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.
‘F’ Troop ! ‘Get Smart’
Hey Critical Message….I used to watch Get Smart all the time….but I did not see F Troop that many times. Thanks for the input.
Loved all of the old shows you mentioned. Moonlighting was great, my first taste of Bruce Willis. He was wonderful with comedy, I wish he’d done more of it. Scenario: My son was little when Greatest American Hero was on. He loved that inept superhero. I like this so much I’m sharing it.
A slight correction, in Three’s Company Jack Tripper did not live with Farah Fawcet, he lived with Janet, played by Joyce DeWitt and Chrissy played by Suzanne Sommers. After Suzanne Sommers left the show Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Chrissy’s cousin Cindy. Farah Fawcet was on Charlie’s Angels. Delete this comment if you like. This page is lots of fun and I will revisit it.
Hey Sherry Hewins…..thanks for the heads up on the needed correction….I did not phrase that very well but I have fixed it after reading your comment. Joyce DeWitt was a favorite of mine of that show, I wonder what she is doing these days.
I think the Mark Harmon 3 episode arc on Moonlighting is the best tv I have ever seen. If you remember Bruce/David Addison finally decides to tell Maddie Hayes that he loves her……he rings the doorbell and Mark Harmon opens Maddie’s door and poor Bruce is left standing outside in the rain….classic moment…..at the end of those 3 episodes David and Maddie got together and the show crashed into a mountain.
I appreciate both comments and nice words, they are greatly appreciated.
Memories are a treasure and this page fulfills this. Those days we watched some of these shows on black and white television. I have the Seinfeld DVDs.
Hey Nyamache ….thanks for the visit. Yep some of the older shows are indeed in black and white….but to me it only adds to their appeal. As for Seinfeld, I think it is a show that still manages to be just as funny now as it was 25 years ago.
This page spans all the great eras of TV. I loved alot of these shows you talked about like Happy Days, Three’s Company and Good Times. Just awesome!
Hey Alecia….thanks for checking out my tv page. I know that you have produced many fine tv pages yourself, so your kind words mean a lot. Thanks for stopping by.
Bruce…..Never could get into Star Trek……and I really tried. Just not my cup of tea. But all the others are shows I watched…..some all the time, others, just now and then. Nowadays, I absolutely LOVE “Modern Family.” This was such a nice walk down Memory Lane……Thanks!
UP+++
Hey fpherj48….thanks for the visit and the observations. Star Trek is a movie that seems to have as many fans as people that do not like it….in my house we had no choice as my mom really liked the show. I think Modern Family is the Seinfeld of this time period.