Thursday, April 18, 2013

What shows influenced me?

Here’s one of those questions that deserves an entire post.

It’s from longtime reader Mary Stella:

I'd like to know what shows influenced you the most in television and how, and what's your dream three-hour night of television, including any shows from any decade, including now.

The first show that influenced me was CRUSADER RABBIT. I was probably four. But what I loved was that in addition to being funny (at least to a discerning four-year-old), the stories were inventive and episodic. Other cartoons made me laugh, but this one also hooked me into the narrative. I couldn’t wait for the next episode to see what happened and usually the plotting was ingenious (at least to a sophisticated four-year-old).  So CRUSADER RABBIT ignited my love of storytelling.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was also an early influence, but thank goodness I outgrew wearing those capes.

I always loved sitcoms. I was about nine when I first saw the “$99,000 Answer” episode of THE HONEYMOONERS. I didn’t see the payoff coming (I was less sophisticated at nine), and (SPOILER ALERT) when Ralph couldn’t identify the song Norton played as a ramp-up to every other song during their practice sessions I laughed for twenty minutes. It’s the biggest laugh I ever had in my life. And it was the first time I ever wondered, “How did they do that?” From then on I started watching sitcoms differently, paying more attention to the construction and appreciating the writing more. I can still watch those original 39 episodes on a continuous loop.

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW was a revelation. It was the first (at least to me) sophisticated comedy. The level of humor was smart and grown up. Everything else was broad and situation based. Plus, Dick was a comedy writer. Not only did it seem like the world’s coolest job – you go to an office, write funny stuff and laugh all day with other funny people – but super hot girls like Laura Petrie were actually attracted to you. Yes, this was a fantasy more far fetched than BEWITCHED but fourteen-year-old bespectacled wise-ass nerds could dream.

In college I became enamored with Woody Allen and thought if I was ever going to become a writer I would concentrate on screenplays. Then I saw THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and knew television was for me. Still, to me, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW is the perfect sitcom.

The early ‘70s was a golden age of sitcoms. Shows like MASH and ALL IN THE FAMILY were both inspiring and intimidating. MASH, in particular. I’ve always loved language and the early Larry Gelbart years were extraordinary. It was so unique.  Every other show had set-ups and punch lines, this one just had a steady stream of witty remarks, turns-of-phrase, imagery, and absurdity. No one could do that like Gelbart. Trust me, I tried for four years.

Once I entered the field myself then it was more specific writers than shows that mentored and influenced me. Writers like Gelbart, James Brooks, Allan Burns, Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Gene Reynolds, Glen & Les Charles, Garry Marshall, Jerry Belson, Steve Gordon, and David Lloyd.

Okay, that answers the first part of your question. Now for my dream three-hour night of television. I’m going to cheat. I’m just going to concentrate on comedies. Dramas take up two slots. So here are my all-time favorite sitcoms. The odd thing is that with these nostalgia stations like MeTV, a day may easily come when this is the line-up.

8:00 THE HONEYMOONERS
8:30 THE BILKO SHOW
9:00 THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW
9:30 THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
10:00 MASH
10:30 CHEERS

So now I throw the question back to you? What would be your dream three-hour night of TV, dear readers?

82 comments :

Mark said...

My dream lineup, which I can easily replicate thanks to DVD and Netflix:

8pm Dick Van Dyke Show
830 Get Smart
9pm All In The Family
930 MASH
10pm Cheers
1030 Simpsons (1st 8 seasons only)

croquemore said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
croquemore said...

My Dream Lineup would be:

7:00 - WKRP in Cincinnati
7:30 - The Bob Newhart Show
8:00 - Cheers
8:30 - MASH
9:00 - St. Elsewhere - Not a sitcom but the storytelling and writing were pretty damn amazing. Another show that premiered and survived thanks to Brandon Tartikoff.

Keith said...

7:00 Fawlty Towers
7:30 30 Rock
8:00 Night Court
8:30 Barney Miller
9:00 Arrested Development
9:30 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

Rob said...

