Curious as to what everyone would put in a time capsule for future generations to watch, which would typify or define television for each decade. You get three shows per decade.

Me? I'd do something like this. Understand these aren't necessary my 'favorite' shows (though some are), just those that meet my criteria above.

1) 1950's - Leave it to Beaver, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy

2) 1960's - Batman, Bewitched, Laugh-In

3) 1970's - All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H

4) 1980's - The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties

5) 1990's - Everybody Loves Raymond, Roseanne, NYPD Blue

6) 2000s - Lost, Big Bang Theory, American Idol

7) 2010's - Too early to tell

1950s The Twilight Zone, Leave it to Beaver and of course, Lassie

1960s Get Smart!, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible

1970s Charlie's Angels, The Six Million Dollar Man/The Bionic Woman. , The Partridge Family

1980s The Wonder Years, Baywatch, Star Trek: The Next Generation

1990s Walker, Texas Ranger , Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Star Trek: Voyager

2000s :barf:

2010s :barf:

1950s I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, Dragnet
1960s Family Affair, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Dream of Jeannie
1970s WKRP in Cincinnati, Barney Miller, The Waltons
1980s Fame, Benson, Star Trek: the Next Generation
1990s Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder, Frasier
2000s Corner Gas, Monk, Hope & Faith
2010s Once Upon a Time, The Middle, Heartland

I DID ALL SITCOMS...

50s:
I Love Lucy
Leave It to Beaver
Father Knows Best

60s:
The Andy Griffith Show
Mister Ed
The Beverly Hillbillies

70s:
The Brady Bunch
All in the Family
There's Company

80s:
The Golden Girls
Mama's Family
The Facts of Life

90s:
Boy Meets World
Family Matters
Sabrina the Teenage Witch

00s:
Everybody Loves Raymond
The King of Queens
Will & Grace

10s:
2 Broke Girls
Melissa & Joey
Hot in Cleveland

Here's one for Children's shows

1940s Howdy Doody

1950s Captain Midnight, Annie Oakley, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

1960s Thunderbirds, Hot Wheels/Skyhawks, Spider Man

1970s Emergency+4, Shazam! ,Sealab 2020

1980s Thundarr, The Barbarian, Drak Pack, Space Stars

1990s Bone Chillers, then :barf: (That's :angryfire"EI" Shows:angryfire for those of you in Rio Linda!)

2000s :barf:

2010s :barf:

1950s:
I Love Lucy
Leave it to Beaver
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

1960s:
Family Affair
I Dream Of Jeannie
Bewitched
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Star Trek
Bonanza

1970s:
Little House On The Prairie
The Courtship Of Eddie's Father (Originally premiered in 1969 but ran mainly in the 1970s)
The Brady Bunch
The Partridge Family
M*A*S*H

1980s:
Cheers
Family Ties

1990s:
The Wonder Years

2000's:
puke:

2010s:
puke:

Danny, Joey and Jesse dug up a time capsule on an episode of "Full House"- oh wait, that's not this kind of topic... ;-) (that's what I was first thinking of when I saw it though- and that is a fairly common sitcom theme it seems...)

I will try to take a stab at this- some shows that to me typify these decades (in that either the shows were popular then or today they are regarded as synonymous with that decade- or just my favorite shows from then.)

1950s:
I Love Lucy
The Honeymooners
Leave It to Beaver

1960s:
Gilligan's Island
I Dream of Jeannie
Star Trek

1970s:
Happy Days
The Brady Bunch (started in the '60s, but certainly ran a lot in the '70s)
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

1980s:
Family Ties
Full House
MacGyver

1990s:
Saved By The Bell (started in late '80s, but ran a lot in the '90s)/Saved By The Bell: The College Years/Saved By The Bell: The New Class
Home Improvement
Early Edition

2000s:
Psych
The Big Bang Theory
House, M.D.

2010s:
Austin & Ally
Last Man Standing
Arrow

1950's - I Love Lucy, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason

1960's - Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits

1970's - Charlie's Angels, The Gong Show, Barnaby Jones

1980's - The Golden Girls, Punky Brewster, Dynasty

1990's - NYPD Blue, COPS, Law & Order

2000's - Doctor Who (the 2005 revival), The 4400, Desperate Housewives

2010's - Once Upon a Time, Sherlock, American Horror Story

1950s - I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, The Honeymooners

1960s - The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Twilight Zone (honestly, I think TV had the most seperation from real life during this decade. there are really not many '60s show bother much with depiction of counter-culture and the unrest of the '60s. except for Mad Men!)

1970s - All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Soap

1980s - Cheers, The Cosby Show, Dallas, Moonlighting

1990s - The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Twin Peaks, NYPD Blue

2000s - The Sopranos, Arrested Development, The Office, 30 Rock

2010s - Too early to say, probably. I think the only clear candidate is Breaking Bad.

