Tom Sawyer Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer_sky Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I watch those two show on re-run from time to time. They are well written and still relevant. I still tune in to 60 Minutes, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse2112 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Seinfeld The Simpsons Beavis & Butthead It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia The Daily Show The Colbert Report The Twilight Zone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer_sky Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Saturday Night Live... in the '70's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer_sky Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 how about... American Bandstand and Soul Train? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Feb 4 2011, 03:18 PM) January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! two great shows. all in the family was great up until the meathead moved out. mash was great up until trapper left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Just about any of the Norman Lear shows like All in the Family. There were the spinoffs of "Maude", who was Archie's ultra liberal cousin in law, whose most popular and controversial episode dealing with abortion. And then there's "Good Times", the Maude spinoff which is about living in Chicago's ghetto that tackled issues as rascism, drug abuse, gangs, unemployment, child abuse, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sawyer Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Feb 4 2011, 02:13 PM) QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Feb 4 2011, 03:18 PM) January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! two great shows. all in the family was great up until the meathead moved out. mash was great up until trapper left. Definately I agree with you on the AitF dive after the meathead moved out. M*A*S*H was .. okay in season 4 but 5 and beyond sucked worse and worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosy Toes Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Feb 4 2011, 08:18 PM) January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! You do realise that All in the Family was based on a British TV show called "Til Death do us Part" and the British show was substantially more Racist, Homophobic, Bigoted etc. etc. than anything that would be shown on US TV? I learned this from the Daily mail newspaper today, that where the UK leads the US follows - badly. So try programmes like: Pipkins Stepping Stones Rainbow Sooty and Sweep Blue Peter The Sweeney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sawyer Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 QUOTE (Cosy Toes @ Feb 4 2011, 05:16 PM) QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Feb 4 2011, 08:18 PM) January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! You do realise that All in the Family was based on a British TV show called "Til Death do us Part" and the British show was substantially more Racist, Homophobic, Bigoted etc. etc. than anything that would be shown on US TV? I learned this from the Daily mail newspaper today, that where the UK leads the US follows - badly. So try programmes like: Pipkins Stepping Stones Rainbow Sooty and Sweep Blue Peter The Sweeney. The Archie character was originally created more abrasive and mean spirited, O'Connor changed that, he made the character very likable and more uptight and frustrated more than down right mean. I knew about the show was based on a uk show. The chemistry between Archie, Edith and meathead was absolutely genius to say the least!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rummut71 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Cheers That show was never not hilarious, but the Coach years were the best... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun3701 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) I remember when Married with Children first came out, there was a huge backlash among the Christian community. These days those early episodes seem pretty tame. The show got kind of stupid in its later years. Same with The Simpsons... the elder Bush even attacked them, but these days they're one of the more tame animated shows on TV. Edited February 6, 2011 by shaun3701 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rummut71 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 QUOTE (shaun3701 @ Feb 6 2011, 05:04 PM) I remember when Married with Children first came out, there was a huge backlash among the Christian community. These days those early episodes seem pretty tame. The show got kind of stupid in its later years. Same with The Simpsons... the elder Bush even attacked them, but these days they're one of the more tame animated shows on TV. I forgot about Married With Children... It was far and away the fledgling Fox Network's #1 show every week. The 'controversy' it created only made more people watch it. Compared to what they put on TV now it is like going to see a Pixar movie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony R Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Alf Garnett upon whom Archie Bunker character was based: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWKy4RHf5tQ...be_gdata_player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILSnwdog Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 QUOTE (ReflectedLight @ Feb 4 2011, 04:13 PM) QUOTE (Tom Sawyer @ Feb 4 2011, 03:18 PM) January marked the 40th anniversary of a amazingly ground-breaking sitcom - All in the Family, a show that dealt with taboo subjects such as racism, homophobia, bigotry, religion, atheism and number of other issues. My opinion is that this sitcom stands and remains the MOST influential television show to ever air in the U.S. The second would be M*A*S*H as it also dealt with these subjects but also the aftermath of war and the "anti-establishment" issues so prevalent during the latter 60's and the Vietnam conflict. Two of my favorite shows, I still like watching them, the acting (especially Carroll O'Connor) and writing was superb!! two great shows. all in the family was great up until the meathead moved out. mash was great up until trapper left. I think M*A*S*H* had its big fall off after Major Burns left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Actually, The Mary Tyler Moore show was pretty influential. It premiered in September 1970, just a few months prior to All in the Family. While not controversial like All in the Family, it was the first show of its kind. When the show and the script were given to CBS for review, they hated the concept, or the initial ones. Other shows at CBS prior to MTM, were rural in nature (Hee Haw, Green Acres, etc...) whereas MTM show was about a single girl in the city trying to "make it afterall". Current issues were brought into the show. The character of Rhoda, being an openly Jewish character, caused some upset at CBS. It was the first sitcom whose target audience was the young urbanite. Women's lib was subtly brought into the show - that of the professional working woman who holds an important title of a TV show producer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanadoood Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 The Twilight Zone All in The Family The Mary Tyler Moore Show Soap Hill Street Blues Never understood the love of M*A*S*H...the show was just not that funny, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sawyer Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 The writing for M*A*S*H started getting all drab and preachy toward politics and ant-war and making a statement and they dumped the fun and frolicy humor that made the show a success in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test4VitalSigns Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Sopranos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 QUOTE (Test4VitalSigns @ Feb 9 2011, 10:26 AM) Sopranos Great show. But that seems more like it was influenced by films than it actually influencing movies or other shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonatine Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 "Hill Street Blues" stands out as perhaps one of the best written & influential TV dramas. The acting & writing was exceptional, but the whole feel of the show - the grimey atmosphere of the police station, the cross-over conversations, the "swaying" camera work; the "ordinary" looks of the actors (compared to the super-attractive puppets in modern TV dramas); the fact that each episode didn't always end happily. A great show that looks dated now in terms of looks, but everything else is still crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) "Hawaii Five-0" (and I'm talking about the original and much better version) was the first TV drama to be filmed completely on location in Hawaii and not in Los Angeles. It was very instrumental in boosting tourism to the state and one of the things that made the show successful was the amazing natural scenery in the backdrop. It provided a sense of escape even if you couldn't physically be there. Very successful drama which ran from 1968 - 1980. Edited February 9, 2011 by circumstantial tree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test4VitalSigns Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Feb 8 2011, 11:11 PM) QUOTE (Test4VitalSigns @ Feb 9 2011, 10:26 AM) Sopranos Great show. But that seems more like it was influenced by films than it actually influencing movies or other shows. It is influential to television because it helped spawned shows like Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The Wire, The Shield etc. in terms of bringing gritty drama to tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost In Xanadu Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 never liked M.A.S.H. - didn't get it. It was supposed to be funny, but I never laughed. Influential shows: Simpsons (started a resurgence of animated primetime shows) Survivor (started this rash of reality shows) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circumstantial tree Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ Feb 9 2011, 11:06 AM) never liked M.A.S.H. - didn't get it. It was supposed to be funny, but I never laughed. Influential shows: Simpsons (started a resurgence of animated primetime shows) Survivor (started this rash of reality shows) I never cared for MASH either. Interesting in that the theme song's title is about suicide. Can't remember the title offhand. and when you say "rash" in this context, I think poison ivy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now