15 Favorite Classic TV Shows.

[Yoda1978]

Im Gonna name 15 Classic shows I loved years ago and still do today. Anyone is welcome to post there list and if can post pics of the shows your welcome too.

15  Happy Days

14 Mr Ed

13 Get Smart

12 1960s Batman

11 Bonanza

10 The Waltons

09 Original Star Trek and TNG

08 The A Team

07 The Beverly Hillbillies

06 The Munsters

05 The Equalizer

04 The Andy Griffith Show

03 All In The Family-----I dont think people give enough credit to Mr O'Connor for probably playing the worst person possible and who likely was nothing like himself. But down deep Archie was a good person really.

02 M.A.S.H

01 The Dukes Of Hazzard

[jakeem]

 

Dramas

1. "Hill Street Blues" (1981-1987)  -- Before this NBC cop show made its debut on January 15, 1981, prime-time shows generally focused on a case and then wrapped it up by the end of an hour. Not so with "Hill Street." It became known for its long-term storylines in addition to the usual short ones.  Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the series was not a ratings hit after its premiere as a midseason replacement. But it drew attention eight months later when it won six Primetime Emmy Awards -- including Outstanding Drama Series -- in 14 nominations. Thereafter, it became a mainstay of NBC's Thursday night lineup. And it continued to do well at awards shows. The heart and soul of the series was its lead character, Capt. Francis Xavier "Frank" Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti), the noble Hill Street precinct boss who had to deal with a myriad of problems on a daily basis. One of my favorite Furillo scenes was in the Season 4 episode "The Long Arm of the Law," when he had a subtle showdown with the overbearing assistant police chief (Ron Parady).

2. "The Twilight Zone" (1959-1964) -- Rod Serling's unforgettable anthology series is remembered for its morality tales and strange twists. But the Emmy Award-winning writer often used science fiction stories as a means of getting messages about topical issues past disapproving censors.  My favorite non-Serling episodes were written by the great Richard Matheson. One of them was the Season 3 tale "Little Girl Lost," which featured Tracy Stratford as a child who fell through her bedroom wall -- and ended up in another dimension. The episode also starred Charles Aidman, Robert Sampson and Sarah Marshall, the daughter of actor Herbert Marshall. 

3. "The Rockford Files" (1974-1980) -- Almost 15 years after he left the Western series "Maverick," James Garner returned to television on this NBC series about Jim Rockford, a harried L.A.-based private detective. The frequently "tongue-in-cheek" show sometimes took a serious turn as in the Season 3 episode titled "So Help Me God." William Daniels guest starred as a federal prosecutor who summoned Rockford to appear before a grand jury and testify in a case he knew nothing about. Then the prosecutor pulled Rockford through a legal wringer because he didn't believe the private investigator's testimony. For his work that season, Garner won the Primetime Emmy as Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. For Season 4, the show was named Outstanding Drama Series. Among the show's indispensable staffers: producer-writer Stephen J. Cannell (who later created "The A-Team"), producer-writer David Chase (the man behind "The Sopranos") and producer Chas. Floyd Johnson (now an executive producer of "NCIS").

4. "Columbo" (1971-1978 on NBC; 1989-2003 on ABC) -- Does anyone remember which Academy Award-winning actor turned down the role of TV's most persistent and perceptive detective? It was Bing Crosby, who surely would have been just fine. But it's almost impossible to think of anyone other than Peter Falk as the raincoat-clad sleuth. Lt.  Columbo was created by the successful team of  Richard Levinson and William Link, who also created "Mannix" and co-created "Murder, She Wrote." So should it have surprised anyone that one of Columbo's first cases involved a mystery writer (Jack Cassidy) who eliminated his longtime collaborator (Martin Milner)? By the way, that 1971 episode -- titled "Murder By the Book" -- was written by Bochco and directed by Steven Spielberg.

5. "Star Trek" (1966-1969) -- Creator Gene Roddenberry once described this sci-fi series as " 'Wagon Train' to the stars." He couldn't have guessed that the show -- canceled after three seasons by NBC -- would become a sensation through syndication. The series went on to inspire more than a dozen feature films and seven TV spinoffs (including an animated version that aired on Saturday mornings). It also entered the lexicon with phrases such as "phasers on stun," "Vulcan nerve pinch" and "Beam me up, Scotty" (which no one actually said).

