icecream
05-12-2021, 05:20 PM
1940s- the only TV decade I have nothing. There might have been a few good sitcoms, but between national broadcast schedules not starting until 1946 and shows not shot on tape being destroyed before I Love Lucy ushered in the filmed improvement, I am very unlikely to ever see anything from this decade.
1950s
1. I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
2. The Jack Benny Program- Lots of debate exists about whether this is a true sitcom. Here at least I successfully got Jack Benny declared a sitcom with his own board. :D
3. Bachelor Father- This is easily the most underrated sitcom from the 50s. Great overall cast of pre-Dynasty John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. It is also a rare show that aired originals on all three major broadcast networks from that time which those networks are still around today. It is too bad Antenna TV dropped Bachelor Father awhile back.
4. Leave it to Beaver- around equal time between the 50s and 60s but since 50s has a lot less competition for me, I am putting it here.
5. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet- This also split time between the 50s and 60s. Like Beaver, getting put here as the competition is weaker.
6. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
1960s
1. Petticoat Junction
2. Family Affair- A lot of publicity has been put on the rural purge CBS made. But more to blame for it was the access hour law taking effect in 1971. Because of that CBS was forced to cancel a lot more shows than they would have before. Family Affair is urban and not out in the country, so not like the many other rural ones. Whereas Mayberry RFD was a continuation of Andy Griffith's weaker color years made even weaker without Andy, Beverly Hillbillies had a nice long run of 9 seasons, and Petticoat Junction was great most of its run but never recovered from Bea Benaderet's death. Now Green Acres would have been able to keep going, along with Family Affair. But they were victims of the access hour. Even worse, just 5 years later Anissa Jones became a victim of horrible Dr. Don Carlos Moshos' bad prescriptions which were part of her way premature death from overdose.
3. The Andy Griffith Show- Black and white era, of course, was fantastic. But the color era dragging it down puts Andy below Petticoat Junction and Family Affair.
4. The Beverly Hillbillies- This very funny show really shot up on my list after the weekend binge I was able to see on Decades.
5. The Dick Van Dyke Show
6. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
6. I Dream of Jeannie- edges out Bewitched with no leading cast changes
7. Bewitched- Dick York era is slightly better than I Dream of Jeannie. But Dick Sargent era drags Bewitched down.
8. The Patty Duke Show
9. The Munsters
10. Hazel- George and Dorothy seasons are really good. But season 5 with the younger cast was a big downgrade.
11. That Girl
12. The Addams Family
13. Green Acres
14. Gilligan's Island- I liked this show more when I was younger. But Gilligan still has a great theme song, second only to The Greatest American Hero.
15. Gidget- Gidget's sole season was decent. More seasons of this would have been preferable to Sally Field replacement The Flying Nun, which was ok at best.
16. The Lucy Show
1970s- I like Eight is Enough but don't consider it a sitcom.
1. WKRP in Cincinnati- I originally put this in the 80s as over 2/3 of WKRP's run (65/90) was there. However, I moved WKRP back to the 70s as it has a lot less favorites.
2. Fawlty Towers
3. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em- It is really a shame this highly underrated Michael Crawford Britcom isn't even available to PBS affiliates. All I have been able to see of Some Mothers is online only.
4. Barney Miller
5. M*A*S*H- This was a quality show the whole run that handled cast changes well. Did it have some clunker episodes? Yes. But clunker seasons? No. Unlike so many who only will watch a small portion of M*A*S*H or don't like it post-Radar, I consider every season to be high quality.
6. Happy Days- I also like every season of Happy Days, it did fine creatively once Fonzie became the sole lead. I had considered season 10 when Joanie left for her spin-off the weakest. However, this was before I became a Crystal Bernard fan from Wings and It's a Living, would be interesting to see now as her starting point.
7. Welcome Back, Kotter- First three seasons were really good.
8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9. Mork and Mindy- While this show aired more episodes in the 80s, best season by far was the first all 70s season. Seasons 2 and 3 were a step down, season 4 was even worse with the birth of Mearth.
