# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/81 "2019-08-19T08:03:29Z")
_The Simpsons_ introduced a wave of prime time animated shows aimed at adults. Shows like _King of the Hill_, _Family Guy_, _American Dad_, _Futurama_, and _South Park_ followed on the heels of _The Simpsons_. _Survivor_ was the first reality show of its type, and many more came not long after it debuted in 1997. I believe _The Wire_ had a big influence on the direction of TV. Although it never had great ratings, it was critically successful, and led the way toward shows like _The Sopranos_, _Breaking Bad_, _Deadwood_, _Weeds_, and the like. All were more adult than could be shown on over-the-air TV, and had long story arcs that sometimes straddled more than a single season. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/82 "2019-08-19T08:34:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Max Headroom** _ (remember \*that \*show?) was way ahead of its time. So much so that it went over the heads of the viewers (pun intended) and didn’t last too long, sadly. Hell yes. And Hell no. Broke all the rules etc etc but was just so far ahead of it’s time that it had no (at least short term) effect on TV at all - it passed the mainstream by completely. But yes, great show. Along the same lines (an age for the rest to catch up) you could posit [Mary Kay And Johnny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay_and_Johnny), the first mainstream American show to _show a married couple who shared a bed_ and worse, _a pregnant wife_. The bed thing was so shocking that, according to the lore, the next two mainstream shows to break that taboo were a cartoon (The Flintstones) and the not-exactly-human Munsters. So it fulfills about half the OP. Broke all the rules\*; but had no general effect at all at the time, j - - OK, you could argue that it _predated_ the rules. But I say pshaw! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/83 "2019-08-19T13:21:39Z")
Something recently reminded me of **The Avengers**. The show started out relatively serious and hit its peak in the Patrick Macnee/Diana Rigg years. It indulged in eccentricity without overdosing on it. I’m not sure if I’d call it revolutionary, though; I can’t think of another show which took up that mantle and ran with it. > [@digs](#): > > 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?” I used to work in the same office park where, according to rumor, _Northern Exposure_ had converted a building into a sound stage. I saw some things stored around the building that made me believe it. And that was only about ten miles from where the exteriors were shot for _Twin Peaks_. > [@](#): > > 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. It doesn’t seem to be as remembered as others, but _Moonlighting_ used to break the fourth wall as well. Another series that was innovative but didn’t inspire other shows to follow it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/84 "2019-08-19T13:46:14Z")
**The Cosby Show** was the first show to show a “normal” African-American family doing normal things, and not making their skin color the focus of everything. In retrospect, casting Bill Cosby as a respected OB/GYN may not have been the best move in TV history. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/85 "2019-08-19T13:47:45Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Something recently reminded me of **The Avengers**. The show started out relatively serious and hit its peak in the Patrick Macnee/Diana Rigg years. It indulged in eccentricity without overdosing on it. I’m not sure if I’d call it revolutionary, though; I can’t think of another show which took up that mantle and ran with it. This has nothing to do with the thread, but what the hell, I love it: for France, The Avengers was dubbed into French and retitled **Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir** (Bowler Hat and Leather Boots). Sorry. Hijack over. j ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/86 "2019-08-19T14:24:08Z")
As much as I hate, hate, \*hate \*the genre, I’d have to say that Alan Funt’s _Candid Camera_ was the most revolutionary, as it’s considered to be the progenitor of the modern Reality TV show. ---
**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, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/87 "2019-08-19T14:32:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I used to work in the same office park where, according to rumor, _Northern Exposure_ had converted a building into a sound stage. I saw some things stored around the building that made me believe it. And that was only about ten miles from where the exteriors were shot for _Twin Peaks_. As long as we’re hijacking, it’s a fun drive east from Seattle through the towns that were locations for _Northern Exposure_ and _Twin Peaks_. Back on topic, it’s interesting that some of the “revolutionary” TV shows hold up better than the safer shows. I just got a box set of _Avengers:The Diana Riggs Years._ And every season of the _Superman_ show with George Reeves… winking at the camera at the end of many episodes. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/88 "2019-08-19T15:32:26Z")
Two shows that were so revolutionary that it was years before the rest of TV caught up: [Police Squad!](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083466/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2). A comedy without a laugh track? How will the audience know what’s funny? Today a sitcom with a laugh track is an anomaly (or on the Disney Channel) (I know M_A_S\*H had no laugh track in the OR scenes, but it did everywhere else.) [Murder One](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112086/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1). One storyline carried over an entire season. Today season-long story arcs are the norm. ---
