The Golden Age of Sitcoms

My Dad asked me, “Why are there no more good English shows on TV anymore?”  Why don’t they make shows like Three’s Company, Brady Bunch, Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman?  I think there are a lot of good shows on today.  It’s just that there are so many channels I don’t know where to find them.  My girls are watching Treehouse or Disney or Family Channel.  The wife likes documentaries and reality shows, which are nothing like the reality I live in.  No wonder my father thinks there are no good shows on TV.

So that got me thinking about the “The Golden Age of Television”.  I hear the term quite often but I don’t know exactly when it was.  Was it during the 60s and 70s where there were shows like MASH, All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show, Bonanza, Green Acres, The Jeffersons, I Dream of Jeannie?  Perhaps it’s different for every person and just depends on what you like to watch.  My sisters liked prime time soap operas like Dallas, Dynasty, and Falcon Crest.

For me, I love sitcoms.  When I was growing up, I felt I lived during the Golden Age of Sitcoms.  There was always something funny on every day of the week.  I first started watching Gilligan’s Island, Different Strokes, Happy Days, Mork and Mindy, and Three’s Company.  Then there came Who’s The Boss (Alyssa Milano can be my boss anyday), Growing Pains, Family Ties, and the Cosby Show.  They gave way to Cheers, Night Court, and the Simpsons.  Some that I didn’t watch every week but still enjoyed every now and then: Laverne & Shirley, Married with Children, ALF, Full House, Facts of Life, Taxi, Silver Spoons, and Perfect Strangers.

By the time I was an adult (based on my age), it seemed the only sitcoms left for me were Seinfeld and Friends.  Even The Simpsons was starting to get less funny for me.  Based on that, I knew I was getting old and out of touch with pop culture because The Simpsons is all about pop culture.  Well, then I had kids and after that I realized I couldn’t really watch TV because it was never my turn.  So the next best thing is to reminisce about my favourite shows.  I hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane as much as I did.

Big Oh