10. Are You Being Served?
11. The Partridge Family
12. The Courtship of Eddie's Father
13. C.P.O. Sharkey
14. The Bob Newhart Show
15. The Odd Couple
16. Laverne and Shirley
1980s- I really like The Love Boat but don't consider it a sitcom. Overall what a strong decade for sitcoms.
1. Benson- What a shame this does so terribly in syndication. Seasons 2-5 are top notch. And while it was a lot more mean-spirited by the end, still would have been nice to see a final 8th season with Benson winning the election and Gatling now working for him.
2. Family Ties
3. The Wonder Years
4. Mr. Belvedere- another underrated show Antenna TV didn't keep around long enough
5. Head of the Class- Howard Hesseman era was great. But Billy Connolly was horrible. Original teacher Charlie took over for played by Roscoe Lee Browne would have been a lot better lead replacement.
6. Newhart
7. My Two Dads- Staci Keanan is such a charming lead. While I would have liked more than three seasons, that would have meant no Mad About You.
8. The Facts of Life- good show while Charlotte Rae was there. not a Cloris Leachman fan here
9. Diff'rent Strokes- good show the first five seasons. mostly unwatchable once annoying Sam ruined it
10. Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister
11. Night Court- This show could be really good. But it would have been better if they had not made Dan so sleazy.
12. Punky Brewster
13. What a Country!- I really liked the three episodes that were available online of brilliant Yakov Smirnoff's syndicated comedy. The whole series/season needs made readily available, at least put it on DVD.
14. Cheers- like Night Court, would have been better if they had toned down Sam's sleaziness. While Cheers is still a quality show, its spin-off Frasier is a lot better.
15. Taxi- straddled the decades but longer run in the 80s
16. Growing Pains
17. It's a Living- This is a tale of vastly different shows. Ann Jillian was such a dull lead that premiered in the network version, but once Crystal Bernard joined the syndicated version it started to take off. Once Ginger joined as well, that was the ideal cast and its peak.
18. Too Close for Comfort
19. Who's the Boss?
20. The Cosby Show- This is still a quality show. I can separate the actor from the character they play.
21. A Different World
22. Angie
23. Silver Spoons
24. ALF
more decades coming later
1950s
1. I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
2. The Jack Benny Program- Lots of debate exists about whether this is a true sitcom. Here at least I successfully got Jack Benny declared a sitcom with his own board. :D
3. Bachelor Father- This is easily the most underrated sitcom from the 50s. Great overall cast of pre-Dynasty John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. It is also a rare show that aired originals on all three major broadcast networks from that time which those networks are still around today. It is too bad Antenna TV dropped Bachelor Father awhile back.
4. Leave it to Beaver- around equal time between the 50s and 60s but since 50s has a lot less competition for me, I am putting it here.
5. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet- This also split time between the 50s and 60s. Like Beaver, getting put here as the competition is weaker.
6. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
1960s
1. Petticoat Junction
2. Family Affair- A lot of publicity has been put on the rural purge CBS made. But more to blame for it was the access hour law taking effect in 1971. Because of that CBS was forced to cancel a lot more shows than they would have before. Family Affair is urban and not out in the country, so not like the many other rural ones. Whereas Mayberry RFD was a continuation of Andy Griffith's weaker color years made even weaker without Andy, Beverly Hillbillies had a nice long run of 9 seasons, and Petticoat Junction was great most of its run but never recovered from Bea Benaderet's death. Now Green Acres would have been able to keep going, along with Family Affair. But they were victims of the access hour. Even worse, just 5 years later Anissa Jones became a victim of horrible Dr. Don Carlos Moshos' bad prescriptions which were part of her way premature death from overdose.
3. The Andy Griffith Show- Black and white era, of course, was fantastic. But the color era dragging it down puts Andy below Petticoat Junction and Family Affair.
4. The Beverly Hillbillies- This very funny show really shot up on my list after the weekend binge I was able to see on Decades.
