Most influential U.S. sitcoms - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Alan Brady's Hair · 03-18-2017, 11:04 PM

We sometimes get threads asking about "classic" sitcoms, but what "classic" means is seldom addressed. On the internet, "classic" tends to end up with a nearly limitless definition.

I'm using the term "most influential," but in a sense these are "classic" shows - these are the series that I think define or inspire whole classes or types of shows that came after them (limited to the U.S., because I just don't know enough about other countries). They could be the first show of a certain type, or a show that took a type of show to higher level, so that other copied it.

I Love Lucy: basically established the domestic sitcom

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: established the family sitcom

Leave It to Beaver: twisted the family sitcom so that the focus was very strongly on what the kids did away from the house

Andy Griffith Show and My Three Sons: single parent shows aka domestic sitcoms with sex

The Dick van Dyke Show: the mixed home/work show where most episodes were balanced between the two settings

The Cosby Show: the 80s domestic sitcom with "very special episodes" (although, see Different Strokes)

The Odd Couple: the mismatched pairings who somehow live together for years

Barney Miller, Taxi, and WKRP: the workplace sitcom that almost does away with the home lives of the characters; Barney Miller's interesting, because it tried to mix home and work, and moved away from that. Taxi and WKRP were developing the workplace at almost the same time.

Seinfeld: really interesting, almost reestablishes the domestic sitcom, but without the families. References to workplaces are intermittent; also, follows Abbott and Costello in focusing relentlessly on what's funny

The Phil Silvers Show: established the military sitcom with the operator running everything under the nose of the commanders. This could be real starting point of the workplace sitcoms.

Amos and Andy, The Honeymooners and Sanford and Son: "gritty," working class sitcoms.

The Beverly Hillbillies: established the fantasy shows of the 60s and "fish out of water" shows

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Green Acres: shows that played with the medium and conventions of television as a plot device.

The Monkees: the counter-culture sitcom, allowed viewers to claim they were hip

All in the Family: the overtly political show

3 ' s Company: the overtly sexual show

Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter: the sitcom built around the material of a stand up comedian

Facts of Life: I think this leads into shows like Golden Girls, Designing Women, Living Single

Cheers: hugely influential in more recent years; show with season long story arcs, focused around adults, with a long-running will they/won't they-on again/off again story at the center

Married with Children: raunch TV

The Simpsons: 90s and beyond animated sitcoms

The Office (US): the low-key, quirky, single-camera shows

Big Bang Theory: I guess this is just interesting rather than influential right now. I think that it's interesting in that it could be turning from a young adult "will they/won't they" into a standard domestic sitcom before our eyes.

Obviously, I'm out of touch with recent trends. I don't really watch much that's new unless people I know tell me I have to try something. I'm a little skeptical, too, that with several hundred shows in production now that any one of them is going to be as influential as some of the older shows were.

Edison · 03-18-2017, 11:27 PM

The Mary Tyler Moore Show : single, independent + spunk.

bmasters9 · 03-19-2017, 07:15 PM

Barney Miller: for being a shining example of how a cop show can be funny and not deadly serious all the time.

Crusinforabrusin · 03-19-2017, 08:28 PM

Mary Kay And Johnny - holds the distinction as the first U.S. sitcom

The Flintstones- The first cartoon to be broadcast in primetime

Hour Glass - Produced by NBC. It was the first variety show.

Mr. Ed - Although I may be incorrect , this was the first series that inspired many of the fantasy shows to follow it .

The Real McCoys- Was the first rural sitcom

The Danny Thomas Show - The first show to popularize the family sitcom.

Family Affair - The first sitcom to be a mix of comedy and drama

Crusinforabrusin · 03-19-2017, 08:31 PM

Edit : Its Ozzie And Harriet instead of The Danny Thomas Show

PhoenixAcres · 03-19-2017, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crusinforabrusin

Family Affair - The first sitcom to be a mix of comedy and drama

An argument could be made that Father Knows Best (premiered 1954) was an equal mix of comedy and drama.

Samme · 08-07-2017, 08:54 AM

Seinfeld was very influential for a while and helped greatly.
The Van Dyke show was too, but it took until 1970 to kick in.
All in the Family was, but it mostly hurt TV with videotaped sitcoms and cheap laughs.
30 Rock still is, and brought a batch in terrible sitcoms.
Big Bang Theory was good, but hasn't changed things.

