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34 Classic TV Shows and Animated Series That Are Begging for a Rewatch

You probably missed a few things

34 Classic TV Shows and Animated Series That Are Begging for a Rewatch

May 31, 2024

Unless you have a photographic memory, there are details or themes that definitely sailed over your head.

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34

on THE BIG BANG THEORY, LEONARD AND DR. STEPHANIE Live TOGeTHeR. BUT THen SUDDENLY, THEY Don'T. Despite Sheldon's enthusiasm about the relationship, Leonard felt it was going too fast. But every time he tried to slow things down, they'd wind up having sex. The last we see of her is in The Vartabedian Conundrum when Leonard texts Stephanie suggesting she move out, and once again they wind up in bed together. She is never seen again. CRACKED.COM http ://bigbangtheory wikia .com/wik/Stephanie_Barnett — Source

33

JOHN KeeLeR WAS THE PRESIDENT in SEASON 4 OF 24. 9:0 THen YADDAH YADDAH YADDAH, HIS VP WAS SWORN in. We get that 24 was fairly notorious for dropping characters. But this was the leader of the free world. In one scene Keeler is critically injured in an aerial assault on Air Force One. Then Charles Logan, his Machiavellian vice president, is sworn in. So, Keeler died? Without a national day of mourning, a funeral, or any mention at all? CRACKED.COM http:/24.winia.com/wikiDay_4 — Source

32

on BOY MeeTS WORLD, MR. TURneR WAS CORY'S FAVORITE TEACHER. YeT не DISAPPEARED FROM THE SHOW. In the season five finale, Mr. Turner gets in a motorcycle accident and winds up in critical condition. Не never returned to the show after that, and we never find out what happened to him. CRACKED COM http //boymeetsworld wikia.com/wiki/Graduation — Source

31

MORK & MINDY WOUND DOWN WITH A THRee-PART STORY. YeT THE PAIR STILL WOUND UP STRANDED FOR eTeRNITY. What's regarded as the series finale of Mork & Mindy found the title characters running from an evil, gun-wielding alien. Pretty dark stuff for a fish-out-of water romp. Anyway, Mork decided to use time-travel shoes to escape, sending himself and Mindy back in time. The shoes malfunctioned, first dropping them in a prehistoric cave, then throwing them into a time vortex. Roll credits. CRACKED.COM http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1vvrzl_mark-and-mindy-gotta-run-part-3_fun — Source

30

in QUANTUM LEAP, SAM BeCKeTT SPenT HIS DAYS TIME-HOPPING INTO OTHER People's BODIES. lon Dr. Sam Becket 65 never returned home. AND не neveR FOUND HIS WAY Home. Each episode of the series opened with a brief narration explaining the premise, concluding that Sam hopes his next leap will take him home. In the last episode, Sam somehow leapt into his own body in some kind of odd purgatory-like dimension that looked like a bar. It concluded with a title card (with his name misspelled) stating that he never got home. CRACKED COM — Source

29

WOLVERINE AND THE X-Men SPenT 26 ePISODES PReVenTInG THE APOCALYPSE. AND A MUTANT nameD APOCALYPSE TOOK over THE WORLD INSTEAD. In this incarnation of the X-Men franchise, Professor x is exploded into a coma in the first episode and Wolverine takes over the team. The professor then contacts Wolvie from the future to tell him that the world will be taken over by giant mutant-killing robots. In the Season 1 finale, Wolverine and his team finally succeed in preventing the bad future ... only to be contacted by Professor X, who tells them that their victory has given rise to — Source

28

MANDY HAMPTON WAS WHITE House meDIA halt been CONSULTANT sem very Elec on THE WEST WING. AND THen, SUDDENLY, SHe WASN'T. SHe DISAPPEARED. Mandy, played by Moira Kelly, was a pivotal character during the first season. She was a savvy political strategist and no-nonsense negotiator, said to have been based on real-life political media adviser Mandy Grunwald. Her disappearance from the show without explanation led fans to coin the phrase Mandyville for the destination of characters who were dropped from the series. CRACKED.COM http://westwing wikia .com/wikiMandy_Hampton — Source

27

TWIN PEAKSWAS A CULT CLASSIC, AND DELIBERATELY OFF-KILTER. IT'S STILL no excuse TO LEAVE AGenT COOPER PossesseD. In the final episode, Cooper rescues Annie by following her into what seems to be another dimension. The two emerge, and Cooper declares that he needs to brush his teeth. Once in the bathroom, he smashes his head into the mirror, and starts ranting, How's Annie? over and over. His reflection in the mirror is Killer Bob, the demonic entity who makes the residents of Twin Peaks do bad things. CRACKED.COM http://www. digitalspy. .com/tv/ustv/news/a161306/hows-annie-twin-peakss-damn-fine-ending/ — Source