5. The Dick Van Dyke Show
6. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
6. I Dream of Jeannie- edges out Bewitched with no leading cast changes
7. Bewitched- Dick York era is slightly better than I Dream of Jeannie. But Dick Sargent era drags Bewitched down.
8. The Patty Duke Show
9. The Munsters
10. Hazel- George and Dorothy seasons are really good. But season 5 with the younger cast was a big downgrade.
11. That Girl
12. The Addams Family
13. Green Acres
14. Gilligan's Island- I liked this show more when I was younger. But Gilligan still has a great theme song, second only to The Greatest American Hero.
15. Gidget- Gidget's sole season was decent. More seasons of this would have been preferable to Sally Field replacement The Flying Nun, which was ok at best.
16. The Lucy Show
1970s- I like Eight is Enough but don't consider it a sitcom.
1. WKRP in Cincinnati- I originally put this in the 80s as over 2/3 of WKRP's run (65/90) was there. However, I moved WKRP back to the 70s as it has a lot less favorites.
2. Fawlty Towers
3. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em- It is really a shame this highly underrated Michael Crawford Britcom isn't even available to PBS affiliates. All I have been able to see of Some Mothers is online only.
4. Barney Miller
5. M*A*S*H- This was a quality show the whole run that handled cast changes well. Did it have some clunker episodes? Yes. But clunker seasons? No. Unlike so many who only will watch a small portion of M*A*S*H or don't like it post-Radar, I consider every season to be high quality.
6. Happy Days- I also like every season of Happy Days, it did fine creatively once Fonzie became the sole lead. I had considered season 10 when Joanie left for her spin-off the weakest. However, this was before I became a Crystal Bernard fan from Wings and It's a Living, would be interesting to see now as her starting point.
7. Welcome Back, Kotter- First three seasons were really good.
8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9. Mork and Mindy- While this show aired more episodes in the 80s, best season by far was the first all 70s season. Seasons 2 and 3 were a step down, season 4 was even worse with the birth of Mearth.
10. Are You Being Served?
11. The Partridge Family
12. The Courtship of Eddie's Father
13. C.P.O. Sharkey
14. The Bob Newhart Show
15. The Odd Couple
16. Laverne and Shirley
1980s- I really like The Love Boat but don't consider it a sitcom. Overall what a strong decade for sitcoms.
1. Benson- What a shame this does so terribly in syndication. Seasons 2-5 are top notch. And while it was a lot more mean-spirited by the end, still would have been nice to see a final 8th season with Benson winning the election and Gatling now working for him.
2. Family Ties
3. The Wonder Years
4. Mr. Belvedere- another underrated show Antenna TV didn't keep around long enough
5. Head of the Class- Howard Hesseman era was great. But Billy Connolly was horrible. Original teacher Charlie took over for played by Roscoe Lee Browne would have been a lot better lead replacement.
6. Newhart
7. My Two Dads- Staci Keanan is such a charming lead. While I would have liked more than three seasons, that would have meant no Mad About You.
8. The Facts of Life- good show while Charlotte Rae was there. not a Cloris Leachman fan here
9. Diff'rent Strokes- good show the first five seasons. mostly unwatchable once annoying Sam ruined it
10. Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister
11. Night Court- This show could be really good. But it would have been better if they had not made Dan so sleazy.
12. Punky Brewster
13. What a Country!- I really liked the three episodes that were available online of brilliant Yakov Smirnoff's syndicated comedy. The whole series/season needs made readily available, at least put it on DVD.
14. Cheers- like Night Court, would have been better if they had toned down Sam's sleaziness. While Cheers is still a quality show, its spin-off Frasier is a lot better.
15. Taxi- straddled the decades but longer run in the 80s
16. Growing Pains
17. It's a Living- This is a tale of vastly different shows. Ann Jillian was such a dull lead that premiered in the network version, but once Crystal Bernard joined the syndicated version it started to take off. Once Ginger joined as well, that was the ideal cast and its peak.
18. Too Close for Comfort
19. Who's the Boss?
20. The Cosby Show- This is still a quality show. I can separate the actor from the character they play.
21. A Different World
22. Angie
23. Silver Spoons
24. ALF
more decades coming later