 

6. "Mission: Impossible" (1966-1973) -- This long-running CBS drama series was about America's ultimate Cold Warriors. The Impossible Missions Force (IMF) was a specialized entity that pulled off difficult jobs -- usually from Iron Curtain countries -- at the behest of the U.S. government. IMF leader Dan Briggs (Stephen Hill, replaced by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps after Season 1) usually relied on a diverse group that included a strongman (Peter Lupus), a master of disguise (Martin Landau), an actress skilled at playing femme fatales (Barbara Bain) and an electronics whiz (Greg Morris). If the IMF's methods weren't ahead of their time, it sure seemed like it. The series inspired six big screen adaptations -- all of them headlined by Tom Cruise.

7. "The Fugitive" (1963-1967) --  Was this the first network drama to tie up all of its loose ends in its final episode? On August 29, 1967, ABC's modern-day version of "Les Misérables" ended its four-season run and drew a then-record viewing audience of  25.7 million households. The series' protagonist, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), finally was absolved of the murder of his wife. Kimble, who escaped during a train wreck while being transported to death row, always contended that the real culprit was a one-armed man. As he roamed the country in search of clues that might prove his innocence, he was pursued by a dogged police detective, Lt. Phil Gerard (Barry Morse). Somehow, Kimble managed to touch the lives of many people that he encountered during his years on the lam. The TV series inspired the 1993 film version that starred Harrison Ford and earned an Academy Award for Tommy Lee Jones.

8. "The Avengers" (1965-1969) -- Although this series had been a mainstay on British television since 1961, it wasn't exported to the United States until four years later. The first season available to American audiences was in black-and-white. A year later, the show was telecast in color and featured a healthy dose of camp for good measure. Patrick Macnee, who starred on the series from the beginning, played the dapper investigator John Steed. His partner in crime solving was Mrs, Emma Peel ( Dame Diana Rigg), who became an international star because of her martial arts skills and her noteworthy outfits.  

9. "Have Gun -- Will Travel" (1957-1963) -- This Western series -- which featured an unorthodox mercenary who called himself Paladin after one of Charlemagne's ninth century knights -- had a deep creative bench. It was co-created by Sam Rolfe, who went on to develop "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Among its writers: Roddenberry (of "Star Trek" fame), Bruce Geller (the genius behind "Mission: Impossible") and Don Brinkley (who produced "Medical Center," "Trapper John, M.D." and a supermodel daughter named Christie). But the series was a showcase for Richard Boone as the humanistic man in black whose symbol was a chess knight.

Comedies

1. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966) -- Just about all television shows are about families at home and at work. But this landmark situation comedy, created by Carl Reiner, was at its best in either location. Van Dyke, who had starred on Broadway in the original production of "Bye, Bye Birdie," became a major star as the central character, Rob Petrie -- a New Rochelle, N.Y. resident who worked as the head writer for the TV variety program, "The Alan Brady Show." If "Seinfeld" was a sitcom about nothing, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" could be about anything -- a Christmas show, a sleepwalking brother or a nightmare about walnut-loving aliens. My favorite episode was Season 2's "What's In a Middle Name?" as Rob and his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) explained to their son Ritchie (Larry Mathews) why his middle name was Rosebud.

2. "The Jack Benny Program" (1950-1965) -- Benny's comic greatness on radio and television revolved around the fact that he allowed his supporting characters and guests to make him the butt of many jokes. He even made fun of himself, especially when it came to his violin skills and miserly image.

3. "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968) -- If any TV sitcom was like a morality play, it was this spinoff from a 1960 episode of "The Danny Thomas Show." As the sheriff of the idyllic North Carolina town of Mayberry, Griffith's Andy Taylor was part-philosopher and part-psychologist. He knew what made people tick and how to push the right buttons. In an unforgettable Season 1 episode, the formidable Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) reluctantly left the household to tend to an ill relative in Mt.  Pilot. She departed only after Andy and his son Opie (Ronny Howard) assured her they could manage things in her absence. Naturally, they didn't clean up until just before her return. But Andy realized Aunt Bee might feel she wasn't needed anymore and...well, you know the rest. 

4. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969-1974) -- The British invasion of America's public television stations began in the late 1960s, when a BBC series based on John Galsworthy's "The Forsyte Saga" became a worldwide hit. Its success in the former British colonies prompted PBS to create Masterpiece Theatre as a consistent source of highbrow British TV shows. And then U.S. viewers became addicted to the antics of Terry Jones, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, who created and starred in the BBC comedy series "Monty Python's Flying Circus." In time, the group took on the name Monty Python, and its members were often referred to as The Pythons. The series -- sometimes irreverent, sometimes offbeat -- helped establish the troupe as The Beatles of comedy and pave its way to film stardom.

5. "Leave It to Beaver" (1957-1963) -- If the Nelsons were "America's favorite family" during the late 1950s and early 1960s, could the fictional Cleavers of Mayfield have been No. 2? 

6. "That Girl" (1966-1971) -- Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) became TV's first independent female character when she moved from her hometown to New York City hoping to become an established actress, Her concerned parents (Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp) seemed to spend more time with their daughter than they did in Brewster, N.Y. Although she eventually became engaged to her writer boyfriend (Ted Bessell), it was clear that Ann was doing just fine on her own. Near the end of the Season 3 episode "My Sister's Keeper," Ann accidentally bumped into a priest (played by Marlo's famous père Danny Thomas). "Oh, excuse me, Father," she said. His response: "That's all right, my child."

[Sepiatone]

I watch a lot of "retro" TV, but never broke it down as succinctly as JAKEEM seems to (with everything   )  but a quick list(off the top)---

MY THREE SONS

HAWAIIAN EYE

77 SUNSET STRIP

THE DONNA REED SHOW

THE NAKED CITY

THE UNTOUCHABLES

RAWHIDE

THE RIFLEMAN

ONE STEP BEYOND

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN

BAT MASTERSON

BURKE'S LAW

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

And more "coin toss" in making choices for this list in an effort to stay within YODA's insistent arbitrary number.  

Sepiatone

[sewhite2000]

Twin Peaks and The Simpsons are my two favorite shows of all time. I loved very much the first five seasons of Cheers. I was reluctant for a while to get into Seinfeld. It seemed a little too hipster for me, but I understand now how brilliant it was. M*A*S*H and All in the Family. The Wonder Years. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under. I suspect almost none of my favorite shows from childhood hold up. The only two new shows I've watched in the last 10 years are Babylon Berlin and Stranger Things. They would make my list too.

[bluebirdsfly]

I've been watching classic TV reruns since I was a kid and watched Nick at Nite, religiously. I don't have 15 and I'm adding cartoons and 2 shows from the 80s. 

1.) The Mary Tyler Moore Show

2.) Bewitched

3.) The Twilight Zone

4.) Alfred Hitchcock Presents

5.) The Flintstones

6.) Scooby Doo

7.) The Dick Van Dyke Show

8.) SNL (the first five seasons)

9.) The Brady Bunch

10.) The Patty Duke Show

11.) The Golden Girls

12.) Growing Pains

[UMO1982]

SEINFELD

THE GOLDEN GIRLS

MASH

THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW

I LOVE LUCY

ALL IN THE FAMILY

MAUDE

ONE DAY AT A TIME

THE MOTHERS IN LAW

MY LITTLE MARGIE

TOPPER

AMOS n ANDY

LAUGH-IN

YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS

THE RED SKELTON SHOW

THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM

THE HONEYMOONERS

BURNS AND ALLEN

THE JEFFERSONS

 

 

 

[UMO1982]

British classics

ARE YOU BEING SERVED?

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

TO THE MANOR BORN

A FINE ROMANCE

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

THE GOOD NEIGHBORS

TWO FAT LADIES

FAWLTY TOWERS

MONTY PYTHON

THAT'S MY BOY

THE AVENGERS

ARE YOU BEING SERVED AGAIN?

