https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/10-tv-shows-that-changed-television-forever/ar-AA16RPeE?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=67400257bb8b4c4ca1710cc97f6eeff2
in no particular order
24
CSI
X-Files
Scoobi-Doo
Looney Tunes
Dragnet
I Love Lucy
The Simpsons
Twilight Zone
Star Trek
Now, I'm sure we can name a few more, but this isn't our favorite TV shows
All In The Family--- changed all comedy forever with the way it portrayed life at that time
MASH--was a completely new way to watch a comedy/drama
Sesame Street-Changed the way Kids watched TV
Survivor-Maybe the first of the reality boom
Seinfeld--A show about nothing
Ed Sullivan Show-- Something for everyone
Laugh-In--a hodge podge of jokes, stories, and famous people acting silly
The Tonight Show--Really changed the way we stayed up late, and then later.
I think your list would be a better representation of ground-breaking shows Len, hard to argue with any of them. I'd be tempted to also add one of the Steven Bocho series, probably Hill Street Blues, to the list.
I was going to say the same. I think Lenn's list has more ground breaking shows than the original.
I agree with you guys that Lenn's list is more groundbreaking. But I have a question, "Do you think All in the Family" would fly today? I don't think any major producer would pick the show up in this political environment
I might add the "The Smothers Brothers Show" as a television show that changed things after their show was cancelled for political reasons for the first time in TV land, i.e., "...the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture - in particular angst about the Vietnam War, caused CBS to abruptly pull the plug on the show." ( The brothers sued CBS for breach of contract, and won, BTW). Since those days, late night shows (and others) make ridiculing political figures and ideas a standard repertoire of comedy routines
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on January 30, 2023, 09:12:14 AMI agree with you guys that Lenn's list is more groundbreaking. But I have a question, "Do you think All in the Family" would fly today? I don't think any major producer would pick the show up in this political environment
I might add the "The Smothers Brothers Show" as a television show that changed things after their show was cancelled for political reasons for the first time in TV land, i.e., "...the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture - in particular angst about the Vietnam War, caused CBS to abruptly pull the plug on the show." ( The brothers sued CBS for breach of contract, and won, BTW). Since those days, late night shows (and others) make ridiculing political figures and ideas a standard repertoire of comedy routines
I was thinking Smothers Brothers, but I just felt it wasn't on long enough to really be a game-changer.
AND, there is no way a show like All In The Family would even be allowed on the air today and that is a shame. To this day it is my all-time favorite comedy show and it made us all look at ourselves and laugh at ourselves thru Archie, Meathead and George Jefferson. It touched subjects that today no one would want to touch with a 20-foot pole, but it did it in a way that made us laugh,a nd what's wrong with that.
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on January 30, 2023, 09:12:14 AMI agree with you guys that Lenn's list is more groundbreaking. But I have a question, "Do you think All in the Family" would fly today? I don't think any major producer would pick the show up in this political environment
I might add the "The Smothers Brothers Show" as a television show that changed things after their show was cancelled for political reasons for the first time in TV land, i.e., "...the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture - in particular angst about the Vietnam War, caused CBS to abruptly pull the plug on the show." ( The brothers sued CBS for breach of contract, and won, BTW). Since those days, late night shows (and others) make ridiculing political figures and ideas a standard repertoire of comedy routines
Yes I do think All in the Family would have a hard time making it to television today. And yeah, The Smothers Brothers Show also has a place on the list. I think in many ways The Smothers Brothers Show, which debuted a few years before AitF, highlighted many of the same controversies as AitF, but in a format that made the network executives uncomfortable enough to pull the plug on it. I know AitF was pulled in great ratings but I don't remember what Nielsen had to say about Tom and Dick.
Tom: You can tell who's running the country by how much clothes people wear, see?
Dick: Do you mean that some people can afford more clothes on, and some people have... less on? Is that what you mean?
Tom: That's right.
Dick: I don't understand.
Tom: See, the ordinary people, you'd say that the ordinary people are the less-ons.
Dick: So who's running the country?
Tom: The morons.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a furious LBJ called CBS execs and told them "get those bastards off my back."
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-presidents-comedy-skits-20190319-story.html
Just some of the stuff that got them canned
https://youtu.be/kd2Mei-SihI
I think Breaking Bad changed how we view TV shows.
It's remarkable television.