8:00 All in the Family
8:30 WKRP in Cincinnati
9:00 Cheers
9:30 Taxi
10:00 Friday Night Lights

Anonymous said...

It doesn't matter what time each of these shows are on, because most (if not all) weren't always appropriate for 7pm Central, lol.

Designing Women (While I wanted to be Julia Sugarbaker, unfortunately I sounded like Charlene)

All in the Family

The Carol Burnett Show (hokey, absolutely, but the one show I stayed home to watch on Saturday nights)

Mary Tyler Moore

Dick Van Dyke

Pam aka sisterzip

yatesy said...

I can't narrow it down to a dream lineup, but I'm so happy you included Bilko in yours. That show is still hilarious (I bought dvd's and watch them all the time!). The episode where the moneky ends up being inducted into the Army and the episode where the guys buy a racehorse are classics!!

Aaron Hazouri said...

Man I can't believe nobody's lineup includes Green Acres or Mister Ed!!

Matt Tauber said...

8PM - WKRP in Cincinnati
8:30 - MASH
9 - All in the Family
9:30 - Seinfeld
10 - Star Trek

All of these shows are remote stoppers. I can watch them any time.

"Homicide" is my favorite drama, but it's a bit of a heavy segue from 2 hours of comedy.

Dave Denholm said...

I would go

8:00-Episodes
8:30-M*A*S*H
9:00-Cheers
9:30-Seinfeld
10:00-Family Ties
10:30-Frasier

gottacook said...

My 10 o'clock hour would be a rotating mix like Four in One (1970-71) or its successor the NBC Mystery Movie, but would involve the hour-long MTM shows: Lou Grant, The White Shadow, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, etc. The latter two were the precursors of some of my favorite more recent series, such as Homicide and The Good Wife, in storytelling - with varying proportions of case-of-the-week and ongoing storyline, changing as needed.

Klee said...

Mine would be:
8:00 I Dream of Jeannie (Tue. and Thu.), Bewitched (Mon., Sun., Fri.) and the Munsters (on weekends)
8:30 MTM Show
9:00 Everbody Loves Raymond
9:30 Cheers (Diane's Years plus Rebecca's first 2 and the finale only);
10:00 Newhart (excluding Season 1)
10:30 Seinfeld (Mon-Fri.), Ab Fab (on weekends)

Mr. Hollywood said...

Love all the shows that have been mentioned ... but MUST add LARRY SANDERS. Superb.

OrangeTom said...

8:00--Bob Newhart (70's version)
8:30--The Duck Factory
9:00--Friends
9:30--Arrested Development
10:00--Frazier
10:30--Coupling (U.K. version)

Jake Mabe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr. Habibi said...

A three hour AfterMASH special. That is all. (What IS Klinger's child's name?)

Jake Mabe said...

8 p.m. The Dick Van Dyke Show
8:30 p.m. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9 p.m. M*A*S*H
9:30 p.m. Cheers
10 p.m. The Carol Burnett Show
11:30 p.m. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

Jeff Metcalfe said...

My dream lineup

Leave It To Beaver
Andy Griffith Show
Happy Days
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Cheers
Seinfeld

Bryan said...

7:00 WKRP
7:30 Taxi
8:00 Seinfeld
8:30 M*A*S*H*
9:00 Barney Miller
9:30 Family Guy

Ryan Patrick said...

7pm - The Jack Benny Show
7:30 - M*A*S*H
8pm - WKRP in Cincinnati
8:30 - Night Court
9pm - NewsRadio
9:30 - Arrested Development

Bryan in Seattle said...

8. M*A*S*H
8:30. WKRP in Cincinnati
9:00. Mary Tyler Moore
9:30. Big Bang Theory
10:00 Friday Night Lights (MWF), Northern Exposure (TR)
11:35 Larry Sanders Show

Terry Benish said...

