# TV history through overlapping programs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601 "2020-05-11T20:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 12, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/21 "2020-05-12T04:08:49Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I think you can swap in _Lassie_ without too much trouble. Yeah, I played with it before but didn’t have success until I realized that _Hawaii Five-0_ was the missing piece. Although _All in the Family_ (1971-1979) would also work. _Kraft Television Theatre_ 1947-1958 \*Lassie \*1954-1971 _Hawaii Five-0_ 1968-1980 _Dallas_ 1978-1991 _Law & Order_ 1990-2010 _Modern Family_ 2009-2020 Depending on how early you want to start, Jack Benny feels better to me than an anthology show like Kraft. _The Jack Benny Program_ 1950-1965 _Bonanza 1959-1973 MAS_H\* 1972-1983 \*Cheers \*1982-1993 _Law & Order_ 1990-2010 _Modern Family_ 2009-2020 Plugging \*Gunsmoke \*back in I get: \*Mama \*1949-1956 \*Gunsmoke \*1955-1975 _Happy Days_ 1974-1984 _Murder, She Wrote_ 1984-1996 _ER_ 1994-2009 _NCIS: Los Angeles_ 2009- present I don’t think you can get to five with any set of strict rules. You’d need five that averaged 14 years and started and ended at just the right times. And you need to rule whether situations like _Happy Days_, which ran through 1984 and then reruns in the summer, and _Murder, She Wrote_, which started in fall 1984, truly count as overlapping. If not, I can’t make that last set work. But it’s too late to keep trying. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/22 "2020-05-12T10:02:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And you need to rule whether situations like _Happy Days_, which ran through 1984 and then reruns in the summer, and _Murder, She Wrote_, which started in fall 1984, truly count as overlapping. Looks like _Gunsmoke_’s finale aired in March of ‘75, days after the eleventh episode of _The Jeffersons_ — and it looks like _The Jeffersons_ aired its finale in July of ‘85, after a whole season of _Murder, She Wrote_. So that’d maybe avoid the “overlapping” question better than _Happy Days_ does. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/23 "2020-05-12T11:13:36Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Uh, I hate to break it to you, but, yeah, it is. I should have said “openly acknowledged as scripted” > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Objection. Cable shows need their own category. Restiction to non-cable - Approved > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > \*Mama \*1949-1956 > \*Gunsmoke \*1955-1975 > _Happy Days_ 1974-1984 > _Murder, She Wrote_ 1984-1996 > _ER_ 1994-2009 > _NCIS: Los Angeles_ 2009- present > > I don’t think you can get to five with any set of strict rules. You’d need five that averaged 14 years and started and ended at just the right times. > > And you need to rule whether situations like _Happy Days_, which ran through 1984 and then reruns in the summer, and _Murder, She Wrote_, which started in fall 1984, truly count as overlapping. If not, I can’t make that last set work. But it’s too late to keep trying. That is non-overlapping, unfortunately. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Looks like _Gunsmoke_’s finale aired in March of ‘75, days after the eleventh episode of _The Jeffersons_ — and it looks like _The Jeffersons_ aired its finale in July of ‘85, after a whole season of _Murder, She Wrote_. So that’d maybe avoid the “overlapping” question better than _Happy Days_ does. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/24 "2020-05-12T12:23:16Z")
I’m more interested in this bit: > [@](#): > > MacGyver returned from the dead and Twin Peaks too, all during the Simpsons eon. What other shows can we think of that overlapped with two different iterations of some other show? ---
**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:** [May 12, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/25 "2020-05-12T15:50:46Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Looks like _Gunsmoke_’s finale aired in March of ‘75, days after the eleventh episode of _The Jeffersons_ — and it looks like _The Jeffersons_ aired its finale in July of ‘85, after a whole season of _Murder, She Wrote_. So that’d maybe avoid the “overlapping” question better than _Happy Days_ does. Nice catch. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/26 "2020-05-12T16:27:50Z")
We forgot PBS. I’d like a ruling on [Masterpiece Theatre/Masterpiece Classic](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066684/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) It’s been running continuously since 1971, which would bring the total history down to just three shows. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601/27 "2020-05-12T19:19:00Z")
Can we use 60 Minutes? September '68-now. When I read the thread title, I thought you were looking for show that told history in order. Something like Rome to Vikings to Robin Hood etc. ( I don’t think that’s an accurate timeline, though.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-history-through-overlapping-programs/853601.md?page=1)