While watching the endless episodes of S and that I consumed on the old CRT of my youth, at the time I don’t recall ever thinking that it looked terrible.Compared to the pristine digital that the vast majority of today’s television is produced on, though, the difference is stark—it was softer, grainier, and there was way less detail.But that was never what the cameras actually saw.
From the 1950s through the 1990s, most scripted series were shot on 35mm film, then edited and finished on standard-definition videotape for broadcast.Those negatives held far more detail than your TV could display, but the good news is that many of those negatives sat preserved in vaults for decades, just waiting to be scanned, remastered, and released into the wild for us to enjoy.Between that level of restoration, digital upscaling, and other forms of enhancement—some more successful than others—many older shows look better today than they ever have, even on streaming services.
These four classic shows (in order of my least to most favorite) got the real treatment, even if they come with a few caveats.4 I Love Lucy Shot on film when no one else bothered Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s legendary sitcom broke so many molds and basically invented the rerun.The beloved show about a wily New York City housewife and her Cuban bandleader husband ran on CBS from 1951 to 1957.
While most shows of the era were preserved using kinescope, in which a film camera was literally pointed at the TV screen to record the live broadcast, was groundbreaking in that it pioneered the three-camera setup and was shot on 35mm film.The version streaming on Paramount+ is a solid HD presentation and a real step up from any broadcast or DVD you might remember.The four-year restoration that wrapped in 2024 for the Blu-ray box set went further, combining the original 35mm negatives with 16mm reels and archival videotape to recover material missing from some episodes.
Reviewers consider the result pristine, despite a few, er, hiccups.Where to watch: Paramount+ streams the series in HD, a real step up from any broadcast or DVD you might remember.The 2024 Blu-ray box set is sharper still.
I Love Lucy TV-G Comedy Release Date 1951 - 1957-00-00 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Network CBS Cast Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Keith Thibodeaux, Louis Nicoletti, Bennett Green, Frank Nelson, Elizabeth Patterson, Dayton Lummis, Don Garner, Eve Whitney, Florence Halop, Jess Oppenheimer, Nacho Galindo, Rosa Turich, Kay Wiley, Harpo Marx, Mabel Paige, Milton Frome, Cornel Wilde, Nancy Kulp, John Frank, Richard Widmark, Howard McNear, Charles Boyer, Stephen Wootton, Philip Ober, Claude Akins, John Litel Directors William Asher, Marc Daniels Writers Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Pugh, Bob Schiller, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Weiskopf Main Genre Comedy Creator(s) Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh Producers Desi Arnaz, Jess Oppenheimer, Jack Aldworth Seasons 6 Powered by Expand Collapse 3 The Twilight Zone You’ve just crossed over into… the restoration zone Rod Serling’s anthology of weird and wonderful tales aired on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and paved the way for everything from to Netflix's .I still can’t sit in a window seat overlooking a plane wing without expecting a gremlin to appear.Like, was shot on 35mm film, which is the only reason it is now available to watch in such great shape.
The cleaned-up HD restoration went back to the show’s original elements.Its high-contrast black-and-white photography is beautifully focused, the atmospheric grain is intact, and it doesn’t have the smudgy look that ruins so many older transfers.Where to watch: Free with ads on Tubi and Pluto TV, or on Paramount+.
All carry the restoration, so seeing the difference costs nothing.The Twilight Zone TV-14 Mystery Drama Science Fiction Supernatural Release Date 1959 - 1964-00-00 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Network CBS Cast Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts, Vaughn Taylor, Jon Lormer, Burgess Meredith, Jack Klugman, John Anderson, Ray Pourchot, Peter Hornsby, Vito Scotti, Claude Akins, Lee Marvin, Irene Dailey, Keenan Wynn, Pat Crowley, Virginia Christine, Mariette Hartley, Jeanne Cooper, Ron Masak, Jean Marsh, Everett Sloane, Shepperd Strudwick, Eleanor Audley, Henry Corden, Robert Sorrells, Roddy McDowall, Howard Morris, Jack Perkins, Patrick Macnee, Sherry Jackson, Dewey Martin Showrunner Rod Serling Directors John Brahm, Buzz Kulik, Douglas Heyes, Lamont Johnson, Richard L.Bare, James Sheldon, Richard Donner, Don Medford, Montgomery Pittman, Abner Biberman, Alan Crosland, Jr., Alvin Ganzer, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Joseph M.
Newman, Ted Post, William Claxton, Jus Addiss, Mitchell Leisen, Perry Lafferty, Robert Florey, Robert Parrish, Ron Winston, Stuart Rosenberg Writers Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Earl Hamner, Jr., George Clayton Johnson, Jerry Sohl, Henry Slesar, Martin Goldsmith, Anthony Wilson, Bernard C.Schoenfeld, Bill Idelson, E.Jack Neuman, Jerome Bixby, Jerry McNeely, John Collier, John Furia, Jr., John Tomerlin, Lucille Fletcher, Ray Bradbury, Reginald Rose, Sam Rolfe, Adele T.
Strassfield Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Rod Serling Producers Herbert Hirschman, William Froug, Buck Houghton, Bert Granet, Marcel Ichac Seasons 5 Story By rod serling Streaming Service(s) Paramount Plus Executive Producer(s) Rod Serling Powered by Expand Collapse 2 Star Trek: The Next Generation Making it so, for $70,000 an episode With all respect to William Shatner, Jean-Luc Picard was my Starship Enterprise captain.Seven seasons and 178 galaxy-warping episodes of made the show the most successful first-run syndicated drama of its era, and the definitive Star Trek of a generation, including mine.And as far as a restoration project, it was the hardest job on this list.
was shot on 35mm, but all of its edits and impressive effects (think phasers and photon torpedoes) were created and assembled on videotape, so there was no film to scan.Rebuilding it reportedly cost CBS more than $12 million, or roughly $70,000 an episode, and took them from 2012 to 2014 to complete all seven seasons.Each episode was re-cut to match, from more than 25,000 original reels.
