100 Greatest TV Shows

[Hulk With A Mustache]

That's right! Another countdown! This time for television! Anyway, let's start this countdown:

100. Saved By The Bell



Genre: Sitcom.
Created by: Sam Bobrick.
Executive Producer(s): Peter Engel
Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zach Morris), Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater), Dustin Diamond (Samuel “Screech” Powers), Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski, 1989 – 1992), Lark Voorhies (Lisa Marie Turtle), Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie Spano, 1989 – 1992), Dennis Haskins (Principal Richard Belding), Leanna Creel (Tori Scott, 1992).
Country of Origin: United States
Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 87
Running Time: 23 minutes
Original Channel: NBC
Original Run: August 20, 1989 – May 22, 1993
Spinoffs: Saved By The Bell: The College Years and Saved By The Bell: The New Class

Saved by the Bell originated in an NBC pilot entitled Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was inspired by then NBC president Brandon Tartikoff's teachers from his past. The show was set in Indianapolis, Indiana. NBC decided not to pick up the pilot, but The Disney Channel did, and aired the series for one season. Unlike the series that followed, the intention was to focus on the life of the teacher, played by Hayley Mills, as the main character. The characters of Zack Morris, Samuel "Screech" Powers, Lisa Turtle, and Mr. Richard Belding all originated on the series. Jaleel White, Brian Austin Green, and Jonathan Brandis all had roles in the pilot episode. The show was cancelled after 13 episodes, and the rights were acquired by NBC, which had reconsidered the matter. Seeing that it had merit, they decided to revamp and recreate the series. Executive Producer Peter Engel wanted the show to be called When the Bell Rings, but Tartikoff convinced him to go with the title Saved by the Bell. Three of the teens from the original cast, Gosselaar, Diamond, and Voorhies, remained on the show, as the same characters with only minor changes to things like their backstories. Haskins also remained as Mr. Belding, but the setting was changed from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the fictional Bayside High School in fictional Palisades, California. The two students dropped from the original series were replaced by three new additions. Kelly Kapowski and Jessie Spano were introduced as longtime friends of the original three characters, and new transfer student A.C. Slater rounded out the group. Max, the proprietor of the local restaurant hangout ("The Max") was also a cast member in early episodes. The focus of the show was shifted towards the exploits of the students themselves, and Zack Morris became the show's lead character. Several teachers recurred over the course of the series, but Mr. Belding was the only school authority figure to ever be in the main cast. The show performed well for NBC and, despite bad reviews from TV critics, easily became the number one show on Saturday Mornings, and at the end of the show's first season, NBC boldly sold the series off into syndication with the Good Morning, Miss Bliss episodes included to pad out the syndication package, despite the continuity problems and production changes. At the height of its popularity, the show did many road tours to different malls and places for the cast to make appearances and sign autographs. The Good Morning, Miss Bliss episodes were edited to include openings to match the Saved by the Bell episodes, as well as introductions by Zack explaining that the episodes occurred in junior high (these episodes are sometimes billed as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years). The show's popularity on Saturday morning is what led NBC to shift from airing cartoons to live action teen-oriented shows instead (California Dreams, Hang Time, etc.) under the TNBC banner. Each season of the series essentially represented a year of high school for the students, culminating in their graduation. In the show's final season, NBC doubled the number of episodes ordered, despite the fact that they would have to re-sign the entire cast to new contracts in order to film them. Thiessen and Berkley refused to sign a new contract for these new episodes, resulting in a block of episodes that feature a new character, Tori Scott (Leanna Creel) in their place. The final episode of the series aired in prime time on May 22, 1993. The episode, in which the cast graduated from high school, was filmed before Thiessen and Berkley left the show. No mention is made as to what happened to Tori Scott. The series finale was followed by a special airing of the Saved by the Bell: The College Years pilot episode, to set up the next phase of the characters' lives. Saved by the Bell: The College Years continued with several of the characters dealing with college life. It aired in the season following the original series' last, and was also set in the following school year. The series sported a continuity problem in that the characters who ended up at the fictional California University were set to go off to different universities at the end of the original Saved By The Bell. Due to low ratings, Saved by the Bell: The College Years only lasted one season. Unlike the original series which aired on Saturday mornings with only one exception in 1993, The College Years was shown in prime time. The series aired from September 14, 1993 (though the original pilot aired on May 22, 1993) to February 8, 1994. Saved by the Bell: The New Class was created to continue the story of Bayside High School in the Saturday morning timeslot after the original cast graduated. The series featured a new set of students anchored by Dennis Haskins, and later Dustin Diamond, whose character Screech became Principal Belding's administrative assistant on a work-study program from California University (a reference to Screech's college in "The College Years"). While Saved by the Bell: The New Class ran for seven seasons, it suffered numerous cast changes (including a second season cast purge that only left Haskins and three other cast members) and never gained the popularity of the original series. The New Class aired from September 11, 1993 to July 28, 2000. Many of the New Class episodes were actually "recycled" plots from the original Saved by the Bell. Slater, Lisa, and Zack had a cameo in one episode in Season 2 while trying to keep Bayside from being bought and destroyed. The Max remained as the hangout for the Bayside High students, although a fire burned it down in one episode and it was given a new look. The New Class is the only Saved by the Bell incarnation not to be currently syndicated, although all seven seasons have made it to DVD. As of Winter 2007 in the U.S., Saved By the Bell is being shown in syndication on Nickelodeon's sister station The-N, TBS, along with weekend morning airings on local affiliates of FOX, MyNetworkTV, and The CW.

Here’s the thing about Saved By The Bell: it has a lot of problems. It is incredibly cheesy. It tries to hard to be funny. It has almost no continuity. And, the Very Special episodes are funnier than the ones that weren’t trying to be serious. And, that is what makes the show so goddamn great! Yes, it has a lot going against it, but it is all those imperfections that make the show so fun to watch. It is a perfect guilty pleasure show. It also helped that the cast played their roles perfectly. Each one played the archetype of their character to perfection. You believed that Mark-Paul Gosselaar was too cool for school, that Tiffany Thiessen was perky and wholesome, that Mario Lopez was a jock and a bit of a jerk, that Elizabeth Berkley was a strong-willed feminist, that Dustin Diamond was a lovable oddball, and that Lark Voorhies was a gossip. Hell, they were so good in their roles that its almost hard to see them as a cop, a bitch, a dancer, a stripper, an asshole, and whatever the hell Voorhies became. However, the show wasn’t just about the cheesy. It was pretty influential. The fact that the show often incorporated dramatic elements into episodes by dealing with "real teen social issues", such as drug use, drinking and driving, homelessness, financial issues, divorce, graduating, college, sibling rivalry, taking responsibilities for one's actions, being bullied, death, and environmental issues made it a precursor for networks of more recent shows such as The O.C. and Dawson's Creek to introduce young target audiences to critical moral matters. Saved By The Bell wasn’t the best TV show of all time, but it definitely deserved a place on the list.

