The following are 9 Oldies, but Goodies that are free (with commercials) on Freevee, a streaming service on Amazon that shows TV Shows and Movies for “free”. You just have to watch commercials (although we won’t tell, if you spend the commercial breaks playing games on Juicy casino.)
Most of the shows on the list are classic TV shows from the 60s, 70s, 80s … and a few more recent ones. When you are watching these shows, keep an open mind. Take into account not only the time when the show was produced, but also the time period the show is portraying.
1. Good Times
The James Evans (father) character made clear his dissatisfaction with 1970s current government policies, hence, the show became a champion for the plight of the underclass. The show also highlighted the good parenting skills of James and Florida. Good Times was a spin off from the TV Series Maude.
The original intention of Good Times was to focus on Florida and James and expected the show to deal with serious topics in a comedic way. But J.J. (the oldest son) was a hit with the audiences, and became a more focal character. As the J.J. character became more popular, the show focused more on J.J. and less on discussing serious topics in a comedic way, as James Evan’s actor originally wanted.
2. Little House on the Prairie
The TV Show Little House on the Prairie were based off on the diaries of Laura Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957). Laura was definitely not a “perfect little girl”, but the TV show and her original books show was life was like during that time period in American History.
Although the TV show does lightly touch on Black-White relations during that time period (and prejudices), the reality is that in real life, during her childhood, Laura did not have much interaction with Black people, so how Black people lived was not talked about much in Laura’s original books.
3. Batman
Batman is a comedy whose whole intention was to be funny. Even the criminals are portrayed in a comical way. Not at all how they are portrayed in the Batman movies.
4. Murder, She Wrote
The series focuses on the life of Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer and amateur detective, who becomes involved in solving murders that take place in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, across the United States, and abroad.
Jessica invariably proves more perceptive than the official investigators of a case, who are almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect. By carefully piecing the clues together and asking astute questions, she leads the authorities to arrest the real murderer.
5. All in the Family
“All In The Family” is one of those shows that had to have a disclaimer before every episode.
“The program you are about to see is All In The Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show – in a mature fashion – just how absurd they are.”
“Maude” was a spinoff of “All in the Family”. And “Good Times” was a spin off of “Maude”. The “Jeffersons” was another spin off.
All in the Family’s impact went beyond the world of television. The show became the focus of a heated national debate on whether the use of comedy was an appropriate means by which to combat prejudice and social inequality.
6. X-Files
The overarching story, which spans events as early as the 1940s, is built around a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and their doomsday plan. Not all episodes advanced the mythology plot, but those that did were often set up by Mulder or Scully via an opening monologue.
If you just want to watch the episodes that are part of the overarching story line, they are listed in “Mythology of X-Files”.
7. The Beverly Hillbillies
The TV Show Beverly Hillbillies was based off a real family who lived in Beverly Hills. The family was the McMurray’s and they moved in and set up housekeeping, much to the horror of the rest of the community. They were complete with the rust-bucket truck, the mouthy bossy mother-in-law, the drunken uncle, and all the rest that generally makes for a house of horrible neighbors. The television series cleaned up the family considerably so the audience would love them. Jed, Granny, Jethro, Elly Mae, all became household names in America.
In the TV show, the family struck “black gold” (aka, oil). With the real life family, the TV Producer had a one night stand with the daughter who was an extra on one of his movies. He tried to bribe the family with $1 million dollars, because the girl was under the age of 16. The parents of the girl insisted they get married, so instead of going to jail, they got married. A marriage that only lasted 2 years. But that is how the real life adventures of the Beverly Hillbillies began.
8. Night Court
The series centers around the court’s eccentric staff, wacky court cases, and the endlessly hilarious legal practices of Judge Harry T. Stone.
Although the cases on Night Court are fictional, its setting is based on a real location. The New York Criminal Court holds sessions at night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. On average, the real life court has 70-90 cases per night during these hours. The New York night court is to accommodate individuals who are unable to attend court during the day. The court also tends to be a popular tourist attraction, with people wanting to see real cases unfold.
A writer for the Night Court series, observed the New York City night court with a group of Judges and found many of the Judges to be off-center and unusual personality-wise. He used these experiences for Night Court, stating he was “just moved by the craziness of New York Manhattan night court.”
The Judge in Night Court was based on a real character. A previous mayor of Los Angeles attempted to get back at his replacement by intentionally assigning under-qualified candidates to judicial positions. This is very similar to how Stone became Judge on the Night Court show, where the mayor of New York City frantically attempted to fill in judiciary positions last minute, and Stone was the only person who he could get in contact with.
9. Bob Ross Joy of Painting
If you have ever watched a Bob Ross Joy of Painting episode, you know what “happy trees” are. Bob Ross paints magnificent pictures in 30 minutes using a wet on wet technique using oil paints.
When people talk about Art Therapy, it is not a joke. I had a son who was going through some “bad times”. He was recovering from a very serious bullying incident at school. It was a, “If you make me go back to that school, I will run away from home” type of situation. Not that I even thought that he would run away from home. It was more an expression of how serious he was about never wanting to go back to that school.
But anyway, he was getting involved in online computer games and chatting with people through the internet during the night. So I bought him a bunch of oil paints and canvases and brushes and he would watch Boss Ross Joy of Painting and he learned to paint.
I cannot say if painting alone solved his problems or that in combination with finding a great school that he enjoyed going to that over all helped him, but when I think about Bob Ross, I think about “happy trees” and the fact that my son is now happy.
Summary
These are just 9 examples of the many TV shows (not to mention movies) that are available on Freevee. So enjoy some good old fashioned fun TV watching.
