1970's: My Favorite Decade

[USATVFAN]

The 1970s had the best Shows on TV of all the Decades. It's had the best Best shows, Actors, Writers and comedies Who Agree? What are your guy's favrotie Decade on Television?

I am one of those peoples(A are one)from my generation who preferrs the 70s and 80s classic then the stuff that was on in the late 90s and 2000s! A lot of the shows on now are pure Crap and garbage! I did not like a lot of the show that I grew up with This past Decade Decade(2000's the 90s are my Second favorite Decade with the 80s in Third)a lot of TV shows are now trash and I hate all reality shows! I go on YouTube, Hulu, other websites looking for classic TV Shows from the 60-80s, I have found many episodes of many classic 70s and 80s TV Shows on youtube, I recently watch all 146 episodes of Maude on Youtube. I have lots of 1970s TV Shows on DVD! I rather watch Classics TV shows form the 60s, 70s 80s and 90as then what is on Now! TV Shows were so will written, Smart, Funny and Intelligent back in the 70s with with lot of Great Actors who many of today Actors Can never hold a candle too. Pretty much every show in the 70s was a classic! They had a Very Good quilty about them, Groundbreaking and very hard driven scripts. They dealt with so many different types of topics that shows in the 50s and 60s didn't dare touch or talk about and pretty much ignored them. They were able to take a/the most serious topic and mix Humor into it in the most appropriate way and took it in stride without offending anyone, I love to watch All In The Family, Three's Company, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Happy Days, Laverne And Shirley, Bob Newhart, Rhoda, Bernie Miller, Sanford and Sons, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, Dallas, Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson and more. I also like old school Music form the 70s compared to what we have now and I like watching Classic Mo vies. I Obviously Grew up in the wrong Decade.

[sunshinefizzy]

I feel you. I like/love a lot of these shows because I grew up watching Nick at Nite. Even N&N went down the crapper as the years went by.

[Retro76]

Well said. Being born in 1976, I am lucky enough to discover many of these gems during local reruns, the OLD TV Land and now on Antenna and Me-TV. I do like the stuff from the 50s and 60s but the 70s seemed to have progressive and daring storylines. I thank God for these digital stations.

[jimpickens]

Too me the 70s were hit or miss but I do agree it was a magical time before political correctness and shock value over quality took over.

[ajgenard]

It is very difficult for me to pick a favorite decade. Each era offers something a little different and can be equally entertaining. These days I enjoy I Love Lucy just as much as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bob Newhart Show, Cheers, etc. On the same token there are equally poor sitcoms from each decade. However I feel the bottom really fell out around the turn of the century. Out went intelligent writing & performing and in came an endless stream of pratfalls & lowest-common-denominator style of writing. So I'd have to say the 2000s are my LEAST favorite decade.

[duckie]

The 60s are a close second my book.

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by ajgenard

It is very difficult for me to pick a favorite decade. Each era offers something a little different and can be equally entertaining. These days I enjoy I Love Lucy just as much as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bob Newhart Show, Cheers, etc. On the same token there are equally poor sitcoms from each decade. However I feel the bottom really fell out around the turn of the century. Out went intelligent writing & performing and in came an endless stream of pratfalls & lowest-common-denominator style of writing. So I'd have to say the 2000s are my LEAST favorite decade.

I Hear You! IMO the 50s, 60s and 70s RULED. The 80s and 90s had some good stuff as well. I regard the Cancellation of Early Edition as the moment when TELEVISION itself "Jumped the Shark". From that point on, things have only headed SOUTH.

I do not see much hope for the 2010s either.






Watch for my New Avatar on New Year's Eve!

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Regulus

I regard the Cancellation of Early Edition as the moment when TELEVISION itself "Jumped the Shark".

Early Edition is my all time favorite show.

[Retro Vic]

70's were a magical time for me too. 50's & 60's were also glorious for TV (& movies too) I believe the '80s were the beginning of the end for TV as we knew it. My penultimate "TV died" moment would probably be the last episode of "The Waltons" & the subsequent cancellation of the show. Although The Waltons was not my favorite show, it was definitely in my top 20. I think that this was the moment that Television died. It's funny now, that I look at what I watch & buy on DVD, is 100% pre-1980. Now that should tell you something. The few movies I do own post 1980's I could count on one hand. No TV series post '70's for me. Faves would have to be: Good Times, Maude, All In The Family, & Saturday Mornings 1970's OMG THE BEST OF ALL TIME: Anything Sid & Marty Krofft or Filmation!! These poor kids of today, really missed out. pre-70's: Dennis The Menace, Star Trek, Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver, Donna Reed, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Family Affair, jeez I could go on... read my profile I've listed all of my faves there. LONG LIVE RETRO TV!!!!!

[LUNCH]

Originally Posted by Retro Vic

believe the '80s were the beginning of the end for TV as we knew it.

