Wow, this is a surprisingly interesting topic. Television is often derided as the boob tube, but I think it’s usually only as boobish as the viewer who chooses the channel. Anyway, in no particular order:
The Simpsons. Amazingly intelligent comedy, sullied in part by the lower quality of the last season or two (kinda like the also excellent MASH*.
Star Trek: The Next Generation. Far superior to the original (which was more groundbreaking than it was good). The first time sci-fi on television ever was driven by the characters rather than the action/monsters/fx.
Nova. Absolutely the best popular science program on television.
Blue Planet. An ansolutely stunning nature documentary. Amazing visuals, and very much fulfills its goal of documenting the entirety of the world’s oceans. Honorable mention for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, which gets extra credit for its groundbreaking subject matter.
Taxi. Surprisingly strong social commentary in the guise of a modest 70s/80s sitcom.
Frontline. It’s amazing what you can learn from the news when the reporters have the time to investigae an entire story and present it in its entirety rather than a 2-10 minute network report.
Live sports in general. Competitive sports would not exist in anything resembling their current form today without television.
St. Elsewhere. I hate ER. I loved St. Elsewhere.
The Gulf War. Hard to believe wars used to be fought without the public having the slightest idea what was happening until some time later. No more.
You bet. Depending on how you define “best”. If your definition is confined to “most entertaining” well, then, no. But if you definition includes things which actually made a difference in people’s lives, her show could reasonably be argued to not only be on the list, but to head it up.
The television acadamy didn’t give her their very first humanitarian award for her financial contributions, they gave it to her for what she does on her show every day. She is an extremely positive force in the world in general and television specifically.
Playhouse 90.
Your Show of Shows.
Kraft Television Theater.
Armstrong Circle Theater.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
U.S Steel Hour
Simpsons
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Twilight Zone
Wednesday Night Fights(Gillete Calvacade of Sports)
Damn! I never realized how much corporate America affected good tv in the old days.
As to the inclusion of boxing, I don’t watch boxing the last 25 years or so. It’s too phony. And while I have almost come to be convinced that it should be banned, watching those guys in the 1950’s pounding their hearts out was a thrill to a teenager. They were giving their all. No multimillion dollar payday for a loser who simply walked into the ring and performed disgracefully(though not much moreso than the winner). Feh!
What minty green said. If you’ve got a wealth of pre-1980’s television to contribute that everyone else has overlooked, then have at it.
I’m sticking with my original list. Unlike every other medium, television is actually getting better with time (“reality” shows and Jerry Springer not withstanding).
I dunno. I see a whole lot of 70s shows above. But I’m not surprised that there is a leaning towards later moments. There are simply more channels nowadays, indeed 3 of my choices are TV channels born in 1979, 1980 and 1981. More channels means more stuff on TV and more chances that one of those things is going to strike a chord with somebody.
Also in the 50s and 60s they were just beginning to experiment with what TV could do. Now that everything has been done we have a basic grasp of what works and what doesn’t and they use it. Just because something came first doesn’t necessarily make it best. Sometimes the copies manage to outshine the original. I think Johnny Carson’s shows were better then any other of the admittedly small number of episodes of earlier shows of that style which I’ve seen. And I think classic Letterman was better then Johnny Carson.
Plus the best stuff from back then I just don’t see. Nor do we even know how to see it. And not just be but people of my parents age too. I mean where can I go to watch “See It Now” with Edward R. Murrow. Who has watched a significant number of shows from that show in the last 40 someodd years. Or “The Tonight Show” in any format other then “The Best of …” or “Favorite moments from …” How can anyone be expected to evaluate anything based on that?
So I’m saying I would suppose later choices are not only right but inevitable. Imagine what it will be like a century from now with 100 years of 100 channels. That’s more then 100 lifetimes worth of television. Nobody’s going to remember any of the shows we’ve listed so far.
You’ve succinctly nailed the reason why copyright extension is a bad idea, Osiris. Supposedly, one of the finest programs ever to air on television is the Requiem for a Heavyweight episode of Playhouse 90, yet AFAIK, its not available for viewing anywhere. Were it to be public domain, someone would probably be selling it. Also, a great deal of the programs from the early days of television have been lost forever. The broadcasts weren’t taped, or were taped over (ask Johnny Carson what he thinks of NBC and its erasing of hundreds of hours of The Tonight Show), and are now but a fading memory. Welcome to disposable culture.
My list of top ten things done for television:
1.) Saturday Night Live (the golden years of the 1970s)
2.) The Simpsons (14 years on TV and still funny)
3.) MASH (before it jumped the shark)
4.) Barney Miller
5.) Star Trek TOS
6.) All in the Family (social commentary on a comedy, try that these days!)
7.) Carol Burnet and Friends
8.) Monty Python’s Flying Circus
9.) The Lathe of Heaven
10.) Doctor Who
Honorable mention goes to A Charlie Brown Christmas (if for no other reason than I can’t get the theme out of my head whenever I think about the show!).
**Tuckerfan, ** thanks for backing me up from my OP about *A Charlie Brown Christmas. * I watched it the very first time it was on, and numberless times since, in addition to owning the tape. It’s the only Christmas special that keeps getting shown, that actually mentions “what Christmas is all about”. I once read the second chapter of Luke for a Christmas service, and I was **so ** tempted to end it by saying Linus’ line *“And that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown” * but I chickened out and just said the usual “here ends the reading”
There’s a lot of good stuff on television, and I agree with what **minty green ** said , that TV is only as boobish as the viewer who chooses the channel.
That’s a fairly snotty attitude to have about every other medium, but hey, knock yourself out.
Toast Of The Town (The Ed Sullivan Show), I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, All In The Family, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, American Bandstand, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Andy Griffith Show, The Honeymooners
To second other mentions up there: Simpsons and Sopranos are right up there, and Deep Space Nine… Has there ever been a more successful first-run in syndication show?
I’ve already used up my quota of replies to this thread, but just to clarify: that’s not necessarily to say that every other medium is getting worse, just that TV on the whole is better than it used to be. It’s younger than other media, too – coincidence? I think not. Movies, books, theater, etc. have been putting out a ratio of crap to masterpiece that’s been pretty steady for as long as I’ve been alive.