I have a question. My favorite show is The Wonder Years that came out in the 80s but was set in the 60s. That one dealt with unrest and counter culture of that decade. So would that one count as a 60s show?

I have a question. My favorite show is The Wonder Years that came out in the 80s but was set in the 60s. That one dealt with unrest and counter culture of that decade. So would that one count as a 60s show?

Nope, I'd call it a 90's show...I'm just going with 'when the shows aired' as my criteria.

1950s - I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, The Honeymooners

1960s - The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Twilight Zone (honestly, I think TV had the most seperation from real life during this decade. there are really not many '60s show bother much with depiction of counter-culture and the unrest of the '60s. except for Mad Men!)

Agreed, the execs in charge were most likely too timid to tackle those issues at the time. You didn't see most of that stuff in sitcoms till All in the Family hit in 1971.

One exception might be the Mod Squad, which premiered in 1968. And the counterculture was dealt with, albeit in a goofy fashion, by Laugh-In, also in 1968.

Classic cartoons
60's-Ultraman, Speed Racer, Marine Boy, The Flintstones, Astro boy. Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

Classic cartoons
60's-Ultraman, Speed Racer, Marine Boy, The Flintstones, Astro boy. Scooby Doo, Where Are You?


It's interesting how everyone always puts Scooby Doo, Where Are You? in the 60's category...while it started in the 60's, it was three and a half months before the 70's started and ran into the 70's, with most of its popular spinoffs airing during the 70's. I always think of it as a 70's show, like the Brady Bunch, which started at the end of the 60's but ran predominantly in the 70's.

To each his own! :)

50s- I Love Lucy,Leave it to Beaver,The Honeymooners
60s-The Dick Van Dyke Show,I Dream of Jeannie,Bewitched,The Twilight Zone,The Munsters,Get Smart,The Andy Griffith Show,Laugh-In
70s-Happy Days,All in the Family,Soap,M*A*S*H, MTM/ Bob Newhart,Taxi,Three's Company,SNL (this could really go for any decade though ),Sanford and Son,The Jeffersons,Starsky and Hutch,The Dukes of Hazard maybe?
80s-Cheers,The Cosby Show,Miami Vice ( for "what the hell were they wearing?" purposes),Dallas,Family Ties
90s-Seinfeld,The Simpsons,Law and Order,NYPD Blue,Friends,Saved by The Bell,Fresh Prince,Twin Peaks
2000s-Arrested Development,The Office,30 Rock,The Sopranos,24,Lost
2010s-Breaking Bad,Mad Men (set in the 60s so it works and doesn;t work,then again Happy Days was a 70s show set in the 50s) Louie,Broad City,Brooklyn Nine Nine too early to tell,Community,Parks and Rec,Portlandia,Veep

It's interesting how everyone always puts Scooby Doo, Where Are You? in the 60's category...while it started in the 60's, it was three and a half months before the 70's started and ran into the 70's, with most of its popular spinoffs airing during the 70's. I always think of it as a 70's show, like the Brady Bunch, which started at the end of the 60's but ran predominantly in the 70's.

To each his own! :)

"Decade Crossers" As I call them are listed at the decade they started (Lassie & The Twilight Zone are two examples - the former started in the 1950s (And ran until the '70s), therefore I list it as being a '50s show. The latter started as the 1960s were about the end, nevertheless, If it started in the 60' then IMO it IS a 1960s show.

Leave It To Beaver (1957-63) is a tough one, basically the first half of the series aired in the 50's, and the second half aired in the 60's. To be precise, 91 episodes aired in the 50's, and 143 episodes aired in the 60's. So which decade does it qualify most for? Although the series began in 1957, the majority of episodes aired in the 60's. If I have to choose a decade, I guess I would qualify it as a 50's show, it's in black and white and has that 50's vibe to it. With The Brady Bunch, it started in the fall of 1969 as the 60's were coming to a close, ran until 1974, the vast majority of the show aired in the 70's so I qualify it as a 70's show.

50s - I Love Lucy , The Jack Benny Program , The Naked City

60s - Route 66 , Gilligan's Island , Bonanza

70s - What's Happening! , Emergency! , All In The Family

80s - The Golden Girls , Cheers , The Cosby Show

90s- Frasier , Seinfeld , Family Matters

2000s - Curb Your Enthusiasm

1950s: dragnet, the honeymooners, & Leave it to Beaver
1960s: Get Smart, Betwitched, & The Man from Uncle
1970s: All in the family, Rockford files, & MASH
1980s: Cheers, The A team, & Dallas
1990s: Star Trek TNG, Family Matters, & Married with Childern

1950's: I Love Lucy, Bonanza, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1960's: The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched
1970's: Three's Company, All In The Family, The Jeffersons
1980's: Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Family Ties
1990's: Friends, Cheers, ER
2000's: 30 Rock, The Sopranos, Will & Grace
2010's: The Real Housewives of New York City, Modern Family, Orange Is The New Black