Monday, January 21, 2019

THE TOP 25 CLASSIC TV SHOWS (AN OPINION PIECE)


CLASSIC TV BLOG ASSOCIATION

From the Classic TV Blog Association:
“Now in its seventh year, the Classic TV Blog Association recently undertook its biggest project yet: Selecting the 25 Greatest Classic TV Series.

To qualify for the list, a TV series had to air during prime time and its first season had to begin no later than 1989 to be considered “classic.” Association members nominated shows based on criteria such as enduring popularity, social impact, and influence on other TV series.

During the first round of voting, over 55 shows were nominated. That number was whittled down the 25 classic TV series below and four honorable mentions.”


1.    The Twilight Zone
2.    I Love Lucy
3.    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4.    Columbo
5.    All in the Family
6.    Dragnet
7.    Monty Python’s Flying Circus
8.    Star Trek
9.    The Prisoner
10.  M*A*S*H
11.  The Dick Van Dyke Show
12.  The Fugitive
13.  Dallas
14.  Doctor Who
15.  The Andy Griffith Show
16.  The Defenders
17.  The Golden Girls
18.  Perry Mason
19.  SCTV
20.  The Honeymooners
21.  Alfred Hitchcock Presents
22.  Hill Street Blues
23.  The Odd Couple
24.  The Outer Limits
25.  The Avengers

Honorable Mentions:  Get Smart, The Ed Sullivan Show, Leave It to Beaver, and WKRP in Cincinnati.

I’ve been a member of this group for almost a year now and was more than happy to participate in this new group project.  I think I was shooting my list of ten candidates back within minutes after the group email was sent out.

Here was the list that I came up with:
  • Doctor Who
  • The Prisoner
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show
  • Maverick
  • Columbo
  • The Twilight Zone 
  • Star Trek
  • Monty Python’s Flying Circus
  • All In The Family
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle
I did my best to consider shows other than my top ten favorites.  But that was hard since a lot of those TV series fit the requirements I was looking for – shows that were ground-breakers, the top of their fields, So if I had done only my top ten shows, I would have included ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘The Wild Wild West’.  I also wanted to include as many genres as I could – science fiction, animation, Western, sitcom, sketch comedy, detective mystery.  (There was an addendum soon after I sent my list, that it should be only prime-time shows.  I apologized for my inclusion of ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’, but apparently that was broadcast in prime-time at one point.)  

I also took into consideration shows which most people would still have access to so that they could check out what might have made them worthy of such an honor.   

As you can see, eight of my nominees made it into the final 25.  Sorry, Rocky and Bullwinkle; sorry, Bret and Bart.  (I keep eyeing those slots taken by ‘Dallas’ and ‘The Golden Girls’.  LOL  But hey, that’s democracy for you.)

“Do you agree with our list? If not, what TV series would you have included and which ones would you have omitted?”

If you’d like to read what other members of the CTVBA opined about the list, click on the link with that logo above and check out their links.

BCnU!

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3 comments:

  1. Hugh7:28 AM

    Did Monty Python & Doctor Who air in prime time before 1989 here? Are they counting PBS showings (where DW was always afternoons or late nights and MP late night for my stations), or just going with the fact it was prime time in the UK? For that matter, was SCTV primetime? I'm not complaining about any of those three making the list, just not sure how the parameters were applied.

    I like your inclusion of Bullwinkle. Mostly, I could quibble placement but am ok overall with the shows on it.

    Personally, I would probably just have Twilight Zone as an anthology, and I have never really seen The Defenders. Instead of Golden Girls (although I know it is good and has its supporters), I might have picked Family Ties for a 1980s sitcom. I would also put Murder She Wrote, since it was a dominant show in its time.

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  2. Toby O'B2:07 PM

    I’m not sure we’re all American blogs and even if, I think globally. MPFS was primetime for me in 1975 at UConn.

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  3. Rick291:05 PM

    I strongly recommend seeing THE DEFENDERS, though sadly only season 1 is available on DVD. MONTY PYTHON aired in prime time on most PBS stations. I wouldn't have included GOLDEN GIRLS either.

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