Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

My gut says comedy is the wrong way to go. Different generations have very different senses of humor. If you must try comedy, I'd go with something along the lines of Friends. I would think he'd understand a sitcom much more than the Simpsons or the Office. Did he watch any old sitcoms like MASH or I Love Lucy?

Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

as far as I can tell he basically has never watched TV since the mid 50s. But I agree re: comedies.

Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

[censored] doesn't change all that much. If you can tell us even a few old-school TV shows that he liked, there's probably some modern equivalent.

Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

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as far as I can tell he basically has never watched TV since the mid 50s. But I agree re: comedies.

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Jesus, let's get him some Barney Miller and Police Squad! then.

Seriously, it's tough, because the description of conservative and that he doesn't like stuff with profanity or whatever, kind of limits his palette, and excludes osme of what I think are the very best shows on TV. (Hard to imagine him getting into Arrested Development or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for example.)

Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

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as far as I can tell he basically has never watched TV since the mid 50s.

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Well, if we have almost the whole breadth of tv history to pick from...

If his favorite movie is "High Noon", he might really go for "Deadwood". However the language is really raw and he might just consider it vulgar. Maybe pre-watch the first couple eps..

Would he have seen the "Gunsmoke" tv series? What about "Have Gun Will Travel"? Or "Maverick" or "Rawhide"? For something a little more modern, how about "Adventures of Brisco County Jr".

Non westerns...

Law & Order
MASH
Magnum PI
Rockford Files
Monk
ER
Hill Street Blues
Homicide: Life on the Street
Moonlighting
Remington Steele
NYPD Blue
LA Law

Yeesh, could be at this all day...

Re: introducing my dad to pop culture - TV
 

How about Season 3 of 24? I think if you're going to go with a drama, you really need to do a whole season, and that one grabs you pretty fast. I know the first season's considered to be the best by most people, but it takes quite a while to get going compared to Season 3 which is my favorite.

Also, the whole "good vs. evil" thing is pretty reminiscent of a lot of the old Westerns as Jack's pretty much the classic self-sacrificing hero.