History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / LiveACtionTV

* [[Series/KamenRiderExAid Ex-Aid's]] cameo appearance is a lot more video game-y than most of his series would be - his battle begins with a fighting game-style versus screen, complete with an announcer calling "FIGHT!", and he obtains tokens from enemies (and the tokens don't actually seem to do anything, other than possibly make his attacks stronger). In his series, the tokens (named Energy Items) have specific effects (some bad, some good), and they're obtained from game items rather than from enemies.

*** The original "Coffee Talk" sketches featured MikeMyers as the middle-aged ''male'' radio host Paul Baldwin who talked with callers calmly about "dogs, daughters, lofts and coffee ... you know, no big whoop." Since the sketch's basic joke (on the way the initial vowels are pronounced with a [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents New York City accent]]) wore thin pretty quickly, Paul Baldwin soon became an older guy, and then Myers began putting on a dress and playing his then-mother-in-law, Linda Richman, as an excitable middle-aged Jewish woman with various cohosts of what was now just a standard TV talk show.

** The first major appearance of the Secret Service was an amusing BullyingADragon scene where a couple of frat boys harassed Zoey, the President's daughter, and she ended up using her panic button, having a pile of Secret Service-men swarm the bar and one of them grabbing the main aggressor and growls "Don't move! Swear to God I'll blow your head off!". After this the Secret Service were always portrayed as an agency with the utmost professionalism and for keeping it cool in action. Although in fairness, most of the times we see them after that they're not trying to intimidate someone who, as far as they're aware, is threatening someone they're charged to protect.

** [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The characterizations start off very different]]. Leslie Knope is awkward, overbearing, and somewhat incompetent, Andy is a lazy JerkAss rather than the affable ManChild of the later seasons, Tom was Leslie's straitlaced NumberTwo rather than the "swag" obsessed JerkWithAHeartOfGold he later becomes, among others. It's obvious that the characters are [[{{Expy}} based on characters]] from ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', where Leslie is Michael Scott, Ann is Pam, Ron is Dwight, Mark is Jim Halpert, Andy is Roy Anderson, Tom is Ryan Howard, April is Angela Martin (with some Ryan mixed in) and Jerry is Kevin and Toby rolled into one. There was also a heavier focus on the government aspect of the show. Both were the result of the fact that ''Parks'' started off as a clone of ''The Office'' before it found its own voice and style.

* Early seasons of ''Series/SesameStreet'' were much slower-paced, and frequently relied on lectures (such as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRdo_lRpaIc this]] really long, calming one about how milk is made), making it more in line with competitors such as ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' and ''Series/CaptainKangaroo''. Also, some segments tended to repeat at least twice, since they acted like TV commercials. They abandoned this around the mid 1970s.

** Characters looked very different, too. Oscar, for example, was orange, and only his head was visible. Big Bird missed most of the feathers on his head, and had the mindset of a dim-witted adult bird rather than a child. During Elmo's first appearance in 1978, he was known as "Baby Monster" and had a deep, gravely voice instead of his recognizable childish one. Plus, Grover was green.

* During the first season of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Sweet Dee is [[OnlySaneMan the female voice of reason]] for the gang, Charlie is not quite the ManChild idiot savant he is in later seasons, Mac has no closeted gay insinuations. Frank isn't even the cast. Later seasons add Frank into the mix, switch around some characterizations, and flanderize the rest.

* At the start of ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Jack was a PointyHairedBoss (he's now an EccentricMentor) and Jenna was Liz's neurotic best friend (she's now an insane, [[SmallNameBigEgo egotistical]] AttentionWhore). Liz was also much more serious with only some traces of goofiness, and she and Jack started off having a fairly antagonistic relationship. In addition, Tracey initially had some facial hair and his entourage had several members, though most of them soon disappeared except for Grizz and Dotcom. Also, the show was more... well, not realistic exactly, but certainly less [[SurrealHumor surreal]] than it is now.

** The first season episode "The Fighting Irish" has Jack falling for a con conceived by his brother (Nathan Lane) & father, who actually appears in the episode. Later episodes established that Jack's father ran out on him and his mom when he was young, and he never saw him again.