8:00 Mary Hartman Mary Hartman
8:30 WKRP
9:00 Laugh In
10:00 Cheers
10:30 MASH

And while I'm dreaming original Perry Mason with Raymond Burr and Bill Hopper

Mondo said...

M*A*S*H
Newhart (except the 1st year)
Twilight Zone
I Love Lucy
WKRP in Cincinnati
Monty Python's Flying Circus

Len said...

Your list disappointed me, Ken. Not that your selections weren't all top-rank. Just that I was hoping for something more imaginative from you than the most obvious, most cliched "great sitcoms" from each decade.

-bee said...

So hard to just pick 3 hours but here goes:

1. The Simpsons - up till when Maude dies

2. The Twilight Zone

3. Monty Python's Flying Circus

4. Mash

5. Freaks and Geeks

For summer programming - replace #5 with the miniseries "I Claudius"

BobinVT said...

Since the challenge is what to view in 3 hours, I’ll take it one step further and provide individual episodes of my favorite sitcoms.

8pm Bilko "A Mess Sergeant Can't Win" Bilko convinces Ritzik that he can win any bet, including betting against Ritzik on where he was born.
8:30 Honeymooners "$99,000 Answer" It may be a cliche to some, but I have never laughed harder.
9:00 Dick Van Dyke "100 Terrible Hours" Dick is a DJ and has to stay awake on the air for 100 hours.
9:30 Mary Tyler Moore Show I don't know the name of the episode, but it's the one where Lou and Mary go on a date. The discomfort of each is palpable and hilarious. I never thought the often picked death of Chuckles show was that funny. Each to his own I guess.
10:00 Frasier The ski lodge episode. The classic take on the bedroom farce is a 30 minutes of comedy at breakneck speed and probably produced more laughs from start to finish than anything I have ever watched on TV.
10:30 This is cheating because I'm going way back to radio, but the episode called "Missing Heir" is a classic combining the usual Benny running gags and new concepts.

The Mutt said...

Barney Miller
WKRP
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Bob Newhart Show
30 Rock
Cheers

RCP said...

8:00 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8:30 - All in the Family (71-75)
9:00 - Frasier
9:30- Monty Python's Flying Circus
10:00 - Absolutely Fabulous (92-96)
and since this is a "dream" lineup, my own award-winning, critically acclaimed classic:
10:30 - The Robert Petretti Show

Polly Moran said...

8 pm I Love Lucy
8:30 pm The Mothers-in-Law
9 pm Living Single
9:30 pm The Nanny
10 pm Absolutely Fabulous
10:30 pm New Adventures of Old Christine

benson said...

8:00 Green Acres (wonderfully goofy)
8:30 Dick Van Dyke Show (the best)
9:00 Bob Newhart Show
9:30 Newhart (including season 1)
10:00 Frasier (also the best)
10:30 As Time Goes By

RareWaves said...

I love MASH and enjoy many of the others that have been mentioned, but I really loved the comedy of some of the variety shows, so this might be my line-up (not all on the same night, but rotated):

-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
-The Carol Burnett Show
-The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
-The Garry Moore Show
-The Red Skelton Show The Red Skelton Comedy Hour
Any variety show that had Jonathan Winters guesting
-The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for late night
-The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights

I also loved Your Show of Shows and Ernie Kovacs.

Rob Rogers said...

Here's my lineup:

8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - Scrubs
9:00 - Cheers
9:30 - 30 Rock
10:00 - Northern Exposure

Matt said...