After reading Lou's (squibber) thread on Ed Sullivan, I have to think his show definitely belongs in the group as he showcased black talent in an age when no one else in TV land would. For me as a kid, I never got the connection and simply loved music and never gave it a thought whether the songs were sung by blacks or any skin color. I was a young kid and it was before I knew that was a "no-no" on television in the early 60's. I never thought of Marvin Gaye as black...or the Surpremes, or Temptations, or the Jackson 5, etc. Sullivan's show took a risk, and it trained a whole new generation to accept as the norm, something that wasn't accepted as the norm by previous generations. Hat's off to Sullivan
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on February 09, 2023, 04:32:09 PMAfter reading Lou's (squibber) thread on Ed Sullivan, I have to think his show definitely belongs in the group as he showcased black talent in an age when no one else in TV land would. For me as a kid, I never got the connection and simply loved music and never gave it a thought whether the songs were sung by blacks or any skin color. I was a young kid and it was before I knew that was a "no-no" on television in the early 60's. I never thought of Marvin Gaye as black...or the Surpremes, or Temptations, or the Jackson 5, etc. Sullivan's show took a risk, and it trained a whole new generation to accept as the norm, something that wasn't accepted as the norm by previous generations. Hat's off to Sullivan
I had Ed Sullivan's show on my own list, maybe for the reasons you mentioned but for so much more also. He brought so many different acts from so many areas of the world and so many different types of music and entertainment again to people wo would enver be able to experience it other than seeing it on his show.
Speaking of Ed Sullivan it was 59 years ago TODAY the Beatles first appeared on Ed's show. Feb 4th 1964
https://youtu.be/hNhBMqR_t7c
Brings back old memories when I was just a kid. Let's see...I'm 69, this was 59 years ago...I must've been 10. I remember my parents putting me and my two brothers in the back seat of our 2-door, cherry red '58 super eight Oldsmobile and taking us to get "conies" (white hots) in Binghamton. My baby sister was simply held in the front seat on my mother's lap (the old days huh???). On the way down, the Beatles came on the radio with "She Loves You" and we all said, "turn it up, turn it up". My father had a scowl on his face and told us it was loud enough, LOL
So we get to one of those stainless steel diners and we get a booth. There was a box on the table that you could play the juke box for a nickel from where you sat. I saw "She Loves You" by the Beatles and I remember begging my Dad to let us play it. He did, bless is heart in hindsight
I watched them each time they were on the Ed Sullivan Show and my Dad would scowl and say, "they need a hair cut and I shouldn't let you kids watch that crap". Oh how I miss him
https://metv.com/lists/a-brief-history-of-tv-couples-sleeping-in-the-same-bed
I think Game of thrones for this generation as it was the show everyone talked about Monday morning around the water cooler and made that Sunday night slot must see for HBO. you could argue the Sopranos and the wire before game of thrones but when it comes to the masses that changed how people watched TV and story telling specifically where the 2nd to last episode in a season is the shocker and the actual finale cleans up the mess from the 9th and prepares you for the next season.
Quote from: Jclayton92 on February 12, 2023, 12:51:52 PMI think Game of thrones for this generation as it was the show everyone talked about Monday morning around the water cooler and made that Sunday night slot must see for HBO. you could argue the Sopranos and the wire before game of thrones but when it comes to the masses that changed how people watched TV and story telling specifically where the 2nd to last episode in a season is the shocker and the actual finale cleans up the mess from the 9th and prepares you for the next season.
I would agree GOT changed many people's way they watch TV but I would rate the Sopranos as the real game changer. Like GOT the masses waited so impatiently for the next episode and like GOT sometimes seasons waiting 2 years for the next chapter. The Sopranos set the bar very high and GOT followed suit.
Quote from: LennG on January 29, 2023, 02:44:33 PMhttps://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/10-tv-shows-that-changed-television-forever/ar-AA16RPeE?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=67400257bb8b4c4ca1710cc97f6eeff2
in no particular order
24
CSI
X-Files
Scoobi-Doo
Looney Tunes
Dragnet
I Love Lucy
The Simpsons
Twilight Zone
Star Trek
Now, I'm sure we can name a few more, but this isn't our favorite TV shows
All In The Family--- changed all comedy forever with the way it portrayed life at that time
MASH--was a completely new way to watch a comedy/drama
Sesame Street-Changed the way Kids watched TV
Survivor-Maybe the first of the reality boom
Seinfeld--A show about nothing
Ed Sullivan Show-- Something for everyone
Laugh-In--a hodge podge of jokes, stories, and famous people acting silly
The Tonight Show--Really changed the way we stayed up late, and then later.
This is quite the list, and there's been some good input to this thread, thus far. So, let me share my two cents' worth and ask your patience since this comes through the eyes and mind of someone who watched Neil Armstrong and crew land on the moon while still in my diapers.
