It's a shame that the shows from the 1940's and early 50's don't exsist anymore. The very first sitcom was titled "Mary Kay and Johnny". It lasted from 1947-1950. However, there are no surviving episodes. There are a lot of old shows that I've read about I'd like to see, but cannot because the film no longer is in exsistance.

I agree it is a shame. Once these gems are lost, they're lost forever. The same can be said of old movies. The National Film Preservation Foundation works hard at locating old movies and restoring them. Someone should do the same for television.
http://www.filmpreservation.org/basics.html

That is kind of sad, I've heard a lot about things like this happening on amc. The saddest part of all is that even popular movies and tv shows are sometimes damaged, that leaves little hope for rare tv shows and movies.

Originally posted by TVAdam
It's a shame that the shows from the 1940's and early 50's don't exsist anymore. The very first sitcom was titled "Mary Kay and Johnny". It lasted from 1947-1950. However, there are no surviving episodes. There are a lot of old shows that I've read about I'd like to see, but cannot because the film no longer is in exsistance.

That's sad..I'd really like to see that show.