26

in THE LAST ePISODE OF STARGATE UniveRse, THE CREW Goes INTO STASIS. EXCEPT FOR one GUY, WHOSE POD IS BROKEN. It was the final episode of the series and the franchise, and it ended with the crew entering stasis pods for a three-year journey. All except for Eli Wallace, who has to fix a broken pod made from alien technology that he has little experience with repairing or rebuilding, before the life support shuts off. So he's pretty definitely going to die a slow, painful death. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/DYnCuXQF6nQ — Source

25

VALERY WAS An UNKILLABLE RUSSIAN, on THE SOPRANOS. YeT не JUST DISAPPEARED FROM THE SHOW. So the question is, how? Christopher and Paulie smash his windpipe, yet Valery manages to bounce back and beat Paulie's ass with a shovel. Paulie puts a bullet in the Russian's head, which doesn't stop him from scampering off into the woods and stealing Christopher's car. Clearly he's vengeful and not dead. So, where did he go? CRACKED.COM http://sopranos. wikia .com/wiki/Valery — Source

24

in THE '90s SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED SeRIeS, MARY JAne FALLS INTO A DImensionAL VORTEX. AND PeTeR PARKER neveR FINDS HeR. It was the fifth season, and Spider-Man finds out that MJ is actually a clone. Spidey then goes dimension-hopping to try to find the real MJ. After jumping across realities and teaming up with other Marvel heroes for several episodes, in the very last one he meets Stan Lee. Не takes Stan for a spin around the city, and then the show ends. The show was cancelled, leaving Mary Jane in permanent limbo. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/8mOu23JAies — Source

23

SOAPWAS A 70s PRIME-TIME SOAP OPERA SPOOF. AND IT enDeD WITH JESSICA ABOUT TO ве SHOT BY A FIRING SQUAD. Soap was a mostly lighthearted comedy that focused on shenanigans and convoluted plotlines. So it was wildly out of character for the show to finish its fourth season with main character Jessica Tate facing a South American firing squad. The final episode of the final season concluded with her bracing for the incoming bullets. CRACKED.COM https://youtu be/HoMLspq6H9s — Source

22

JERRY AND ELAIne GOT TOGeTHeR in THE 2ND SEASON OF SEINFELD. BUT THeY'Re пот A COUPLE ANY moRe, AT THE START OF THE 3RD. Behind the scenes, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld hated the idea of a trite will they-won't they relationship between the two characters. So much so, that when the third season began they didn't even bother to explain why the couple broke up. Not even a single yaddah. CRACKED.COM http://seinfeld. wikia com/wiki/The_Deal — Source

21

MeRLIn WAS ABOUT YOUNG KING ARTHUR AnD YOUNG meRLIn. AND IT enDeD WITH meRLIn, ALone, FOR ALL eTeRNITY. In the series finale, Arthur dies. Merlin, however, believes that one day he will return. But apparently he is still waiting. He's shown as an old man, in the present day, walking alone. CRACKED.COM http://www.hypable. com/merlin-finale-impossible-to-move-on/ — Source

20

She Just Disappeared

DR. ERICA HAHN WAS A BREAKOUT CHARACTER on GReY'S ICE ANATOMY. TREDE BUT in SEASON 6, SHe SIN 9. WALKED OUT TO HER CAR AND WAS neveR seen AGAIN. She was an open lesbian who was involved in a romance with Dr. Torres, who previously had been noncommittal about her sexual orientation. She was dumped from the show without explanation, which was an odd move from the show that fired Isaiah Washington for using an orientation-based slur on a fellow cast member. CRACKED COM http://abcnews go com/Entertainment/story7id=6217642 — Source

19

on HAPPY DAYS, RICHIE HAD An OLDER BROTHER nAmeD CHUCK. OR не DID, unTIL THE seconD SEASON. Chuck was away at college for much of the first season, and his defining characteristic was that he always carried a basketball. Не didn't just disappear without explanation- he completely ceased to exist. In later seasons Howard Cunningham would claim that he had just two children. CRACKED.COM http://onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/gavanoherlhy.html — Source

18

in HEROES, PeTeR PETRELLI TIME TRAVELS TO POST- APOCALYPSE new YORK. AND не LEAVES HIS GIRLFRIEND THERE. FOREVER. Peter's time travel powers wonk out, stranding Caitlin in the future. Once back in the present, Peter thwarts the world-ending pandemic, thereby altering the timestream and saving humanity. But that means the future where Caitlyn is stranded no longer exists. CRACKED.COM http://heroeswiki.com/Caitlin — Source

17

JUDY WAS THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER on FAMILY MATTERS. AND in THE FOURTH SEASON, SHe VANISHED. Her last appearance was in an episode called Mama's Wedding, and after that, the family pretended she never existed. That was the time when the show began to focus on Steve Urkel, so the answer to the question, Did I do that? is yes. Yes, you did. CRACKED.COM http://familymatters. wikia .com/wikk/udy_Winslow — Source

