# Most Revolutionary TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [August 18, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839 "2019-08-18T14:52:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/61 "2019-08-19T00:37:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > For reasons I’ve never been able to understand, _ **Laugh-In** _ was hailed as revolutionary when it debuted. Granted, it was snappy and fast-paced, but that was because the jokes were so lame they didn’t want to give you time to think about them. I was around for the beginning of Laugh-In. There wasn’t anything like it anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/62 "2019-08-19T00:42:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was around for the beginning of Laugh-In. There wasn’t anything like it anywhere. … Until _ **Hee-Haw** _ came along. Ew! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/63 "2019-08-19T01:02:17Z")
Eons before there was _Twilight_, there was Barnabas Collins and _Dark Shadows_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/64 "2019-08-19T01:11:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was around for the beginning of Laugh-In. There wasn’t anything like it anywhere. Oh? What about **That Was The Week That Was**? > **[That Was the Week That Was](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Was_the_Week_That_Was)** > > That Was the Week That Was, informally TWTWTW or TW3, was a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and presented by David Frost. > The programme is considered a significant element of the satire boom in the UK in the early 1960s, as it broke ground in comedy by lampooning political figures. TW3 was broadcast from Saturday, 24 November 1962 to late December 1963. An Ame... David Frost, Henry Morgan, Buck Henry, Woody Allen, and the songs of Tom Lehrer (!!) (In the American version) Political jokes, blackout skits, satirical songs, and a random series of acts. Big-name guest stars appearing briefly. Sounds a lot like _Laugh-In_. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/65 "2019-08-19T01:38:30Z")
**All in the Family** gets my vote. So much of it had never been done before, and so much of it seeped into subsequent series. Not mentioned yet: **Late Night with David Letterman** , for similar reasons. I know Carson (and Allen and Paar before him) paved the way, but Letterman brought an irreverence to the format that can still be seen far and wide. (not that I want to dis Johnny Carson; I loved, loved that show). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/66 "2019-08-19T01:52:37Z")
All That Glitters. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/67 "2019-08-19T01:57:44Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Actually, reread your own post, I just did. You wrote, “this was the first time a weekly show featured a black actor/actress in the title role.” Mea culpa. I goofed. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/68 "2019-08-19T02:01:11Z")
Wheel of fortune Indy 500. Get it?! Wheels? Revolving? Revolutions!? Bwaaaaahahahaaaha…uh…ha…heh…uh…I’ll show myself out. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/69 "2019-08-19T02:18:43Z")
I agree that **The Prisoner** has a rational progression and you can clearly see Number 6 gradually taking the upper hand. I watched the entire series as a college freshman on a big screen, thanks to the “Prisoner Film Society.” (The show was only 10-11 years old at that point.) I hooked in more and more people until my entire clique was with me in the audience for the last several episodes. Smoking lots of weed helped with viewer comprehension. And most of us dropped acid before the final show: “Once Upon a Time” and “Fall Out.” You know, so we could REALLY “get it.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/70 "2019-08-19T02:29:45Z")
What I love about this thread is that it’s like grabbing a cord and pulling, and it leads to another, and another. I often play the game “ **Would _this_ have happened if _that_ hadn’t come before**?” Someone in my coffee joint mentioned Picket Fences, a quirky drama from the early 90s. Someone else brought up Northern Exposure. My reply? “Would _these_ have happened if _Twin Peaks_ hadn’t come before?” Another comment: “I love how Kevin Spacey kept breaking the fourth wall.” Well, Danny Pudi on Community did it before that. Malcolm in the Middle spent a lot of time addressing the audience in the early oughts. As did characters on Modern Family, Saved by the Bell, and Fresh Prince. Of course, you could argue that they were all inspired by Dobie Gillis. But would he have done it without George Burns making it a staple of the Burns and Allen Show? Or Ernie Kovacs in the 50s, who, it was said, “doesn’t have a fourth wall, he’ll schmooze with the cameraman in the middle of the bit, or he’ll bring the audience in…” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/71 "2019-08-19T02:35:22Z")