* ''Series/{{Endurance}}'' Season 1 had just ten pieces, whereas Seasons 2 and 3 had 12, Seasons 4 and 5 had 13, and Season 6 had 14. Season 1 also had multiple prize trips that the teams could win. Finally, the way the pieces (and prize trips) were given off was a lot more complicated than in every season afterwards: on E1, they would be up for grabs in the next Endurance Mission.* ''Series/{{Entourage}}'': In the first episode, Ari boasts about sleeping with a starlet, while in later episodes, it is clear that adultery is the one line Ari won't cross. Also in this episode, a room in Vince's house has four electric guitars on stands. In a later episode, it is shown that Vince can barely sing, and he is never shown playing any musical instruments.

* ''Series/{{Entourage}}'': In the first episode, Ari boasts about sleeping with a starlet, while in later episodes, it is clear that adultery is the one line Ari won't cross. Also in this episode, a room in Vince's house has four electric guitars on stands. In a later episode, it is shown that Vince can barely sing, and he is never shown playing any musical instruments.

* The first two seasons of ''SexAndTheCity'' seem a little less "chick show" than the later ones, with stories about male, non-love interest friends of theirs, a somewhat more cynical attitude and a lot less emphasis on fashion. The episodes would generally include at least one scene of people on the street giving their opinion on the main topic of the episode. In the very first episode, Carrie herself breaks the fourth wall a couple of times by directly speaking to the audience.

** McCoy makes an offhand reference to Vulcan being conquered in "The Conscience of the King", an idea which was quickly retconned.

* ''Series/TheAvengers'' began as a gritty crime drama, in which Steed's partner was a man (Dr. David Keel, played by Ian Hendry). Few people know this because most of those episodes are [[MissingEpisode lost]].

** In several early serials, the TARDIS is referred to as "the ship" or "the spaceship" even by the Doctor himself. Today's Doctor would never use such an impersonal term for his beloved TARDIS.

** When the Doctor first regenerated in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet "The Tenth Planet"]], his clothing appeared to automatically change as well. This was quickly dropped, and now a major tradition of regeneration is the Doctor picking his new wardrobe.

** The Doctor is seen smoking a pipe during the 1963-64 season. He kicks the habit thereafter. (The Fourth Doctor assembles and lights a hookah [[RandomSmokingScene as part of a disguise]] in "The Deadly Assassin", but [[NoSmoking complains "this is a no-smoking compartment"]] about a burned-out computer later in the story.)
** The first episode featuring each incarnation of the Doctor has [[Main/JustifiedTrope justified]] early installment weirdness, regarding the new Doctor wearing the "wrong" clothing, as, having just regenerated, he/she is still wearing the previous Doctor's outfit.

* The ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'' pilot is very weird compared to the rest of the series: First of all, Ray's house look somewhat different to the one seen in every episode afterwards, while Frank and Marie's looks very different. Secondly, the baby twins, Geoffrey and Michael, are instead named Gregory and Matthew in the pilot only and are played by different babies. Ray also has a good friend called Leo in the pilot who is never seen or mentioned for the rest of the series. Robert's voice is noticeably different here (Brad Garrett uses his natural speaking voice for the pilot, and deepened it gradually until it turned into the dopey, deadpan low voice everyone knows well). The characters also seem to act differently in this episode. Marie for example complains about Raymond in this episode twice: first, to make Robert feel better, claiming that his sportswriter job is a waste of time, and one day later actually scolds him for setting up a monthly delivery of useless fruit to her house. She very rarely has anything bad to say about Raymond after this episode. Frank, on the other hand, demonstrates a grandfatherly love of Ray's children in this episode that is almost never seen in later ones, where he instead dislikes Ray's children and rarely shows them affection.
** The early seasons also seemed to have a different feel from the later seasons. However, some people like the tone of the early seasons better, when the comedy seemed a bit more subtle, and Debra wasn't mean (yet). In the earlier episodes, Ray and Debra were in it together against Ray's marauding parents and brother. In the later episodes, the show was more or less a collective of neuroses played up against each other -- Ray was more of a mama's boy and idiot, and Debra became meaner and nastier.
* The first season of ''LiveAction/TheEricAndreShow'' was filmed on suitably 80's TV equipment, giving it a true SD look worthy of an Abso-Lutely production. All of the sketches were written by Eric himself, as opposed to a more conventional team of writers, leading to the show having a slightly tighter feel. Also, the show had more celebrity impersonators as opposed to real ones (everyone in Season 2 played themselves, while Season 3 only used impersonators for Reese Witherspoon, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, with the latter two having already been in a previous episode).