[cheeseisgood]

Unless Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust is #1, this list is invalid.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

99. The Real World



Genre: Reality.
Created by: MTV.
Executive Producer(s): Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray.
Starring: Season 1, New York: Becky Blasband, Andre Comeau, Heather Gardner, Julie Oliver, Norman Korpi, Eric Nies, and Kevin Powell.
Season 2, Los Angeles: Aaron Bailey, Beth Stolarczyk, David Edwards, Dominic Griffin, Irene Berrera-Kearns, Jon Brennan, Tami Roman, Glen Naessens, and Beth Anthony.
Season 3, San Francisco: Pedro Zamora, David "Puck" Rainey, Rachel Campos, Judd Winick, Cory Murphy, Mohammed Bilal, Pam Ling, and Joanna Rhodes.
Season 4, London: Kat Ogden, Neil Forrester, Jay Frank, Mike Johnson, Lars Schlichting, Jacinda Barrett, and Sharon Gitau.
Season 5, Miami: Flora Alekseyeun, Sarah Becker, Mike Lambert, Melissa Padrón, Joe Patane, Dan Renzi, and Cynthia Roberts.
Season 6, Boston: Jason Cornwell, Sean Duffy, Montana McGlynn, Genesis Moss, Kameelah Phillips, Elka Walker, and Syrus Yarbrough.
Season 7, Seattle: Nathan Blackburn, Lindsay Brien, David Burns, Janet Choi, Rebecca Lord, Irene McGee, and Stephen Williams.
Season 8, Hawaii: Ruthie Alcaide, Amaya Brecher, Margaret "Kaia" Beck, Justin Deabler, Tecumseh "Teck $" Holmes, III, Colin Mortensen, and Matt Simon.
Season 9, New Orleans: David Broom, Melissa Howard, Kelley Limp, Jamie Murray, Danny Roberts, Matt Smith, and Julie Stoffer.
Season 10, Back to New York: Rachel Braband, Malik Cooper, Kevin Dunn, Nicole Jackson, Mike Mizanin, Coral Smith, and Lori Trespicio.
Season 11, Chicago: Chris Beckman, Kyle Brandt, Tonya Cooley, Aneesa Ferreira, Keri Evans, Theo Gantt, III, and Cara Nussbaum (later Kahn).
Season 12, Las Vegas: Trishelle Cannatella, Arissa Hill, Steven Hill, Frank Roessler, Brynn Smith, Irulan Wilson, and Alton Williams.
Season 13, Paris: Ace Amerson, Leah Gillingwater, Adam King, Simon Sherry-Wood, Mallory Snyder. Chris "CT" Tamburello, and Christina Trainor.
Season 14, San Diego: Frankie Abernathy, Randy Barry, Jamie Chung, Cameran Eubanks, Brad Fiorenza, Robin Hibbard, Jacquese Smith, and Charlie Dordevich.
Season 15, Philadelphia: Shavonda Bilingslea, Karamo Brown, Sarah Burke, M. J. Garrett, William Hernandez, Landon Lueck, and Melanie Silcott.
Season 16, Austin: Wes Bergmann, Johanna Botta, Lacey Buehler, Nehemiah Clark, Danny Jamieson, Rachel Moyal, and Melinda Stolp.
Season 17, Key West: Janelle Casanave, John Devenanzio, Tyler Duckworth, Zach Mann, Paula Meronek, Svetlana Shusterman, and Jose Tapia.
Season 18, Denver: Tyrie Ballard, Colie Edison, Jenn Grijalva, Brooke LaBarbara, Davis Mallory, Stephen Nichols, and Alex Smith
Season 19, Sydney: Trisha, Cummings Dunbar, Flinn Kelly, Anne Judd, Cohutta Lee, Parisa Montazaran, Isaac Stout, Shauvon Torres, and Ashli Robson.
Season 20, Hollywood: Kimberly Alexander, William Gilbert, Greg Halstead, Joey Kovar, David Malinosky, Sarah Ralston, Brianna Taylor, Nick Brown, and Brittini Sherrod.
Country of Origin: United States.
Number of Seasons: 20.
Number of Episodes: 436.
Running Time: 22 minutes.
Original Channel: MTV.
Original Run: May 21, 1992—Present.
Spinoffs: Road Rules and The Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

The show focuses on the lives of seven strangers who audition to live together in a house for several months, as cameras record their interpersonal relationships. The show moves to a different city each season. The footage shot during the housemates’ time together is edited into 22-minute episodes. The narration given over the opening title sequence by the seven housemates states some variation of the following: “This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World.” Before the televised version of the show debuted, a "scripted" version of it was toyed with. Rather than being themselves, a set of strangers (not the New York cast) were given story and character arcs to attempt to recreate (a la a soap opera). Bunim & Murray decided against this, and, at the last minute, pulled the concept (and the cast) before it became the first season of the show, believing seven different people would have enough of a basis on which to interact without scripts. Tracy Grandstaff, one of the original seven picked for "season 0" went on to minor fame herself as the voice of the animated Beavis and Butt-head character Daria Morgendorffer, who eventually got her own spinoff, Daria. One sign of the show’s popularity occurred on the October 2, 1993 episode of the sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, which poked fun at the show's second season Los Angeles cast, whose members were depicted as contentious and bigoted, a parody of the numerous discussions of racism, bigotry and political differences that served as a recurring theme that season. The show also gained widespread attention with its third season, The Real World: San Francisco, which aired in 1994, and depicted the conflict between David "Puck" Rainey, a bicycle messenger criticized for his hygiene, and his roommates, most notably AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. As the show gained more popularity, Zamora’s life as someone living with AIDS gained considerable notice, garnering media attention. Zamora was one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media, and after his death on November 11, 1994 (hours after the final episode of his season aired) he was praised by then-President Bill Clinton. Zamora’s roommate and best friend during the show, Judd Winick, went on to become a popular comic book writer, and wrote the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his friendship with Zamora, as well as high-profile and controversial storylines in mainstream superhero comics that featured gay and AIDS-related themes. As the San Francisco season continued to grow in popularity, it was clear that the "reality" television format was one that could bring considerable ratings to a network. Appearing on the program has often served as a springboard into further success, especially in the entertainment and media industries. Eric Nies of the New York cast went on to become a successful model, actor, TV host, and was inducted into the Television and Broadcasters "Hall of Fame" for his pioneering work in reality television. His housemate, Kevin Powell, became a successful author, poet, journalist, and 2006 candidate for United States House of Representatives for New York's 10th district. Their housemate, Heather B., enjoyed a career as a rap music artist. Los Angeles cast member Beth Stolarczyk has produced men's and women's calendars and television programs featuring reality TV personalities, including herself, Las Vegas' Trishelle Cannatella, Chicago's Tonya Cooley, and Back to New York's Coral Smith. Stolarczyk and Cannatella have also appeared in Playboy magazine, as have Las Vegas' Arissa Hill and Miami's Flora Alekseyeun. Cooley appeared on playboy.com. London cast member Jacinda Barrett has become a successful film actress, appearing in prominent roles opposite John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Anthony Hopkins and Renée Zellweger. Lindsay Brien of the Seattle cast became a radio and CNN personality. Chicago cast member Kyle Brandt’s acting career includes starring in the soap opera Days of our Lives. His castmate, Tonya Cooley, also appeared on an MTV special of True Life: I'm a Reality TV Star. Las Vegas cast members Trishelle Cannatella and Steven Hill appeared in the horror film Scorned. Cannatella herself has also appeared on other reality shows, such as The Surreal Life, Battle of the Network Reality Stars, and Kill Reality, the latter of which also featured Hill and Cooley. Hill, along with housemate Alton Williams, hosts a radio show. Dozens of former cast members from The Real World, and its spin-off, Road Rules, have appeared on the spin-off game show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, which pays up to $60,000 to the winners. Various cast members have also earned livings as public speakers, as Bunim-Murray Productions has paid for them to be trained in motivational speaking by the Points of Light Foundation since 2002, allowing them to earn between $1,500 and $2,000 for an appearance on the college lecture circuit. Since the introduction of The Real World, Bunim/Murray has spun off a number of other reality shows, including most notably Road Rules, in which five strangers (six in later seasons) are put in a Winnebago and asked to complete certain tasks to eventually gain a "handsome reward". Other shows include the game show Real World/Road Rules Challenge, which pits teams of alumni from both shows in physical competitions.

