The Incredible Shrinking TV Show! (or, Why We're at War With Expanding Ad Breaks)

[AKA]

These numbers speak for themselves: these are actual runtimes of half-hour episodes from over the years. As you go down the list, the erosion of our television shows becomes obvious, with the disparity between the length of the longest (26:50) and shortest (18:41) show more than eight minutes.

As the trend continues, I won't be surprised if sitcoms go below the 15-minute mark in the next ten years. The networks are upset about DVRs and Dish's The Hopper, but they're the ones who have necessitated fast-forwarding, or "hopping" through commercial breaks.

1950s

I Love Lucy: “The Ballet” (CBS; 02/18/1952) – 26:50

Dragnet: “The Big Trunk” (NBC; 01/07/1954) - 26:01

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: “Revenge” (CBS; 10/02/1955) - 26:21

Leave It to Beaver: “Beaver Gets ‘Spelled’“ (CBS; 10/04/1957) - 26:00

The Donna Reed Show: “Weekend Trip: (ABC; 09/24/1958) – 25:55

The Twilight Zone: “Where Is Everybody?” (CBS; 10/02/1959) - 25:11

1960s

The Andy Griffith Show: “Christmas Story” (CBS; 12/19/1960) - 26:01

Mister Ed: “The First Meeting” (first-run syndication; 01/05/1961) – 26:03

The Dick Van Dyke Show: “The Sick Boy and the Sitter” (CBS; 10/03/1961) – 25:42

Leave It to Beaver: “The Clothing Drive” (ABC; 06/13/1963) - 25:51

The Twilight Zone: “The Bewitchin’ Pool” (CBS; 06/19/1964) - 25:11

The Dick Van Dyke Show: “The Last Chapter” (CBS; 06/01/1966) – 25:36

Dragnet: “The Big LSD” (NBC; 01/12/1967) - 25:11

The Andy Griffith Show: “Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting” (CBS; 01/29/1968) - 25:31

1970s

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: “Love Is All Around” (CBS; 09/19/1970) - 25:41

M*A*S*H: “Pilot” (CBS; 09/17/1972) - 25:35

The Bob Newhart Show: “The Ceiling Hits Bob” (CBS; 03/08/1975) - 25:09

Taxi: “Like Father, Like Daughter” (ABC; 09/12/1978) - 24:47

1980s

Family Ties: “Pilot” (NBC; 09/22/1982) - 24:00

Cheers: “Give Me a Ring Sometime” (NBC; 09/30/1982) - 25:01

M*A*S*H: “As Time Goes By” (CBS; 02/21/1983) – 24:15

Taxi: “Simka’s Monthlies” (NBC; 06/15/1983) – 24:06

The Cosby Show: “Pilot Presentation” (NBC; 09/20/1984) - 23:40

Married… With Children: “Married… With Children” (Fox; 04/05/1987) - 22:50

Coach: “Love Me Tender” (ABC; 03/01/1989) – 23:47

Family Ties: “Mr. Keaton Takes a Vacation” (NBC; 05/07/1989) - 24:21

1990s

Wings: “Legacy” (NBC; 04/19/1990) - 22:56

The Cosby Show: “Some Gifts Aren’t Deductible” (NBC; 04/23/1992) – 23:10

Cheers: “The Guy Can’t Help It” (NBC; 05/13/1993) - 23:21

Frasier: “The Show Where Sam Shows Up” (NBC; 02/21/1995) - 22:51

Everybody Loves Raymond: “I Love You” (CBS; 09/20/1996) - 22:39

Coach: “The Neighbor Hood” (ABC; 04/23/1997) - 21:49

Wings: “Raging Bull*&@!” (NBC; 05/14/1997) - 21:35

South Park: “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe” (Comedy Central; 08/13/1997) – 22:09

Family Guy: “Death Has a Shadow” (Fox; 01/31/1999) - 22:31

Futurama: “Space Pilot 3000” (Fox; 01/31/1999) - 22:41

2000s

Two and a Half Men: “The Last Thing You Want is to Wind up with a Hump” (CBS; 10/20/2003) – 18:41

Arrested Development: “Pilot” (Fox 11/02/2003) – 21:43

Everybody Loves Raymond: “The Finale” (CBS; 05/16/2005) - 22:32

The Big Bang Theory: “The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization” (CBS; 03/17/2006) – 19:29

Modern Family: “En Garde” (ABC; 11/04/2009) - 20:41

2010s

Louie: “Pilot” (FX; 06/29/2010) – 23:43

Family Guy: “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q” (Fox; 10/30/2011) - 21:15

Futurama: “Reincarnation” (Comedy Central; 09/08/2011) - 21:40

South Park: “A History Channel Thanksgiving” (Comedy Central – 11/09/2011) - 22:05

Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23: “Making Rent...” (ABC; 05/09/2012) - 21:04

The New Normal - “Sofa’s Choice” (NBC; 09/11/2012) - 21:46

Go On – ”He Got Game, She Got Cats” (NBC; 09/11/2012) - 21:43

The Mindy Project - ”Eat, Pray, Whatever” (Fox; 09/25/2012) - 23:18

[Vahan]

Slight correction here, Brad, but the Family Ties pilot is actually an even 24:00. The only reason it was 23:40 was because of CBS being too lazy to clear a scene on the season 1 DVD featuring a Phil Ochs song (Day of Decision).

CBS stupidly cut the scene out.

[AKA]

Thanks for the correction, Vahan. I was wondering about that. It seemed a bit short for a 1982 TV show.

