Someone brought this up to me and I wanted to pose it as a legit question. Can it really be considered an all time great sitcom when nobody shows it in reruns. I mean the Brady Bunch, The Honeymooners, Gilligan's Island and I love Lucy are shown repeatedly in syndication years and years after they went off the air. TMTMS however, has not done so...

It was on NAN for a long time in the 90s if I recall.

Besides, I don't think the amount of time a show gets featured in syndicated reruns is any indication of quality. You don't really see Bob Newhart on that much either but it's obviously a classic.

As to why it's not, who knows? Probably some legal/financial rigamarole. None of that detracts from the high quality of the acting and writing. :)

One of the things to consider is the spinoff success: Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant. There aren't really very many series that can claim even 2 successful spinoffs, let alone 3...! That speaks to the powerhouse of a series that it was.

The MTM Show definitely IS a classic! The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was never in sydication either, but it's a classic, as well.

I think what makes a TV show a "classic" is it's ingenuity, popularity (not necesarily ratings), the impact on it's viewing audience and the writing.

HELL YEAH (at least to me anyways) - an amazing show then and an amazing show now (they were showing reruns for a while right after it left the air - I remember it airing late at night in the early mid 80s)

The definition of classic: an artistic production considered a standard; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank; serving as a standard, model, or guide; of enduring interest, quality, or style.

"Classic" and popularity are two different things. Shows like Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch and Ozzie and Harriet are (or were) popular, but they have never epitomized quality in any sense. At best, those shows were kitsch. Now, they're just old. Some may still be popular, but being popular does not make them classics. The Jersey Shore is popular, but . . . . you know. No one can objectively look at The Mary Tyler Moore Show and deny that it was a show of the highest quality, a standard bearer with timeless and enduring quality. Thus, it's clearly a classic.

HELL YEAH (at least to me anyways) - an amazing show then and an amazing show now (they were showing reruns for a while right after it left the air - I remember it airing late at night in the early mid 80s)
One of my locals used to air it every Saturday night at 7 in the early 80's. It was just like the old days.

MTM is and always will be a classic. The end. lol

If MTM isn't a classic, then I don't know what is.

If MTM isn't a classic, then I don't know what is.

Amen to that! You are so totally singing to the choir on that one. I could watch this show every day to the day I die AND NEVER tire of it.