I basically agree.Television shows in general started their decline during the early-mid 1980s.The reason I mention the early-mid 1980s is because that's when alot of the great shows of the 1970s went off the air.There were still quite a few very good shows made during the 1980s and even a few good ones in the 1990s. Overall though that is when television programs and progamming in general started to go downhill,and have kept going further and further downhill since.

[USATVFAN]

Originally Posted by LUNCH

I basically agree.Television shows in general started their decline during the early-mid 1980s.The reason I mention the early-mid 1980s is because that's when alot of the great shows of the 1970s went off the air.There were still quite a few very good shows made during the 1980s and even a few good ones in the 1990s. Overall though that is when television programs and progamming in general started to go downhill,and have kept going further and further downhill since.

I half agree. I think there were good shows made during the 80's and 90's, Some of my favorite shows are form that decade(90's). but there noting in those3 decades can compare with sitcoms of the 60's and 70's. Although I have to admit I only like a very few of the 1960's Sitcoms.

I think the 80's was the last True Classical Decade, but I think the 90's was the last good decade after that everything went downhill and the 2000's are by far the worst. I think TV began to go downhill around 96-99(end of Murphy Brown, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Home Improbemnt, Mad about You). Then it got even worst in 2004 with the end of Friends, Frasier, Raymond and King of Queens. Television has sucked since 2005.

As I mention in a post on IMDB where a user asked Which Show From This Decade Will Be Remembered As 'Classic'? My Answer was:NONE. No Sitcom will be a classic down the line. To tell the you the truth, there is not any TV show(Comedy or Drama) of the last Decade(2000-2010)that stood out to me as being a true Classic and living on in reruns as classics. In my opinion the 1990's was the last Classic TV Decade, The first half of the 2000's were left over TV Shows from the 90's and the second half of 2000's(2005-2009) was just bad. However I do think Raymond will be a classic in the years to come but I think that is really the only one.

[Retro Vic]

Originally Posted by USATVFAN

I half agree. I think there were good shows made during the 80's and 90's, Some of my favorite shows are form that decade(90's). but there noting in those3 decades can compare with sitcoms of the 60's and 70's. Although I have to admit I only like a very few of the 1960's Sitcoms.

I think the 80's was the last True Classical Decade, but I think the 90's was the last good decade after that everything went downhill and the 2000's are by far the worst. I think TV began to go downhill around 96-99(end of Murphy Brown, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Home Improbemnt, Mad about You). Then it got even worst in 2004 with the end of Friends, Frasier, Raymond and King of Queens. Television has sucked since 2005.

As I mention in a post on IMDB where a user asked Which Show From This Decade Will Be Remembered As 'Classic'? My Answer was:NONE. No Sitcom will be a classic down the line. To tell the you the truth, there is not any TV show(Comedy or Drama) of the last Decade(2000-2010)that stood out to me as being a true Classic and living on in reruns as classics. In my opinion the 1990's was the last Classic TV Decade, The first half of the 2000's were left over TV Shows from the 90's and the second half of 2000's(2005-2009) was just bad. However I do think Raymond will be a classic in the years to come but I think that is really the only one.

There are zero shows past the 1970's that I would spend money to purchase. However, I may look at the following in passing: Facts Of Life, Raymond, & possibly Kings Of Queens. The rest that you listed, YAWN. Especially Seinfeld. I never understood the appeal of that show, and shows like it, but, I am probably in the minority. I think TV Guide rated it as the best show of all time. I could never get into shows like Cheers, Friends, oh & even one from the '70's that puts me to sleep MASH. Just boring as heck (to me). DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE if you like these shows. It's IMHO. But yeah, there are only a handful that you can mention from like 3 decades after the seventies. Don't know what happened. Why did Hollywood stop making great sitoms? I guess the public wants this crap they put out today, ya' know Reality Shows, and BORING sitcoms. To give an example, Hot In Cleveland. I mean Betty White can't even get the show to be good.

[USATVFAN]

Will we all have a different opinions and have different taste, We can't all like the same thing. now on the how much TV has changed since the 70s, I think it's a Generational thing if you get what I mean. Wouldn't it be cool if we could somehow talk or convince all the TV Producer's, Director's, Writer's, Creator's from the 60's. 70's and 80's to come out of retirement and make new shows and put more Class back into television?

[Retro Vic]

I have come to the realization, that those kind of show are locked into the past. It was a different time, and unfortunately we will never see the likes of those great shows again.

I have invested (probably like many in here at sitcomsonline) a small fortune in a DVD library consisting of shows and movies from 1955-1979. I watch what I want uninterrupted and have just tuned out everything else except of course Antenna TV, & maybe the Science channel, Nature documentaries, and the news.

BTW I noticed your avatar: Three's Company, one of the funniest shows of all time, Jack,Janet,Chrissy,Cindy,Terri,The Ropers, Lonna, Larry, Mr. Furley...you can't get characters like that nowadays. It has high re-watchability value, like most of the '70's sitcoms, & that is how you judge the good from the bad. It is like the music from that era as well. Songs that will endure for ages, very unlike the music of today. I love that show! I laugh everytime I see any episode of it, it was really great.