What are your top 5 favorite shows of the 1970s? (1 Viewer)

[benbess]

Having been born in 1964, this was the decade where I really came of age when it came to watching television. My parents didn't allow huge amounts of TV watching, but when they weren't in the house, or when I was home sick from school, I sometimes watched quite a lot. I watched about an even mixture of reruns and new shows. At that time, classic old shows seemed to live on forever, with reruns of I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Star Trek, etc. filling the time on non-Network stations.

It's pretty easy to pick a top 5 or even a top 10 from this decade, but for me I think this decade as a whole represents something of a decline from the 1960s. It seems like there were so many dumb comedies that just went on and on, and that haven't aged at all well. In fact, they are essentially unwatchable to me. Happy Days would be an example of that. Looking back on it, that show jumped the shark the first season imho. Drama shows, if you could call them that, that I loved as a 10-12-year old, like the Bionic Woman or the Six Million Dollar Man, I think I could only watch almost as a joke today. But maybe I'm wrong about that? Perhaps they stand up pretty well? I'm probably in the minority, but I think Archie Bunker on the monster hit All in the Family was mostly just painful, and the videotaped look of that show seemed cheap.

But what are your opinions? Was the 1970s overall a decline in prime time Network TV, or just different? Was it the golden age of any particular genre? Perhaps the cop/detective show? What are your top 5 (or more) shows from that decade? What shows that you missed would you like to get back to now?

 

[benbess]

top 30 shows from 1970-71

[*]29.6 - Marcus Welby M.D. (ABC)
[*]27.9 - The Flip Wilson Show (NBC)
[*]25.9 - Here's Lucy (CBS)
[*]25.7 - Ironside (NBC)
[*]25.5 - Gunsmoke (CBS)
[*]25.1 - ABC Movie of the Week (ABC)
[*]25.0 - Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
[*]24.5 - Medical Center (CBS)
[*]23.9 - Bonanaza (NBC)
[*]23.0 - The F.B.I. (ABC)
[*]22.7 - The Mod Squad (ABC)
[*]22.6 - Adam 12 (NBC)
[*]22.4 - The Wonderful World of Disney (NBC)
[*]22.4 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC)
[*]22.3 - Mayberry R.F.D. (CBS)
[*]21.4 - Hee Haw (CBS)
[*]21.3 - Manixx (CBS)
[*]21.2 - The Men from Shiloh (ABC)
[*]20.8 - My Three Sons (CBS)
[*]20.7 - The Doris Day Show (CBS)
[*]20.6 - The Smith Family(ABC)
[*]20.3 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
[*]20.1 - NBC Saturday at the Movies (NBC)
[*]20.0 - The Dean Martin Show (NBC)
[*]19.8 - The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
[*]19.8 - NBC Night at the Movies (NBC)
[*]19.8 - The Partridge Family (ABC)
[*]19.7 - ABC Sunday Night Movie (ABC)
[*]19.5 - The Jim Neighbors Hour (CBS)
[*]19.3 - CBS Thursday Night Movies (CBS)
[/list]

 

[benbess]

Off the top of my head....

1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2. The Bob Newhart Show
3. Little House on the Prairie
4. The Waltons
5. The Rockford Files

 

[benbess]

top 30 shows for 1975-76:

[*]30.1 - All In The Family (CBS)
[*]28.0 - Rich Man, Poor Man (ABC)
[*]27.5 - Laverne & Shirley (ABC)
[*]25.0 - Maude (CBS)
[*]24.9 - The Bionic Woman (ABC)
[*]24.5 - Phyllis (CBS)
[*]24.4 - Rhoda (CBS)
[*]24.4 - Sanford & Son (NBC)
[*]24.3 - The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC)
[*]24.2 - ABC Monday Night Movie (ABC)
[*]23.9 - Happy Days (ABC)
[*]23.1 - One Day At A Time (CBS)
[*]23.0 - ABC Sunday Night Movie (ABC)
[*]22.9 - The Waltons (CBS)
[*]22.9 - M*A*S*H (CBS)
[*]22.5 - Starsky & Hutch (ABC)
[*]22.5 - Good Heavens (ABC)
[*]22.1 - Welcome Back Kotter (ABC)
[*]21.9 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
[*]21.5 - The Jeffersons (CBS)
[*]21.3 - Baretta (ABC)
[*]21.0 - Good Times (CBS)
[*]21.8 - Kojak (CBS)
[*]21.2 - The Sonny & Cher Show (CBS)
[*]20.8 - Chico & The Man (NBC)
[*]20.7 - The Bob Newhart Show (CBS)
[*]20.7 - The Streets of San Francisco (ABC)
[*]20.7 - Donn & Marie (ABC)
[*]20.5 - The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
[*]20.2 - Police Woman (NBC)
[/list]