If I could run my own classic TV network, it would look something like this (an no breaking into a show unnaturally just to add commercials):

Monday Night (70s/80s)

8:00pm - WKRP In Cincinnati
8:30pm - Alf
9:00pm - M*A*S*H
9:30pm - Buffalo Bill
10:00pm - Lou Grant
11:00pm - The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson

Tuesday Night (70s/80s/90s)

8:00pm - Happy Days (the first 3seasons only)
8:30pm - Coach
9:00pm - Welcome Back, Kotter
9:30pm - Chico and the Man
10:00pm - Hawaii Five-O
11:00pm - The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson

Wednesday Night

8:00pm - The Odd Couple
8:30pm -
9:00pm - Taxi
9:30pm - Barney Miller
10:00pm - Quincy
11:00pm - The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson
Thursday Night (80s/90s Combo)

8:00pm - Frasier
8:30pm - Wings
9:00pm - Family Ties
9:30pm - Cheers
10:00pm - Hill Street Blues
11:00pm - The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson

Friday Night (70s)

8:00pm - The Brady Bunch
8:30pm - Sanford and Son
9:00pm - Adam 12
9:30pm - Dragnet
10:00pm - Love, American Style
11:00pm - The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson

Saturday Night (70s)

8:00pm - All In The Family
8:30pm - The Jeffersons
9:00pm - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9:30pm - The Bob Newhart Show
10:00pm - The Carol Burnett Show

Sunday Night

8:00pm - I Love Lucy
8:30pm - Dick Van Dyke Show
9:00pm - The Addams Family
9:30pm - Gilligan's Island
10:00pm - Columbo

Matt said...

Oops!

In my above list, on Wednesday night at 8:30, I forgot to add:

8:30pm - Wait Until Your Father Gets Home

clamenza said...

How about an evening of great TV comedy shows that are inexplicably unavailable in the U.S. on DVD for all (or most) seasons, such as:

8pm Murphy Brown
830pm Mad About You
9pm Dream On
930pm Malcolm in the Middle
10pm Veronica’s Closet
1030pm Cybill

Mike McCann said...

Tell ya what... let's overturn the FCC's prime time access rule so we can add THE JACK BENNY SHOW at 7:30 to lead into your selections.

jbryant said...

I'll play:

8:00 The Phil Silvers Show
8:30 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
9:00 The Andy Griffith Show
9:30 The Dick Van Dyke Show
10:00 Have Gun Will Travel
10:30 Dragnet (50s version)

Unknown said...

8.00 I Love Lucy
8.30 The Dick van Dyke Show
9.00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9.30 All in the Family
10.00 WKRP in Cincinnati
10.30 Cheers

Fred said...

7:00 - WKRP
7:30 - Barney Miller
8:00 - SOAP
8:30 - Mash
9:00 - Cheers
9:30 - Taxi

Honorable Mention: Monte Python - Red Skeleton - Laugh-in - You Bet Your Life - Phil Silvers - Chico and The Man - Sanford and Son - Night Court

Mac said...

8:00 The Larry Sanders Show. The episode where Hank makes a sex tape and it get copied/goes missing.

8:30 Fawlty Towers. The one where Basil's wife leaves him and he doesn't want their friends to find out.

9:00 The Simpsons. The episode where Homer and Ned get really drunk in Vegas and Homer gets married.

9:30 Arrested Development. The one where Tobias dresses up as Mrs Featherbottom to try to do a "Mrs Doubtfire."

10:00 Frasier. The Ski Lodge.

10:30 Seinfeld. The one where Elaine dances in front of her work colleagues.

Terrence Moss said...

M-F
8pm The Cosby Show
9pm I Love Lucy
10pm ER

Sat
8pm All in the Family
9pm The Mary Tyler Moore Show
10pm The Carol Burnett Show

Sun
7pm The Honeymooners
8pm The Dick Van Dyke Show
9pm Cheers
10pm The Practice

BobinVT said...

I'm surprised at how little Love Lucy is getting.

BobinVT said...

Whoops, I didn't read far enough down. Only one of the first 30 posters listed I Love Lucy, but she's showing strength down the stretch.

The Mutt said...

Choosing just six was really tough, but actually, any great sitcom block should be capped by The carol Burnett Show.

scottmc said...

8:00 pm. THE WONDER YEARS
8:30 pm. TAXI
9:00 pm. THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW
9:30 pm. THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
10:00 pm. FAMILY TIES
10:30 pm. NIGHT COURT

Pat Reeder said...