NEXT OF KIN

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

HETTY WAINTHROP INVESTIGATES

 

 

[Hoganman1]

My top 15:

1. Twilight Zone 2. The Untouchables 3. Route 66 4. The  Andy Griffith Show 5. 77 Sunset Strip 6. The Outer Limits 7. Perry Mason 8. Alfred Hitchcock Presents 9. The Ed Sullivan Show 10. The Tonight Show- Starring Johnny Carson 11. Red Skelton 12. Peter Gunn 13. Hawaii 5-0  (Jack Lord version) 14. Bonanza 15. The Carol Burnett Show

I'm sure I missed some and will remember when other people post their favorite. Also, I can tell I'm getting old. Some of the shows listed by others don't seem old enough to be classics yet.

 

[jinsinna13]

I will have two separate posts for live-action and cartoons.

Live-Action

• The Dick Van Dyke Show
• Mary Tyler Moore
• The Bob Newhart Show
• The Andy Griffith Show
• Night Court (I still miss Harry Anderson)
• Lost in Space
• The A-Team
• The Rockford Files
• Will & Grace

 

[jinsinna13]

Cartoons

• The Simpsons
• Hey Arnold!
• Arthur
• Clifford The Big Red Dog (the original with John Ritter as the voice of Clifford)
• Hamtaro (Clip below)

 

[UMO1982]

Cartoons

--crickets--

[jinsinna13]

1 minute ago, UMO1982 said:

Cartoons

--crickets--

I grew up watching both classic TV shows and cartoons, so that's why I had to separate the two into two different posts.

[ElCid]

3 hours ago, Sepiatone said:

I watch a lot of "retro" TV, but never broke it down as succinctly as JAKEEM seems to (with everything   )  but a quick list(off the top)---

MY THREE SONS

HAWAIIAN EYE

77 SUNSET STRIP

THE DONNA REED SHOW

THE NAKED CITY

THE UNTOUCHABLES

RAWHIDE

THE RIFLEMAN

ONE STEP BEYOND

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

MY FAVORITE MARTIAN

BAT MASTERSON

BURKE'S LAW

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

And more "coin toss" in making choices for this list in an effort to stay within YODA's insistent arbitrary number.  

Sepiatone

I like your list best of all.  I prefer the ones from 50's and 60's, which unfortunately are being replaced by ones from the 70's and later on most OTA stations.

Would add Perry Mason, Route 66 and Highway Patrol.

[Ray Faiola]

The first comedy series I saw was because it was part of Chuck McCann's LET'S HAVE FUN:

The first season is probably still my favorite TV show.

[chaya bat woof woof]

Some shows seem too recent to now be considered retro, but, in no particular order:

The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Bob Newhart Show (with Emily/Suzanne Pl.)

I Love Lucy

The Avengers

B&W Episodes of Bewitched

The Twilight Zone (but Night Gallery was too scary for me)

Ed Sullivan

Red Skelton (Tuesday nights)

Upstairs Downstairs

Cheers, Frasier, and Night Court

Early Mary Tyler Moore Show (also liked Lou Grant)

Warner Brothers Cartoons (without Porky Pig)

Flintstones and Jetsons

Perry Mason (not reboot - still with Raymond Burr - same goes with Columbo)

Rockford Files

Peter Pan with Mary Martin and Danny Kaye introducing (I think) The Wizard of Oz

The Courtship of Eddie's Father

Police Story

Some of the old miniseries like QB VII

Mrs. Peel episodes of The Avengers

 

Liked some of the other idea and would like to remember other shows.  There was a show with Monte Markham called something like The Second Hundred Years - he played Arthur O'Connell's father

Henry Fonda had a series (with Ron Howard)

Street of San Francisco with Karl Malden and Michael Douglas 

 

 

[Dargo]

My Mother the Car, followed by Supertrain, Manimal and Galactica 1980.

(...what, think I'm kiddin'?...well okay, maybe)

[txfilmfan]

57 minutes ago, Dargo said:

My Mother the Car, followed by Supertrain, Manimal and Galactica 1980.

(...what, think I'm kiddin'?...well okay, maybe)

What, no Pink Lady & Jeff?

[lavenderblue19]

1 hour ago, Dargo said:

My Mother the Car, followed by Supertrain, Manimal and Galactica 1980.