Shows are very bad now and there's no end in sight.

Dale Key · 08-07-2017, 11:56 PM

TV: The Book by Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked their opinions of the top 100 shows of all time by giving a score to hundreds of candidates based on innovation, influence, consistency, performance and storytelling. You can see that list posted by a reddit user here.

Here's how the sitcoms on their top 100 shows list scored on influence (a possible 10 given by two critics amounting to a possible 20):

20/20 Cheers
20/20 Seinfeld
20/20 I Love Lucy
20/20 M*A*S*H*
19/20 The Simpsons
19/20 All in the Family
19/20 The Cosby Show
19/20 Friends
18/20 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
17/20 The Honeymooners
17/20 The Dick Van Dyke Show
17/20 Sex and the City
17/20 The Wonder Years
16/20 The Larry Sanders Show
16/20 The Office (U.S. series)
15/20 Roseanne
14/20 The Andy Griffith Show
14/20 Malcolm in the Middle
14/20 The Golden Girls
13/20 Arrested Development
12/20 Louie
12/20 Barney Miller
12/20 How I Met Your Mother
11/20 Curb Your Enthusiasm
10/20 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
10/20 30 Rock
10/20 The Bob Newhart Show
09/20 Frasier
09/20 Taxi
09/20 Parks and Recreation
09/20 Everybody Loves Raymond
08/20 Maude
08/20 It's Garry Shandling's Show
08/20 Futurama
08/20 Sports Night
08/20 Scrubs
08/20 WKRP in Cincinnati
08/20 Soap
05/20 Community
05/20 King of the Hill
05/20 NewsRadio
04/20 Frank's Place

03-18-2017, 11:04 PM	#1
Alan Brady's Hair Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 30, 2014 Posts: 1,825	Most influential U.S. sitcoms We sometimes get threads asking about "classic" sitcoms, but what "classic" means is seldom addressed. On the internet, "classic" tends to end up with a nearly limitless definition. I'm using the term "most influential," but in a sense these are "classic" shows - these are the series that I think define or inspire whole classes or types of shows that came after them (limited to the U.S., because I just don't know enough about other countries). They could be the first show of a certain type, or a show that took a type of show to higher level, so that other copied it. I Love Lucy: basically established the domestic sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: established the family sitcom Leave It to Beaver: twisted the family sitcom so that the focus was very strongly on what the kids did away from the house Andy Griffith Show and My Three Sons: single parent shows aka domestic sitcoms with sex The Dick van Dyke Show: the mixed home/work show where most episodes were balanced between the two settings The Cosby Show: the 80s domestic sitcom with "very special episodes" (although, see Different Strokes) The Odd Couple: the mismatched pairings who somehow live together for years Barney Miller, Taxi, and WKRP: the workplace sitcom that almost does away with the home lives of the characters; Barney Miller's interesting, because it tried to mix home and work, and moved away from that. Taxi and WKRP were developing the workplace at almost the same time. Seinfeld: really interesting, almost reestablishes the domestic sitcom, but without the families. References to workplaces are intermittent; also, follows Abbott and Costello in focusing relentlessly on what's funny The Phil Silvers Show: established the military sitcom with the operator running everything under the nose of the commanders. This could be real starting point of the workplace sitcoms. Amos and Andy, The Honeymooners and Sanford and Son: "gritty," working class sitcoms. The Beverly Hillbillies: established the fantasy shows of the 60s and "fish out of water" shows The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Green Acres: shows that played with the medium and conventions of television as a plot device. The Monkees: the counter-culture sitcom, allowed viewers to claim they were hip All in the Family: the overtly political show 3 ' s Company: the overtly sexual show Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter: the sitcom built around the material of a stand up comedian Facts of Life: I think this leads into shows like Golden Girls, Designing Women, Living Single Cheers: hugely influential in more recent years; show with season long story arcs, focused around adults, with a long-running will they/won't they-on again/off again story at the center Married with Children: raunch TV The Simpsons: 90s and beyond animated sitcoms The Office (US): the low-key, quirky, single-camera shows Big Bang Theory: I guess this is just interesting rather than influential right now. I think that it's interesting in that it could be turning from a young adult "will they/won't they" into a standard domestic sitcom before our eyes. Obviously, I'm out of touch with recent trends. I don't really watch much that's new unless people I know tell me I have to try something. I'm a little skeptical, too, that with several hundred shows in production now that any one of them is going to be as influential as some of the older shows were.
	Last edited by Alan Brady's Hair; 03-22-2017 at 09:52 AM.