…or the Nairobi Trio. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/416o9b_pjQk/hqdefault.jpg "Ernie Kovacs - The Nairobi Trio "Solfeggio" - ABC Television Network Videotaped Version") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416o9b_pjQk) ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/72 "2019-08-19T02:50:45Z")
Surprised that the Simpsons hasn’t been mentioned yet. Crazy influential. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/73 "2019-08-19T03:39:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Oh? > > What about **That Was The Week That Was**? It was a long time ago and it was too timely for anybody to show reruns of it, but I don’t remember any resemblance to Laugh-In. I wish anybody had relics of it, but there don’t seem to be any. > [@](#): > > Political jokes, blackout skits, satirical songs, and a random series of acts. Big-name guest stars appearing briefly. Sounds a lot like _Laugh-In_. Stan Freberg did all those things even earlier, but he did it on radio. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/74 "2019-08-19T04:02:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It was a long time ago and it was too timely for anybody to show reruns of it, but I don’t remember any resemblance to Laugh-In. I wish anybody had relics of it, but there don’t seem to be any. There’s a BBC episode on YouTube. > [@](#): > > _Stan Freberg did all those things even earlier, but he did it on radio._ You can say that about a lot of shows, including ones mentioned above—_ **Burns and Allen** _, _ **Beulah** _, _ **Amos ‘n’ Andy** _… ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/75 "2019-08-19T04:26:45Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > **All in the Family** gets my vote. So much of it had never been done before, and so much of it seeped into subsequent series. > > Not mentioned yet: **Late Night with David Letterman** , for similar reasons. I know Carson (and Allen and Paar before him) paved the way, but Letterman brought an irreverence to the format that can still be seen far and wide. > > (not that I want to dis Johnny Carson; I loved, loved that show). > mmm If we’re doing talk shows, prior to the Smothers Brothers talk shows were inoffensive family fare, Elvis and his swiveling hips notwithstanding. Tommy and Dick pulled no punches and set the stage for talk shows with somewhat controversial and downright irreverent content that remains to this day. Ed Sullivan and early Johnny Carson would never have put themselves in a position where the network would require early episode submission so they could censor the content. Letterman doesn’t exist without them taking the hit first. EDIT: It was more a variety show than a talk show. Still, the point stands. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/76 "2019-08-19T04:49:17Z")
_It’s Garry Shandling’s Show_. I had seen irreverent self-aware shows before, but not at the level of this amazing bit of nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/77 "2019-08-19T06:13:58Z")
Per the OP, when I think of a revolutionary television show I think of something that fundamentally changed the game. _I Love Lucy_ has been mentioned and that’s a great example of a show that changed the way television was made. The show gave us the live studio audience (real laughter instead of canned), three 35mm cameras, and the rerun. For decades other sitcoms followed the Lucy model of production. Twin Peaks, Hill Street Blues, and Babylon 5 were good shows but they didn’t change the landscape like I Love Lucy did. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/78 "2019-08-19T06:31:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Max Headroom** _ (remember \*that \*show?) was way ahead of its time. Naw, it was only twenty minutes into the future. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/79 "2019-08-19T06:35:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Rockford came a season after David Janssen in _Harry O_, who lived on the beach, owned a car that failed so often he had to go to cases on a bus, and had a bullet in his back so that he avoided fights. A great show that has seemingly vanished from memory. > [@carrps](#): > > Man, it vanished from _my_ memory, but I loved that show at the time. Anthony Zerbe was in it, right? Weird actor. Also a pre-_Charlie’s Angels_ Farrah-Fawcett-Majors, as Harry’s neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/80 "2019-08-19T07:04:12Z")
_ **Soap** _, for Jody Campbell. At least early one he was one of the few sane characters. And happened to be gay. _ **Magnum, P.I.** _ It was one of the first detectives shows to have continuity and show character growth. The Magnum of Season 8’s _Unfinished Business_ is much different than the Magnum of season 3’s _Did You See the Sunrise_ . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839.md?page=5)