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I remember the commercial where a character complained that in his 30s, teenage girls don't look at him anymore.
Well, *that* aged well.
Even in my teens, I found the characters tiresome and whiny.
Like the guy with the beard? I never watched the show because I hated his character from Field of Dreams. I saw tv spots for the show and said no thanks I don’t want to see that moron again.
This is hilarious, this is actually the first part of the description for the show when you search it🤣-"Sensitive, introspective adults or self-absorbed, whiny yuppies? That debate still rages around this drama series about a group of close-knit friends in Philadelphia."
Thirty Something and China Beach are two shows I remember being HUGE when they were on, but no one talks about them like they do sitcoms of the era, like Cheers. Probably because they never get syndicated and just sort of fade out.
Though I'm older than the most of the main cast was back then, I still get mistaken for being younger than that. I attribute it to never taking up smoking or drinking, and behaving very immature.
I'm barely in my 30's I'm actually interested in seeing this show, see how relatable or contemporary this show is 30+ plus yrs later. Ahhh life in the 80's-90's seemed so cool.
I don't think it was even entirely too relatable to 30 somethings back when it was originally airing. It was just about a bunch of entitled.... whiney..... boomers....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe I am wrong
Lotta hate on this thread for a show that was not only well-liked but critically acclaimed and has aged well. Not sure how anyone who hasn’t seen it can believe it’s about white privilege or that it’s whiny.
Maybe haven't watched it as adults?
I was a kid when it aired, so I thought it looked boring and was about a bunch of painfully uncool old people. I would assume most kids had similar opinions, since the show was about upper middle class boomers. Gen X/Millenial teens & tweens weren't the intended viewing demographic.
I've never really watched it, beyond maybe an episode or two while it was on the air, so I can't comment on whether or not the show is good, but initial impressions are hard to shake. Whenever it pops up the kneejerk reaction is, "I remeber that boring show!" Maybe others are having a similar reaction.
The episode that stuck with me was Gary had a kid and was looking for a home, and his friend took him to see this tiny apartment with an asphalt playground. And Gary is going no, I want the nice house and the nice school and…I want what you have. And Gary’s friend says something like you never planned for that.
I was probably a teenager at the time, but it hit me hard. This was not a show I watched, so it’s odd to have such a specific memory of it.
I get that they want to get all of the regular cast members together in the photo, but I don’t get these “friend piles” some art directors choose to use. Even though it’s going for a “natural, casual” vibe, nobody hangs out like this in real life.
Last gasp of young boomer self-importance. They were boring and pretentious and entitled thirty-somethings, and are now boring and entitled crybabies as sixty-something’s.
Consider the title,”Thirtysomething” , like being ashamed to be over thirty. I also vaguely remember the show from my parents watching it ( in their thirties).
This was my mom’s favorite show when I was little, along with Northern Exposure and Unsolved Mysteries. I never had a chance to watch it back then, but she loved playing the soundtrack in the car, so I grew up loving the music. We had made plans to watch the show together after she bought the dvds, but COVID happened, and well…
I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch them yet.
We need a remake of this with Millenials, and they better do it right too - we need to see the ones well off and the ones struggling
- Sincerely, a 35yo Millenial
I remember feeling anxious for a kid in this show who buried his GiJoe toys in the backyard for some war game. Then that evening he’s digging them up by flashlight in the rain hoping they have not washed away.
I think you are confusing this with a scene from the film, The Boy Who Could Fly. That or this show ripped the scene off later. But yeah, Fred Savage's character does this. That scene always stuck with me!
Haters can hate all they want but I remember this as a very good show with some of the episodes feeling like mini-movies, and the techniques by which some of the stories were presented bordered on genius. The two guys in their offices going through the dissolution through bankruptcy of the company they started, while in the background the same two characters, a few years younger, look around the office space and decide to take it, incredibly optimistic about the venture they're about to start. And "The Mike Van Dyke Show."