Before it became a college internship in binge drinking and casual sex, this reality show was an actual interesting social experiment: put seven different people who have never met in an apartment for several months, film them, and see what the hell happens when they “stop being polite and start getting real.” And, it worked. It was very interesting to see so many people of different backgrounds (black, white, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, liberal, conservative, etc.). All these dynamics clashed and/or came together to make one interesting TV show. It helped that things got all the more arresting in season 3 due to two particular roommates: AIDS activist Pedro Zamora, who was a nice and kempt gay male who happened to have AIDS, and David “Puck” Rainey, a huge slob. Pedro and Puck clashed so much that eventually Puck got kicked off the show. However, he get some vengeance by leaving some prank calls on the roommates answering machine and making some derogatory remarks to Pedro. Then, actual reality intruded on the show when Pedro died soon after the season aired. But, nevertheless, the show was about performance and young people's complicated relationship with authenticity and privacy in the Internet age. And, yeah, it has devolved into rampant sex and alcohol consumption, thanks a lot to those two factors being prevalent in Season 9; the roommates usually ran around topless or nude, and one, Ruthie, almost died from alcohol poisoning, leading to the roommates to have an intervention for her. But, much like MTV, it used to be good. It was once a fun, exciting, and interesting show to tune into each week. And, honestly, the positives of past more than make up for the negatives of today. Plus, you ignore the fact The Real World single-handedly started the reality TV show genre. Survivor may have added a million-dollar giveaway to the concept, but in The Real World, as in nearly every MTV reality show since, attention itself is the prize.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Tomorrow, numbers 98 and 97. Here are the hints:

Sock it to me!, and the show's main character once shot at some food and up came a bubblin' crude.

[Max]

the real world ahead of saved by the bell is bound to cause a ton of butthurt.

[Beav]

I'm gonna be pissed unless All In the Family and M*A*S*H are in the top 5.

[stealthamo]

Well, one of the two is laugh-in, thats for sure.

Anyway, I can see why The Real World is ahead of Saved by the Bell, I guess. But only if it's the original Real World. The newer ones look like crap.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Okay, let's continue the countdown. Here's 98:

98. Rowan And Martin’s Laugh-In



Genre: Variety/Sketch comedy
Created by: Ed Friendly and George Schlatter.
Executive Producer(s): Friendly and Schlatter; Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (final season).
Starring: Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Gary Owens, Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi, Henry Gibson, Arte Johnson, Alan Sues, Jo Anne Worley, Lily Tomlin, Judy Carne, Pamela Rodgers, Sarah Kennedy, Donna Jean Young, Dennis Allen, Ann Elder, Barbara Sharma, Johnny Brown, Richard Dawson, Larry Hovis, Patti Deutsch, Jud Strunk, etc.
Country of Origin: United States.
Number of Seasons: 6.
Number of Episodes: 140.
Running Time: 60 minutes.
Original Channel: NBC.
Original Run: January 22, 1968 – March 12, 1973.
Spinoffs: Laugh-In, a revival created by Schlatter that aired in 1977.

Rowan And Martin’s Laugh-In was created by Ed Friendly and George Schlatter. It originally aired as a one-time special on September 9, 1967 and was such a success that it was brought back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8pm on NBC. The title, Laugh-In, came out of events of the 1960s hippie culture, such as "love-ins" or "be-ins." These were terms that were, in turn, derived from "sit-ins," common in protests associated with civil rights and anti-war demonstrations of the time. The show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches, many of which conveyed sexual innuendo or were politically charged. Rowan and Martin continued the exasperated straight man (Dan Rowan) and "dumb" guy (Dick Martin) act which they had established as nightclub comics. Laugh-In had its roots in the humor of vaudeville and burlesque, but its most direct influences were from the comedy of Olsen and Johnson (specifically, their free-form Broadway revue Hellzapoppin'), the innovative television works of Ernie Kovacs, and the topical satire of That Was The Week That Was. The show had many memorable characters. Arte Johnson portrayed a number of recurring characters, including: Wolfgang the German soldier (Wolfgang would comment on the previous gag by saying "Verrry interesting", sometimes with comments such as "...but shtupid!" He eventually would close each show by talking to Lucille Ball as well as the cast of Gunsmoke — both airing opposite Laugh-In on CBS; as well as whatever was on ABC. Johnson would later repeat the line while playing Nazi-themed supervillain Virman Vunderbar on an episode of Justice League Unlimited.), Tyrone F. Horneigh (pronounced "hor-NIGH," presumably to satisfy the censors) - A dirty old man coming on to Gladys Ormphby (Ruth Buzzi) seated on a park bench, who inevitably clobbered him with her purse. Sample exchange: Tyrone: Do you believe in the hereafter? Gladys: Of course I do! Tyrone: Good. Then you know what I'm here after!; Both the Tyrone and Gladys characters went into animated form in the "Nitwits" segments of the 1977 animated television show "Baggy Pants and the Nitwits"), Piotr Rosmenko (the Eastern European Man - Piotr stood stiffly and nervously in an ill-fitting suit while commenting on differences between America and "the old country," such as "Here in America, is very good, everyone watch television. In old country, television watches you!" This predated a similar schtick by Yakov Smirnoff. Occasionally guest star Sammy Davis, Jr. teamed with Johnson as "The Rosmenko Twins".), Rabbi Shankar (a pun on Ravi Shankar, an Indian guru - Dressed in a Nehru jacket dispensing pseudo-mystical Eastern wisdom laden with bad puns. He held up two fingers in a peace sign whenever he spoke.), and an unnamed man in a yellow raincoat and hat, riding a tricycle (The image of him pedaling, then tipping over and falling, was frequently used between sketches; Judy Carne was once reported to have said that every member of the cast took turns riding the tricycle at one time or another). Announcer Gary Owens would stand in an old-time radio studio with his hand cupped over his ear, making announcements, often with little relation to the rest of the show, such as (in an overly-dramatic voice), "Earlier that evening..." Ruth Buzzi had many roles, including: Gladys Ormphby (A drab, though relatively young spinster who was the eternal target of Arte Johnson's Tyrone; when Johnson left the series, Gladys retreated into recurring daydreams, often involving marriages to historical figures, including Christopher Columbus and Benjamin Franklin, both played by Alan Sues), Doris Swizzle (A seedy barfly used frequently in the first season, paired with her husband, Leonard Swizzle, played by Dick Martin), and Busy Buzzi (A Hedda Hopper/Louella Parsons-style gossip columnist). Henry Gibson had two memorable characters: The Poet (The Poet would hold an oversized flower and read offbeat poems. He pronounced his name "Henrik Ibsen".) and the Parson (A character who made ecclesiastical quips and, in 1970, officiated at a near-marriage for Tyrone and Gladys). Lily Tomlin’s characters included: Ernestine (The obnoxious telephone operator with no concern for her customers ("'Fair'? Sir, we don't have to be fair. We're the phone company.")), Edith Ann (A child who frequently said, "And that's the truth", followed by "Pbbbt!" Tomlin performed her skits in an oversized rocking chair that made her appear small.), and “Tasteful” society matron Mrs. Earbore. Tomlin later performed Ernestine for Saturday Night Live, and Edith Ann on children's shows such as Sesame Street. Judy Carne played a talking "Judy Doll", usually played with Arte Johnson who never heeded her warning: "Touch my little body, and I hit!" Henny Youngman appeared on the show, telling one-liner jokes for no reason. Often, corny one-liners would be followed by the line, "Oh, that Henny Youngman!" Alan Sues played Big Al, a clueless and fey sports anchor who loved ringing his bell, which he called his "tinkle", and as hungover children's show host "Uncle Al, The Kiddies' Pal." Goldie Hawn was the giggling dumb blonde stumbling over her lines, especially when she introduced Dan's "News of the Future". Jo Anne Worley sometimes sang off-the-wall songs using her loud operatic voice, but is better remembered for her mock outrage at "chicken jokes." Many times, during the Cocktail Parties, she talked about her boyfriend Boris (a married man). Barbara Sharma played the dancing meter-maid who ticketed anything from trees to baby carriages, and often praised vice president Spiro Agnew, calling him 'Pres-ee-dent Agnew.' Flip Wilson appeared on the show. His character, the cross-dressing Geraldine, originated the phrase "What you see is what you get." Another catchphrase was "The devil made me do it." Wilson and his alter ego had their own variety show in the early 70s. Dan Rowan played the character General Bull Right, a far right-wing representative of the military establishment and outlet for political humor. And, Richard Dawson played a character called Hawkins The Butler. He would always start his piece by saying "Permission to........" and proceed to fall over. The show was #1 in the ratings for the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons. At the end of 1968–69, Judy Carne chose not to renew her contract, though she did make appearances during 1969–70; producer George Schlatter blamed her for breaking up the "family." The show also survived the departures of Goldie Hawn and Jo Anne Worley to remain a top-20 show in 1970–71. Schlatter tried to replace Hawn with other wide-eyed starlets acting dumb: first Pamela Rodgers, then Sarah Kennedy, and finally Donna Jean Young, but Hawn's dizzy characterization proved inimitable. New faces in the 1970–71 season, joining Lily Tomlin, who first appeared late in the previous season, included tall, sad-eyed Dennis Allen, who alternately played quietly zany characters and straight man for anybody's jokes; comic actress Ann Elder, who also contributed to scripts, tap dancer Barbara Sharma, who would later appear on Rhoda, and beefy Johnny Brown, who played the superintendent Nathan "Buffalo Butt" Bookman on Good Times. Arte Johnson, who created many characters, insisted on star billing, apart from the rest of the cast. The producer mollified him but had announcer Gary Owens read Johnson's credit as a separate sentence: "Starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin! And Arte Johnson! With Ruth Buzzi..." This maneuver gave Johnson star billing, but made it sound like he was still part of the ensemble cast. Johnson left the show after the 1970-71 season. NBC aired the pilot for his situation comedy Call Holme, but it never became a series. Henry Gibson also departed after the 1970–71 season. He and Johnson were replaced by Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis, both of whom had appeared occasionally in the first season. However, the loss of Johnson's many characters caused ratings to drop farther. The show celebrated its 100th episode during the 1971–72 season, and Carne, Worley, Johnson, Gibson, Graves, and Tiny Tim all returned for the festivities. John Wayne was also on hand for his first cameo appearance since 1968. For the show's final season (1972-73), Rowan and Martin assumed the executive producer roles from George Schlatter (known on-air as "CFG", which stood for "Crazy smurfing George") and Ed Friendly. Except for holdovers Dawson, Owens, Buzzi, and only occasional appearances from Tomlin, a new cast was brought in. But viewers didn't respond and the show was canceled. This final season, which included future Match Game panelist Patti Deutsch, folksy singer-comedian Jud Strunk, and ventriloquist Willie Tyler of Willie Tyler and Lester, never aired in the edited half-hour rerun syndicated to local stations in 1983 and later aired on Nick at Nite. The cable network Trio started airing the show in its original one-hour form in the early 2000s, but only the pilot and the first 69 episodes (extending to the fourth episode of the 1970–71 season) were included in Trio's package. Two Best-of DVD packages are also available; they only contain six episodes each. Of over three dozen entertainers to grace the cast, only Rowan, Martin, Owens and Buzzi were there from beginning to end. Owens wasn't in the 1967 pilot and Buzzi missed two first-season episodes. In 1977, Schlatter and NBC briefly revived the property as a series of specials - entitled simply Laugh-In - with a new cast, including former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner. The standout was a then-unknown Robin Williams; whose starring role on ABC's Mork & Mindy one year later prompted NBC to rerun the specials as a summer series in 1979.