 

[FanCollector]

In terms of comedies (dramas to come later), the 70s are probably my favorite era of television. Not, as I noticed compiling this list, because there are all that many great comedies; there weren't. But rather because the great comedies there were maintained a balance of situation and characterization that particularly appeals to me.Top 5 (in no particular order):The Odd CoupleAll in the FamilyBarney MillerSoapFawlty TowersHonorable Mention:MaudeMary Tyler MooreThe Bob Newhart ShowSanford and SonThe Tony Randall ShowM*A*S*HThe Carol Burnett ShowThe Muppet ShowMore aired in the 1980s, but seems right to mention it here:TaxiWKRP in Cincinnati

 

[Matt Hough]

In no particular order:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Ellery Queen
The Carol Burnett Show
The Odd Couple

Runner-Up: Columbo

 

[FanCollector]

I think you may be right about the 70s being the golden age of the crime drama. Universal in particular turned out some fine shows (very different from each other in tone, contrary to the "factory" stereotype).Top 5 (in no particular order):ColumboQuincy, M.E.The Rockford FilesKojakMannixHonorable Mention:CannonIronsideHarry OLou GrantThe Streets of San FranciscoMcMillan and WifeMcCloudNight GallerySwitchPolice StoryShort-lived gems:Ellery QueenKolchak: The Night StalkerHec RamseyBanacekNicholsThe MagicianRan sporadically from the 70s through the 90s, but too outstanding to omit:Rumpole of the Bailey

 

[GMBurns]

In a lot of ways the 1970's is the easiest decade for me to pick since it produced several of my all-time favorites of any decade:CannonColumboBarnaby JonesMcMillan and Wife (until the "wife" left!)Kojak

 

[ljgranberry]

These would be my top picks:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show
M*A*S*H
The Bob Newhart Show
Night Gallery
Columbo

There tends to be a heaviness on the comedy side for this decade. Growing up during the 70's, and even today, I just don't think it was a great decade for drama. Unless one counts Watergate.

 

[JMas]

My favorite strictly 70s shows are Harry O, How The West Was Won, and Centennial. Of course, Gunsmoke makes my 50s, 60s, and 70s lists.

 

[Neil Brock]

Lucas TannerJames at 15/16The ImmortalBridget Loves BernieThe Young Lawyers

 

[Mark Collins]

Battlestar Galactica
Family
Mannix
The Edge of Night which went to ABC in 1975 and began a rebirth of the show
Mission Impossible

HM Gunsmoke All in the Family Mary Tyler More Show . I own none of these. The top I do except Edge of Night.

 

[Ron1973]

top 30 shows from 1970-71

[*]29.6 - Marcus Welby M.D. (ABC)
[*]27.9 - The Flip Wilson Show (NBC)
[*]25.9 - Here's Lucy (CBS)
[*]25.7 - Ironside (NBC)
[*]25.5 - Gunsmoke (CBS)
[*]25.1 - ABC Movie of the Week (ABC)
[*]25.0 - Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
[*]24.5 - Medical Center (CBS)
[*]23.9 - Bonanaza (NBC)
[*]23.0 - The F.B.I. (ABC)
[*]22.7 - The Mod Squad (ABC)
[*]22.6 - Adam 12 (NBC)
[*]22.4 - The Wonderful World of Disney (NBC)
[*]22.4 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC)
[*]22.3 - Mayberry R.F.D. (CBS)
[*]21.4 - Hee Haw (CBS)
[*]21.3 - Manixx (CBS)
[*]21.2 - The Men from Shiloh (ABC)
[*]20.8 - My Three Sons (CBS)
[*]20.7 - The Doris Day Show (CBS)
[*]20.6 - The Smith Family(ABC)
[*]20.3 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
[*]20.1 - NBC Saturday at the Movies (NBC)
[*]20.0 - The Dean Martin Show (NBC)
[*]19.8 - The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
[*]19.8 - NBC Night at the Movies (NBC)
[*]19.8 - The Partridge Family (ABC)
[*]19.7 - ABC Sunday Night Movie (ABC)
[*]19.5 - The Jim Neighbors Hour (CBS)
[*]19.3 - CBS Thursday Night Movies (CBS)
[/list]

Hee Haw at #16 is funny to me. I still watch it in reruns on Sundays on RFD-TV. The story goes that they had already recruited Buck Owens to do the show when it was set to premier in 1969 (he already had his own popular syndicated show, Buck Owens Ranch) and they approached Roy Clark. Roy said no citing that kind of show would kill his career. His agent told him to take the show because no one would watch it, it was just a 13 episode summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers and he would still get paid!

