Actually not as bad as you might think. Ran (is still running?) for 30-odd years, flying in the face of that joke on The Simpsons (longest running british sitcom = 7 episodes). Re-visits the same core themes nearly every episode, eventually reaching an obsessive level of fixation that would impress a devout Franciscan monk. The only show other than Star Trek where the cast have initially been made up to look old only to eventually have to be made up (and employed stunt doubles) to look young (or in fact alive). Deeply ingrained in my psyche along with the Antiques Roadshow as prime sitting-in-front-of-the-telly-eating-crumpets fodder for a Sunday night.