Some TV had existed before I Love Lucy. But this all time classic paved the way for sitcoms to become a successful genre. Queen of comedy Lucille Ball made sure it would last insisting on being videotaped. She also insisted on real life Cuban husband Desi Arnaz playing her husband on the show. They starred as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Landlords and best friends Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance) made up the other half of the cast. At first I Love Lucy was set in New York and featured the nightclub where Ricky was bandleader. Later it had long vacation arcs in Hollywood and Europe. Then near the end they all moved to Connecticut. The I Love Lucy portion lasted 6 years from 1951-1957 on CBS. That was followed by The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour which aired 13 episodes from 1957-1960 with the same cast of characters. In later seasons Richard Keith played Lucy and Ricky's son Little Ricky.
How it got this far
1st Round: defeated The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet 4-2
2nd Round: defeated DAG 9-3
3rd Round: defeated The Partridge Family 6-4

Gilligan's Island is the longest tour ever. Crew and passengers of the S.S. Minnow crashed on a remote island. They had only signed up for a three hour tour, that got extended to three seasons on CBS from 1964-1967. Starring Bob Denver as Gilligan and Alan Hale, Jr. as the Skipper, Jonas Grumby. Also starring Russell Johnson as the Professor Roy Hinkley, Jr., Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers, Tina Louise as movie star Ginger Grant, and Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer as the millionaire and his wife the Howells.
How it got this far
1st Round: defeated Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 9-2
2nd Round: defeated Frasier (1993) 13-7
3rd Round: defeated Petticoat Junction 7-4

Gilligan’s Island with a Quarterfinal victory

My pick goes to I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. I'm never voting for Gilligan's Island in anything because of its legacy being ruined by Dawn Wells dying of COVID-19 (it didn't f***ing exist during Gilligan's Island's run). I Love Lucy needs to be in the finals; otherwise, this whole tournament is pointless.

Does the winner get any prizes or anything?

As much as I love Gilligan's Island, I voted for Lucy ! Such an old classic! Both are old classics but Lucy is older and more of a comfort show to me, Gilligan is too, but oh well, gotta vote for one!:) Hard decision!:confused:

In its third straight win over a #1 seed, Gilligan's Island defeats I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour 10-6 and will advance to the semifinals.