The Enterprise you see in the restoration isn’t a new model; it’s the same footage, but with all the detail we’ve been missing from the digital transfer.They even kept the original 4:3 ratio instead of cropping.fans from back in the day, like me, will notice how much better it looks.
Where to watch: Paramount+.The remaster is the only version in circulation, so streaming gets you the real thing.Star Trek: The Next Generation TV-PG Drama Mystery Action Sci-Fi Release Date 1987 - 1994-00-00 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Network Syndication Cast Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Colm Meaney, Clyde Kusatsu, Diana Muldaur, Jeri Taylor, Amanda McBroom, John de Lancie, Jonathan West, Michael Okuda, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Richard D.
James, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Ito, Michael Bell, Lee Arenberg, David Warner, Susan Gibney Showrunner Gene Roddenberry Directors Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L.Scanlan, James L.Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton Writers René Echevarria, Maurice Hurley, Richard Manning, Melinda M.
Snodgrass, Tracy Tormé, Hannah Louise Shearer, Stuart Charno, Ira Steven Behr, Sara B.Cooper, Peter Allan Fields, Herbert Wright, Frank Abatemarco, Burton Armus, Hilary Bader, Morgan Gendel, David Kemper, Michael I.Wagner, Philip LaZebnik, Robert McCullough, Susan Sackett, Nick Sagan, Fred Bronson, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Sam Rolfe Franchise(s) Star Trek Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Gene Roddenberry Producers Brannon Braga, D.C.
Fontana, Gene Roddenberry, Jeri Taylor, Joe Menosky, Merri D.Howard, Rick Berman, Robert H.Justman, Robert Lewin, Ronald D.
Moore, Wendy Neuss, Peter Lauritson, Michael Piller Seasons 7 Story By Gene Roddenberry Streaming Service(s) Amazon Prime Video Where To Watch Paramount Plus Powered by Expand Collapse 1 The X-Files The truth was on the negative Chris Carter’s legendary alien conspiracy series that ran from 1993 to 2002 was an absolute phenomenon that made smoky flashlights in the dark cool and turned Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) into cultural icons that have long outlasted the show.Like its contemporaries, was shot on 35mm film and dumped to standard def for editing, which is why every broadcast, VHS, and DVD release of the time looked murkier than it was.Luckily, a 2013 remaster scanned the full negative in 4K, and a complete Blu-ray set arrived in 2015, vastly improving the image with more definition and clarity—although many complained that the first four seasons, which were shot in 4:3 ratio, had been reframed to 16:9, like the remaining seasons.
Effects-wise, unlike , Fox didn’t pay to rebuild everything—some were properly rebuilt while others were just upscaled from the standard-def masters because the original elements were either missing, the shot was too complex to recreate, or it was computer-generated in the first place.The result is noticeable—the ones that weren’t recreated look softer than the updated footage around them.Even as a fan of the original, I can't deny it looks far better now.
Where to watch: Hulu, or free with ads on Pluto TV.Both stream the remaster, so you're seeing the same version that's on disc.The X-Files TV-14 Mystery Crime Drama Science Fiction Release Date 1993 - 2018-00-00 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Network FOX Cast David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, Mitch Pileggi, Bradley Whitford, Doug Hutchison, Dan Butler, Jayne Atkinson, Steve Railsback, Harriet Sansom Harris, Matthew Bennett, Carl Lumbly, Raymond Cruz, Peter Boyle, Paul McCrane, Luke Wilson, Tony Shalhoub, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jed Rees, Michael O'Neill, Scott Hylands, Nick Tate, John O'Hurley, Marnie McPhail Showrunner Chris Carter Directors Rob Bowman, David Nutter, R.
W.Goodwin, Michael W.Watkins, Tony Wharmby, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Lange, Cliff Bole, David Duchovny, Jim Charleston, James Wong, Peter Markle, Rod Hardy, Thomas J.
Wright, William A.Graham, Jerrold Freedman, Joe Napolitano, Kevin Hooks, Larry Shaw, Richard Compton, Tucker Gates, Allen Coulter, Barry K.Thomas, Brett Dowler Writers jeffrey bell, Frank Spotnitz, Howard Gordon, David Amann, Darin Morgan, Steven Maeda, Greg Walker, Chris Ruppenthal, Kim Newton, Paul Brown, Sara B.
Cooper, Thomas Schnauz, Tim Minear, William Gibson, Jeff Vlaming, Charles Grant Craig, Chip Johannessen, Chris Brancato, Daniel Arkin, Gillian Anderson, Jessica Scott, Jim Guttridge, Kenneth Biller, Larry Barber Franchise(s) The X-Files Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Chris Carter Producers Paul Rabwin, Gabe Rotter, Kim Manners, Rob Bowman, Joseph Patrick Finn Seasons 11 Story By Chris Carter Streaming Service(s) Hulu, Dis Executive Producer(s) Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz, Glen Morgan Powered by Expand Collapse What a time to be alive What I find most fascinating about the availability of cleaner, clearer, and better-looking versions of the classic shows we loved growing up is that the creators had the wherewithal, whether intentional or not, to create them on a future-proof format that could later be used to extract their full potential.Three of these four stream in the best form available, and only really rewards the disc.Either way, if you last saw any of them on a CRT, VHS, or an old DVD, what's waiting now is a lot closer to what the camera actually recorded.
Paramount Plus Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams 3 Live TV Select live sports (NFL on CBS & UEFA Champions League) Price Starting at $8/month or $60/year Stream on Paramount+ Expand Collapse
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