From the discussion the other day about x-files being old. Why can’t it be a ‘classic’?
I know it has a different aspect ratio and the tech in it is old. But watching the first episode was intriguing, more than some modern shows. Like stargate, it also started out older and then as time went on it evolved. But I still really like stargate.
So what distinguishes old from classic. Can shows/movies even be classic? Like cars can be classics?
I suppose what makes something a classic is essentially public opinion. If enough people consider something to be a classic (judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind) then it’s a classic!
The are definitely genre defining movies that have earned the title of being classics and the same can be said of certain TV series. The X-Files would be considered by many to be a Sci-Fi classic. The big question is how well it holds up today. The best classics are timeless in that they were good back then and they are still good today.
I suppose if something old was very popular or good, it would be considered a classic.
In the case of X-Files, this is my first time watching it and I just noted that it was very old based on everything ranging from the acting, clothes, cars and effects. It wasn’t bad though, just an observation so it could be a classic. It is too old for my wife to keep her interest though, so I’m going to have to go at it alone. The episodes are still long (50min) from before the time that ads took up 30% of the hour.
I’ve also started Ally McBeal… also very old in SD and letterbox 
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Last week I watched ALIEN (1979), one of my all-time favourite sci-fi movies. It was a visionary in its time and really pushed the envelope in its design and thinking. I still found it enjoyable and suspenseful and was still able to put up with its dated aesthetic.
As mentioned by others, I don’t think a classic can only be judged by its nostalgia factors and the sense of feeling that it causes in an individual but also by design and theming, the feelings that it creates in its viewers. Granted we’re mostly talking about films here but I assume you mean ‘classic’ in more of a general sense, and in that case, I think the same can apply to things like cars or vehicles in that case. There’s a lot that can be said about a ‘classic’ simply by its design, as design is at the heart of just about everything.