system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: On Netflix, why do old tv shows like Rockford Files and Magnum PI start out with a 30 sec preview of the entire episode? A lot of older shows do this, but why?
gpt
This was just what was done in the 70s and 80s. The preview was basically click-bait, to hopefully get you to sit down and watch the show. You have to remember that recording shows was fairly uncommon at this time. People actually sat down and watched these shows as they went to air. So the networks would put a few exciting scenes of the upcoming show on, hoping this was enough to lure you into watching the entire show.