From “Sock It To Me!” and “Here comes de judge,” to Goldie Hawn’s shimmying go-go girl and Ruth Buzzi’s little old lady whacking dirty old men with her umbrella, Rowan And Martin’s Laugh-In provided the late 1960s and the early 1970s with a lexicon of zany pop culture catchphrases and sight gags. Producer George Schlatter persuaded NBC to put Laugh-In on the air, even though the network didn’t expect much of it. It was a mid-season replacement for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and seemed destined to be cannon fodder against ratings powerhouses like Gunsmoke. But, it didn’t. In a time of student protests and urban riots, America was weary of such bland fare as The Andy Griffith Show (1967’s No. 1 rated show). And, Laugh-In was anything but bland, with kaleidoscopic graphics and split-second pacing; the show practically flew through wacky sketches, punny one-liners, and surprise cameos, like John Wayne as the Easter Bunny, that it would fit right in with today’s ADD-culture. Laugh-In went about as far out as 1960s TV dared; it occasionally smuggled a drug joke past the censors (A man walks up to Judy Carne in a park and says, “Hi.” Her reply: “You, too?”). The show was as counterculture as you could find in the 1960s, though it amazingly had many cameos rightwing figures like Rev. Billy Graham, Martha Mitchell, John Wayne, William F. Buckley, Jr., and, most famously, Richard Nixon. Nixon’s “Sock it to me?” is one of the most famous moments of not only the show’s history but also television history. Schlatter believes that Nixon’s “Sock it to me?” cameo (it took him five takes to nail it) helped him lock up enough youth votes to win the 1968 presidency. Though, I’m pretty sure the 1968 Democratic Nomination Convention helped a little a bit more. Then again, years later, when Bill Clinton was running for president, he appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show, a show aimed at the youth of the day, and he won the presidential election as well. Maybe Tricky Dick was onto something. As Arte Johnson would mutter behind his potted plant, “Verrrry interesting.”

[demolitionfan]

Deadwood ruled the roost baby.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

97. The Beverly Hillbillies



Genre: Sitcom.
Created by: Paul Henning.
Executive Producer(s): Al Simon and Martin Ransohoff.
Starring: Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett), Irene Ryan (Granny Clampett), Donna Douglas (Elly May Clampett), Max Baer Jr. (Jethro Bodine), Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale), Nancy Kulp (“Miss” Jane Hathaway), Bea Benaderet (Pearl Bodine), and Harriet E. MacGibbon (Margaret Drysdale).
Country of Origin: United States.
Number of Seasons: 9.
Number of Episodes: 274.
Running Time: 25 minutes.
Original Channel: CBS
Original Run: September 26, 1962 – September 7, 1971.
Spinoffs: “Return Of The Beverly Hillbillies,” an 1981 TV movie, and a 1993 film based on the TV show; though, not official spinoffs, the show was pretty much responsible for the creation of Green Acres and Petticoat Junction.