* The pilot of ''Series/FatherTed'' is the episode in which Jack "dies" (the 6th episode broadcast) and there are notable differences -- the parochial house is different, Ted quotes Creator/JamesJoyce, and at the end they plot Father Jack's death. The first episode of the series also featured an animated scene; something that would never appear again during the entire rest of the show. The first few episodes also featured an aborted attempt at a running joke based upon Dougal staring out of the window to see some implausible stock footage apparently happening outside the house (a massive storm or some implausibly giant ants who are apparently invading Craggy Island (again)).
* In the ''Series/FirstWave'' pilot, the alien impersonating [[ChosenOne Cade]]'s wife sprouts some tentacles that nearly choke Cade to death. This is the last we see of any tentacles for the rest of the series.

* The general air of season 1 of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' was far more like ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' (in that it was a spin-off of ''Cheers'') and other '80s sitcoms — mainly, in its treatment of emotional issues in a comedy. The second and third seasons would perfect the show's trademark use of taking complex or emotional issues and events and making ''them'' funny through complications, character reactions, or exaggeration; rather than alternating between emotional character moments and shallow humor moments, which can come off as kitschy.

** As a result of the planned Joey/Monica relationship, both their characterizations were subtly different: Joey was more jerkish and a HandsomeLech, while Monica was a lot more sexual. They settled into their normal characters pretty fast though. This change was partly due to Matt Leblanc and Courteney Cox's take on the characters. The writers admitted Matt gave Joey heart and Courteney softened Monica a lot and made her more of the TeamMom. (These changes meant she was better matched with the adorably awkward [[{{HollywoodDateless}} Chandler]] than with the confident [[{{TheCasanova}} Joey]]).

** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' had a lot of weirdness early on. The unmorphed fights scenes were slower and had a few goofy moves, Alpha5 had a teddy bear, Zordon had an RP British accent, etc. Once the show got its SixthRanger, and grew out its beard, the show had found its identity, and most of the weirdness was ironed out. "It's morphing time" (with a G) was first said by Zordon, and wasn't something the Rangers always shouted - it was just a TitleDrop and a mention that morphing was what it was time to do. It took a few episodes for "It's morphin' time!" to become an obligatory pre-morph call stated by the Red Ranger (though sometimes taken over by the spotlight Ranger). The first episode had the unmorphed Rangers wearing their Power Morphers as belt buckles (like their ''Zyuranger'' counterparts) unlike the rest of the show, where they were usually just hidden in the teens' pockets. The posing-routine-with-name-shouting wouldn't be established for ''many'' years and then was still rarely used until ''Wild Force'', though there were a few instances of sentai posing footage finding its way into MMPR episodes, with new dialogue and often going unnoticed due to [[HeadBob the fact that all ranger movement is exaggerated while suited]]. Most notably, the zord summoning throughout season two was a standard roll call in ''Zyuranger.''

** In Stuart's first appearance he is a socially adept guy with artistic talent and a cool job (Owning the Comicbook store). He impresses Penny and dates her for a short time. Leonard finds him very threatening as a cool, socially adept geek. In later appearances he becomes more and more pathetic, eventually becoming someone the other character look down on as overly pathetic.

** The show also differs in its general feel: It had a greater budget than its successors, allowing larger sets, location shooting and a far greater number of actors and extras. When budget cuts were made for Blackadder II, the writers (now including Creator/BenElton) compensated by putting more emphasis on dialog and characterisation, which most fans agree was [[GrowingTheBeard beneficial for the show as a whole]]. As Elton put it, "Rowan Atkinson falling off a horse in the middle distance is no funnier than anyone else falling off a horse in the middle distance. Get in close and he'll make you laugh."

* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'' depicts the Cartwrights as stand-offish and put-off by outsiders in its earliest episodes. Also, Ben Cartwright tended to be less patient and in fact, harsher, with his sons in general. However, series star Lorne Greene objected after a few early episodes were filmed and recommended that -- because the Cartwrights owned the largest timber and livestock operation in Nevada Territory, they ought to be warming and friendly. The producers ultimately agreed ... and the Cartwright family became the welcoming, heartwarming family a generation of viewers came to know.