It was watching "The Dick Van Dyke Show" every day in reruns that made me want to be a comedy writer, and discovering Monty Python that cinched it. So definitely, those two followed by Carol Burnett. The remaining hour would have to rotate every night.

I have a rabbit ear TV in my parrots' room and when I'm cleaning their cages every night, it's on Antenna TV, ME TV, or one of the other subcarrier channels, so I'm discovering and rediscovering all these old shows every night. Man, was Anne Francis hot on "Honey West!"

And I told my wife (named Laura, of course) after a week of "Bachelor Father" and "Burke's Law" that I need a Japanese house boy.

BTW, Ken, have you seen this? I'm sure you'd appreciate it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peggy-elliott/dick-van-dyke-school-of-writing_b_2901968.html

GC said...

1 Cheers

2 The Dick Van Dyke Show

There is no 3rd.

James said...

Not THE dream night, but a dream night: I'd recreate the old CBS Saturday night lineup:

8pm: All in the Family
8:30: MASH
9pm: Mary Tyler Moore
9:30: Bob Newhart Show
10pm: Carol Burnett Show (in its original 1-hour format)

That was a hell of a night. You wanted the commercials just for bathroom breaks.

Janice said...

8:00 I Love Lucy
8:30 The Andy Griffith Show
9:00 The Dick Van Dyke Show
9:30 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
10:00 Frasier
10:30 Wings

LinGin said...

My fab five:

Frasier
The Golden Girls
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Mad About You
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
MASH

OK, that was six but I couldn't choose between MTM and MASH. I'm returning to my childhood when prime time began at 7:30 pm on the east coast.

Harold X said...

"Crusader Rabbit" was great -- as was its somewhat more sophisticated successor, Rocky (nee Crusader) and Bullwinkle (AKA Rags he Tiger)

Mary Stella said...

Thanks for answering my question, Ken!

Now that you've thrown it back to us, I find it's a lot harder than I thought to narrow down my list when there are so many shows I've loved over the years.

For one night of dream watching anyway, not limited to three hours, I'd go with:

I Love Lucy
Carol Burnett Show
The Wild, Wild West
M*A*S*H
Cheers
L.A. Law
N.Y.P.D. Blue
Picket Fences
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Scandal

cadavra said...

8:00: McHALE'S NAVY
8:30: THE ADDAMS FAMILY
9:00: THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW
9:30: THE JACK BENNY SHOW
10:00: 77 SUNSET STRIP
11:30: THE DICK CAVETT SHOW

Oh, so many MIAs...

Brian Doan said...

Fifty-three comments already! But sure, I'll play.

MONDAY NIGHT
8:00-- WKRP In Cincinnati
8:30-- Mary Tyler Moore
9:00-- Cheers
9:30-- M*A*S*H
10:00-- The West Wing (but only the Sorkin years)

TUESDAY NIGHT
8:00-- Freaks & Geeks
9:00-- Buffy The Vampire Slayer
10:00-- Angel

WEDNESDAY NIGHT
8:00-- The Cosby Show
8:30-- The Office (only the Carrell years)
9:00-- The Simpsons
9:30-- Friends
10:00-- NYPD Blue

THURSDAY NIGHT
8:00-- Fraiser
8:30-- The Ben Stiller Show
9:00-- Northern Exposure
10:00-- Thirtysomething

FRIDAY NIGHT
8:00-- The OC
9:00-- Friday Night Lights
10:00-- Crime Story

SATURDAY NIGHT
8:00-- The Bob Newhart Show
8:30-- Frank's Place
9:00-- Tenspeed and Brown Shoe
9:30-- The Vicar of Dibley
10:00-- The Sopranos

SUNDAY NIGHT
8:00-- Coupling (UK version)
8:30-- AbFab
9:00-- As Time Goes By
9:30--11:00-- Sherlock

SB said...

