Which sitcoms would you consider to have been "ahead of its time"? Two that come to mind right off the bat were the 1990-1993 FOX series "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", with its unique use of special effects and a single camera format with the absence of a laugh track and the 1990-1995 NBC sitcom "Blossom", which, for the first time on television, provided us with an almost realistic portrayal of a family reared by a single parent, tackling issues such as drug abuse among others.

The Dennis O'Keefe Show -- predated other series concerning a single man raising a child/children, including My Three Sons, Family Affair, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and Nanny and the Professor.

All of the Norman Lear shows

SOAP being the first sitcom to show on a recurring role an openly gay character
Married With Children in an era of sappy family or do it in taste sitcoms comes this Frankensteins monster of a sitcom that opened the gate for all the raunchy and tasteless shows that have since become a staple of modern TV
When Things were Rotten the reason this show didn't last long was because the uptight pseudo intellectual crowd that the networks were going for in the 70s couldn't the screwball lowbrow humor that would become popular in the late 80s and 2000s
Star Trek with its fx and visuals it was way ahead of what was out there at the time
Miami Vice top 40 music of the time as background music and the graphic violence although tame when compaired to SOA or Justified made this show ahead of the pack when it came to police dramas of the 80s.

ALL IN THE FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!

(Sorry for the caps, but AITF was sooooo groundbreaking it meriits the emphasis. The show was literally a quarter century ahead of it time.)

The other shows cited above are good examples too, but to me, NOTHING comes close to the mountains AITF moved.

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ALL IN THE FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!

(Sorry for the caps, but AITF was sooooo groundbreaking it meriits the emphasis. The show was literally a quarter century ahead of it time.)

The other shows cited above are good examples too, but to me, NOTHING comes close to the mountains AITF moved.

Absolutely agree. The impact of AITF is still being felt today (though I honestly wish more creators would understand and emulate the sensibility behind the show...there is nothing on the screen today that even comes close to capturing modern life the way AITF did back then).

Leave it to Beaver was the first show to be presented from the children's point of view, incidentally, so I think it belongs here too.

Which sitcoms would you consider to have been "ahead of its time"? Two that come to mind right off the bat were the 1990-1993 FOX series "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", with its unique use of special effects and a single camera format with the absence of a laugh track and the 1990-1995 NBC sitcom "Blossom", which, for the first time on television, provided us with an almost realistic portrayal of a family reared by a single parent, tackling issues such as drug abuse among others.


One tv show that was way ahead of its time was I Spy. I mean this not only in terms of content - the teaming together of a Black American and a White American on terms of complete equality. In addition, in terms of it production, the program was way ahead of its time by going on location to film in Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Greece and (incredibly) Morocco. Very few programs even today would do that.

Another suggestion, in terms of technology portrayed in the show being ahead of its time -- remember the pocket communicators that they used on The Man from UNCLE? Small enough to fit in your breast pocket, powerful enough to talk to someone on the other side of the world? A science fiction device in the 1960's, but today it's something almost all of us carry now - in the shape of a cell phone.

The Golden Girls, for having its main characters being single senior citizens and putting them in situations faced by usually younger people.

And in the non-sitcom category, Life Goes On, for featuring a main character with Downs Syndrome, and Ironside, whose title character was paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

All in The Family is a groundbreaking show for it's use of outspoken ignorance. It was groundbreaking for showing how silly ignorance can be.

Now, a show like that could only work on HBO or Showtime.

Shows like Frasier and Seinfeld are still blowing current shows out of the water. I don't think Seinfeld will ever age. Yes, tech wise things change, but the stories and situations are so human that they will never get old.

On LITB having the toilet shown, now that is ground breaking right there :lol:

South Park it was groundbreaking when it came out in such ways as being the first animated TV show to use course language, vulgarity, and sexual content three years ahead of Family Guy.

THE BOB NEWHART SHOW. He wanted to avoide the sitcom cliche that a married couple must have kids!

Agree with AITF and Bob Newhart-
But 2 shows that I would add are:
The George Burns and Gracie Allen show- George talked to the audience, and in later episodes had a closed circuit TV where he would know whats going on- hilarious stuff- Thnx Antenna for bringng it back!

The Carol Burnett Show- variety that worked!- for 11 years, Tim Conways ad-libbing, breaks ups between the cast, proved that comedy could be clean and be hilarious the same time.

In what season of Burns & Allen did George have the closed circuit TV?

Anyone remember the William Window sitcom My World & Welcome To It, he wrote a cartoon column for a newspaper, it was way ahead of its time, so much so it never really attracted an audience. It was re-run in 1972 still with no success.

Anyone remember the William Window sitcom My World & Welcome To It, he wrote a cartoon column for a newspaper, it was way ahead of its time, so much so it never really attracted an audience. It was re-run in 1972 still with no success.

Yes, I remember it, but vaguely. I was a teenager at the time.


A nifty cartoon show I liked from that era, that had a strong progressive element was" Wait Til Your Father Gets Home".

I rather liked both shows and was sorry neither truly caught on.

The Carol Burnett Show- variety that worked!- for 11 years, Tim Conways ad-libbing, breaks ups between the cast, proved that comedy could be clean and be hilarious the same time.
Shows like Carol Burnett are the perfect example. How much creativity did the writers and performers have to use to avoid the crutches of profanity and sex jokes and still be hilarious. Even a slight innuendo back then got huge laughs because of the way the actors played it. A brilliant show for the whole family.

In what season of Burns & Allen did George have the closed circuit TV?


Not 100% sure- but I think it was '56 around the same time that Ronnie started to become a regular.

Facts of Life

1. The first sitcom to have an all female cast in a main cast.
2. The first sitcom to have a teen girl question her sexuality.
3. While there were male child stars of color for years there was no successful female equivalent until Kim Fields came along in the mid 70s.
4. The longest running female sitcom ever.

Married With Children in an era of sappy family or do it in taste sitcoms comes this Frankensteins monster of a sitcom that opened the gate for all the raunchy and tasteless shows that have since become a staple of modern TVThat's why I hate this show so much. :mad: :angryfire

On LITB having the toilet shown, now that is ground breaking right there :lol:

It also had an episode about smoking, divorce, alcoholism. I'd say Leave It To Beaver was groundbreaking.