said by ksalper:I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of prime time programs aired in the US have always been shot on film. There might be the occasional show shot on video -- anything that aired live, like a variety show, for sure, or things like soaps with their short turnaround time -- but the "flat" and cheap look of video means that very little in the way of quality television is made with it. Look at how "different" it looks when you see something like a 30 Rock live episode, even in today's HD -- I'm sure someone will find a couple one-off examples, but film was always the standard, not video.
The biggest issue with most shows in the '80s and '90s is that they were edited on video. So, the may have been shot on film, but the final episode usually only exists as an SD video master. Any HD restoration of the show is going to require they go back to the original film, scan it, and re-edit the episode. If any special effects were used, they would have to be redone or at least recomposited. That doesn't mean it can't be done (look at the HD re-masters for Star Trek: TNG), it just means it's more expensive and less trivial to do many much older TV shows or films.
My hope is that most "landmark" shows get the treatment in one way or another. Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek, Friends, Cheers, and Sienfeld are good examples of that. I really hope that Fox goes back and does the X-Files some day. It wouldn't need quite the level of work as Star Trek:TNG since there are fewer special effects shots, but it would be a bit more complex than a sitcom. It would be amazing though.