My dream lineup?

8:00 All In The Family
8:30 MASH
9:00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9:30 The Bob Newhart Show
10:00 The Carol Burnett Show

The big difference is that mine is not a dream - this was the actual Saturday night lineup in the fall of 1973 for CBS. Probably the finest night of television in history.

Bert said...

8:00 Seinfeld (weekends: All in the Family)
8:30 Cheers (weekends: Frasier)
9:00 M*A*S*H
9:30 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
10:00 The Carol Burnett Show

Breadbaker said...

8:00 Get Smart
8:30 Dick Van Dyke
9:00 NewsRadio
9:30 Monty Python's Flying Circus
10:15 BlackAdder II

DwWashburn said...

8 Dick Van Dyke
8 1/2 Monkees
9 M*A*S*h
9 1/2 You Bet Your Life
10 The Dean Martin Variety Hour

And when the first one gets cancelled, add in Bill Cullen's Price is Right.

Wesley Mead said...

I'm surprised The Simpsons hasn't shown up more.

Sitcoms only:

8pm The Simpsons (S1-10)
8:30 Cheers
9:00 Frasier
9:30 Seinfeld
10:00 King of the Hill
10:30 Taxi / Community

Brian Doan said...

I should add that in this fantasy TV world, MTV still runs music videos, cartoons still play on Saturday morning, Bravo runs arts programming, and reality TV is a blip we all made fun of until it quickly died.

Johnny Walker said...

I don't whether this is just a list of my favourite shows, or what I'd actually like to watch tonight. (I've watched my favourite shows to death... haven't you?)

So here's my answer to the latter:

The Venture Bros.
Arrested Development
The Larry Sanders Show
Veronica Mars (I've just started watching it -- liking it so far!)
Breaking Bad

And there's undoubtedly many shows I've yet to watch that I'm going to fall in love with!

Chris In Grand Prairie said...

I love ya, but "so" unique?

Bob Johnson said...

I'm taking over Sunday night, which gives me an extra hour (all times Pacific):
7 — That Girl (I can't remember one plot; as a kid, I just liked looking at Marlo Thomas)
7:30 — F Troop (silly stuff played straight by veteran character actors; the explanation of how the Indian tribe got its name was one of the funniest moments ever on TV)
8 — Sports Night (too smart and well-written to last more than a few seasons, sadly)
8:30 — MASH (which disproves my observation about Sports Night)
9 — Dick Van Dyke Show (probably my all-time favorite)
9:30 — Mary Tyler Moore (as a fantasy programmer, you'd have to be an idiot not to place DVD and MTM back to back)
10 — Newhart (the original... plus the very last episode of the Vermont inn series)
10:30 — Cheers (primarily the Coach years, although Woody was perhaps the best "replacement" character in sitcom history)

Dan said...

A show that has not been mentioned, but for those old enough to remember it should be included is Amos and Andy.

Although out of favor and not available on television for some time, the actors, plot and humor of every episode were spot on.

Another old show that (in memory, at least) I remember as a family favority was The Life of Reilly with William Bendix if for no other reason than "What a revolting development this has turned out to be."

Phil In Phoenix said...

"The Honeymooners" for sure. After that, I can't narrow it down to just five sit-coms.

So I'll program a night of drama..."It all starts with Jim on the case in "The Rockford Files". Followed by the men and women in blues, "Hill Street Blues". Then, the clock is ticking on "24"."

Or maybe a night of variety..."The devil made him do it on "The Flip Wilson Show". Then, you'll be glad we had this time together with "The Carol Burnett Show". And everybody loves "The Dean Martin Show". It's a night of mirth and music...tonight! Here on KDTV(Ken Dream TV)!"

Stef said...

I've seen all those oft-mentioned shows everybody else is listing too many times. Here's a list of sitcoms I'd really like to watch again:

I Married Joan
My Little Margie
The People's Choice
Oh, Susannah!
Private Secretary
December Bride
Our Miss Brooks

Mike Barer said...

