My new revelation - 70s TV wasn't that bad! (1 Viewer)

[Ron1973]

I might Debate you on Maude, but anyone that dismisses All in the Family as crap well I don't know what to say. It may look simplistic today, but no show up to that point took on and discussed Bigotry, race, politics, domestic abuse, pregnancy I could go on and on, it was a pavesetter and a classic television program. And beyond all that was damn funny to boot.

Some humor, yes, but very formulaic and rather drab. To each his own but Sanford and Son was much better.

 

[Neil Brock]

I thought All in the Family and Sanford and Son were both hysterical. The Jeffersons was funny as well. Never liked Maude as it was one-sided and Bea Arthur is tough to take.

 

[Ron1973]

I thought All in the Family and Sanford and Son were both hysterical. The Jeffersons was funny as well. Never liked Maude as it was one-sided and Bea Arthur is tough to take.

The Jefferson was quite hysterical; George was Archie in black skin to quite a huge extent.

My favorite Sanford and Son moment was when Esther and Fred were into (as usual). She told Fred that "when I was born, my body was blessed by Mother Nature, honey!" Fred looked at her and replied "yeah, and as you got older, it was CURSED by Father Time!"

 

[Frank Soyke]

It's only my personal opinion but I never cared for sitcoms that were overly political. To me, if I show is going to take a political stand, it should be in a dramatic series, not a comedy that primarily depends on laughs to entice viewers. Like Neil, I also did not enjoy the complete onesideness of the Lear shows. It reminds me of a more recent show I cant stomach, Designing Women. In EVERY episode of that series, the formula was to tackle some social or political issue and then have Dixie Carter do some kind on extended monologue functioning as nothing more than a ventriloquist dummy for Linda Bloodsworth Thomason's "views."

 

[Vic Pardo]

Some humor, yes, but very formulaic and rather drab. To each his own but Sanford and Son was much better.

I don't recall "All in the Family" being formulaic or drab. But then I believe I only watched the first 2 seasons or so. It may have gotten that way in later seasons. But the stuff I saw was generally quite interesting in a dramatic way, in the way it had characters of different mindsets involved in assorted cultural/ethnic/political collisions. E.g, the one where Cleavon Little and Demond Wilson (pre-Sanford) play burglars who do a home invasion of the Bunker household and get into an exchange about race and economics with Archie and the family. Fanciful, yes, considering how home invasions usually played out, but not formulaic or drab. And there was the one where Archie gets stuck on an elevator with a bourgeois black man played by Roscoe Lee Browne and a Puerto Rican blue collar guy, played by Hector Elizondo, whose pregnant wife gives birth in the elevator. Eileen Brennan was in the episode also.

 

[Ron1973]

I don't recall "All in the Family" being formulaic or drab. But then I believe I only watched the first 2 seasons or so. It may have gotten that way in later seasons. But the stuff I saw was generally quite interesting in a dramatic way, in the way it had characters of different mindsets involved in assorted cultural/ethnic/political collisions. E.g, the one where Cleavon Little and Demond Wilson (pre-Sanford) play burglars who do a home invasion of the Bunker household and get into an exchange about race and economics with Archie and the family. Fanciful, yes, considering how home invasions usually played out, but not formulaic or drab. And there was the one where Archie gets stuck on an elevator with a bourgeois black man played by Roscoe Lee Browne and a Puerto Rican blue collar guy, played by Hector Elizondo, whose pregnant wife gives birth in the elevator. Eileen Brennan was in the episode also.

I think it's like the old saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. It's been a while since I've watched and I'm sure I'm colored/influenced from watching it as a teenager and as a kid on network TV before that. If I watched it today I might find something different that I liked. Don't get me wrong, it had its moments but it just never had the "pace" of other shows like Sanford and Son, at least not to me.

 

[Neil Brock]

In EVERY episode of that series, the formula was to tackle some social or political issue and then have Dixie Carter do some kind on extended monologue functioning as nothing more than a ventriloquist dummy for Linda Bloodsworth Thomason's "views."

Which pretty much explains the characters in every David E. Kelley series.

 

[Neil Brock]

I don't recall "All in the Family" being formulaic or drab. But then I believe I only watched the first 2 seasons or so. It may have gotten that way in later seasons. But the stuff I saw was generally quite interesting in a dramatic way, in the way it had characters of different mindsets involved in assorted cultural/ethnic/political collisions. E.g, the one where Cleavon Little and Demond Wilson (pre-Sanford) play burglars who do a home invasion of the Bunker household and get into an exchange about race and economics with Archie and the family. Fanciful, yes, considering how home invasions usually played out, but not formulaic or drab. And there was the one where Archie gets stuck on an elevator with a bourgeois black man played by Roscoe Lee Browne and a Puerto Rican blue collar guy, played by Hector Elizondo, whose pregnant wife gives birth in the elevator. Eileen Brennan was in the episode also.