Scooby Doo (headed by the voice of the legendary Casey Kasem) was an all-time kids' favorite back in the famous Saturday morning cartoon era of the 1970s. Would later gain more exposure once it went into syndication, and modern spin-offs of the show extended the brand through the 1980s into the new millennium, it remains one of the most beloved series ever created and a far less violent alternative to the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 60s which were laden with images of crudity and violence which make them nearly impossible to find in the modern era.
When Hanna-Barbera received an overhaul of their entertainment lineup, a new concept emerged with the dawning of Sid and Marty Krofft and their colorful designs, puppetry and the infamous 70s "special effects" which we all laugh at today' however, they were the coolest thing on Saturday morning television in the 70s. HB married up the old cartoons, in an effort to phase them out, while phasing in the Krofft's productions such as "The Banana Splits," "H.R. Pufnstuf," "The Bugaloos" and "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." Not to be outdone, they topped all of those great shows with the now cult-like following of "Land of the Lost," which remains my favorite, to this day, and have enjoyed "programming" my daughter into watching it, along with my wife who fought it until she grumbled and sat down watching it with us. Land of the Lost may have been the most revolutionary of all the Krofft's series in that it had some of the greatest story writers of the day putting in scripts for the show. For example, some of the best first and second season shows were written by none other than some of the very best writers from "Star Trek." They included the likes of D.C. Fontana, Walter Koenig and David Gerrold.
I Love Lucy was in syndication in the 70s and used to watch it when home with the sickies or on summer vacation. I always wanted to Babaloo with Ricky Jr. on the bongos, for some reason.
All in the Family was a beloved comedy in my household and became addicted to it when it started showing in syndication on WNEW-5 back in the day. Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton remain my all-time favorite actor/actress combination because of this show. What helped make their characters so funny was that their real personalities were 180 degrees out of phase from the characters they portrayed. As much as I liked Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, they never succeeded in front of the camera without Carroll and Jean. Those two remain icons for eternity! Finally, no, there is no way such a show could be successful in today's world. Back in 1969-70, Norman Lear went out on a limb to get this show out there. In fact, he had multiple takes of the pilot episode and tried to sell it to ABC before CBS bought the project out and filmed a new pilot with the complete cast which would make up the nine-year run of the series. Also revolutionary was that "All in the Family" was taped in front of a studio audience, except the final season when the show was first taped then shown to a live audience in order to capture their response. It was very "Lear-like" to have a genuine reaction to the comedy versus the "canned laughter" which became commonplace in the 60s and 70s. But it was these little things which helped make the series one of the greatest in the history of television.
I could go on and on but I'll stop here. I can follow up in the future with "Sesame Street" and the evolution of public television and its use as an educational medium.
Peace!
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on February 09, 2023, 09:00:37 PMBrings back old memories when I was just a kid. Let's see...I'm 69, this was 59 years ago...I must've been 10. I remember my parents putting me and my two brothers in the back seat of our 2-door, cherry red '58 super eight Oldsmobile and taking us to get "conies" (white hots) in Binghamton. My baby sister was simply held in the front seat on my mother's lap (the old days huh???). On the way down, the Beatles came on the radio with "She Loves You" and we all said, "turn it up, turn it up". My father had a scowl on his face and told us it was loud enough, LOL
So we get to one of those stainless steel diners and we get a booth. There was a box on the table that you could play the juke box for a nickel from where you sat. I saw "She Loves You" by the Beatles and I remember begging my Dad to let us play it. He did, bless is heart in hindsight
I watched them each time they were on the Ed Sullivan Show and my Dad would scowl and say, "they need a hair cut and I shouldn't let you kids watch that crap". Oh how I miss him
I think a lot of us here really miss our dads for that, and a million other reasons. I was fortunate to have one who actually watched with me some of my own TV selections and that includes the cartoons of the 70s, soccer on PBS in the 70s and early 80s, This Old House was a favorite of both of us and, of course, so too were the Giants, Yankees and Rangers of the day. You try to grow up so fast to get on the same plane as your dad that, when the day finally comes that you do, it's about time for him to pack it up and call it a life. It's the one aspect of life that, if I could change something, I'd make every effort to close the loops on everything with him ... the good, the bad and even the ugly. I see him in my dreams, from time to time, and believe he's doing all he can do to let me know he still comes around. How, it's not for us to know in the life we live and the existence of us on this rock called the Earth which spins around this hot thing in the sky called the sun. Until we all find out, I'll continue to keep his memory alive by telling my daughter stories about him so that, even though she was a year old when he passed, she'll have a good idea who he was, and see for herself from the picture of him holding her as an infant. It was the day a life-long dream of his came true: he became a grandfather.
Peace!