All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son

The marketing behind DVDs has been clever. Videotapes are disposable, and after about 25 viewings, utterly worthless. DVDs have acquired the “preciousness” of keepsakes—heirlooms to pass down from generation to generation. (“That was your grandfather’s Godfather trilogy—and now it’s yours!”) Combine that with our post-9/11 anxiety and need for the comforts of our youth, most notably, sitcoms of the 1970s. Did we ever think we would want the entire Land of the Lost series in wide-screen with digitally-enhanced surround-sound? 70s fare like All in the Family, Good Times, and Sanford and Son, had their share of laughs, but also dealt with rape, gang violence, racism (and chronic fake heart attacks). They had the gravity and substance that reflected that tumultuous time in America, while these days we prefer to retreat to Temptation Island and Survivor: The Amazon.