TV Guided: The Golden Age of Sitcoms?

 

 Redartz: It wasn't too long ago that some folks claimed the sitcom to be dead. Turns out they were wrong; there are quite a few comedies on network tv worth the viewing in 2021. But as this is "Back in the Bronze Age" and not "Here in the Netflix Age", we're looking at some earlier programming (so as not to give the impression that I'm totally lost in the past, I think one could make a good argument that we are currently in a Golden Age of television drama, but that's another tale for another day).

Back to the sitcoms (or Situation Comedies, for those sticklers among us). Our title above mentions a Golden age; to what does that refer? Well, in my  humble opinion, to the 1970's. Granted, every decade has had it's share of enjoyable, popular, even classic comedies. You might well choose to argue that my claim for the 70's misses the mark. Well, that is the crux for our topic this week. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Consider the decade that opened with "The Brady Bunch", "The Partridge Family", and "The Odd Couple". 

 

 Basically played for laughs, and those were found in abundance. But as the decade progressed, the comedies got more...socially conscious. More introspective. More biting. Think of "All in the Family" and "Maude". 

 

 And the comedies got more diverse; with "The Jeffersons" and "Chico and the Man". 

 

But the world of 70's sitcoms also had it's lighter fare. Nostalgia was a big draw, with "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley". 

 

 So were 'urban comedies' such as "Taxi" and "Barney Miller". 

 

 And of course the decade ended with the sheer wackiness of Robin Williams in "Mork and Mindy".  Obviously the decade offered a wide choice of comic material...

 

As further evidence, I bring your attention to the CBS schedule for Saturday nights in the 1973 season. "All in the Family", "M*A*S*H", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "The Bob Newhart Show", and "The Carol Burnett Show" . Even granting that that last program was technically a variety show, that still must qualify as the greatest single night of televised comedy in broadcast history. Whatta lineup...

Anyway, the sheer abundance of strong comedies (and I have only scratched the surface here) in the 70's pretty much settles my case. Golden Age of Sitcoms? I'm going with the decade of Hawkeye Pierce, Rhoda Morganstern and the Fonz. 

You still disagree? Excellent; that's where our topic gets juicy. What decade, or era, would you say qualifies as a 'Golden Age' of comedy? If you agree with me, fine; why? And if you've other thoughts, then by all means convince us otherwise! 

And for our UK contingent: certainly don't intend to leave you out. Your BBC and ITV certainly offered some comic viewing, what were the best schedules? The best shows? Was there a particular era that stood out for you, programming-wise? The table is wide open to discuss the Greatest Eras of Comedy...

T.V. Guided: Animated Advertising Animals (and Other Commercial Creatures)

Redartz: Hey gang, we get a double category topic today. Anyone who watched Saturday morning or after school tv (or really, any tv) in the 60's, 70's or 80's will likely recognize some of these characters. Advertisers of the era seemed to rely heavily on the appeal of animated characters to sell products to all us impressionable kids. It must have worked, because the practice was ubiquitous. Paricularly in cereal and candy advertising, animated characters filled the commercial breaks in those great Saturday morning shows. It makes sense, you should have Count Chocula on screen prompting you to get up and pour another bowl to get through the next show!

How many of these do you remember?









Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Dough Boy:  He always seemed to 'pop up' on those Peanuts holiday specials, and was on nightly in prime time. He was so 'pop'ular that they made a series of rubber dolls of him and his family.




















Tony the Tiger:  The great Thurl Ravencroft gave voice to him for many years, way back to when they were advertised as "Sugar Frosted Flakes".



























Lucky, the Lucky Charms Leprechaun: He still can be seen frolicking across the television landscape trying vainly to protect his stash of Hearts, Moons, Stars and Clovers.










Milton the Toaster:  Spokes- appliance for Kellogg's Pop Tarts. Do they still even make the 'plain' ones without frosting?

Sonny the Cuckoo Bird:  Seen for decades in a strangely obsessive pursuit of Cocoa Puffs, which apparently put him into one heck of a sugar high.

















Wallace the Waffle Whiffer:  Sort of kin to the Cuckoo Bird, Wallace had a thing for Aunt Jemima Frozen Waffles. Or at least their smell...

















Quisp:  This small propeller-headded alien, along with his rival Quake, starred in countless commercials from the brilliant Jay Ward studios (who gave us Rocky and Bullwinkle, and George of the Jungle). Quisp lasted quite a lot longer than Quake did. I can still hear his voice...

The Quik Bunny:  Whether chocolate or strawberry, if you drank Nestle's Quik you knew the Bunny. And apparently the Bunny knew Superman...





















The Michelin Man:  Friendly fellow made, it seemed, from pneumatics. If you ever watched tv sports in the 70's you surely saw him. He certainly appealed to me, but I was not really in the  market for tires at age 12.













The Hydrox "Drox":  HB, this one's for you. Everyone knows Oreos, but Sunshine Hydrox was available also; if much less familiar. Maybe that's why they came up with this smiling glob of cream filling, to invite hungry kids to indulge in Drox devouring...

The Hamm's Beer Bear:  Another case of odd advertising. Not too many kids were imbibing Hamm's, but many were attracted to the mischievous bear in his scenic mountainous commercials.





















Bud Man:   Another character pushing the suds. He seemed to show up all over the place on Saturday Sports shows, and on gas station walls.

