[Regulus]

Note that 25 Minutes was the norm until the 1980s. In 1984 the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that nullified the National Association of Broadcasters "Television Code", which Suggested (Yes, this was VOLUNTARY) that Commercial Time be kept to less than 10 minutes per hour. The differance wasn't that big, at first, but in 1997 something else happened. Congress passed a law allowing Pharmaceutical Companies to advertise Prescription Drugs. The law had a requirement that the ad include all side effects to be spoken. 30 seconds would not give enough time for all these effects to be listed, so more time was needed. Suddenly the time for commercial breaks EXPLODED, to the point where we see 20+ Minutes of each hour set aside for commercials Six years ago this month I decided enough was enough, I've already stated what I did as often as a certain Generally Excruciating Irratating Commercial Orginization's Mascot pitches his product, so I'll decline to say what I did!

[Schmoopie]

I think it's stupid that stations edit the shows even MORE even though they're already edited for TV! No wonder TV on DVD is so popular!

[mets82]

Yeah DVDs are popular but it doesnt make it right that stations edit tv shows. There is no need for it at all. Can some lawmaker or someone make a law limiting commericals on tv shows, please?

[LUNCH]

Actually in a way the 15 minute program is already here.Just one example,a few weeks ago I watched "The Wheel of Fortune".The show ended about 3-4 minutes before the half hour mark,and of course during the program it was filled with tons of commercials.That show is ten minutes shorter than it used to be.--Here is a simple thing anyone can try in the comfort of their own home,lol.--Try turning on the average TV station at any random time(not all but most channels).Chances are better than even(over 50 percent) a commercial will be showing.--Not to sound like a broken record but--THAT is what happens when TV advertising is no longer properly controlled or regulated.

[Regulus]

I read an article a couple of months ago where an Economist predicted the next Crisis will involve the Media. The writing is on the wall:

Pay-TV Prices are rising (They're jacking Basic Cable Prices $20 a Month here in Florida) at the same time, the quality of what's being shown continues to head south, with ever-increasing amounts of time given to the advertisers. Gas Prices are rising , Food prices are rising To make ends meet SOMETHING has to give, 2,500,000 Americans have already "Cut the Cord", and lots more are certainly to follow. The whole system is about to fall, don't say I didn't warn you!

[yankeesrj12]

The good news here is that at least The Mindy Project is 23 minutes. Of course it looks like 23 minutes of pure torture, but nonetheless.

[AKA]

Originally Posted by yankeesrj12

The good news here is that at least The Mindy Project is 23 minutes. Of course it looks like 23 minutes of pure torture, but nonetheless.

I watched the pilot on Hulu Plus. The scenes that weren't drowned out by my one-year-old screaming seemed pretty good.

I think some of the longer shows from the past five years or so actually aired in those awful 31-33 minute timeslots.

[EmoJoe]

Some shows are sort of countering this by producing full "director's cuts" online and on the DVDs. Parks and Rec & The Office do this a lot...and they're considerably longer too, like 26-28 minutes.

[CommonTater]

Originally Posted by Regulus

I read an article a couple of months ago where an Economist predicted the next Crisis will involve the Media. The writing is on the wall:

Pay-TV Prices are rising (They're jacking Basic Cable Prices $20 a Month here in Florida) at the same time, the quality of what's being shown continues to head south, with ever-increasing amounts of time given to the advertisers. Gas Prices are rising , Food prices are rising To make ends meet SOMETHING has to give, 2,500,000 Americans have already "Cut the Cord", and lots more are certainly to follow. The whole system is about to fall, don't say I didn't warn you!

The ONLY reason we have Dish Network (which cost an arm and leg) is because we can't even get one channel with an antenna and there is no cable out here. I do enjoy GMC, INSP, Encore movie channels, TCM and a few others that offer some older shows.

If things get worse we will drop Dish to the lowest most basic point possible since we are under contract for another 18 months. Like you said, something has to give and we can't afford anymore price increases! Our plan is to sell this house in another 2 years and move to San Antonio (my husband's hometown). HOPEFULLY this works out for us and then we'll just use an antenna because there are plenty of stations there.

[Regulus]

I feel for those of you who live in areas with little, if any over-the-air TV Reception. (Bear in mind Pay-TV was originally intended to being TV to people who lived in rural or mountainous areas) Us "City Folks" didn't need (or desire) Pay-TV until the mid-1070s when several "Specialty Channels" became available on for those who had Pay-TV such as Home Box Office, ESPN, (W)TBS and others. (Hollywood actually fought tooth and nail trying to prevent Pay-TV from becoming available in areas with over-the-air TV!) In 1980 my Hometown got Pay-TV and I was like a child on Christmas morning when my house got hooked up. Little did I know 25 years later I'd be fixin to get rid of it!

[Ronny G]

Not only do they have longer commercial breaks, but they also show annoying advertisements and promos during the program in the form of pop-up videos. I saw a pesty ad for McDonalds that popped up on the bottom of the screen. It was animated and very distracting because it took the attention away from what was happening on the screen.

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by Ronny G

Not only do they have longer commercial breaks, but they also show annoying advertisements and promos during the program in the form of pop-up videos. I saw a pesty ad for McDonalds that popped up on the bottom of the screen. It was animated and very distracting because it took the attention away from what was happening on the screen.

Not to mention they come on at the most inoppurtune of times. For example, you are watching a movie with a Circus Scene in it. A group of Aerilists is about to do a dangerous stunt. The Ringmasters says "Silence Please!" to the audience, Suddenly a LOUD VAROOOOOM!!! pierces the silence as a Motorcycle Gang rushes across the bottom of the screen, followed by a banner announcing a show about Motorcycles follows the movie. Or, a movie takes place in a Foreign Country. For example A group is on a Safari in Africa. To make it realistic the Guides are saying something in Swahili. What are they saying? The "Subtitle" says, "President Obama reacts to latest Crisis, News at 11:00".