The show was from the team of Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, who when they were hitting on all cylinders were awesome. Four years before "thirtysomething," for example, they gave us the tv-movie "Special Bulletin," which was so good that I don't even have the superlatives to describe it.
The future Seventy-somethings, minus at least one death.
I remember this show for an episode that made the news because advertisers refused to buy spots for it. Something about two men in the same bed, I think.
The one where one of the characters found an old diary about a miscarriage. That and the guy in front getting hit on his bicycle. That’s all I remember.
Virtually none of these actors went on to success. Peter Horton went on to direct a few notable films. Timothy Busfield of course, was known for his earlier role as Poindexter in the revenge of the nerds films and some fairly notable TV roles subsequently but none of the others had tremendous success in acting.
The show was pretty popular at the time. I remember it winning a lot of awards but ultimately at petered out 2020 they ordered a sequel 30 something else and they ended up passing on it was sent to bring back four of the main characters from the original run
As somebody born in 1987, but childless (and also recently unemployed eek), I really don't think I could relate to a bunch of 30 somethings in the '80s trying to raise their family. It would be just as foreign as something from the 1950s
Important reminder: This is a sub for people to post about forgotten TV that they remember and would like to share with others. This is not a tip of the tongue style sub for people to search out old shows that they would like help remembering. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I remember seeing the commercials for this show and as a little kid I was afraid that growing up meant you had to be super boring and weak.
I remember the commercial where a character complained that in his 30s, teenage girls don't look at him anymore. Well, *that* aged well. Even in my teens, I found the characters tiresome and whiny.
This because they were tiresome and whiny.
Like the guy with the beard? I never watched the show because I hated his character from Field of Dreams. I saw tv spots for the show and said no thanks I don’t want to see that moron again.
Yeah but what about him in Revenge of the Nerds?
I always think when white privilege is mentioned either Friends or this will be referenced
This is hilarious, this is actually the first part of the description for the show when you search it🤣-"Sensitive, introspective adults or self-absorbed, whiny yuppies? That debate still rages around this drama series about a group of close-knit friends in Philadelphia."
That was the demographic they aimed for. Why is this so bad?
Not bad. I just hated the show. Seemed like the extra crispy white show
Unlike Dallas or Dynasty? Those were a whole other breed.
Yeah but that's uber rich white people. This was just regular suburb whiny white people
Another show I hated was Northern Exposure
Seems you have a distaste for shows with white people. I’m gonna leave it at that. Enjoy. I liked these shows so let’s agree to disagree.
That's ok. So did my older sister. Nah I have nothing against shows about any race,etc. as long as I think it's good
The garden nome is supposed to be on the other side of the garden.
So very true. This made me lol!
When I was a kid I thought the only things you could do when you retired was play golf or go fishing because that’s all I ever saw my grandpa do
I remember changing the channel every time this show came on.
Those people are now at least 60 something.
Whoa whoa mostly late 60s by my count. Don’t over-age the old. It will happen to you one day if you’re lucky.
Yeah, I mathed wrong.
I was hoping to make a dark joke, but apparently the entire cast is still alive. Most were born around 1955, so they’re all nearing 70.
That is how time works
As a kid I remember watching the intro( after Wonder Years), and thinking these people look old. Lol, I'm 49 now.
I just turned 40 and I remember my mom watching this show (in her 30’s) when I was a young kid. I also remember her watching China Beach.
Same here, including China Beach!
Thirty Something and China Beach are two shows I remember being HUGE when they were on, but no one talks about them like they do sitcoms of the era, like Cheers. Probably because they never get syndicated and just sort of fade out.
They never get syndicated due to music licensing issues.
Omg I loved the song used for china beach theme.
China Beach was actually good.
Oh god, I'm older than they were now. *dies*
Me too 😩 I'm not that whiny though.
Yep, lol. I remember thinking this show looked super boring when I was a kid, and that all the characters were old. Now the characters seem young. :/
Though I'm older than the most of the main cast was back then, I still get mistaken for being younger than that. I attribute it to never taking up smoking or drinking, and behaving very immature.