(...what, think I'm kiddin'?...well okay, maybe)

dargo, give a new poster a break. She's just answering the topic. You might not admit it but you probably watched a ton of tv in the '60's and '70's. Keep it up and you'll frighten new posters away.  Eventually a newbie will see your ribbing  isn't meant to be mean but until then, give her a break, please 

[SansFin]

Columbo (1971–2003)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974)
Yes Minister (1980–1984)
The Avengers (1961–1969)
Doctor Who (1963–1989)(2005– )

Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
Perry Mason (1957–1966)
The Addams Family (1964–1966)
Banacek (1972–1974)
The Benny Hill Show (1969–1989)

The Prisoner (1967–1968)
Barney Miller (1975–1982)
Dad's Army (1968–1977)
The Saint (1962–1969)
To the Manor Born (1979–2007)

[Yoda1978]

Honorable mentionings of Classic TV shows that didnt make my list

Golden Girls

The Addams Family

Home Improvement

Magnum PI

The Fall Guy

Gun Smoke

Alf

Little House On The Praire

Hunter

Simon and Simon

Dallas

F Troop

The Carol Burnett Show

The Muppet Show

[lavenderblue19]

Route 66 

Perry Mason

The Saint

The Avengers

Burke's Law 

Ben Casey

Dr. Kildare

The Defenders

East Side, West Side

That Girl 

Mary Tyler Moore

Lunch With Soupy Sales

The French Chef

Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Tonight Show with Johnny

I could name at least a dozen more, ( Donna Reed, 77 Sunset Strip, The Untouchables, naked City.) Loved watching I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, Love That Bob, Our Muss  Brooks, Abbott and Costello in re-runs   and forgot never missed always watched  Dick Van Dyke Show , Adventures In Paradise   and for later in the '70's loved Family, always watched 60 Minutes but if I get into the '70's that will be another bunch .  Oh, I forgot It Takes a Thief  and Mission Impossible , I Spy and on and on.  St.Elsewhere for the '80's', LA Law and Knots Landing for the '90's, I could go on but I won't LOL

edited by me                                                                                               

 

 

[Dargo]

1 hour ago, lavenderblue19 said:

...You might not admit it but you probably watched a ton of tv in the '60's and '70's...

Does it show, lavender???  Naaah. 

Okay, and now some of my favs from the annals of Television past...and for real this time:

You Bet Your Life

The Jack Benny Program

The Honeymooners

The Rifleman

The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Fugitive

Star Trek

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Bob Newhart Show

WKRP in Cincinnati

The Rockford Files

Taxi

Cheers

Hill Street Blues

St. Elsewhere

(...is that 15?...I could easily go on here, ya know)

 

 

 

 

[Princess of Tap]

1) I Love Lucy-- Desilu 

2) The Untouchables-- Desilu

3) Sergeant Bilko-- Phil Silvers Show/ The Beverly Hillbillies 

4) The Andy Williams Show/The Judy Garland Show

5) Perry Mason

6) The Twilight Zone/ Route 66

7) The Tonight Show starring Jack Paar/ The Ed Sullivan Show 

8)My Three Sons

9) The Odd Couple

10) The A-Team

11) All in the Family

12)Keeping Up Appearances

13) Sanford and Son/ Seinfeld

14) Midsomer Murders( John Nettles)

15) George Burns and Gracie Allen/ Mister Ed-- George Burns

 

Honorable Mention

Barney Miller / Night Court

Murder She Wrote

The Vicar of Dibley

 

Other Favorites

Maverick / 77 Sunset Strip--WB

Ben Casey

Highway Patrol

The Red Skelton Show

Shindig

The Mickey Mouse Show

Dick Clark's American Bandstand

 The Danny Thomas Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

 

[lavenderblue19]

Thanks Dargo for reminding me. I I watched The Fugitive every week. I had a big crush on David Janssen. 

[Dargo]

12 minutes ago, lavenderblue19 said:

Thanks Dargo for reminding me. I I watched The Fugitive every week. I had a big crush on David Janssen. 

And I remember thinking the guy was so cool that back when my parents allowed me to stay up an extra hour on Tuesday (school) nights to watch this show first-run, I started emulating that one-sided grin of his here...