TV Faves/Viewing Habits Through The Years

[mr awesome]

And now....opinions!

1986-1988
1. ALF
2. Mr Belvedere
Note: I remember Cheers and Night Court, but I was really too young for these shows.

1988-1989
1. Perfect Strangers
2. Mr Belvedere
3. ALF
Note: Other shows I watched regularly or semi-regularly around this time period were Who's the Boss?, Newhart and Amen.

1989-1990
1. Perfect Strangers
2. Family Matters
3. Mr. Belvedere
4. ALF
Note: I think I missed a lot of both ALF and Mr Belvedere during this season. Other shows I watched around this time were Newhart and the occasional Doctor, Doctor and Major Dad.

1990-1993
1. Simpsons
2. Perfect Strangers
3. Family Matters
4. Evening Shade
Note: I normally wouldn't lump 'Simpsons' with live action shows, but Simpsons was such a phenomenon at this time. I started watching Who's the Boss? more and Growing Pains occasionally, when it moved to Saturday Nights with Perfect Strangers during the 1991-1992 season. During the 1992-1993 season I started watching 'Empty Nest' and 'Nurses' around this time, as well as 'Bob' starring Bob Newhart.

1993
1. Simpsons
2. Seinfeld
3. Frasier
4. Wings
5. Evening Shade
Note: Sometime around the early mid-90s I watched Family Matters on a more irregular basis, quitting it all together. It was probably post-Perfect Strangers where I gave up on TGIF for the most part, with few exceptions later like the first season and a half of 'Boy Meets World.'

1993 was the season i got into NBC Thursdays, I remember Cheers growing up, I was mainly fond of the Shelly Long episodes. I tuned in early to the Cheers finale and saw Seinfeld for the first time, it was the hour long episode where they where they were filming that pilot for NBC. In the Fall it was Wings/Seinfeld/Frasier for me starting at 8:30.

I must have still watched 'Family Matters' at least occasionally because I remember watching the first season of 'Boy Meets World,' and I would occasionally catch 'Step By Step,' but I was starting to tire of TGIF at this point.

1994-1995
1. Frasier
2. Seinfeld
3. Wings
4. NewsRadio
Note: It was all about NBC Tuesdays starting this season, I thought the Tuesday night lineup was superior to the famous Thursday lineup. Tried Friends but didn't do anything for me at all. Other shows that I watched was 'The John Larroquette Show,' 'Hope and Gloria' and 'Empty Nest.'

1995-1996
1. Frasier
2. 3rd Rock From The Sun
3. Seinfeld
4. NewsRadio
5. Wings
Note: Started watching 'Drew Carey Show,' and 'Caroline in the City' also watched 'Dweebs' which didn't last long but at least it had Farrah Forke in it. Also watched 'Murphy Brown' on occasion, when Paul Ruebens and Gary Marshal started recurring and the humor got a bit zanier as opposed to earlier seasons.

1996-1997
1. Frasier
2. NewsRadio
3. 3rd Rock From The Sun
4. Seinfeld
5. Just Shoot Me!
Notes: Also watched 'Caroline in the City' after 'Frasier.' Wednesday was my big comedy night this season with 'Wings,' 'NewsRadio' and 'John Larroquette' moving to Wednesdays between 8 and 9:30 and 'Drew Carey' at 9:30 on ABC. NewsRadio really started to shine creatively in season 3 with many episodes I thought were just inspired, only to be topped by season 4 where the humor got increasingly frenzied and more serialized.

1997-1998
1. NewsRadio
2. 3rd Rock From the Sun
3. Frasier
4. Seinfeld
5. Just Shoot Me!
Notes: NewsRadio really peaked this season and the humor was more frenzied and slightly more serialized. Around this time '3rd Rock' was at its best as well, and 'Frasier' remained excellent at this point. Also watched 'Working,' which wasn't great but was good enough and fit well in the NBC-mold that I enjoyed at this time.

On Mondays I watched 'Everybody Loves Raymond' on CBS, then 'Caroline in the City' on NBC then flipped to the sadly short-lived 'George and Leo' on CBS. Didn't watch 'Drew Carey' much because it was up against '3rd Rock.' Watched 'Family Matters' again when it started to air on CBS, along with the failed Bronson Pinchot-starrer 'Meego.'

1998-1999
1. Frasier
2. NewsRadio
3. 3rd Rock From the Sun
4. King of Queens
5. Just Shoot Me!
Notes: I think this is when JSM started to fade for me, when it became a lead-off show as opposed to benefiting from a lead-in that I really liked. Also watched Everybody Loves Raymond. NewsRadio did the best they could, regarding circumstances they couldn't control so NR was still tops in my book although its best days were behind it. Wook to week I enjoyed NR more than 3rd Rock which I still enjoyed.