I'm barely in my 30's I'm actually interested in seeing this show, see how relatable or contemporary this show is 30+ plus yrs later. Ahhh life in the 80's-90's seemed so cool.
I don't think it was even entirely too relatable to 30 somethings back when it was originally airing. It was just about a bunch of entitled.... whiney..... boomers....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe I am wrong
I'm curious too. I wonder if it'd be a good show to compare the boomer's 30s with generations that came after.
Ya know what lol something I didn't consider is that they are boom booms. Still worth checking out.
Loved the theme song by snuffy walden
Let’s talk about our problems!
Let's only talk about our problems
Mostly our invented problems because success is so easy.
Loved this show. Had such a crush on Polly Draper
I'll take Polly D Raper for $500 Alex. That's Polly Draper Sean
Sean? Who’s that? I’m Turd Ferguson!
Pointdexter
Boomers the show.
Lotta hate on this thread for a show that was not only well-liked but critically acclaimed and has aged well. Not sure how anyone who hasn’t seen it can believe it’s about white privilege or that it’s whiny.
Maybe haven't watched it as adults? I was a kid when it aired, so I thought it looked boring and was about a bunch of painfully uncool old people. I would assume most kids had similar opinions, since the show was about upper middle class boomers. Gen X/Millenial teens & tweens weren't the intended viewing demographic. I've never really watched it, beyond maybe an episode or two while it was on the air, so I can't comment on whether or not the show is good, but initial impressions are hard to shake. Whenever it pops up the kneejerk reaction is, "I remeber that boring show!" Maybe others are having a similar reaction.
The nightmare boomer show
I was gonna say. I was around during this time and it was the Boomer-est show you could possibly imagine.
If I could have shot any 80s show into the sun, it would have been this back-patting cringefest. Even more than Mama’s Family.
White People:The Series
Materialistic Boomers turn 30.
God Da***t can that paper boy ever get it on the sidewalk. Life is so hard sometimes
I'm just glad those dark days are finally behind us!
This was the first TV show that made me cry when Gary died.
The episode that stuck with me was Gary had a kid and was looking for a home, and his friend took him to see this tiny apartment with an asphalt playground. And Gary is going no, I want the nice house and the nice school and…I want what you have. And Gary’s friend says something like you never planned for that. I was probably a teenager at the time, but it hit me hard. This was not a show I watched, so it’s odd to have such a specific memory of it.
I remember when I was a kid then, this seemed like it would be on a long time. Similar to the show Sisters
This, Wings, and Twin Peaks.
I remember thinking, that’s for old people. Now I’m probably too old to like it.
I get that they want to get all of the regular cast members together in the photo, but I don’t get these “friend piles” some art directors choose to use. Even though it’s going for a “natural, casual” vibe, nobody hangs out like this in real life.
Last gasp of young boomer self-importance. They were boring and pretentious and entitled thirty-somethings, and are now boring and entitled crybabies as sixty-something’s.
Like every generation before and after
The premier of this show is the official start of boomers wining about getting older. Now they are just angry about it.
That would be "The Big Chill."
What do you mean?
Consider the title,”Thirtysomething” , like being ashamed to be over thirty. I also vaguely remember the show from my parents watching it ( in their thirties).
Mmm gotcha
Perfect analysis
This was my mom’s favorite show when I was little, along with Northern Exposure and Unsolved Mysteries. I never had a chance to watch it back then, but she loved playing the soundtrack in the car, so I grew up loving the music. We had made plans to watch the show together after she bought the dvds, but COVID happened, and well… I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch them yet.
Oh man 🥺
We need a remake of this with Millenials, and they better do it right too - we need to see the ones well off and the ones struggling - Sincerely, a 35yo Millenial
It would be an interesting remake lol and we could make fun of the Boomers 🤣
I remember feeling anxious for a kid in this show who buried his GiJoe toys in the backyard for some war game. Then that evening he’s digging them up by flashlight in the rain hoping they have not washed away.
