Yahoo Lifestyle People Are Revisiting Childhood TV Shows That Are Incredibly Entertaining Even Now As Adults
We all have our favorite series from when we were kids that we could not wait to wake up for when Saturday morning rolled around. However, watching them as an adult can unfortunately be a bit cringe, despite the nostalgia factor, when they don't hold up well. After all, we're not really the target audience anymore. But sometimes, watching them after having grown up and been through life can actually make the shows from our childhood reach a whole new poignancy since we finally understand the things that might have gone over our heads back in the day.
Reddit user u/Newage_Sage took to the internet to ask people, "What kids show was so good when you were little that you could watch every episode again as an adult?" Here are some of our favorite responses:
"I knew I should have stayed home today!!"
"I taught science to kids, they still like it! Almost as much as Minecraft YouTube."
–u/Redqueenhypo
2.Count Duckula
"Probably showing my age here but there was a show in the UK back in the early 90s called Count Duckula. As a kid it was enjoyable but some of the jokes went over my head.
'Your cousin lives in Spain m'Lord. He's sure to give us a warm welcome.'
'Oh, he's a friendly kind of guy?'
'No m'Lord, he's a pyromaniac.'"
–u/DrumSix27
3.Animaniacs
“'If at first you don’t succeed, blame it on your parents,' even as a adult that makes me giggle."
"Good Idea/Bad Idea was my favorite segment.
Good Idea: Throwing a penny into a wishing well.
Bad Idea: Throwing your cousin Penny into a wishing well."
4.Recess
"I watched this as an adult and loved it. I’m constantly looking for the Ashleys in my workplaces."
"The episode about stickers was making fun of NFTs long before they were even a thing."
–u/Override9636
5.The Fairly Oddparents
"My sister and I STILL quote this show all the time. ‘And here’s Cosmo with the weather’ ‘weather? I thought you said feather.’ Proceeds to hold up a feather with such pride."
“Does your child spend a lot of time in his room with the door closed? Does he say don’t come in? Does he use a lot of paper towels?” Flew way over my head as a kid."
–u/Redqueenhypo
"I'm respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority as a parent by coming in anyway!"
"I have used this line on my oldest kid many times."
"I love this show! My son just discovered this show, and he can't believe that mom & dad watched it as kids. I'm re-watching with him."
6.Scooby Doo
"It's amazing how well the original animation of the 60s show still holds up. And the sound effects are so goofy you gotta love 'em."
"Some friends and I were just commenting on how much better Scooby Doo’s soundtrack music is than it has any need to be. It’s pretty amazing."
"I binged all episodes as soon as Disney+ became available."
–u/Ludde_12345
"Not only COULD I, but my grown ass has already rewatched it... and I'm prepared to rewatch it anytime."
"I had seen individual episodes before, but never actually watched it and followed the plot until my mid twenties. It 100% stands up even just viewed as a show for adults."
"I consider it the best show of all time because of its absolute perfect execution on all fronts, FOR ALL AGES. A 10 year old and 40 year old can sit down and enjoy it while it covers timeless and mature themes from sexism, ableism, PTSD, trauma from parents, lost love, unreciprocated feelings from a crush, redemption, contentment in life not coming from power (Iroh foregoing fire lord and instead being happy with making tea), pressure from expectations, and so much more. All while having heart, funny moments, and fantastic action."
"I saw it for the first time at around 26 and also loved it. I was helping my friend babysit his younger brother and Nickelodeon was doing a marathon so I got to see 2-3 episodes before we left, and I immediately went home that night and acquired the whole series and binged it in like 3 days after work."
–u/[deleted]
"I was not a kid when this came out, but I watched it with my oldest kids, and now my youngest many years later. I still enjoy it. And it is still the only reason I know what the thing at the end of a shoelace is called."
"'Squirrel in My Pants' is still a bop."
–u/silkruins
10.Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
"But it’s not a kids' show. It's just as applicable to adulthood and was created by Fred Rogers to help families communicate better and for viewers to learn to work through common issues, as well as learn to respect themselves."
–u/downwarddawg
11.That's So Raven
"Even with me now being in my late 20s, the show is just pure comedy gold. I find myself quoting it randomly lol."
“'Ya nastay' is one of my fave sayings 😂."
12.Hey, Arnold
"Not gonna lie. Pretty sure that show helped me establish my morals."
"Watched the whole series on Hulu last year as a 34-year-old. That Pigeon Man episode was actually better than I remember, and the music is so good. The secondary characters getting their moment in the spotlight was great too."
13.Batman: The Animated Series
"Can this be my answer even if I was an adult when I first watched it?"
"My husband and I watch it Sunday mornings while we have breakfast. It's like being a kid again."
"Introduced my kids to this and was shocked at how modern and stylish the cartoon is. It's barely aged at all. Compare that to X-Men: TAS, which I love, but the animation and writing alike show a great deal of age. It's iconic for a reason, and my kids loved that too, but Batman holds up in a way that's just unreal."
–u/Essex626
14.Rugrats
"That was my favorite show as a child and I have watched the whole series twice as an adult."
"I think Rugrats actually holds up amazingly well now that I’m older. I can connect with the adults now, so it’s like I discovered a new show."
15.Gargoyles
"Rewatching it right now. I didn’t remember how dark and serious some of the episodes are and it really made me think about the content of current kids shows all being positive. Definitely enjoying the rewatch."
–u/bankingoil
16.Rocko's Modern Life
"I loved this show as a kid. As an adult, my thoughts are, that this show is really weird and I can't believe I watched it as a kid. I still love it lol."
"Yes! This is my pick as well! It gets even better as an adult with all the innuendos!"
–u/sloaney
"When I watched it as a kid, I picked up on some of the dirty jokes, but watching it as an adult, I perceive just how 'adult' the show really is. Bunch of stuff went over my head."
17.SpongeBob SquarePants
"Yep, 30 here, and this show is still one of my favorites. I always love that guy in the background who yells out 'MY LEGS' every time an accident occurs."
"I work in an ER. The number of adults who throw on SpongeBob SquarePants while waiting in their exam room is a startlingly huge percentage."
–u/VXMerlinXV
What are your favorite childhood TV shows you would still watch as an adult? Let us know in the comments!
