A quick check of my cable menu shows that I can pick a show from 347 channels. When I started watching television in the mid 1970s I had 5 channels to pick from…..the three networks (CBS, PBS, NBC) PBS, and one local channel(if we could get the rabbit ears adjusted correctly). As I was trying to come up with my 25 favorite television shows I was amazed about the amount of shows that popped up from the days when we only had 5 channels.
I think the easiest way to list these shows is list them when I watched them during my life. The first shows listed are ones that I found through the joys of syndicated television. I still remember my brother trying to explain to me that these shows were many years old already. At the time I did not understand the concept, but now that I am older and smarter, I will finally acknowledge….Hey Bobby you were right and I was wrong.
Some shows that you will not see listed that you might expect: Friends, American Idol, X-Files, Cosby Show, The Simpsons and Survivor were not shows I liked….but I realize they were very very popular.
Some shows that almost made the list but fell a little short: The Partridge Family, Mad About You, St. Elsewhere, Hill Streets Blues, What’s Happening and Remington Steele.
Shows Produced Before I Was Even Old Enough To Watch TV
#1 Leave It To Beaver …..oh how the adventures of Wally, Beaver, Ward and June used to make my day….later in life I actually got to meet Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) at a sales convention that he hosted for my company.
#2 The Andy Griffith Show…..just hearing the opening whistle song brings a smile to my face…Gomer Pyle almost made the list as well…..I became a lifelong fan of Ron Howard after watching this show.
#3 Hogan’s Heroes…..my favorite character was Richard Dawson’s Newkirk….but there were never enough shows that centered around him….always about Colonel Hogan for some reason.
#4 The Brady Bunch…..here is a story about a boy that like watching this show after school every day…..I had a huge crush on Marcia….even when she got her nose smashed.
#5 Star Trek….this was required viewing in my house….I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that my mom used to date Captain Kirk back in the early 1950s when they both lived in Montreal, Canada…..Mr. Spock was and still is one of my favorite fictional characters.
#6 Gilligan’s Island…..I had a mad crush on Mary Ann….was actually not much of a fan of Ginger…..I always felt sorry for Gilligan……I even watched the dreadful reunion movies that came many years later
Shows I Watched When I Was Not Yet In High School
#7 Starsky and Hutch…not sure how good this show was….but I remember playing Starsky and Hutch in the front yard with my best friend, Keith….I was Starsky and he was Hutch.
#8 Happy Days….seeing Ron Howard as Opie in reruns and then Richie in primetime always amazed me…..I even remember the missing Cunningham brother…..who went to college and was never heard of again.
#9 Good Times….I remember being in grade school and hearing everybody talking about J.J. and how funny he was….it became must see tv after that
#10 Mork and Mindy….after a funny episode on Happy Days….they gave Mork his own show and I loved it…..at least until Jonathan Winters showed up
#11 Love Boat/Fantasy Island….ok I know these are two different shows….but I used to watch them back to back every single week…so it is really hard to separate them as an adult
#12 Three’s Company…..Jack Tripper was my hero…living with two very pretty girls….Suzanne Sommers and Farrah Fawcet from Charlie’s Angels(another show that almost made this list) had posters hanging on my wall
Shows I Watched During My High School/College Days
#13 Cheers….for years I loved this comedy….has not aged as well as I would have liked….but I can still enjoy watching the reruns
#14 Moonlighting….the show that turned Bruce Willis into a superstar….the first three years were some of the best television that I have ever seen….show fell apart when the two leads got together.
#15 Newhart…my older brother loved The Bob Newhart Show of the 1970s, but I always liked this show better….has the best final episode of a show ever.
#16 Seinfeld….what can I say about one of the greatest shows of all-time…I own all the episodes on DVD….and yet I still find myself watching the shows when I stumble on them on cable
#17 The Greatest American Hero….probably the least known show that I picked….but this would be superhero show was funny and original….did not last long on tv.
#18 Married With Children……I know some people hated the Bundys….but I could not get enough of them.
After My College Days
#19 Frazier…after Cheers ended….Frazier Crane moved to Seattle and I went with him…..loved the first 4 years of the show…but will admit I lost track of the show after that
#20 Entourage…..HBO hit a homerun with this show…which was pretty much a guy version of Sex and the City….looking forward to the Entourage movie that is coming soon.
#21 Lost.…loved season one….season two lost me…..returned for seasons 4 through 6…..still have fond memories of the show
#22 Breaking Bad…..I have to admit….I have loved watching the adventures of Walt….a chemistry teacher dealing with cancer that starts to deal drugs to leave a nest egg for his family.
#23 Fringe….I never got into watching X-Files, but I have enjoyed watching this show…and having Leonard Nimoy as a recurring character does not hurt
#24 Curb Your Enthusiasm…..if you love Seinfeld you will like this HBO show….Larry David has created two classic shows….not a bad accomplishment for George/Larry
#25 Modern Family….I love this show…..and it is the only one I watch when it comes on television….normally I wait until the DVD comes out….but not Modern Family….what a great group of actors….a show that will last a very long time
Shows that I watched since writing this page….The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. I am also interested in Legion which is a new show on FX.
You don’t watch friends? That is by far the best serie ever.
Hey Jordie…I was very very aware of Friends…but until Bruce Willis appeared in a 3 episode arc…I did not see any of those episodes…even today….my total Friends episodes watched is 3. Bruce won an emmy for it.
Bruce should’ve won an oscar for sixth sense. The reason you don’t watch friends is because bruce appeared in 3 episodes? What do you think of the series apart from the guest appearances? I mean the show overall, apart from specific episodes? If you don’t know, then catch up on it, because you’ve missed out on something man.
thanks for the response. I met Lee Majors when I was 10 years old. he was on the big valley and was friend to my grandfather who was lee’s college football doctor and helped lee get voice lessons. lee needed to lower his vocal range for auditions. like you the big valley was not one of my favorites.
Hey Anonymous…..very cool story about your encounter with Lee Majors. Back when I did watch The Big Valley….Lee Majors was one of the biggest stars on television….as he was the Six Million Dollar Man…..I would watch him in primetime….then hope….he had a bigger part in The Big Valley reruns….he rarely did…..maybe that is why I did not like it as much….lol. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my old tv memories.
As usual, we agree way too much. great list.
Help me , where are the westerns? not bonanza and gunsmoke but the greats, Rawhide (Eastwood) and Wanted Dead or Alive (McQueen) and Maverick (Garner). I loved them.
Now I feel 21st century tv is becoming a true art form. in some ways equaling and exceeding the big screen with complexity of plot and character development. Sadly, it requires much less acting skill but so do high tech movies. Still it gave us these 3 and Bruce Willis and Will Smith and Robin Williams and Sally Fields and Star Trek the series followed by the Star Trek movies. Thanks you to the boob tube.
I have to mention 2 of my favorite shows. Dick Vandyke and Mary Tyler Moore.
A tip of the hat to the most influential character developers in my early years, The 3 Stooges. This may explain why we agree so much. Love of comedy.
Hey Bob…..Bonaza, The Big Valley and Rawhide were westerns I watched as a kid….but they were not my favorites. My dad loved Maverick and Wanted Dead or Alive…but they did not play in syndication in my area. I actually bought my dad the entire Wanted Dead or Alive series on DVD….it is in an unopened package that he never watched before he passed away. One day I will pop that DVD case open.
I liked the Dick Van Dyke show too….but was never really a fan of Mary Tyler Moore show. But that was one of my mom’s favorites. Thanks for checking out one of the least popular pages on UMR…lots of cobwebs here….but I like this page.