** Angel's first few appearances has the character affect a rather snarky and smug persona. It isn't until [[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E7Angel]] that he became the dark, brooding vampire with a soul. Every appearance thereafter would exhibit the stoic, broody persona that people came to associate with the character.

** Fi switches from an Irish accent to an American one in the second episode of season 1. In universe, she explains it's to blend in. Out of universe, the reason is probably more or less the same; the writers realized she'd have to adopt an American accent for most her undercover work anyway. That, and English actress Gabrielle Anwar's American accent is better than her Irish.

** In the second episode one of the shape-shifting demons held on the book and tried to get it out of the house by carrying it. Never once did it shock him like the evil sensing and shocking book that would come later. It's heavily implied that the shapeshifter's powers confused the book at first: whilst it allowed him to carry it, the book did refuse to leave the house, flying out of his hands when he tried to force it through the door, and sliding away when he tried to reach for it again. Likewise, the book is shown to be connected to the sisters' powers, and it becomes steadily savvier, and more aggressive to evil as the series goes on. It's therefore implied that it's just the book's defensive capabilities strengthening as the sisters' powers do, as opposed to a complete [[FridgeBrilliance non sequitur]].

** The first season featured spells and potions that were inspired by real life Wicca and neopagan practices (creator Constance M Burge was inspired by ''Film/TheCraft'' which used similar ideas). This was phased out around season 2 and more emphasis was placed on vanquishing potions and the sisters' active powers.

** The early Daleks were extremely unpleasant creatures but acted mostly out of paranoia, very old and ancient feuds and naked self interest, also being a lot more talkative and eloquent (a memorable scene where they dictate a letter for Susan to write to the Thals comes to mind; "[[CreepyMonotone WE CAN AL-SO SU-PPLY QUAN-TI-TIES OF FRESH VE-GE-TA-BLES . . .]]"). While they hated their enemies the Thal race, their main reason for wanting to shower their planet with nuclear material was because they were dependent on radiation to survive and needed to do this to terraform their world for them, with the side benefit of killing the Thals. They were also portrayed as being very vulnerable – heavily armed, but dependent on powered floors for movement and very weak and pathetic in nature. Later Daleks were much less reasonable and much more angry, with the primary motivation for their evil being genocidal racism against everything that isn't Dalek in origin. They also became a lot less talkative, probably because their screechy voices were just horrible to listen to, and a lot less pitiful. Daleks that showed up later still were even more dangerous, having almost destroyed the nigh-omnipotent Time Lords, and they were now willing to ''play'' pitiful and vulnerable if it was the only way to get what they wanted (such as the one in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]], which [[ImpliedLoveInterest borderline seduces Rose into feeding it energy]]).

** Except for two standalone episodes (One of which was feature length), the classic series consisted entirely of multi-part stories. While these were generally called "Story Name, Episode/Part X", the first 2 seasons and most of the 3rd had individual episode titles.

** In the pilot, the opening credits sequence didn't just feature the credits for the main cast, but also many of the one-time supporting characters. Interestingly, Stanley Kamel is credited third on the cast listing (as if they were expecting Dr. Kroger to become more of a regular character; it's also noticeable BillingDisplacement as Dr. Kroger only gets a short two minute scene at the beginning and another short one near the end), and Jason-Gray Stanford (Randy) comes after such names as Michael Hogan (Warren St. Claire) and Ben Bass (Gavin Lloyd).

* Anyone going back to watch series 1 of the BritCom ''Series/PeepShow'' will notice the, frankly, ridiculous music the show opens to.

* The first two seasons of ''SexAndTheCity'' seem a little less "chick show" than the later ones, with stories about male, non-love interest friends of theirs, a somewhat more cynical attitude and a lot less emphasis on fashion. The episodes would have one scene of people on the street giving their opinion on the topic of the episode, and Carrie herself broke the fourth wall a couple of times by directly speaking to the audience.

** The [[TransatlanticEquivalent Spanish equivalent]], ''[[Series/LesGuignolsDelInfo Las Noticias del Guiñol]]'', started as a section in a talk show with a live audience and had the puppets appearing through a small window in a wall (i.e., like in a literal puppet show). It later became its own show and got longer sketchs, actual sets, special effects, etc.