1999-2001
1. Frasier
2. 3rd Rock From The Sun
3. King of Queens
4. Ladies' Man
5. Drew Carey Show
Note: Niles and Daphne hooking up on 'Frasier'...finally! I was so ecstatic to see the together at last that I couldn't care less if the show 'jumped the shark' in doing so. 3rd Rock was back on Tuesdays and I started watching 'Drew Carey' again. I also watched 'The Norm Show,' which was from the Bruce Helford of 'Drew Carey.'

2001-2002
1. Frasier
2. King Of Queens
3. According To Jim
Note: If the mid-late 90s were the boom for sitcoms, then the early-mid 00s were the bust. I think I still watched 'Drew Carey' on occasion after the show fell 'off the cliff' so to speak.

2002-2004
1. Frasier
2. Less Than Perfect
3. King Of Queens
4. According To Jim

2004-2005
1. Less Than Perfect
2. King Of Queens
3. Joey (couldn't get into 'Friends,' but I liked 'Joey' despite that.)
4. According To Jim
Note: I don't think I watched any other comedies that season other than the Spring-tryout for 'The Office.'

2005-2006
1. The Office
2. King of Queens
3. According To Jim
Note: I didn't realize Less Than Perfect had a fourth season (ala, late season burn-off) until I checked Wikipedia. Obviously I did not watch the show that season.

2006-2007
1. The Office
2. The Class - I did not expect to like this show but I enjoyed it plenty and was disappointed when it wasn't picked up for a second season.


To Be Continued...

[mr awesome]

2007-2008
1. The Office
2. The Big Bang Theory
Note: I started to avoid BBT, figuring it would be nothing more than 'nerds trying to get laid' and be a sleazy show like 'Two and A Half Men,' but there was more t it than that.

The show I anticipated the most and was disappointed by the most was 'Back To You.' It had a great pedigree with creators who worked on Wings, Frasier, Cheers and Just Shoot Me, and had the potential for a great ensemble with Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Ty Burrell and Fred Willard. The twist in the pilot was unnecessary and made the show into a weird workplace-domestic hybrid IMO.

I would also occasionally watch 'Rules of Engagement' and 'Old Christine' from time to time.

2008-2009
1. The Office
2. Big Bang Theory
3. Gary Unmarried - I never cared for Jay Mohr, but this show was surprisingly good
4. Parks and Recreation

2009-2010
1. The Office
2. Parks and Recreation
3. Community
4. Big Bang Theory
5. Gary Unmarried
Note: I watched some 'Modern Family' on Hulu and it was pretty good though a bit sappy from time to time, but it wasn't the same as watching it live on television. I can't get ABC ever since the digital conversion, I get the other major networks though.

Parks and Recreation really improved as the season went on, it could have been my number one pick but I gave The Office the edge due to the Jim/Pam wedding and baby story-lines.

2010-2012
1. Parks and Recreation
2. Big Bang Theory - This show peaked for me when the two ladies, Amy and Bernadette started appearing more frquently.
3. The Office - Started to slump for me, picked up a bit later in the season starting with the final couple 'Michael Scott' episodes.
4. Community
5. 30 Rock - The live episode got me, then I stuck around. I could never get into this show, despite being a longtime SNL viewer.

2011-2012
1. Parks ans Recreation
2. New Girl
3. The Office
4. Big Bang Theory
5. 30 Rock
6. Community
Notes: I became sick of Community by the end of the third season. Too many gimmicks at the expense of the characters. Paintball war the first time was genius, the second time...not so much.

I surprisingly enjoyed the short-live series 'Rob' despite having a strong dislike for Rob Schneider prior to that point. I think it had a humorous premise and it was executed solidly.

Continued to watch 'Modern Family' from time to time on the Internet, in addition to 'Happy Endings.'

2012-2013
1. The Office - The final season was painful to watch at times, mainly because it was kinda bad. It wasn't must see TV for me, I missed several episodes during the first half of the season. The last 6 or so episodes were some of the show's best, they struck such a sentimental chord with me they easily buoyed the season as a whole. I loved the finale so much that I fell in love with the show all over again and had to purchase the DVD season sets.
2. Parks and Recreation - The season sort of fell flat during the second half of the season after Ben and Leslie's nuptials. The season finale has me concerned about the quality of the show next season.
3. New Girl
4. Big Bang Theory
Note: Continued to watch 'Happy Endings' on the Internet from time to time. Also watched most of the final season of '30 Rock,' even though I was cooling down on it.

2013-2014
Predictions: Parks and Recreation, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, maybe Michael J Fox, and The Crazy Ones. Hopefully there will be a pleasant surprise or two next season.