The show was created by Paul Henning. At the beginning of The Beverly Hillbillies series, patriarch Jed Clampett strikes oil while hunting on his land in the Ozarks. Jed moves with his family to the wealthy Los Angeles County city of Beverly Hills, California, where he attempts to live a rural life despite his wealth. This sequence of events was recapitulated in the title credits for each show and was described in the lyrics of the theme song, so that new viewers would easily understand who the Hillbillies were and why they were in Beverly Hills (although anyone who has seen the first few episodes knows that the song does not portray the events correctly since Jed always knew the oil was there but was simply unaware of the value). Lasting nine seasons and accumulating 7 Emmy nominations, it remains in syndication on several cable stations including TV Land. The Hillbillies themselves were Buddy Ebsen as the widowed patriarch Jed "J.D." Clampett; Irene Ryan as his mother-in-law, Daisy "Granny" Moses; Donna Douglas as his daughter Elly May Clampett; and Max Baer Jr. as his cousin's son Jethro Bodine. The supporting cast featured Raymond Bailey as Jed's greedy banker Milburn Drysdale; Harriet E. MacGibbon as Drysdale's snobbish wife Margaret Drysdale; and Nancy Kulp as Drysdale's secretary, "Miss" Jane Hathaway, who pined for the clueless Jethro. Jed's cousin Pearl Bodine (played by Bea Benaderet) was Jethro's mother. She appeared in several episodes during the first season, as did Jethro's twin sister Jethrine, played by Baer in drag, using Linda Kaye Henning's voiceover. Although not a major character, actress Sharon Tate had a recurring role during the early years of the series. Tate appeared in a dark wig as Janet Trego, an assistant to Miss Hathaway at the Commerce Bank. Two episodes before Janet's debut episode, Sharon had appeared (sans wig) as one of Elly May's classmates in "Elly Starts to School" Veteran canine actor Stretch portrayed Jed's bloodhound Duke, and the many other animal actors on the series came to be known as "Elly May's critters". Despite being panned by some critics, the show shot to the top of the Nielsen Ratings shortly after its premiere and stayed there for several seasons. During its first two seasons, it was the number one program in the U.S. During its second season, it earned some of the highest ratings ever recorded for a half-hour sitcom. The season 2 episode The Giant Jackrabbit also became the most watched telecast up to the time of its airing, and still remains the most watched half-hour episode of a sitcom as well. It was ranked in the top ten most watched prime time programs for six of its nine seasons. The series received two Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series as well as nominations for cast members Irene Ryan and Nancy Kulp. Because of the show's high ratings, CBS asked creator Paul Henning to pen two more folksy comedies, spawning a mini-genre of rural sitcoms during the 1960s. Petticoat Junction featured an extended family, including three pretty young women of marrying age, running a small hotel in the isolated rural town of Hooterville. Green Acres flipped the Clampetts' fish-out-of-water concept by depicting two city sophisticates moving to Hooterville, which was populated by oddball country bumpkins. Certain actors appeared on more than one of these series: Bea Benaderet, who had played Jethro's mother during the first season of The Beverly Hillbillies, was the mother of the family on Petticoat Junction; Linda Kaye Henning, who provided the voiceover for the Beverly Hillbillies character Jethrine, portrayed Benaderet's daughter Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction; Edgar Buchanan, who starred in all 222 episodes of Petticoat Junction and guest-starred in 17 episodes of Green Acres, also guested in 3 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, always as the character Uncle Joe Carson; and several animal actors trained by Frank Inn, including Higgins the dog, also moved between series as needed. Despite the actor cross-overs and the character Uncle Joe Carson's multiple appearances (which made it clear that the three shows were set in the same fictional universe), the two Hooterville series retained identities that were distinct from The Beverly Hillbillies. By the 1970s, CBS’s rural shows had worn out their welcome. Nielsen ratings for the 1970-71 season indicated that the bottom had dropped out for the perennial Top 30 series but was still fairly popular when it was canceled in 1971 after 274 episodes. The CBS network, prompted by pressure from advertisers seeking a more sophisticated urban audience, decided to refocus its schedule on several "hip" new urban-themed shows, and to make room for them, all of CBS's rural-themed comedies were simultaneously canceled. This action came to be known as "the Rural Purge". Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres, famously remarked that, "It was the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it." In addition to The Beverly Hillbillies, the series that were eliminated included Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D. and Hee Haw, the latter of which was resurrected in first-run syndication, where it ran for another 21 years. Petticoat Junction had been canceled a year earlier due to declining ratings following the death of its star Bea Benaderet. In 1981, a “Return of the Beverly Hillbillies” TV movie was aired on the CBS network. Irene Ryan had died, so her character was written out and made Imogene Coca granny's Mother. Max Baer refused to reprise the role that both started and stymied his career, so the character of Jethro Bodine was given to another actor, Ray Young. The familiar Clampett mansion was not used as a location, as its owners sought too much money to lease it. The plot had Jed back in Bugtussle, while Elly May and the recast Jethro remained in the Golden State. Jane Hathaway had become a Department of Energy agent and was seeking Granny's "White Lightnin'" recipe to combat the energy crisis. Since Granny had gone on to "her re-ward", it was up to Granny's centenarian "Maw" (Imogene Coca) to divulge the secret brew's ingredients. Subplots dealt with Jethro playing an egocentric, starlet-starved Hollywood producer, Jane and her boss (Werner Klemperer) having a romance and Elly May owning a petting zoo. The four main characters finally got together by the end of the story. This TV-movie was made a scant decade after the last episode of the series; nonetheless, some viewers felt that the spirit of the series was lost on many fronts. The 1993 The Beverly Hillbillies film returned the storyline to its original premise, retelling the arrival of the Clampetts in Beverly Hills.

It wasn’t hip. It wasn’t topical. Hell, it was barely literate. But, from its start, The Beverly Hillbillies was as hot as firecracker on the Fourth of July. When the Hillbillies, accidental oil baron Jed Clampett, feisty Granny, bodacious Elly May, and thick-as-a-plank Jethro, loaded up their truck and moved to Beverly (Hills that is), they quickly became rose to the top faster than cat runnin’ from a dog. While the critics hated it more than a bull looking a man with a wavy red cape, the show made TV history in its 9-year run: it flew to No. 1 within three weeks of its debut, a feat still unmatched, and remained at the top spot for two years. And, the 8 most watched half-hour shows ever are all Hillbillies episodes, thanks in large part to the fact that all 8 of these episodes aired soon after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and America was looking for an escape from the brutal reality of the event. And, its escapism is a main reason the show was so popular. Clearly, for a national psyche bruised by social unrest, civil rights, and Vietnam, The Beverly Hillbillies acted as a sort of balm. What was their secret? Mainly, it was the Will Rogers-like charm of these populist heroes, notably ex-song-and-dance man Ebsen and irascible bag of bones Ryan. Jed and his kinfolk always seemed to find ways to confound their rich neighbors, using plan ol’ Ozark know-how and sometimes a heapin’ helpin’ of Granny’s possum-belly stew. The show was so popular that it spawned an entire genre of fish-out-of-water shows, most notably Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. And, the show was only cancelled when CBS tired of the status as the “Country Bumpkin Station.” It was kind of sad to see the show go, mainly because The Beverly Hillbillies never took itself too seriously. It was a farce, pure and simple, with plenty of slapstick and word-play. After its run, one TV critic called the premise of the show "one joke, nine years." However, The Beverly Hillbillies did have their day in the sun, with swimmin’ pools and movie stars.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Tomorrow, numbers 96 and 95. Here are the hints:

A Jonny Quest homage that actually had Jonny Quest and Race Bannon appear in a few episodes, and the happiest blended family in all of TV history.

[MuffMasterMan]

ya this list lost all merit of respect with The Real World on it.

[jfbop37]

What is the criteria for this countdown again? Was this done by tabulated votes within the forum?

[Lair of the Shadow MaDaBa]

And would a PARAGRAPH BREAK seriously kill you?

[Gopher Mod]

Jul 3, 2008 1:50:53 GMT -5 @jfbop37 said:

What is the criteria for this countdown again? Was this done by tabulated votes within the forum?

It's his own personal list. He's done QUITE a few before this one, and most have been pretty interesting, especially to see where his mind is on matters like "Who is the best movie villain?" and other topics.

Also, for those who are discrediting the list for The Real World: in the earlier seasons, it wasn't all that bad. Hulk is right in saying that it was a microcosm of the US back in the early-to-mid 1990's and that it brought into prominence some rather heavy stuff (homosexuality and prejudice amongst other things). Once it hit the season after Real World: Hawaii (which I think was New Orleans), things just started to fall apart. Once The Miz showed up, it was all over.