03-19-2017, 07:15 PM	#3
bmasters9 Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2007 Posts: 2,550	Barney Miller: for being a shining example of how a cop show can be funny and not deadly serious all the time.
	__________________ "CBS Sports presents...The Prudential College Football Report, sponsored by The Prudential, offering a full range of insurance and other financial services. The Prudential: the Rock...it's strong, it's on the move, it's bigger than life." (Don Robertson's spiel for The Prudential College Football Report in the 1986 season; modified from what it was in 1985)

08-07-2017, 11:56 PM	#8
Dale Key Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 17, 2005 Location: Washington state Posts: 410	TV: The Book by Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked their opinions of the top 100 shows of all time by giving a score to hundreds of candidates based on innovation, influence, consistency, performance and storytelling. You can see that list posted by a reddit user here. Here's how the sitcoms on their top 100 shows list scored on influence (a possible 10 given by two critics amounting to a possible 20): 20/20 Cheers 20/20 Seinfeld 20/20 I Love Lucy 20/20 MASH 19/20 The Simpsons 19/20 All in the Family 19/20 The Cosby Show 19/20 Friends 18/20 The Mary Tyler Moore Show 17/20 The Honeymooners 17/20 The Dick Van Dyke Show 17/20 Sex and the City 17/20 The Wonder Years 16/20 The Larry Sanders Show 16/20 The Office (U.S. series) 15/20 Roseanne 14/20 The Andy Griffith Show 14/20 Malcolm in the Middle 14/20 The Golden Girls 13/20 Arrested Development 12/20 Louie 12/20 Barney Miller 12/20 How I Met Your Mother 11/20 Curb Your Enthusiasm 10/20 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman 10/20 30 Rock 10/20 The Bob Newhart Show 09/20 Frasier 09/20 Taxi 09/20 Parks and Recreation 09/20 Everybody Loves Raymond 08/20 Maude 08/20 It's Garry Shandling's Show 08/20 Futurama 08/20 Sports Night 08/20 Scrubs 08/20 WKRP in Cincinnati 08/20 Soap 05/20 Community 05/20 King of the Hill 05/20 NewsRadio 04/20 Frank's Place
	__________________ Please release complete series of these already hi-def mastered shows on blu-ray: Seinfeld, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Cheers, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond thank you! Niles: God is forgiving, Miss Fine. When I was a boy, I once took five shillings out of the collection plate at church for toffee. Fran: And nothing happened to you, right? Niles: That's right, absolutely nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go wash other peoples' underwear.

03-18-2017, 11:27 PM	#2
Edison Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 01, 2006 Posts: 2,430	The Mary Tyler Moore Show : single, independent + spunk.

03-19-2017, 08:28 PM	#4
Crusinforabrusin It's time to move on, Goodbye Senior Member Join Date: Dec 27, 2015 Posts: 2,056	Mary Kay And Johnny - holds the distinction as the first U.S. sitcom The Flintstones- The first cartoon to be broadcast in primetime Hour Glass - Produced by NBC. It was the first variety show. Mr. Ed - Although I may be incorrect , this was the first series that inspired many of the fantasy shows to follow it . The Real McCoys- Was the first rural sitcom The Danny Thomas Show - The first show to popularize the family sitcom. Family Affair - The first sitcom to be a mix of comedy and drama

03-19-2017, 08:31 PM	#5
Crusinforabrusin It's time to move on, Goodbye Senior Member Join Date: Dec 27, 2015 Posts: 2,056	Edit : Its Ozzie And Harriet instead of The Danny Thomas Show

08-07-2017, 08:54 AM	#7
Samme Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 01, 2001 Posts: 676	Seinfeld was very influential for a while and helped greatly. The Van Dyke show was too, but it took until 1970 to kick in. All in the Family was, but it mostly hurt TV with videotaped sitcoms and cheap laughs. 30 Rock still is, and brought a batch in terrible sitcoms. Big Bang Theory was good, but hasn't changed things. Shows are very bad now and there's no end in sight.