History OnceOriginalNowCommon / LiveActionTV

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium The mid/late 2000's]] and [[TheNewTens the early 2010's]] saw programs boast, "Now in Platform/HighDefinition" for ''exactly'' the same reason. Though "high", being a relative term, will surely age even worse than "in color" as future technology ''surpasses'' it. "Presented in HD" was the norm for a short time back when channels being aired in high definition was groundbreaking. Nowadays, nobody really thinks about it due to a lot of channels being broadcast in HD.

* "This program is [[UsefulNotes/ClosedCaptioning closed captioned]] for the hearing impaired." Since it is legally required for many programs, most networks in America don't bother with a logo denoting a show was captioned any longer, and only the Turner networks still use the National Captioning Institute's "screen and speech balloon" logo, which was nearly ubiquitous in the 80s and 90s.

** [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The original series]] has a {{camp}} reputation, and has been endlessly parodied and mocked. People forget that ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' was THE trailblazer that has influenced ''every'' science fiction series after it (and even influenced non-sci-fi shows as well) up to this day. In 1967, three of the five nominees (including the winner) for the Hugo Award (awards for science fiction and fantasy) for Best Dramatic Presentation (which at the time included both television episodes ''and'' movies) were episodes of ''Star Trek''. In 1968, the show did even better: '''all five''' nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation were ''Star Trek'' episodes. In fact, society has changed so much that some of the most radical and innovative things it did are now almost entirely overlooked. An ''alien'' for a NumberTwo? An alien who [[RainbowLens grew up bullied for part of who he is and had to make a conscious choice about whether or not to conform to societal expectations]]? A Russian, a Japanese(ish) man and a ''[[TwoferTokenMinority black woman]]'', as military officers trusted with important duties? Said black woman, kissing a white man, at a time when that kind of thing would get you arrested (or worse) in large parts of the United States? [[note]]Though it helped that [[Creator/WilliamShatner Shatner]] at the time refused to do that scene any other way, intentionally screwing up the scene if he wasn't allowed to do it his way. He felt it was what Kirk would do. He and the actor playing Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, [[HostilityOnTheSet didn't agree about much]], but they collaborated on the deliberate bloopers to guarantee the scene would make it to air.[[/note]] The show's portrayal of race was so far ahead of its time that when Creator/NichelleNichols considered leaving the show to return to musical theater, no less than ''UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr'' insisted to her that she needed to stay, telling her that the show's depiction of ethnic relations was not only unprecedented, but exactly the kind future he dreamed of, and that ''Star Trek'' was the only show he and Coretta let their children stay up to watch. The original pilot had a FEMALE first officer. It also avoided (see ''Babylon 5'' above) "Cute Kids And Robots", at least among the regular cast, which was one reason science fiction fans at the time considered it a better, more serious show than [[Series/LostInSpace much of the science fiction]] on television.

* ''Series/{{SCTV}}''. Speaking of network TV sketch shows that suffer from Seinfeld Is Unfunny syndrome, when it premiered in Canada (and later, the United States), the sketch comedy show was a critical and commercial hit. By mixing [[DeconstructiveParody deconstructive parodies]] of popular and lesser-known works with [[CanadaEh absurdly specific Canadian-centric humor]], the show won over a lot of fans (it also helped that ''SNL'' had plunged into SeasonalRot in the 1980s, so shows like ''SCTV'' and ''Fridays'' became favorite substitutes for ''SNL''). The show was lauded for having a stellar cast (who would all go on to successful movie and television careers, making it a who's-who of comedy talent, much like ''SNL''), and being a trailblazer for new concepts in sketch comedy (i.e. running gags that spanned the entire episode, long camera shots in sketches, and more absurdist humor than what one would find on ''SNL'' or even ''Monty Python''). Today, many viewers would look at the series and think it's either too quaint or boring (because the nature of the sketches and jokes -- which reference late 1970s and early 1980s subculture -- fly right over their heads), even though the series essentially created the foundation of modern Canadian comedy shows.

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium The mid/late 2000's]] and [[TheNewTens the early 2010's]] saw programs boast, "Now in UsefulNotes/HighDefinition" for ''exactly'' the same reason. Though "high", being a relative term, will surely age even worse than "in color" as future technology ''surpasses'' it. "Presented in HD" was the norm for a short time back when channels being aired in high definition was groundbreaking. Nowadays, nobody really thinks about it due to a lot of channels being broadcast in HD.

** The "show about nothing" refrain may not have been how the show was actually pitched, but it was sure seen that way in its heyday. In UsefulNotes/TheEighties, most {{sitcom}}s lived and died by their gimmicks; most were family comedies distinguished by an unusual idea like [[Series/GrowingPains a generational divide]] or [[Series/{{Alf}} a wacky alien]]. ''Seinfeld'' had no such gimmicks, which is what made it stand out: it was intended to work entirely on the strength of its plots, jokes, and characters. Nowadays, there are a ton of shows that are just a SliceOfLife about a circle of friends who have [[SeinfeldianConversation random conversations]] and never undergo any real CharacterDevelopment.