Also, coming up next: The Venture Brothers and something that I just don't know of.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

It's countdown time. Here's number 96:

96. The Venture Bros.



Genre: Animated, Action-comedy.
Created by: Jackson Publick (a pseudonym of Christopher McCulloch).
Executive Producer(s): Jackson Publick.
Starring: James Urbaniak (Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture and Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.), Patrick Warburton (Brock Samson), Michael Sinterniklaas (Dean Venture), Christopher McCulloch (Hank Venture, The Monarch, Peter White, and Henchman 24), Doc Hammer (Dr. Girlfriend, Master Billy Quizboy, and Henchman 21), Stephen Rattazzi (Byron Orpheus), and Lisa Hammer (Triana Orpheus).
Country of Origin: United States.
Number of Seasons: 3, as of this post.
Number of Episodes: 31, as of this post.
Running Time: 22 minutes.
Original Channel: Cartoon Network/Adult Swim.
Original Run: February 16, 2003 – present
Spinoffs: None, so far.

Show creator Chris McCulloch came up with the idea of The Venture Bros. around 1998 as a comic book story and soon wrote the first draft of The Venture Bros. while he worked as a storyboard artist on Sheep in the Big City. At the time, Chris was meeting with Comedy Central regarding a show pitch of his comic Uncle Nature, all the while playing around with the Venture Bros. concept in the background. The Comedy Central pitch fell through, and Chris' comic book story about the brothers Venture was becoming too extensive to work as a comic book anymore, so he began to turn it into an animated pilot script. Chris also pitched The Venture Bros. script to Comedy Central, where they "politely" turned it down within the week. McCulloch's next stop was The Tick, which was being produced by Sony Pictures Television for a live action series on Fox, which is where his newfound agent helped him bring his idea of The Venture Bros. to a studio that was beginning to develop CG animated shows. Unfortunately, the studio soon decided against the idea, and The Venture Bros. was once again in development limbo. Upon the cancellation of The Tick, Chris McCulloch revised his pilot script, made some redesigns, and gave it a better overall look. Soon, he headed back to New York City where he met Jeff Nodelman of Noodlesoup Productions, who assured McCulloch that the show could be done efficiently and inexpensively. Later, McCulloch learned about Adult Swim, and contacted Linda Simensky for a pitch meeting. Luckily for him, the block needed to greenlight a third pilot, meaning The Venture Bros. was set to be produced. After months of negotiating, the show was ready to be produced in September 2002 at Noodlesoup, using Flash animation, and on a very low budget. For the show, Chris McCulloch adopted the alias Jackson Publick for his production and writing credits (but not voice credits). Musical artist J.G. Thirlwell allowed the show to license some of his music, as he was currently too busy to score anything new. The pilot completed, and finally premiered on Adult Swim in February 2003, much to the liking of fans. Months later, the show was greenlit for series, which would premiere in late summer of 2004. The show is the first traditionally animated half-hour series to be produced by Adult Swim, who mainly produces 15-minute cheaply animated shows using Macromedia Flash or Adobe After Effects (it was later followed by another traditionally animated series, The Boondocks). The Venture Bros. is one of the lowest budget traditionally animated shows on the air, making the production a real tree-fort of an operation. The Venture Bros. is produced by Astrobase Go! and World Leaders Entertainment in New York City and is animated by Digital eMation, Inc. in Seoul, Korea. The characters of The Venture Bros. are largely either re-imaginings of the characters from Jonny Quest, comic book superheroes and supervillains; or of other famous figures from popular culture. Hank (voiced by Christopher McCulloch) and Dean Venture (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas) are the titular fraternal twin brothers of the show; both boys have identifiable characteristics, with Hank being the more adventurous and Dean being the more "effeminate" and bookish of the two. Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture (voiced by James Urbaniak) currently runs Venture Industries. Dr. Venture assumes the occupation of a "super-scientist", and certainly has the knowledge to back up these claims, but his actual competence and credentials in the field are questionable. Brock Samson (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is the massively-muscled and hyper-masculine bodyguard to the Venture family. He is an Office of Secret Intelligence agent with a license to kill. Dr. Venture's deceased father, Dr. Jonas Venture (voiced by Paul Boocock), developed a loyal and rather emotional robot named H.E.L.P.eR. (voiced by Soul-Bot) that accompanies and assists the Ventures. Throughout the series, the Venture family has had various recurring antagonists. Many of them are current or former members of The Guild of Calamitous Intent, a group that bears resemblance to the Legion of Doom. The organization is run by the mysterious leader known as the “Sovereign”, who is revealed to be none other than David Bowie in episode 26. The pernicious but ineffective Monarch (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), the masculine-voiced Doctor Girlfriend (voiced by Doc Hammer), and their numerous henchmen are some of the Venture family's main villains. Baron Werner Ünderbheit (voiced by T. Ryder Smith) is a former dictator of the duchy of Ünderland and bears a grudge against Venture who he blames for the loss of his jaw in college, citing "One is always supposed to look out for one's lab partner!" It was revealed in the season three premiere that the Monarch was responsible for the explosion, an attempt on the life of Dr. Venture. Phantom Limb (voiced by James Urbaniak) is a ruthless killer, villain insurance agent, and high-ranking Guild member; also, he is a former lover of Dr. Girlfriend (before she left him to become The Monarch's companion). He seems at least as intent upon persecuting The Monarch, as he is in pursuing the Guild's villainous agenda. Phantom Limb and Brock Samson have a strong respect for one another, and have teamed up in at least one episode of the show. The Ventures also have acquaintances that are used to help progress stories and add to the atmosphere of the show. The expert necromancer Doctor Byron Orpheus (voiced by Steven Rattazzi) and his apathetic, teenage goth daughter Triana (voiced by Lisa Hammer) rent out a portion of the Venture Compound. The albino computer scientist Pete White (voiced by Christopher McCulloch) is a former college friend of Dr. Venture's, and usually appears in the company of hydrocephalic "boy genius" Master Billy Quizboy (voiced by Doc Hammer). Surviving members of the original Team Venture, a group of extraordinary people assembled by Dr. Jonas Venture, have also appeared occasionally.

I know this show is relatively new, but it is still a great show. For one, it is a great parody of many science-fiction and superhero works. One of the themes of The Venture Bros. is its multifarious use of allusion in its dialogue, character design and other facets. The series openly pays homage to a variety of sources, including adventure serials, pulp magazines, and many other elements of pop culture; musical references (David Bowie as the leader of a nefarious yet bureaucratic supervillain group, with Iggy Pop and Klaus Nomi as body guards), television shows (most obviously the old Jonny Quest animated series; hell, three characters from that show have appeared on The Venture Bros; there was a bionic man named Steve Summers and a hilarious parody of the opening sequence to the G.I. Joe animated series that had OSI killing the members of a Cobra-like terrorist group), movies (James Bond is heavily referenced in the series as well, as Brock is essentially a pumped up Bond and actually carries a license to kill; Brock remarked in an episode that killing guys in a tux makes him "feel like James Bond"; Colonel Horace Gentleman, one of the members of Dr. Jonas Venture's original Team Venture, speaks with a Scottish accent that sounds just like Sean Connery, one of the many James Bonds in cinema, but actually a knowing jab at Connery's character in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen), toys (the aforementioned OSI has some G.I. Joe like characters that are also similar to the Village People), corporations (The episode “The Incredible Mr. Brisby” contained multiple references to Walt Disney and Disneyland), and comic books (The family of four that possess Impossible Industries have received horrific, inferior versions of the Fantastic Four's powers, (Sally, a version of the Invisible Woman, only her skin becomes invisible; Cody is a version of The Human Torch who cannot control his flames, which cause him great pain; and Ned the walking callus is the equivalent of The Thing) save for Dr. Impossible himself (he has elastic powers like Mr. Fantastic), his only defect being that he neglects everyone in his family in the pursuit of science. have all been used for fodder). Another thing about the show is how well written it is. It beautifully blends action and comedy together, sometimes even in the same scene (Brock attacks a henchman, squeezing his testicles, and stops when he finds a lump on one). Plus, the dialogue is very smart and realistic, well as realistic as it can be in a science fiction show. However, the one thing that makes The Venture Bros. so great is the overall theme of the show: failure. Publick and Hammer have stated that one of the primary themes of The Venture Bros. is failure: "This show... If you'll permit me to get 'big picture,' This show is actually all about failure. Even in the design, everything is supposed to be kinda the death of the space-age dream world. The death of the jet-age promises."—Jackson Publick. It is failure that makes the show so good because we have all failed. We all had dreams that didn’t come true and have tried really hard to achieve something only to fall flat on our faces. Everybody has flaws and failures, and The Venture Bros. celebrates them. It shows that failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, sure, failure is bad, but we still get by. The world keeps turning despite its failure. And, watching this show will help you forget about your failures for half an hour.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

