Rate Lear's Shows - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

nlearfan · 07-08-2005, 12:40 PM

Rate the five main Norman Lear shows from best to worst:

1) All in the Family
2) Good Times
3) Sanford and Son
4) The Jeffersons
5) Maude

jamesanthony · 07-08-2005, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nlearfan

Rate the five main Norman Lear shows from best to worst:

1) All in the Family
2) Good Times
3) Sanford and Son
4) The Jeffersons
5) Maude

This is almost impossible for me as each was good in its own way, although I don't remember Maude at all. AITF gets marks for originality, although once Mike and Gloria moved next door it strayed and once they left it wasn't too great. I prefer Jeffersons to Sanford and Son but Redd Foxx really embodied that part and it gets credit for having a sequel series (Sanford from 1980) that was pretty decent in its own right. Jeffersons ran too long (the last 3 years are relatively poor) and Good Times' chemistry was thrown off irreparably when they fired John Amos, although I like the last season (year 4 is so so and year 5 is the worst by far). Personally I'd rate them 4, 1, 2/3 then 5.
What about One Day at A Time?

Mr. Television · 07-08-2005, 05:04 PM

1-All In The Family
2-Jeffersons
3- Sanford And Son
4- One Day At A Time
5-Maude
6-Good Times
7-Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

James"Thunder"Early · 07-08-2005, 06:36 PM

1) The Jeffersons
2) All in The Family
3) Good Times
4) Maude
5) Sanford and Son

Skywalker · 07-08-2005, 08:03 PM

1. Sanford and Son
2. The Jeffersons
3. All in the Family
4. Good Times
5. Maude

TVFactFan · 07-08-2005, 08:20 PM

Jeffersons
Good Times
Sanford and Son
All n the Family
Maude
Hot L Baltimore

Brian Damage · 07-09-2005, 11:06 AM

Good Times
All in the Family
One Day at a Time
The Jeffersons
Sanford And Son

jamesanthony · 07-12-2005, 08:52 AM

Someone said somewhere that his shows wouldn't be made now because the subject matter in most of them would be considered politically incorrect (racism etc), but another reason these types of shows wouldn't be made now is the manner in which they were produced. They were basically teleplays. It was not unusual for an entire episode of any of those shows to occur on one set and only have 2 or 3 scenes. Even the shows that are taped before live audiences today have multiple scenes and subplots and very fast humor. Good Times, AITF etc would be considered dull viewing in the minds of the tv execs although the level of acting and writing in them and shows like Barney Miller, Soap, Cosby Show etc are far superior to almost every sitcom on tv now.

JeffRuss1972 · 07-12-2005, 01:46 PM

1.Good Times
2.Sanford & Son
3.Maude/ AITF (Tie)
4.Jeffersons
5.One Day At a Time

seventies_sitcoms · 07-12-2005, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nlearfan

Rate the five main Norman Lear shows from best to worst:

1) All in the Family
2) Good Times
3) Sanford and Son
4) The Jeffersons
5) Maude

My picks would be:
1. All in the Family
2. Maude
3.One Day At A Time
4. Good Times
5. Mary Hartman

robby76 · 07-23-2005, 12:46 PM

1. Good Times
2. One Day At a Time
3. The Jeffersons

RIC FLAIR · 07-23-2005, 01:02 PM

1.GOOD TIMES
2.ALL IN THE FAMILY
3.SANFORD AND SON
4.JEFFERSONS
5.MARY HARTMAN/DIFFERENT STROKES(TIE)

liane49 · 04-22-2015, 01:42 PM

Hot L Baltimore was one of Norman's rare flops. I hated Sandford and Son and I hated Mary Hartman even worse.

LETTERL · 08-20-2015, 05:17 AM

1) All in the Family
2) The Jeffersons
3) One Day At a Time
4) Maude
5) Good Times
6) Sanford and Son
7) Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
8) Hot L Baltimore

opus · 08-20-2015, 10:59 AM

I'm biased toward One Day at a Time.

