# Artistically speaking, what were the most influential television shows of the 60s, 70s, & 80s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682 "2010-06-18T16:11:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/41 "2010-06-19T04:08:20Z")
Though I didn’t watch it myself, I think arguably _Twin Peaks_ has had a strong influence on how to approach story arcs. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/42 "2010-06-19T04:10:13Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > No one has mentioned _Roots_? [del]or _60 Minutes_? [/del] What artistic tools did \*Roots \*introduce that were used by other television shows? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/43 "2010-06-19T04:11:38Z")
I haven’t seen anyone mention **Rich Man, Poor Man**. **Roots** , **Shogun** and all the other mini-series started from that one. I would also mention Ken Burn’s **The Civil War** , which revolutionized the documentary. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/44 "2010-06-19T04:16:02Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I haven’t seen anyone mention **Rich Man, Poor Man**. . According to [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniseries), _The National Dream_ predated it by 2 years, and the success of it was why _Rich Man, Poor Man_ was made. I admit, I’ve never heard of _The National Dream_, but credit seems to go to it as the influential show that introduced the mini-series. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/45 "2010-06-19T04:24:52Z")
_1st & Ten_ - No, seriously. It was the first regular series on HBO. It may seem a little juvenile if you watch it now but when it came out it was considered groundbreaking in comparison to what the on-air networks were broadcasting. It’s what started down the path that led to _The Sopranos_, _Deadwood_, _Sex and the City_, and _The Wire_. _Masterpiece Theatre_ - Nowadays you can watch British television everywhere. But back in the seventies Alistair Cooke was your only connection for the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/46 "2010-06-19T04:27:42Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I haven’t seen anyone mention **Rich Man, Poor Man**. **Roots** , **Shogun** and all the other mini-series started from that one. I would also mention Ken Burn’s **The Civil War** , which revolutionized the documentary. Your post reminded me of Dallas, for reasons too convoluted to post. The ‘Who Shot JR’ theme ignited a flood of cliffhangers in future shows. Tell me more about the revolutionary aspects of Burns’ The Civil War. I hadn’t paid that much attention to historical documentaries to notice. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/47 "2010-06-19T04:38:21Z")
Sesame Street forever changed the face of childrens television. Before it childrens shows were slow paced, usually a host just talking before introducing a cartoon, or a short segment with Mister Green Jeans. After Street the world changed. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/48 "2010-06-19T06:26:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Tell me more about the revolutionary aspects of Burns’ The Civil War. I hadn’t paid that much attention to historical documentaries to notice. The first thing is the way of using still pictures in a video by doing slow pans and zooms. He didn’t invent it, but The Civil War established it so well that it is called the Ken Burns Effect. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken\_Burns\_Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_Effect) Here is the wikipedia article on Ken Burn’s The Civil War [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Civil\_War\_(TV\_series)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(TV_series)) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/49 "2010-06-19T06:41:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > But I believe it was the first 1/2 hour long animated series, done in sitcom style. In that sense it was an influence. It may have influenced producers not to fund animated sitcoms for many years until the success of the Simpsons. Bwuh? What’s this gratuitous slap at _The Flintstones_? As I recall, it was pretty damn successful. It ran for many years, and spawned a spin-off for Saturday mornings with a teenage Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. It was most likely the inspiration for _The Jetsons_. You can still buy the freakin’ vitamins and cereal! Why would producers specifically not fund animated sitcoms because of _The Flintstones_? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/50 "2010-06-19T06:44:43Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > What artistic tools did \*Roots \*introduce that were used by other television shows? I don’t know that it was the first mini-series, but I’m pretty sure it was the first wildly successful one. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/51 "2010-06-19T07:06:45Z")
I read some article suggesting _The Gong Show_ was the first reality TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/52 "2010-06-19T16:44:07Z")
> [@](#): > > What artistic tools did Roots introduce that were used by other television shows? One big difference was that prior miniseries had been broadcast in weekly episodes like regular series. _Roots_ was broadcast in daily episodes. This greatly magnified the impact of the series - it made it seem like an “event”. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/53 "2010-06-19T20:03:11Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > _Rocky and Bullwinkle_. the first cartoon series that may well have been written for adults, and possibly they first Cold Way parody? > [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I consider _The Flintstones_ to be the first cartoon series for adults. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Rocky and Bullwinkle predated the Flintstones. It was originally released in 1959, so it may not qualify for the OP. And R&B was also influenced by earlier cartoons that included jokes not understood by juvenile audiences. Years of being aired in syndication on after-school local TV in the 50s and 60s have obscured the fact that most of the Warner Brothers cartoons of the 30s and 40s were NOT made for kids, but rather for adult audiences in theaters – where they were simply part of the bill that included a newsreel, a live-action comedy short, and the feature presentation. That kids ultimately grew to love Bugs, Daffy and the gang as well doesn’t obscure the fact that they were not the films’ original intended audience. I will grant that _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ upped the ante in terms of adult-themed satire, but it was “not the first cartoon written for adults.” Nor was _The Flintstones_ – although that _was_ the first prime-time half-hour network series that was animated rather than live-action. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/54 "2010-06-19T20:17:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One big difference was that prior miniseries had been broadcast in weekly episodes like regular series. _Roots_ was broadcast in daily episodes. This greatly magnified the impact of the series - it made it seem like an “event”. You know, this is the only big artistic (as opposed to cultural) impact I could think of for Roots: showing what an impact a mini-series could have if given the right format. It’s lost now, of course. I can’t remember any miniseries being even more than two nights long, much less seven. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/55 "2010-06-19T20:36:39Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Bwuh? What’s this gratuitous slap at _The Flintstones_? As I recall, it was pretty damn successful. It ran for many years, and spawned a spin-off for Saturday mornings with a teenage Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. It was most likely the inspiration for _The Jetsons_. You can still buy the freakin’ vitamins and cereal! Why would producers specifically not fund animated sitcoms because of _The Flintstones_? Sorry, that is mainly a subjective opinion. I don’t know how well the show did financially overall. It’s appeal to adults ran out quickly, but it remained popular with children through the spin-offs and across venues. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/56 "2010-06-19T20:48:48Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Years of being aired in syndication on after-school local TV in the 50s and 60s have obscured the fact that most of the Warner Brothers cartoons of the 30s and 40s were NOT made for kids, but rather for adult audiences in theaters – where they were simply part of the bill that included a newsreel, a live-action comedy short, and the feature presentation. > > That kids ultimately grew to love Bugs, Daffy and the gang as well doesn’t obscure the fact that they were not the films’ original intended audience. > > I will grant that _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ upped the ante in terms of adult-themed satire, but it was “not the first cartoon written for adults.” > > Nor was _The Flintstones_ – although that _was_ the first prime-time half-hour network series that was animated rather than live-action. The cartoons, like most of the movies made in the 30s and 40s were made for general audiences. R&B was intended for that purpose as well, but after gaining sponsorship from a breakfast cereal company, it was targeted toward younger audiences. Probably every feature of the show expanded on work done earlier by WB, Disney, and others. The shows writing may have been more noticeable because of the low quality of the animation. Still a hoot though, and usually less mutilated than the WB cartoons as they are now shown on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/57 "2010-06-20T18:16:55Z")
Who did it first? Was it pre 60s? Johnny Carson? I mean of course The Desk, the Couch (for guests) , the opening Monologue . the Chat? Certainly a format copied often since here in the UK and elsewhere… ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/58 "2010-06-20T18:48:25Z")
I hate it when I want to post about something but I can’t remember enough details to make the post worthwhile. I didn’t watch it myself, which is one reason why I’m blanking on details, but in the 70’s, I think, PBS, I think, aired a multi-part documentary/reality show about a family that became very popular, I think. The only thing, I think, I really remember about it is that the son came out as gay. I think. Anyway, whatever it was, it had to have been one of the first ongoing reality shows. I think. I came in to say **Twin Peaks** , but that’s already been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/59 "2010-06-20T19:09:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Though I didn’t watch it myself, I think arguably _Twin Peaks_ has had a strong influence on how to approach story arcs. I think it led more or less directly to other somewhat surrealist shows like Northern Exposure and Picket Fences. It broke down barriers and showed that audiences were willing to accept unconventional premises and plots and even more unconventional characters in their entertainment. I think I’ll add the short-lived Pushing Daisies to the same list of shows that may have been made possible by TP. For the record, I loved all four programs, but not because I give any credence to the mystical or newage crap they sometimes espoused. They were just damned entertaining. If you haven’t seen TP, I would definitely recommend renting it. Just make sure that you start with the two hour pilot, which may not be distributed specifically as part of the series. (Not the horrible prequel, “Fire Walk With me”. That’s a different thing and IMHO not worth the effort.) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682/60 "2010-06-20T19:44:35Z")
Interesting, the very first show that came to mind while reading the OP was the very first show contributed. _All in the Family_ was groundbreaking in its format and changed TV forever. It’s also the earliest show I can think of in which the main character was largely unlikeable. And yet, at the same time, you cared about him and his family. Archie Bunker paved the way for such caustic characters such as Al Bundy, Dr. Mark Craig, and Sue Sylvester. I’ll add _Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom_, a program I looked forward to greatly as a child. Nature documentary television that appeals to masses is what have made Discovery Channel and Animal Planet at least initially successful. At least before the sensational reality TV trends took over. So, I guess I’d have to agree with \*Cops \*as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-speaking-what-were-the-most-influential-television-shows-of-the-60s-70s-80s/543682.md?page=4)