95. The Brady Bunch



Genre: Sitcom
Created by: Sherwood Schwartz.
Executive Producer(s): Sherwood Schwartz.
Starring: Robert Reed (Mike Brady), Florence Henderson (Carol Brady), Barry Williams (Greg Brady), Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), Christopher Knight (Peter Brady), Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady), Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady), Ann B. Davis (Alice Nelson)
Country of Origin: United States
Number of Seasons: 5.
Number of Episodes: 117.
Running Time: 23 minutes.
Original Channel: ABC.
Original Run: September 26, 1969 – March 8, 1974
Spinoffs: The Brady Bunch Hour, a 1977 variety show that featured the entire cast except Eve Plumb (Geri Reischl took her place) and lasted only 9 episodes; The Brady Girls Get Married and The Brady Brides, a TV movie and show about Jan and Marcia Brady getting married and both couples moving into the same house that was canceled after 10 episodes; “A Very Brady Christmas,” a 1988 TV movie that featured all the regular cast (except Susan Olsen; the role of Cindy was played by Jennifer Runyon); The Bradys, an early 1990s dramedy (Maureen McCormick was pregnant at the time and decided not to participate in this series; the role of Marcia was filled by Leah Ayres); and two movies, “The Brady Bunch Movie” and “A Very Brady Sequel” that parodied the show.