BTW, I love the Philco ad. I have my parents Philco record changer that they bought in 1967. It needs a little work but it's amazing how good stuff was made back then!

 

[davidHartzog]

The Rockford FilesHarry OKojackThe Streets of San FranciscoPolice Story

 

[lakesgirl]

I liked the family shows most of all.

1. Eight is Enough
2. Little House on the Prairie
3. Family
4. Charlies Angels
5. Laverne & Shirley

 

[Ron1973]

Having been born in 1964, this was the decade where I really came of age when it came to watching television. My parents didn't allow huge amounts of TV watching, but when they weren't in the house, or when I was home sick from school, I sometimes watched quite a lot. I watched about an even mixture of reruns and new shows. At that time, classic old shows seemed to live on forever, with reruns of I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Star Trek, etc. filling the time on non-Network stations.

It's pretty easy to pick a top 5 or even a top 10 from this decade, but for me I think this decade as a whole represents something of a decline from the 1960s. It seems like there were so many dumb comedies that just went on and on, and that haven't aged at all well. In fact, they are essentially unwatchable to me. Happy Days would be an example of that. Looking back on it, that show jumped the shark the first season imho. Drama shows, if you could call them that, that I loved as a 10-12-year old, like the Bionic Woman or the Six Million Dollar Man, I think I could only watch almost as a joke today. But maybe I'm wrong about that? Perhaps they stand up pretty well? I'm probably in the minority, but I think Archie Bunker on the monster hit All in the Family was mostly just painful, and the videotaped look of that show seemed cheap.

But what are your opinions? Was the 1970s overall a decline in prime time Network TV, or just different? Was it the golden age of any particular genre? Perhaps the cop/detective show? What are your top 5 (or more) shows from that decade? What shows that you missed would you like to get back to now?

I still like Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman. The two shows I loved were The Incredible Hulk and The Dukes of Hazzard. I was faithful every Friday night to watch those and hated to see them go off and have to wait until the next week. I've watched The Incredible Hulk through again on DVD and it's sort of ho-hum to me now. Neither show holds the same "magic" that they did when I was 8 or 9 years old. What really killed me the other day was watching Bo and Luke in hi-def on CMT. They had managed to cause Roscoe to flip his car and it was spinning around and around. Now that CMT is showing hi-def transfers, I could see the wire pulling Roscoe's patrol car around and around! You can also handily see where the front of the car is crushed after a jump but the next scene it's in perfect shape.

 

[Ockeghem]

The Brady Bunch
All In the Family
The Mod Squad
Room 222
The Waltons

Honorable mention:

Adam-12
Bridget Loves Bernie
The Partridge FamilyThe Paul Lynde Show
The Smith Family

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Ah, the decade where I flip genres, and instead overwhelmingly prefer the comedies over the action/drama shows, as far as top favorites:

1. WKRP in Cincinnati
2. Monty Python's Flying Circus
3. Taxi
4. Barney Miller
5. Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Honorable mention:

Columbo (this would've likely rated in the top 5, but I only recently started watching it, completing season 1... it aired often in our home in the '70s, but I wasn't paying attention back then)
The Bob Newhart Show
Second City Television
Night Gallery
Ripping Yarns
Fawlty Towers
UFO
Saturday Night Live (original cast)
The New Avengers
Land of the Lost

I was born in 1968, so I saw the 1970s first-hand. Here's what would've been my Top 5 when I was a kid back then:

1. The Incredible Hulk
2. Land of the Lost
3. Mork and Mindy
4. Battlestar Galactica
5. The Adventures of Grizzly Adams (saw it again, years later as an adult, and couldn't stand it! )

Runners-up:

Taxi
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (Filmation cartoon)
The Godzilla Super Power Hour
In Search Of...
MASH
All in the Family
Buck Rogers
The Six Million Dollar Man
Wonder Woman
That's Hollywood
Cliffhangers!
Happy Days
Fantasy Island
Real People
The Carol Burnett Show
Donny & Marie
Emergency!
The Brady Bunch

 

[JohnMor]

In alphabetical order:

All in the Family
The Carol Burnett Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
M*A*S*H
The Waltons

Honorable Mention (i.e. 6th place): Night Gallery

At the time I loved The Bionic Woman but it doesn't hold up well for me. A few eps are still fun, though.

 

[TravisR]

This is the decade of shows that I would have seen when they first went into syndication so a couple of these picks are fueled by nostalgia more than quality but here it goes (alphabetically):

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (my top pick for the 70's)
M*A*S*H
Soap
Three's Company
What's Happening!!

I also have to give it up for Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Saturday Night Live and Taxi. While All In The Family can get too preachy, I still have to recognize its great cast and place in TV history.