I am particularly nostalgic when it comes to 1960s sitcoms. I came up with a list of 30-something well-known shows, then added a few obscure ones of which I have fond memories.
Select as many as you like, and use the “You forgot…” option liberally.
For the record, my holy trinity is The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and Get Smart.
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Left out He and She.
My top three are Dick Van Dyke, Get Smart, and Green Acres.
My top three are Dick Van Dyke, Green Acres and That Girl (almost all of these I watched in syndication as a kid).
What about “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”?
Alright, who remembers:
Run Buddy Run
Rango
Captain Nice
Mr. Terrific
It’s About Time
These were the under-the-radar shows I threw in for nostalgia; these programs are some of my earliest TV memories.
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I guess I’ve always considered that a 70s show, Omar (although, upon checking, I see it premiered in September 1969).
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I have to say, except for the occasional Dick Van Dyke Show episode, I find all of these basically unwatchable. Actually, I used to love Leave it to Beaver, though that one started in the '50s.
Not sure that one would count. I thought I remembered it as 1970s, and looking it up I see it ran from September 1969 to March 1972.
Had not thought of many of these for so long. I’m sure there are others.
I really wish I could have put a multiplier in my answer to the poll. I like a lot of sitcoms from the '60s (and Bewitched is in my personal top-ten because Elizabeth Montgomery was so damn hot), but nothing holds a candle to The Dick Van Dyke Show for me. I’d love to put a “times a hundred!” qualifier in there. I grew up on b/w sitcoms and like a lot of stuff that would be anachronistic in my age group (how many Gen-Xers remember the Jack Benny Show, let alone consider it a favorite sitcom?), and I answered accordingly, but the Dick Van Dyke Show was one of those timeless ensemble shows that work over the years.
Among sitcom classics in the US, there are the perennials: I Love Lucy, Leave It to Beaver, and The Honeymooners (which is an anomaly, as many of the “episodes” are part of Gleason’s variety shows with Dumont, et al) (as for other series, I’d argue that things like The Donna Reed Show and Father Knows Best have faded, and traditional “series” like the Our Gang and Three Stooges shorts, and the MGM and WB cartoon shorts are theatrically-based and disqualified). I’d add to the sitcom pantheon Cheers, Barney Miller, Taxi, Married… with Children, and (most important for this poll) The Dick Van Dyke Show.
I thought about a couple of them, but Dick Van Dyke is the only one that I really liked. Of all those, there’s 4 or 5 that I ever watched on any kind of a regular basis (that is, seen all or most of the episodes), but Dick Van Dyke is the only one that, to this day, I still watch a couple episodes a week of.
By the way, I was born in 1980.
Green Acres, after they started really developing the more surrealistic aspects, was the greatest comedy of the era. Even though it shares characters with both Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies, the humor was of a different flavor than either of those shows. Watching it today, I’m amazed at how smart the show was.
Wow! I can even remember the theme song from Mr. Terrific!
Weird.
And now, I have to listen to something else to avoid hearing it again and again in my head.
Thanks a lot! :mad:
I remember “It’s About Time” and I voted for it even though I would probably find it awful today… I was a science geek and was thrilled to see anything even remotely science-oriented on TV back then.
I was just thinking… how about “Batman”? Not really a sitcom but it was certainly spoofy.
My favorites were “Dick Van Dyke”, “Hogan’s Heroes”, “Get Smart”, “The Addams Family” and “My Three Sons”.
I agree about the unappreciated depth and quality of Green Acres, but I would place The Beverly Hillbillies at least even with it with regard to the level of smart writing. If you pay close attention, you will be amazed at how many levels of intricacy there were on so many of the episodes, and how adeptly the writers juggled the complex story lines.
Both shows, IMO, though popular, are extremely underrated.
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My top three are Hogan’s Heroes, Get Smart, and The Dick Van Dyke Show, with the order depending on my mood in any given week.
This was, by far, one of the greatest of the 60s. It had Paula Prentiss as She, but, Captain Nice had Ann Prentiss, her sister, who had a leaner, and hotter look. Captain was also one of the truly great ones.
Best wishes,
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I really don’t get all the love for The Addams Family. Anyone care to explain?
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The were classy and sophisticated and Gomez was a die-hard romantic. Uncle Fester lit up light bulbs! They crashed trains!
I remember all those shows.
It’s hard to qualify everything because the shows weren’t all on at the same time. Some of the earlier ones I only saw in reruns because I didn’t get to see much prime time TV before the mid-60’s. Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice were brief, and cut out of our market after a couple of episodes, and I never saw them in repeats. So I checked all the shows I watched then and would still watch in reruns now.
Dick Van Dyke, Get Smart and Addams Family for me. I think Dick Van Dyke was the best written but Get Smart was awesome and the Addams Family was so smartly written for such a silly seeming concept. Just look at the Munsters for how bad it could have be. These are also the 3 my kids are really enjoying.
I liked Hogan’s Heroes also but another notch down.