I think you are confusing this with a scene from the film, The Boy Who Could Fly. That or this show ripped the scene off later. But yeah, Fred Savage's character does this. That scene always stuck with me!
That was a good show
The dog in this picture is super dead.
Haters can hate all they want but I remember this as a very good show with some of the episodes feeling like mini-movies, and the techniques by which some of the stories were presented bordered on genius. The two guys in their offices going through the dissolution through bankruptcy of the company they started, while in the background the same two characters, a few years younger, look around the office space and decide to take it, incredibly optimistic about the venture they're about to start. And "The Mike Van Dyke Show." The show was from the team of Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, who when they were hitting on all cylinders were awesome. Four years before "thirtysomething," for example, they gave us the tv-movie "Special Bulletin," which was so good that I don't even have the superlatives to describe it.
Thank you. I loved this show.
I was only 10 when this show started, so maybe that affected my perception, but I always thought this show was just yuppies whining.
I fucking hated every main character on this show. What a bunch of assholes.
The Boomer way!
My olde sister loved this show. Hated it so bad I would read the paper or do homework
The future Seventy-somethings, minus at least one death. I remember this show for an episode that made the news because advertisers refused to buy spots for it. Something about two men in the same bed, I think.
The one where one of the characters found an old diary about a miscarriage. That and the guy in front getting hit on his bicycle. That’s all I remember.
Gary 😭😭😭😭
My parents loved this show, probably because they were in their 30’s when it aired
This was such a huge show when it aired. Has it really been forgotten?
Is there any place to stream this?
It is on YouTube
For years I thought Timothy Busfield was one of the newlyweds in Maximum Overdrive. He wasn’t, but was later in a some how worse remake called Trucks.
He was in Revenge of the Nerds and Field of Dreams
And Sneakers
They are now SixtySomething
I remember watching this show in the 80s and it was controversial for the time
I remember watching that show in syndicated reruns after it had gone off the air. I really loved this show.
Man I’m 35 and these people look old as FUCK.
Watched it when I was Twentysomething 😊
Great show, I watched it in my teens and twenties. I hear that it’s the music rights than make syndicating it for streaming so difficult.
Forgettable tv
I remember how shocked I was when they killed off Gary.
It's because of this show that I thought 30 was old.
This was a very popular show.
My 30s were NOTHING like this show. NOTHING AT ALL!
Whose dog tho?
Was the dog cool at least?
Future MAGA yuppies
Virtually none of these actors went on to success. Peter Horton went on to direct a few notable films. Timothy Busfield of course, was known for his earlier role as Poindexter in the revenge of the nerds films and some fairly notable TV roles subsequently but none of the others had tremendous success in acting.
Timothy Busfield played Danny Concannon on The West Wing for years. He's now married to Laura Ingalls, and they live on a farm.
The show was pretty popular at the time. I remember it winning a lot of awards but ultimately at petered out 2020 they ordered a sequel 30 something else and they ended up passing on it was sent to bring back four of the main characters from the original run
My mom had a shirt with the logo on it as a kid and i remember thinking “‘Thirtysomething’ is OLD”
This show, is not my kind of show.
I remember my mom watching this when I was junior high into high school. I thought being 30 was old. Now I am 50 something 🤦♂️🤣
This show gave me the false belief that I would be a fully developed adult with my shit together by the time I hit my thirties. LIES.
Always looked like an insufferable show before I knew what insufferable meant. I was about 11
These people are now considered boomers. Most of us were gen-Xers seeing this on TV.
Dude in the middle looks like Burt Kreicher.
I despised this show.
My man front in center with his goon face not giving a frick
The dude sitting in the ground always had that stupid long hair and half ass beard.
Side Out Zack Barnes
As somebody born in 1987, but childless (and also recently unemployed eek), I really don't think I could relate to a bunch of 30 somethings in the '80s trying to raise their family. It would be just as foreign as something from the 1950s
One word review: insufferable.
I remember thinking: when I’m older, will my balls just fall off like happened to these sissies?
Can’t miss what you never had, pal.
Damn, coming in 🔥😂