In 1965, following the success of his TV series Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz conceived the idea for The Brady Bunch after reading an article in the Los Angeles Times that said "40% of marriages [in the United States] had a child or children from previous marriage." He instantly set to work on a pilot script, called Yours and Mine, and passed it around the then three television networks. ABC, CBS and NBC all loved the script, but each network wanted changes to it before they would commit to filming it. Schwartz felt that his script was perfect, and although he had the interest of all three networks in America, he decided to shelve it. Despite the similarities between the series and the 1968 theatrical release Yours, Mine and Ours starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, the original script for The Brady Bunch pre-dated the script for the film. However, the success of the film was likely a factor in ABC ordering the series. The premise of the show was: Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widowed architect with sons Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight) and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), married Carol Martin (née Tyler) (Florence Henderson), whose daughters were Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Cindy (Susan Olsen). The daughters took the Brady surname. Schwartz wanted Carol to have been a divorcée. The network objected to this, but a compromise was reached whereby no mention was made of the circumstances in which Carol's first marriage ended, but many assume she was widowed. The newly-formed juvenile sextet, parents Carol and Mike, Mike's live-in housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis), and the boys' dog Tiger settled into a large, suburban home designed by Mike. Often erroneously cited as the first series to show a "blended" family (two series which debuted in the 1950s, Make Room For Daddy and Bonanza, had step-siblings and half-siblings respectively), it came at a time when divorce and remarriage in America was seeing a surge. Episodes in the first season chronicled the family learning to adjust to its new circumstances and become a unit, as well as typical childhood problems such as dating, rivalries and family squabbles and the fact that their house had two bedrooms for six children. Subtle references to larger social problems found their way into the dialogue from time to time. In one social-issue episode, season two's "The Liberation of Marcia Brady," Marcia explores the oppression of the Brady women and sets out to prove a girl can do anything a boy can. The boys find this very upsetting and Peter finds himself joining the Sunflower Girls, Marcia's club, in hopes of making her back down from her 'bad idea'. Mike did much of his architectural work in an office/design studio within the house, an apparent way of lending some realism to the way in which sitcom dads seem to be almost always at home while nonetheless earning a good living. In the episodes where he was shown in his away-from-home office, he often came home from work about the same time the children got home from school. The theme song penned by Schwartz quickly communicated to audiences that the Bradys were a blended family, though the situation largely was deemphasized from the second season on with a few exceptions. Two episodes from the third season, "Not So Rose Colored Glasses" and "Jan's Aunt Jenny", mention that Mike and Carol had been married for three years. In "Kelly's Kids," reference was made to the Bradys' adoptions ("Either way, you adopted three boys and you adopted three girls, right?") when their neighbors, the Kellys, adopted three boys of different races. In 1971, due to the success of the Brady's ABC Friday night companion show The Partridge Family (about a musical family), some episodes began to feature the Brady Kids as a singing group. Though only a handful of shows actually featured them singing and performing ("Doe-Ri-Me" in the third season, "Amateur Nite" in the fourth and "Johnny Bravo" in the fifth), the Brady Bunch began to release albums. Though they never charted as high as the Partridges, the cast began touring the United States during the summer hiatus from the show, headlining as The Kids from the Brady Bunch. Although only Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick stayed in the music business as adults, Christopher Knight readily admits he felt he could not sing and recalls having great anxiety about performing live on stage with the cast. The Brady Bunch never achieved high ratings during its primetime run (never placing in the top 25 during the five years it aired) and was canceled in 1974 when Greg graduated from high school and was about to enroll in college. Despite its less-than-stellar primetime ratings and having won no awards, the show would become a true cultural phenomenon, having lasted in the minds of Americans and in syndication for decades. The series has spawned several sequel series on the "big 3" U.S. networks, two made-for-theater and three made-for-TV movies, a touring stage show and countless specials and documentaries on both network and cable TV. Since its first airing in syndication in September 1975, an episode of the show has been broadcast somewhere in the United States and abroad every single day of every single year through at least 2007. Reruns were also shown on ABC in the daytime from July 9, 1973 to August 29, 1975, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern/10:30 Central. The run was interrupted only once, between April 21 and June 27, 1975, when ABC ran a short-lived game show, Blankety Blanks, in that time slot. When the episodes were repeated in syndication, they usually appeared every weekday in late-afternoon or early-evening slots on local stations. This enabled children to watch the episodes when they came home from school, making the program widely popular and giving it iconic status among those who were too young to have seen the series during its prime time run. The show's longevity in the public mind largely owes to that phenomenon, which was a unique aberration from the traditional norm of a previously-run network program being sold to stations as schedule filler between network programming blocs. According to Schwartz, the reason the show has become a part of Americana despite the fact that there have been other shows that ran longer, rated higher and were critically acclaimed is that the episodes were written from the standpoint of the children and addressed situations that children could understand (such as girl trouble, sibling rivalry and meeting famous people such as a rock star or baseball player). The Bradys also comprised a harmonious family (compared to the likes of the Bunkers, the Bundys, the Simpsons, etc...), though they did run into problems occasionally when one of the children did not cooperate with his or her parents or the other children. In fact, anticipating the likelihood that some children might "act out" some plotlines, the producers had a form letter they sent to children who wrote stating their desires to run away from their own families and live with the Bradys. It has also been noted that the Bradys, while not wealthy, lived well by the middle-class standards of the early 1970s, having a live-in housekeeper and taking frequent trips. Several spinoffs to the original series were made, featuring all or most of the original cast. The first was a variety show called The Brady Bunch Hour, which was spun-off in 1977. It was canceled after only nine episodes. Eve Plumb was the only regular cast member from the series who declined to be in the series and the role of Jan was recast with Geri Reischl. The entire cast took part in sketches and musical numbers, including the very non-musical Reed and Davis (in one memorable bit, a game-for-anything Reed even appeared in drag as Carmen Miranda). Produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, the sibling team behind H.R. Pufnstuf, Donny and Marie and other glitzy variety shows and children's series of the era, this show was an infamous disaster that has been much parodied since and enjoys an avid cult following. The show was intended to air every fifth week in the same slot as The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, but ended up scheduled sporadically throughout the season, leading to very inconsistent ratings, since fans could not remember when it was on or more likely saw a promo with Mike and Carol stating "The Brady Bunch Hour won't be seen this week, but we will back again soon". A TV reunion movie called “The Brady Girls Get Married” and a spin-off sitcom “The Brady Brides” were produced in 1981 and aired on NBC. The reunion movie featured the entire original cast; this would prove to be the only time the entire cast worked together on a single project following the cancellation of the original series. The ensuing series (titled The Brady Brides) featured Maureen McCormick (Marcia) and Eve Plumb (Jan) in regular roles. The series had Marcia and Jan both married and both couples living together. The clashes between Jan's uptight husband, Phillip Covington III (a college professor who was several years older than Jan), and Marcia's slob of a partner, Wally Logan (played by Jerry Houser) (a salesman who could never seem to keep a job), were the pivot on which many of the stories were based. Ten episodes were aired before the sitcom was canceled. A second TV reunion movie A Very Brady Christmas featured all the regular cast (except Susan Olsen; the role of Cindy was played by Jennifer Runyon), as well as three grandchildren, Peter's girlfriend and the spouses of Greg, Marcia and Jan (Nora, Wally and Phillip, respectively). Mike is still an architect and Jan has followed in his footsteps to become one herself; Carol is a realtor; Greg is a physician; Marcia is a stay-at-home mom; Peter works in an office; Cindy is in her last year of college; Bobby was in graduate school studying for business but dropped out to drive race cars. After a series of pratfalls to get the family together, everyone comes home harboring various secrets (e.g., Jan and Phillip are considering separation; Wally is out of work again, having lost his job in a merger at his toy company; Greg's wife Nora wants to spend Christmas with her family; Cindy felt pressured to come home in lieu of a skiing trip with her college friends; Peter feels inferior to his girlfriend, who is also his boss; and Bobby hasn't revealed his leaving graduate school for a racing career). Alice, meanwhile, temporarily moves back in with Mike and Carol after her husband, Sam, runs off with another woman. (Allan Melvin did not reprise the role; he had retired from acting and was replaced in a single scene by Lewis Arquette.) Even Mike has problems: Contractor Ted Roberts, wanting to save money on a downtown office complex project (at 34th Street and Oak) where Mike is the architect, demands that he redesign the building to omit important safety specifications. Mike advises against it and causes his firm to lose Roberts' services. On Christmas Day, the building crumbles, and Roberts, unable to contact anyone at the new firm he hired, must rely on Mike to find what caused the building's structure to become unstable. While inside, the building continues to crumble, trapping Mike and two security guards inside. Of course, everyone turns out to be okay, and Alice and Sam reunite. The movie, which aired on CBS in December 1988 to high ratings, renewed interest in the Brady clan and set out the current careers and family situations which were continued in The Bradys. The fact that this movie aired on CBS gave the Bradys a rare feat: the original show and reunions aired on all of the "big 3" networks: ABC, CBS and NBC. The dramedy series The Bradys was produced in 1989 and premiered on February 6, 1990. Maureen McCormick was pregnant at the time and decided not to participate in this series; the role of Marcia was filled by Leah Ayres. CBS was struggling at this time and decided that the original "Brady 500" TV-movie be the first episode of an hour-long series. With this short-lived series came a brand new opening sequence and theme song. The visual still featured the familiar blue squares of the original series and reunions (with the exception of the variety hour); then they all divide and move off-screen in different directions, with current episodic clips with the actors' names on the box they contain and a clip (from the Brady Bunch 1969 opening) of each actor superimposed in the back of a colored backdrop as a full clip opens up afterwards. Florence Henderson and Robert Reed appear side to side, the rest of the cast appear solo. After the last cast member (which is Mike Lookinland's "Bobby") is seen the familiar squares move back on screen with Ann B. Davis appearing in her spot; her clip blinks out and the squares divide staying on screen this time with the title appearing in the familiar title area (Alice's space). The theme music used an instrumental version for the (CBS) network run and a lyrical version for reruns. The theme lyrics no longer featured the "That's the way we all became The Brady Bunch" lyrics, and the theme was no longer sung by The Brady Kids; it was performed by the Brady mom Florence Henderson. TV critics dubbed this thirtysomething-style dramedy "Bradysomething".

Here’s the thing: I know the show is cheesy as hell. I know the Bradys are so unrealistically happy and sweet that they could give you diabetes just by watching an episode. I know that the only way that a movie version of the show could have work was to satirize it (which happened in 1995 with “The Brady Bunch Movie” and in 1996 with “A Very Brady Sequel”). And, I know there were no toilets in the Brady household’s bathrooms. But, The Brady Bunch has had a huge impact on pop culture since first aired. It premiered in 1969, at a time when the Vietnam conflict was boiling over, the Sexual Revolution was gaining steam, and the Manson family was being tried for several murders in Los Angeles. And then, Mike, Carol, and their polite and well-adjusted kids arrived to tell an anxious nation, “Don’t worry, guys—everything’s going to be just super!” As it turns out, that’s just what American wanted to hear. With The Brady Bunch, people could blissfully inhabit a peaceful and utopian universe we all knew didn’t exist. The Bradys were two impossibly loving parents, Mike and Carol six likable kids who each embodied a childhood phase: self-absorbed Marcia, jealous Jan, nosy Cindy, vulnerable Bobby, awkward Peter, and cocky Greg. Their fatal flaws usually got them in minor trouble: Greg’s cigarette excursion, Marcia’s humbling Romeo and Juliet demotion, Jan’s lemons-as-freckle-remover fiasco. But, each episode brought new versions of the same lesson: you’re great just the way you are. Ever since its cancellation in 1974, the show has lived on in after-school syndication, giving new generations of latchkey kids a surrogate and almost unbearably perfect family to cling to. Sure, the Bradys had bad hair and god-awful clothes, and the show reeked of so much camp that a tent on their lawn would make a lot of sense. But, The Brady Bunch continues to be a beloved show because of the show’s devotion to one invaluable tenet: It’s hip to be square.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Tomorrow, since I don't have to work because of the 4th of July, I'll be doing four entries instead of two. Here are the hints:

It made the word "Bitch" famous, the L.A. Tic Tac Toe, a burning map, and POW! BAM! OOOF!

[Shaner is the Lex-Express]

Is this an official list?

[Gopher Mod]

Jul 3, 2008 23:40:01 GMT -5 Shaner is the Lex-Express said:

Is this an official list?

Not exactly. Hulk's ideas are his and his alone, and do not reflect any ideas made by other Crappers.

As for the next four: Dynasty, Hollywood Squares, something I don't know of, and the camp classic Batman.