16

Ama S on COMMUNITY, TROY AND ABeD FIND OUT THeIR FRIenD LUKKA IS A WAR CRIMINAL, STAND BY ME - COMING AUGUST 1 TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU AND ALL THEY DO IS STOP HANGING OUT WITH HIM. It turned out that Lukka was involved in the ethnic cleansing of the Balkans. Не waxes, I miss cleansing the fields and forests from the unclean people who stole my country. I miss the smell of the villages burning. I miss the way they used to run from our tanks in fear! So he's a Balkan war criminal, who is pretty much — Source

15

in SEASON 1 OF BUFFY, A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER TURNS OUT TO В e A PREDATORY insect. AND NOBODY Does ANYTHING ABOUT THE eGGS she LEAVES BEHIND. It was early in the season, and Xander caught the eye of a sexy substitute teacher. Turns out she's a gigantic she-mantis who mates with virginal men and kills them post-coitus. Buffy saves the day, but as the episode ends, we see a cache of eggs hidden in the teacher's classroom. And one of them is hatching. CRACKED.COM http://www.buffyworld. com/buffy/transcripts/004_tran.html — Source

14

on ALL MY CHILDREN, LITTLe BOBBY wenT UP TO THE ATTIC. AND не WAS neveR seen AGAIN. When the show began, Dr. Joe Martin's wife Helen had recently died, and he struggled to care for their three children, Jeff, Tara, and Bobby. Bobby appeared in one episode only, but his disappearance dismayed fans. A couple of times since then, the writers have included nods to Bobby. In one episode there's a skeleton in the attic with a nametag that says Bobby. In another Jeff refers to a plastic Halloween skeleton as my brother. CRACKED.COM http://soapcentral. com/amc/news/2011/0923-bersell.php — Source

13

CRACKED.COM ANIMANIACS Watching this as an adult, it really seems like an educational version of Spongebob. Extremely annoying and catchy, but dangit if I don't still know The President Song. They knew how to trick me into learning while throwing in so many innuendos that completely went over my head. — Source

12

CRACKED.COM ANASTASIA This 1997 movie was not on my childnood's favorite lists because it didn't have Disney's animation style. But with age, I can admire how truly beautifully animated it really is. — Source

11

CRACKED.COM TARZAN Identifying with the parental experience of the gorillas and Tarzan's parents is an entirely different kind of sad than that of a child imagining becoming orphaned. It's an extremely beautiful movie I didn't fully appreciate in my childhood. — Source

10

CRACKED.COM Recess L Recess is just as good as I remember, but it surprised me how many complex, well-developed characters it contains who all navigate various social networks. The episode where Ms. Finster babysits Spinelli, and Spinelli is forced to see an adult as a dimensional is very funny to see on the other side of childhood. — Source

9

CRACKED.COM THE BRAVE LITTLe TOASTER What Toy Story did to a generation of kids with their toys, this movie did to kids and...any appliance really. The A/C scene was scary to watch when young, but as an adult, you realize... wait, is this about suicide? The whole movie a depressing if realistic look at life. — Source

8

CRACKED.COM AS TOLD BY GINGER Growing up, I adored the Nick show because it showed preteens dating. But as an adult, the show is surprisingly deep, dealing with the true awkwardness of being a tween. Little Seal Girl hurts my heart. — Source

7

CRACKED.COM x-men: THE ANIMATED SeRIeS The level of detail and continuity in the story is easy to take for granted in today's animation, but it was unheard of in 90s cartoons. Also what other kids show has that sick of a riff? Da na na na na NA NA! — Source

6

CRACKED.COM ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE This show surprisingly feels like an Adult Swim show from the 2010s instead of '90s kids show. In the 2019 movie, the gang supports a character who comes out as trans in what feels like a natural progression of the original series tackling mature, even somewhat mundane adult issues in a very uplifting way. — Source

5

CRACKED.COM Looney Tunes It's wild how violent these cartoons are in comparision to the popular kids shows of today. And I'm not mad about the change ...we don't need American school kids glamorizing guns and violence more. But, it really goes to show that maybe video games and cartoons aren't the problem... — Source

4

CRACKED.COM BETTY BOOP Growing up, I loved Betty Воор. On rewatch, I realized I just thought she was hot. (Should have been obvious, right?) The cartoons are almost unwatchable and certainly don't hold up to today's social standards. — Source

3

CRACKED.COM THE LITTLe MeRmAID To watch this movie as an adult is to side with every adult figure. Her hunky dad was right to be mad at Ariel for endangering their kingdom to date across species. Ursula was a savvy business woman. And Ariel absolutely shouldn't have given up her voice for a man. — Source

2

CRACKED.COM DUMBO I remember watching Baby Mine as a child and thinking it was both sad and kind of boring, but to watch it as an adult with friends dealing with custody, mental illness, and incarceration injustice as parents, you have to be pretty heartless not to tear up at least a little. — Source

1

CRACKED.COM BEAST WARS: TRANSFORMERS I probably thought the 3-D was awesome in my youth, but it is actively painful to watch 90s 3-D animation in present day. It's amazing how far the field has come from these 22-minute long toy commercials. — Source

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