Speaking of the "Honeymooners" how many people remember the color version that came out of the Jackie Gleason show in the 60s? Gleason and Carney were in it, but the wives were played by Sheila MacRae (Alice) and Jane Keane (Trixie) and the show would always include a musical number. That was my first exposure to The Honeymooners.

John said...

Coming in late, but I noted on another site this morning that the early Jay Ward episodes of Crusader Rabbit were also said by Andy Marx to be grandpa Groucho's favorite TV cartoon. So you're in good company, Ken (albeit I'm more of a fan of Ward and Bill Scott's later Rocky & Bullwinkle).

BobinVT said...

Replying to Stef:
There are some episodes of I Married Joan, Our Miss Brooks, and My Little Margie on the internet archive. Here’s the link:

http://archive.org/details/classic_tv

Not sure what’s on You Tube, but the archive tends to have the real old rare stuff.

cadavra said...

Bob Johnson: Were you aware that the joke about how the Hekawis got their name is actually a bowdlerized version of a more famous dirty joke? In the original, the tribe's name is Fukawi.

Mary Stella said...

Reading through all of the comments, I keep thinking, "Crap! How did I forget to include that show on my list?" Yeesh.

Gary said...

I could never decide on the best sitcoms, but one hour of drama MUST be reserved for The Fugitive!

Anonymous said...

What do you think about The Andy Griffith Show?

Bobby Dazzler said...

Gonna try to fill my three hours with shows that haven't got a guernsey yet...

8.00 - The Goodies (UK)
8.30 - Monkey (Japanese w dubbed English)
9.00 - Batman
9.30 - Diff'rent Strokes
10.00 - Kingswood Country (Australia)
10.30 - Bush Mechanics (Australia)

Win1908 said...

Let's do:

7:00p - WKRP in Cincinnati
7:30p - Frank's Place
8:00p - Cheers
8:30p - Taxi
9:00p - St. Elsewhere
10:30p - The Larry Sanders Show
11:00p - Late Night With David Letterman (NBC years)
12:00a - Later with Bob Costas
12:30a - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
1:00a - The Bob Newhart Show
1:30a - Barney Miller
2:00a - Soap
2:30a - The Tony Randall Show (it's coveted timeslot on WGN-TV in the mid-80s)
3:00a - Sign-off/National Anthem

Ron Rettig said...

Our Miss Brooks is missing from your line up.

Guy said...

All these classic, quality shows. How snobbish! I refuse to be a party to it.

8:00 - Gilligan's Island
8:30 - The Flying Nun
9:00 - The Doris Day Show
9:30 - Life with Lucy
10:00 - My Mother, the Car
10:30 - AfterMASH

bigcat said...

7:00 - Aldrich Family/Our Miss Brooks
7:30 - The Great Gildersleeve
8:00 - Fibber McGee & Molly
8:30 - Jack Benny Jello Show
9:00 - Jack Benny Lucky Strike Show
9:30 - Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show

Or do you do they have to be from that new unproven technology of Television?

Otto said...

7:00 The Honeymooners (39)
7:30 The Jack Benny Program
8:00 The Andy Griffith Show
8:30 The Dick Van Dyke Show
9:00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9:30 Barney Miller
10:00 The Carol Burnett Show &
The Rockford Files on
alternating nights.

chuckcd said...

8:00 Cheers
8:30 MASH
9:00 Seinfeld
9:30 Futurama
10:00 Northern Exposure

Prairie Perspective said...
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Prairie Perspective said...

It's damn difficult to alter that all-star lineup, Ken. But Frasier warms up in the bullpen, with Monty Python, Andy Griffith, Seinfeld, early seasons of The Simpsons, Larry Sanders, WKRP, Bob Newhart, Get Smart, Car 54 and Taxi on the pine but itching for a shot -- and Police Squad ready for a cup of hilarious coffee in the show.