**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, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/89 "2019-08-19T15:48:12Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Two shows that were so revolutionary that it was years before the rest of TV caught up: > > [Police Squad!](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083466/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2). A comedy without a laugh track? How will the audience know what’s funny? Today a sitcom with a laugh track is an anomaly (or on the Disney Channel) > > (I know M_A_S\*H had no laugh track in the OR scenes, but it did everywhere else.) > > . Another Larry Gelbart sitcom, the virtually forgotten **United States** from 1980, also ran without a laugh track, two years before **Police Squad!** Some industry folk thought this was why it wasn’t a hit. > **[United States (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_(TV_series))** > > United States is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from March 11 until April 29, 1980. > Larry Gelbart, the show's executive producer and chief writer, said the name United States was not a reference to the country but rather to "the state of being united in a relationship". Gelbart envisioned a series that would be "a situation comedy based on the real things that happen in my marriage and in the marriages of my friends". > Episodes tackled such topics as marital infidelity, househ... ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/90 "2019-08-19T15:59:19Z")
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is very revolutionary. The improv show where damn near anything goes. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/91 "2019-08-19T16:05:07Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Pushing Daisies. It was sweet, quirky, unique and doomed to only 1 1/2 seasons thanks to the 2007 writers’ strike. I still miss it. I liked Pushing Daisies too, but even without the writers strike, I didn’t think it was getting good ratings. And as far as ground breaking, it was enjoyable to watch and was a pretty cool concept; was it really ground breaking? When I think of ground breaking, I think of shows like All In The Family which covered racism every week, but even the famous episode where Edith Bunker got raped. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/92 "2019-08-19T16:16:52Z")
The success of The Big Bang Theory is partly due to Chuck Lorre’s revolutionary concept of showing nerds as they really are, not as some stupid Urkle/Screech caricature. The initial reviews for this nerdy guy falls for hot blond were it was too worn out an idea to work. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/93 "2019-08-19T16:22:40Z")
For a more recent revolution, I think Game of Thrones, for all its issues, has made big budget TV shows into a viable concept. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/94 "2019-08-19T16:40:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Whose Line Is It Anyway? is very revolutionary. The improv show where damn near anything goes. The points don’t matter, so it will never succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/95 "2019-08-19T16:50:12Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > For a more recent revolution, I think Game of Thrones, for all its issues, has made big budget TV shows into a viable concept. Game of Thones, eh? Then let me nominate another HBO series, “Band of Brothers” (BoB) which took the idea of a realistic look at WWII combat as introduced by “Saving Private Ryan” (same producers as BoB) and expanded it out, way beyond SPR and into a better work overall. Better character development, more variety in events, and a full-sweep view of the US experience in the European theater of WWII. For a while, BoB was one of the highest rated works on imdb. After this, super high quality miniseries that might as well be thought of as 10 (or 20 or 30…) hour movies became common. IIRC, “The Wire” and “The Sopranos” etc. all came after BoB. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/96 "2019-08-19T16:56:59Z")
‘NYPD Blue’, ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and ‘The Wire’ were the best cop shows ever. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/97 "2019-08-19T17:06:42Z")
What about Law & Order. Based on real criminal stories, the cops being human and fallible, and showing the prosecution for the crimes. I cannot image Joe Friday acting like John Munch ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/98 "2019-08-19T18:51:26Z")
John Munch who first appeared in ‘Homicide’. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/99 "2019-08-19T19:00:08Z")
_ **Seinfeld** _ was revolutionary in being a sitcom that never aimed for poignancy or delivering a moral, or doing one single solitary thing that was in any way an attempt at a serious comment about anything. Oh, God I wish another sitcom would come along to match Seinfeld’s first 5 seasons… ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839/100 "2019-08-19T19:16:45Z")
_ **Writer, to producers at a pitch meeting** _: "Got this great idea for a crime/mystery show. The main character is a schlumpy, rather slovenly guy, and seemingly a bumbler, who as a homicide detective slogs through each episode in an attempt to discover who the murderer is. Now, here’s the kicker. _The murder is always shown at the beginning, and the audience knows who did it all along!_ _ **Producers, to the writer** _: "_Get the hell outta my office, you stupid fuck."_ Thankfully this never happened, otherwise we never would have had _Columbo_, the greatest cop show of the seventies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-revolutionary-tv-series/838839.md?page=6)