In 1985, television shows from the decades before made a comeback — the classic series that are a part of our culture.

Nickelodeon created Nick at Nite in the summer and built the new evening block on reruns of “The Donna Reed Show” from the 1950s and other older shows — the block was created by the same team that launched MTV.

When Nick at Nite launched, it was built on classic TV from dramas, sitcoms, westerns and variety shows from the ‘50s to the ‘70s.

Nowadays, Nick at Nite is no longer run separately from Nickelodeon and is aimed at shows from the ‘80s and ‘90s, such as “Family Matters,” “Full House” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Gone are black and white shows and shows from before “The Cosby Show” era and the network is even producing some original shows. This is also the network that created TV marathons and some of the oddest and most memorable commercials of the ‘90s.

In 1996, Nick at Nite oversaw the launch of its spin-off network, TV Land. But since December 2006, when the two networks went their separate ways, TV Land has distanced itself with classic shows such as “Hill Street Blues,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “All in the Family” and “Get Smart.”

This summer, TV Land began a big push toward original programming. The network had reality shows featuring former boxer George Forman, a modeling competition and high school reunions. All were heavily promoted, and the network did away with split screen during a show’s closing credits — instead, a black bar runs along the bottom with a show’s cast and crew.

The only “classic” programs introduced were ‘90s shows “Mad About You,” “Just Shoot Me!,” and “Murphy Brown.” It reintroduced “Hogan’s Heroes” and “The Jeffersons” but added nothing new that dates from the ‘70s or earlier. Even “Scrubs” — a show still making new episodes — has made it to the network.

The change may come as a surprise, because when TV Land was still young it placed in the top 10 for most watched cable networks — when its lineup was completely old TV programs. While still in the top 20, TV Land has shifted to appeal to baby boomers with several airings of shows that were popular for that generation as they grew up.

But this change could give rise to something new.

Several shows that were once TV Land staples — “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Hill Street Blues” — have found their way to up-and-coming networks. AmericanLife TV Network airs some former TV Land shows and some that have rarely been seen on TV for the past few decades, such as World War II shows and early science fiction shows, such as “Lost in Space” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.”

The network isn’t a widely available network, but in time it could grow. Perhaps that is where the new generation of classic TV is, since it seems to be getting scarce on basic cable.

Classic cartoons also begin to fade away

Cartoon Network’s Boomerang has the chance to go down a similar route to TV Land. While still commercial-free and free of original programming, Boomerang often promotes its parent network and classic animated shows are slowly becoming harder to come by — “Looney Tunes,” “Merrie Melodies” and “Garfield and Friends” are absent from the network. Other classics like “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons” and “Yogi Bear” are absent from evening lineups in place for new animation programs — often from Cartoon Network. What was once aimed at older audiences is becoming a place for young people — even though there is already a Cartoon Network Too for the parent channel’s reruns.

Other animation-aimed networks like Toon Disney and Nicktoons have too small a library of programs to offer any real variety in their lineup before the 1990s.

— Anthony Capps is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Oskaloosa.