize that one of them was only in back-of-head scenes!  (Wonder what that did for her self-confidence!)

ETA:  I loved I Dream of Jeanie too, although now of course it seems so very sexist.  Whereas Samantha (in Bewitched) always appeared the sharpest of the bunch.

Edited November 29, 2020 by J-rap

[J-rap]

6 hours ago, EmilyGF said:

I am constantly amazed by how much drinking and drunkenness there is in old TV shows and movies. We tend to talk about it and the kids usually find it off-putting.

My brother tells me that smoking and drinking were introduced into early movies because, post-overdramatic silent films, actors were doing all sorts of bizarre movements with their hands. A drink in one hand and a cigarette in other other kept their hands occupied without looking weird. 

Interesting.  One of my dh's and my favorite old-time movie series was the Thin Man series, for the comedy and wit (from the 1930's), but they were drinking constantly.  

[EmilyGF]

49 minutes ago, J-rap said:

Interesting.  One of my dh's and my favorite old-time movie series was the Thin Man series, for the comedy and wit (from the 1930's), but they were drinking constantly.  

I think I'd just watched The Thin Man on the plane when we had the talk. 

[Terabith]

I liked The Patty Duke Show on nick at nite when I was a kid.  

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, J-rap said:

Whoa, they really drank booze on set?  But not around the kids...  hmmm....   I always heard that it was a set of twins that played Tabitha, but I didn't realize that one of them was only in back-of-head scenes!  (Wonder what that did for her self-confidence!)

ETA:  I loved I Dream of Jeanie too, although now of course it seems so very sexist.  Whereas Samantha (in Bewitched) always appeared the sharpest of the bunch.

They were fraternal twins, not identical.  The one who played Tabitha bore the resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery they were searching for.

She said EM would throw them a birthday party too.  

 

I remember watching the Beverly Hillbillies - now I find it downright offensive: in the vein of Hollywood mocking the "unsophisticated country folk".  (hasn't changed much with some of the reality tv shows they have going.)  Set granny loose on them . . . .

[Selkie]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

They were fraternal twins, not identical.  The one who played Tabitha bore the resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery they were searching for.

She said EM would throw them a birthday party too.  

 

I remember watching the Beverly Hillbillies - now I find it downright offensive: in the vein of Hollywood mocking the "unsophisticated country folk".  (hasn't changed much with some of the reality tv shows they have going.)  Set granny loose on them . . . .

I loved Bewitched when I was a kid. I wanted to be Tabitha!

[Tina]

Green Acres, Family Affair for younger kids.  Also A-Team, Leverage, Quantum Leap for olders.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Tina

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Tina said:

Green Acres, Family Affair for younger kids.  Also A-Team, Leverage, Quantum Leap for olders.

I liked quantum leap when it started - then it started getting preachy.  It was a real turnoff.

[ktgrok]

15 hours ago, Terabith said:

I liked The Patty Duke Show on nick at nite when I was a kid.  

Yes, me too!

And I like Any Griffith now still. 

 

[AnneBlessedx4]

Gomer Pyle, USMC

That Girl

The Danny Thomas Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show.  I never saw any of them as a kid, but I have watched them with my kids, and my whole crew finds them funny. 

[Terabith]

I LOVED Quantum Leap.  

[ktgrok]

The Cosby Show (if you can get beyond the issues with the primary actor).