* People who grew up with more recent kid-focused sketch shows may have a hard time appreciating how influential ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'' was. In addition to being the show responsible for creating "green slime" (which would be a staple on Nickelodeon for quite some time), the show was one of the first successful sketch comedies to feature an all kid cast (plus two adults in the form of the late Les Lye and Abby Hagyard). The show was also notable for pushing quite a few boundaries in terms of taste (for a kid show, at least), with {{toilet humour}} and innuendo aplenty. It was Nickelodeon's most popular show until 1986 (when ''Series/DoubleDare1986'' overtook it) and, even after its cancellation in 1990, remained in constant reruns until it was firmly taken off the air in 1994. Unfortunately, the popularity of its spiritual successor ''Series/AllThat'', along with other Nick shows that followed its basic mold, seems to have seriously put a damper on the public's recollection of the show. A matter not helped by the fact that, after reruns were taken off the air, Nick has rarely made any further mention of the series (despite still utilizing its most famous running jokes during their annual Kid's Choice Awards) and [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes has yet to release the series on DVD]] (although the first batch of episodes are available on Creator/ParamountPlus) Today, the show is, somewhat strangely, remembered mostly for being where Music/AlanisMorissette [[RetroactiveRecognition launched her showbiz career]], with many forgetting the impact it had on children's television in the 80's.

** Creator/JossWhedon's very distinct form of dialogue was innovative and exciting at the time, in the way it avoided TotallyRadical slang that would age a TeenDrama. In the twenty-some years since then, it's become its [[BuffySpeak own trope]] to the point that Whedon's reliance on it can come across as lazy, and many people have outright gotten sick of it and have begun considering it its own form of TotallyRadical.

!!Trope Namer

** Creator/JossWhedon's very distinct form of dialogue was innovative and exciting at the time, in the way it avoided TotallyRadical slang that would age a TeenDrama. In the twenty-some years since then, it's become its [[BuffySpeak own trope]] to the point that Whedon's reliance on it can come across as lazy.

** Ross and Rachel. Thanks to a combination of ValuesDissonance and SeinfeldIsUnfunny, a lot of younger fans who got on board after the show was cancelled are watching [[AwfulWeddedLife their relationship]] [[MakeUpOrBreakUp pan out]] and questioning what made it so popular. While it's easy now to pinpoint everything that was wrong with them as a couple ([[ItsAllAboutMe pettiness]], [[NoAccountingForTaste having very little in common]], [[CrazyJealousGuy jealousy issues]], etc.), during the mid-'90s, such a relationship was seen as fresh and unique. Before then, the GiveGeeksAChance trope was rarely (if ever) represented in television, and even in film, it was still seen as a refreshing break from the predictable "pretty boy gets the hot girl" trope so prevalent until the mid-'80s. Today, with the GiveGeeksAChance trope being more-or-less played out and the culture as a whole taking a much more cynical view of the DoggedNiceGuy, it might be hard for younger fans to really appreciate how significant the Ross and Rachel romance was nearly 20 years ago.
** We find out in the pilot that Ross' ex-wife Carol is a lesbian. Their son Ben is raised mostly by Carol and her partner Susan. In the second season, Carol and Susan get married. At the time, 1996, same-sex marriage was illegal in every state,[[note]]Technically, it was legal in Hawaii under a court order, but the order was stayed. It was not immediately clear in 1996 that same-sex marriage would be illegal for very long, at least not in Hawaii... which, when it comes to places to get married, is a darn good one. Same-sex marriage would be banned in Hawaii in 1998 when voters passed a referendum amending the state constitution allowing the state legislature to limit marriage to heterosexual couples, which the legislature promptly did; marriage equality would not return to Hawaii until 2013, when the legislature repealed the law it had passed in 1998 and officially allowed same-sex marriages for the first time.[[/note]] and no ''country'' in the world yet had full marriage for same-sex couples (the first was the Netherlands in 2001), yet there were no references to this in the show. No characters, aside from Carol's unseen parents, object to the wedding save for Ross - and he's only upset because he still loves Carol. (In a sweet moment, he ends up walking her down the aisle.) A few network affiliates refused to air the episode, but it was the highest-rated program that week. Today, same-sex weddings and couples raising children are becoming increasingly commonplace on TV, for example in ''Modern Family''--and perhaps more to the point, are legal everywhere in the U.S. and basically unremarkable across the country (especially in places like New York).

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' is the {{Trope Namer|s}}. It was a revolutionary show in its day--but everything revolutionary about it, from its observational humor to its UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist cast, is now the standard for [[SitCom sitcoms]] made since. Many of the innovations that seem obvious today nearly fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling, and the show also had to deal with more conventions like the LaughTrack that modern shows dispense with. Among other things:

** It was the first major American show to have major long-term story arcs planned in advance. While British and Japanese shows had been working with story arcs lasting multiple episodes for a long time by that point, American sci-fi television still largely hewed to an episodic MonsterOfTheWeek format. ''Babylon 5'' was written from a full outline for all five seasons, nearly unheard of at the time, and while [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real-life production difficulties did force some changes]] at various points, by and large it stuck to the plan.

** It gave the darker, grittier vision of UsedFuture, in contrast to ''Franchise/StarTrek''[='=]s utopia, a heavy boost of popularity (though it was nowhere near first with these). Creator/JMichaelStraczynski aimed for a mature look that did not need gimmicks (that he termed "kids and cute robots") to draw in audiences.

** It pioneered the use of CGI effects, poor though they looked even at the time.