--->'''Major Samantha Carter''': . . . and just because my reproductive organs are on the inside rather than the outside, doesn't mean I can't handle anything you can handle.

** Characterization and character traits would change dramatically after the first season. Picard wasn't just aloof and prim, but an outright asshole boss-from-Hell. Riker was a randy Kirk clone, Worf is considerably more feral. Data frequently ''smiles'' and openly shows amazement, befuddlement, etc, and his makeup is more mime-like, creating a sort of UncannyValley effect. Troi's ability to sense emotions in others initially meant she herself felt the emotions, which could have the side-effect of incapacitating her (this was dropped after the pilot). Wesley's first-season persona, a whiny, annoying child, stuck in viewers' heads, and even after the character matured he still couldn't shake being the show's [[TheScrappy scrappy]].

** The first Ferengi episode had them wildly hopping around the set like mad monkeys, and the pilot episode implied they ate people. Ferengi also had superhuman strength, and were unafraid of getting into physical altercations with the Enterprise Crew. Later seasons, and the later series as a whole, seems to ignore this, portraying them instead to be meek and weak cowards who prefer subterfuge and hired muscle in order to do their dirty work.

* ''ThePeoplesCourt'': The first couple of seasons of the original 1981 series – especially the very earliest episodes – were markedly different than the show as seen today. Many cases were simple arbitrations, with rather bland, dull cases being heard. The litigants simply answered the judge's questions and rarely if ever tried to interrupt the other litigant, call him names or interrupt the judge while he was talking. Judge Joseph Wapner – himself far more patient than current Judge Marilyn Milian – rarely if ever accused litigants of outright lying, although he would call them on testimony he thought didn't seem to fit the evidence or if a litigant lacked crucial evidence (such as a dated receipt) that ultimately cost them the case. When the judge delivered his decision, the litigants – except to answer a direct question he might ask them – simply listened respectfully, and while some of the litigants were understandably disappointed with the outcome – although there were always a few exceptions – they generally accepted Wapner's decision in good stride or chalked it up as a lesson learned. Once the show became a hit and logged time on the air, a few scattered episodes with litigants similar to the current series made it to air, but overall the Wapner-era shows were far more sedate and Wapner rarely needed to raise his voice or put wayward litigants in their place.

*** Series/KamenRiderBuild's early cameos are a particularly extreme example. He talks in a far more analytical manner, shows up to take some of [[Series/KamenRiderExAid Ex-Aid]]'s power for his research, and doesn't take "no" for an answer -- which includes beating up Para-DX (while dismissing him as irrelevant) when he tries to intervene. This is of course a far cry from the BunnyEarsLawyer ScienceHero he is in his home series, but this may have been wholly intentional: [[spoiler:''Build'' eventually reveals that the protagonist was an amoral MadScientist who only became a good guy after [[EasyAmnesia his memories were erased]], which lead to speculation that the writers intentionally showed him in his original {{Jerkass}} personality during these cameos in order to [[{{Foreshadowing}} Foreshadow]] the amnesia plot.]]

** [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Their youngest daughter disappears from the show without mention.]] Also, the show's focus was much more on Harriet early on as it was her character being imported from ''PerfectStrangers''. Later even among the original cast she was losing out to Carl due to the humorous dynamic he had with Urkel.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': It's very clear that the writers were still getting a hang of the series' tone and pace when the pilot was scripted. The most jarring difference for regular viewers is the appearance of voice-over quotes outside of their usual BookEnds, as well as an out-of-place ending scene that feels like it got spliced in from a completely different series. Characterization is also still finding its footing: Hotch actually ''smiles'' while on the job, Morgan's dressed to the nines rather than the casual look he'd take on in later episodes, and Reid's "autistic tendencies" are much more obvious. All this gets smoothed over by about four episodes in.

** In the early episode, Stephanie Beatriz used her natural voice to play Rosa Diaz. Over the course of the first season, Diaz's voice gradually got lower and stayed that way.

** Early episodes are more sci-fi horror than the conventional toku we know today. The famous Rider Kick hadn't even been established yet, and thus Hongo would defeat his enemies with really anything, including a "Rider Throw". (That is, ''tossing your opponent off of a roof to go 'splat.''')