1950s
Airing in 1955, the classic animated variety show featuring the famous Mouseketeers who entertain with song and dance numbers.
Mickey Mouse Club
The title character is a widower sheriff in the small, sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry. He and his son Opie live with Aunt Bee, who takes care of the family. Andy's deputy is his bumbling but neurotically hilarious cousin, Barney Fife. Aired in 1960.
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
Touted as the series that brought reality to prime-time TV entertainment, this series lead character, Archie Bunker, is a loudmouthed, uneducated bigot who believes in every stereotype he has ever heard. His wife, Edith, is sweet but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They and their daughter, Gloria, and her husband, Mike, all live in a working-class home.
All in the Family (1971)
Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs a cozy bar in Boston. He hires smart, uptight, and jilted Diane Chambers as a server, out of sympathy, but their attraction causes constant bickering. Wacky characters fill the bar: sarcastic waitress Carla, beer-loving accountant Norm, know-it-all postman Cliff.
Cheers (1982)
Four single friends -- comic Jerry, bungling George, frustrated working gal Elaine and eccentric neighbor Kramer -- deal with the absurdities of everyday life in New York City.
Seinfeld (1989, but we're letting it slide)
Starring Desi and Lucy, our favorite married comedy team. This show first aired in 1951. During its run, she was the first woman to appear pregnant on television.
I Love Lucy
Late-night talk show with legendary host, including guest interviews and musical performances.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
A series where celebrities roast each other. Hosted by Italian-American singer of the standards.
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974)
Four mature women live together in Miami and experience the joys and angst of their golden years. Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia, Dorothy's mom, occasionally clash but come together in the end. After all, the show's famous theme song says it all: "Thank You for Being a Friend".
The Golden Girls (1985)
When she appears on the doorstep of wealthy widower Maxwell Sheffield's New York home, cosmetics saleswoman Fran Fine unexpectedly gets a job as the nanny for the Broadway producer's three children, Maggie, Brighton and Grace. Fran brings her no-nonsense honesty, sharp sense of humour and `Queens logic' into the Sheffield household.
The Nanny (1993)
Originally aired as a radio show, this tv series follows Marshal Matt Dillon, who tries to prevent lawlessness from overtaking Dodge City, Kansas. Helping to keep him grounded are saloon proprietor Miss Kitty Russell and Doc Adams.
Gunsmoke
This series follows the Clampett family from the Ozarks to posh Beverly Hills after they strike oil and become millionaires. Banker Mr. Drysdale tries to keep them from foolishly spending their newfound wealth, and he also tries to "civilize" them -- usually succeeding in making a fool of himself in the process.
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)
Best friends, roommates and polar opposites, these title characters work together at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee and keep each other's spirits up at home, until they eventually move to Burbank, hoping to break into the movie business.
Laverne and Shirley (1976)
Our title character is a top agent for the Phoenix Foundation, a progressive agency devoted to righting the wrongs of the world. Even more progressive is our agent, who never carries a gun and always thwarts the enemy with vast scientific knowledge--often with only a paper clip and some duct tape.
MacGyver (1985)
A crime drama mixed with healthy doses of the surreal, this series is about FBI Agent Dale Cooper, who travels to a small logging town in Washington to solve the murder of seemingly innocent high schooler Laura Palmer. Almost nothing is as it seems, however, and the show's sometimes eerie visuals, oddball characters and wild dream sequences drive the point home.
Twin Peaks (1990)
Airing in 1959, it's a strange mix of horror, science-fiction, drama, comedy and superstition. Serling introduced each episode, and many of the black and white episodes concluded with a surprise ending. Legendary theme song.
The Twilight Zone
The family at 1313 Mockingbird Lane is a little... different. Dad Herman looks like Frankenstein's monster; mom Lily and her dad, Grandpa, are vampires; and son Eddie is a werewolf. Poor Marilyn, their niece, is the odd one out -- she's just a normal girl. And the family doesn't like to call attention to her unfortunate looks.
The Munsters (1966)
After landing his egg-shaped spacecraft, an alien from the planet Ork on an Earth mission to study human behavior, travels to 1970s Boulder, CO, where he meets up with a young journalism graduate. The bumbling alien is trying to get a handle on Earth culture, and his frequent dispatches back to his home planet give him the opportunity to sound off on human foibles. "Na-nu, na-nu!"
Mork & Mindy (1978)
A gritty, realistic look at the life of cops in a large metropolitan city. Led by Capt. Frank Furillo, the cops of this title station have kept the peace - though there were plenty of casualties along the way. The show focuses more on those within the precinct than on the cases they're trying to solve.
Hill Street Blues (1981)
This show follows a mobster boss who seeks the help of a therapist after finding himself in a moment of crisis. After a couple of seasons, it evolved into a much more intimate and personal show. We watch this mob boss, a strong and intimidating man, forced to find the balance between serving his family and managing the crime organization he inherited.
As a part of the Galaxy Bureau of Investigation, the title hero and his crew patrol space, battling monsters and power-mad alien dictators threatening the stability of the universe. Originally aired in 1954.
Flash Gordon
An American sitcom about a spunky live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters
Hazel (1966)
This Emmy-winning sitcom follows the lives of a group of cabbies in New York. The employees of the Sunshine Cab Company are a motley crew, including frustrated actor Bobby, struggling boxer Tony, art gallery receptionist Elaine, and tyranical dispatcher Louie.
Taxi (1978)
One of the quintessential 1980s prime-time soaps, this show follows the gloriously over-the-top trials and tribulations of the fabulously wealthy and none-to-nice Carrington and Colby clans. Come for the catfights, stay for the shoulder pads and scenery chewing.
Dynasty (1981)
Mulder and Scully were the FBI agents that dealt with the supernatural, the bizarre, and everything fascinating the show's writers could come up with.
The X-Files (1993)