After that:

All in the Family
Maude
Jeffersons
Good Times
Sanford and Son
Never saw Mary Hartman, so I don't know where to rank it.

07-08-2005, 12:40 PM	#1
nlearfan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 01, 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 230	Rate Lear's Shows Rate the five main Norman Lear shows from best to worst: 1) All in the Family 2) Good Times 3) Sanford and Son 4) The Jeffersons 5) Maude

07-08-2005, 05:04 PM	#3
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,133	1-All In The Family 2-Jeffersons 3- Sanford And Son 4- One Day At A Time 5-Maude 6-Good Times 7-Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
	__________________ Sonny

07-08-2005, 06:36 PM	#4
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,088	1) The Jeffersons 2) All in The Family 3) Good Times 4) Maude 5) Sanford and Son
	__________________ Esther Anderson: Get thee behind me, Satan, but I'm gon' get behind you, 'cause I'm gonna put my foot in your--- Peggy Mitchell: Get outta my pub! You better pray you get the last laugh, it's a kick in the teeth when you don't get it.

07-23-2005, 12:46 PM	#11
robby76 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 18, 2004 Posts: 949	1. Good Times 2. One Day At a Time 3. The Jeffersons
	__________________ Edison Twins * Automan * Whiz Kids Vote @ tvshowsondvd.com

07-08-2005, 08:03 PM	#5
Skywalker Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2003 Posts: 14,204	1. Sanford and Son 2. The Jeffersons 3. All in the Family 4. Good Times 5. Maude

07-08-2005, 08:20 PM	#6
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,058	Jeffersons Good Times Sanford and Son All n the Family Maude Hot L Baltimore

07-09-2005, 11:06 AM	#7
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Good Times All in the Family One Day at a Time The Jeffersons Sanford And Son

07-12-2005, 08:52 AM	#8
jamesanthony Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 30, 2004 Posts: 2,180	Someone said somewhere that his shows wouldn't be made now because the subject matter in most of them would be considered politically incorrect (racism etc), but another reason these types of shows wouldn't be made now is the manner in which they were produced. They were basically teleplays. It was not unusual for an entire episode of any of those shows to occur on one set and only have 2 or 3 scenes. Even the shows that are taped before live audiences today have multiple scenes and subplots and very fast humor. Good Times, AITF etc would be considered dull viewing in the minds of the tv execs although the level of acting and writing in them and shows like Barney Miller, Soap, Cosby Show etc are far superior to almost every sitcom on tv now.

07-12-2005, 01:46 PM	#9
JeffRuss1972 70s Sitcoms Rule!!! Eternal Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 11, 2005 Location: Villa Rica, GA Posts: 1,257	1.Good Times 2.Sanford & Son 3.Maude/ AITF (Tie) 4.Jeffersons 5.One Day At a Time

07-23-2005, 01:02 PM	#12
RIC FLAIR Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 111	1.GOOD TIMES 2.ALL IN THE FAMILY 3.SANFORD AND SON 4.JEFFERSONS 5.MARY HARTMAN/DIFFERENT STROKES(TIE)

04-22-2015, 01:42 PM	#13
liane49 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 20, 2013 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 1,011	Hot L Baltimore was one of Norman's rare flops. I hated Sandford and Son and I hated Mary Hartman even worse.

08-20-2015, 05:17 AM	#14
LETTERL Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 11, 2004 Location: SC Posts: 83	1) All in the Family 2) The Jeffersons 3) One Day At a Time 4) Maude 5) Good Times 6) Sanford and Son 7) Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman 8) Hot L Baltimore

08-20-2015, 10:59 AM	#15
opus VB Forum Superstar Join Date: May 16, 2015 Location: VB Galaxy Posts: 32,432	I'm biased toward One Day at a Time. After that: All in the Family Maude Jeffersons Good Times Sanford and Son Never saw Mary Hartman, so I don't know where to rank it.