Politics aside, All in the Family was a great comedy and I know people from both sides of the political fence who agree. Interesting article in today's paper with the point being that TV today is ripe for a similar show:

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/anne-michaud/michaud-who-are-today-s-archie-bunkers-1.5416758

 

[HenryDuBrow]

Some humor, yes, but very formulaic and rather drab. To each his own but Sanford and Son was much better.

Both based on British shows too; Till Death Do Us Part (1965-75) and Steptoe and Son (1962-74), respectively.

 

[Neil Brock]

Just watched a couple of the lesser known Quinn Martin shows this weekend. Bert D'Angelo Superstar and Most Wanted. Both are pretty good although I can't say I'm crazy about Paul Sorvino as either a cop or as the lead in a show. I don't find him very likeable and think he's better as a heavy. Most Wanted is like a 1970s Untouchables with emphasis more on the villains and guest stars, which makes for a more interesting show.

 

[Kasey]

I remember Most Wanted airing Saturdays at 10 when I was 8 years old, but don't recall the details of any episodes. In that time slot ABC also aired Dog and Cat (starring Kim Basinger and Lou Antonio) which seemed pretty gritty to me at the time as well as The Feather and Father Gang (with Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould) which I think was lighter, less violent and more a con-game show than crime drama. ABC had a hard time finding a hit show during 1976-77 for the Saturday 10 PM time slot.

 

[Purple Wig]

Enjoyed reading this thread today and after 7 years it appears only 4 of the series mentioned in Neil’s initial post have been released on DVD. Aside from the Paul Lynde show, have any been aired on any of the retro/classic stations?

 

[BobO'Link]

Both based on British shows too; Till Death Do Us Part (1965-75) and Steptoe and Son (1962-74), respectively.

Since the time of this thread I've purchased copies of both of those British series. I much prefer 'Till Death Do Us Part to All in the Family and expect to like Steptoe and Son more than Sanford and Son (one of the few Lear "comedies" I like). With *one* exception so far, I prefer the British shows that've jumped the pond over their US counterparts.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Since the time of this thread I've purchased copies of both of those British series. I much prefer 'Till Death Do Us Part to All in the Family and expect to like Steptoe and Son more than Sanford and Son (one of the few Lear "comedies" I like). With *one* exception so far, I prefer the British shows that've jumped the pond over their US counterparts.

OK, I'll bite, Howie...which UK sitcom is the exception? The Office?

 

[shoeshineboy]

The first episode of Bronk -- directed by Richard Donner -- was pretty good (although the budget showed in a late special effect). There's some good chemistry with the cast and Palance is ever likeable. Not sure how it'll hold up but I think it deserves a look.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Yes, an interesting thread. When I was a kid growing up in the '70s, I didn't care for the majority of shows which were currently airing, preferring the more colorful, iconic '60s series that I watched in syndication. As I've gotten older, though, I've really come to appreciate a lot of '70s output. While I'm still not a fan of '70s U.S. sitcoms (with the notable exception of Barney Miller), and likely never will be, I have grown to really appreciate many dramas from that era - especially the cop and detective shows that proliferated back then. Everything like the frothier fare found on the NBC Mystery Movie wheels, like Columbo, McCloud, McMillan & Wife and Banacek, to grittier police procedurals like The Streets of San Francisco and Kojak, to the "gimmick" private eye shows like Cannon (fat detective), Barnaby Jones (old detective), Longstreet (blind detective), Ironside (wheelchair-bound detective), etc. Basically, if it's some sort of genre drama produced for TV in the '70s, there's a good chance I'm going to enjoy it. This is true of both US and UK TV shows.

 

[LouA]

Interesting thread. I came late to the party as well , but have re-evaluated the decade favorably. It does’t hurt that it was a great decade for me personally ,both professionally and socially- great nostalgia!
I’d add Lottsa Luck, The Little People, Girl With Something Extra, and Fernwood 2nite.

 

[Purple Wig]

I’d like to see “Doc Elliot” again as it was a childhood favorite that I now have only the fuzziest memory of. “Owen Marshall” still holds up.

 

[shoeshineboy]

I've gone back and watched youtube episodes of Phyllis and The Tony Randall Show and found they stood up, and would like to revisit Doc, too....

 

[LeoA]

I'm with Jeff.

The sitcoms of the 1970's hold little value for me, but I enjoy many of the dramas like the detective shows, the less preachy episodes of M*A*S*H (Especially the early seasons), Emergency!, Little House and The Waltons, Adam-12 (Started at the end of the 1960's, but predominantly was 1970's), etc.

The only exceptions off the top of my head are a few sitcoms that straddled the start and end of the decade like Green Acres and WKRP in Cincinnati, that I personally associate with different decades due to to the bulk of their runs occurring outside of the 1970's.

Even cartoons, the list is a small one. I think only Scooby Doo is a standout in my list of favorites.