 Kool-Aid Man:  Refreshing thirsty kids everywhere, while wrecking the walls of countless homes and buildings. Oh yeahhhh....

 Loveable Truly, the Alpha Bits Postman:  The younger among you may not recall him, but he delivered the message to eat up those bowls of Post Cereal through the 60's into the early 70's. He actually appeared in a full-length Saturday morning cartoon series:  "Linus the Lionhearted", along with a cast comprised of all the Post cereal characters. Wasn't long after that the FCC put a stop to such things.

 






Hope you recall these ; and also hope you remember some others that aren't presented here. If so, by all means, share your thoughts with the BitBA assembled.

TV Guided: Incidental Music- Setting the Tone...

Redartz:  Hello everyone! This week we shall look at (listen to) some television music. And not Theme music, which is a subject all its own (and which we have addressed previously). Our topic is incidental, or background, music. You might consider it the soundtrack of a tv show. 

While theme songs often come quickly to mind (some qualify as genuine ear worms- think "Gilligan's Island"). background music may be virtually unnoticed. However, that background is crucial to the success of any show. And in some cases, the incidental music can truly stand out, and even become a major element of a show's appeal. 

Today I give you two examples of shows with phenomenal background music. Hopefully you all will offer up some additional musical recommendations (I'm always looking for more music to load on the ol' tablet, and incidental music is perfect for so many activities). But for the moment, let's listen to "Spider-Man" and "Lost in Space".

Any of you who have been following BitBA for awhile will know how highly I regard the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon. Indeed, I did a post about it. Well, one of the big draws to the show is the music. Many of you will be familiar with it, especially the music from the first season. Ray Ellis, who composed the classic theme song, also provided the incidental music used throughout the show (and which was also used in the second and third seasons). Loaded with great 60's surf guitar licks, his music really enhanced the web-slinger's adventuring. But the music from the later episodes was excellent, as well. Provided by a group of UK artists known as KPM, the later seasons music was stunningly cool and loads of jazzy fun. Syd Dale, Johnny Hawksworth, David Lindup, Johnny Pearson and others; such were the names behind the following musical examples. Enjoy...

 Incidental Music from "Spider-Man" 1967

 Don't know about you, but I'm feeling stoked already. And we're not done, next up is a sampling of music from the Irwin Allen classic "Lost in Space". Some of you may know that the familiar theme music (both versions, actually) from the show were composed by John Williams. Well, the show's incidental music was largely William's work as well. If you've seen the show, you know that the music ranges from positively creepy to breathlessly exciting to hilariously humorous. It sure provides evidence of John Williams' versatility. I still remember as a youngster watching the show; the suspenseful music accompanying the inevitable appearance of some monster would always send me hiding behind the sofa. This show's music is popular enough that it's been released repeatedly on cd as a full soundtrack. I haven't picked one up yet, but it's on my list. See what you think...

 Incidental Music from "Lost in Space"

 

And there it is, two shows with magnificently memorable musical accompaniment. Do you concur with my praise for these shows? Or am I off base? What other shows featured some great listening behind the dialogue? It's all up for discussion, and you are on the speaker list!

TV Guided: Afterschool TV!

Redartz:  Think back to your school days. After a long day full of books, papers, pop quizzes, broken pencil leads, teachers and bus drivers, you finally return home and lay down your backpack. What do you do next? If you were like many of us, you grabbed a Pop-Tart and went for the television. After-school programming was a staple of many local television stations for many years. It may have been reruns of old sitcoms, game shows, or cartoons. And it may have involved some local tv talent, hosting a kid's program to lock up the afternoon audience. 

Growing up in central Indiana, our afterschool viewing often involved independent station WTTV out of Indianapolis. "Channel 4" always came in a bit rough at our location, some static. But that didn't matter to me, I tuned in to watch their two kids show hosts: Cowboy Bob and Janie. Both these programs featured lots of cartoons, along with animal visits, puppets, bad puns, visiting children, and all the usual kid show elements.

"Cowboy Bob" Glaze

Janie Hodge

Cowboy Bob was assisted by his dog "Tumbleweed" and by "Sourdough, the Singing Biscuit". Janie also was surrounded by puppet helpers, and commonly presented Popeye cartoons during her show. 
Both these shows, and the hosts that made them memorable, are a fond part of my youth. 

And, of course, there were other afterschool offerings. Reruns of  "Gilligan's Island", "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Munsters", and many other 60's staples were found on the local channel. And when I got to High School, I'd return home to catch "The Gong Show" which conveniently started just after the bus dropped me off. Homework could wait; Chuck Barris couldn't. 

So what programs did you enjoy upon getting home each day? Were there local hosts that you followed? Grab a seat and share...

TV Guided: Commercials of the Bronze Age!

Martinex1: As of late, we have been featuring television programs relatively frequently here at BitBA.  So today let's take a look at the miniature art form of the era - television commercials.  I can remember as a youngster looking forward to a couple of commercials, and perhaps you had the same feelings around those ads and the brands they featured.

Nowadays it seems the airways are clogged with advertisements for drugs and automobiles, but I recall many more ads for food when growing up.  From the Jolly Green Giant to the Peanuts hawking Dolly Madison Cakes to the Keebler Elves living in a tree, every commercial seemed to center around culinary delights.  My grandfather got a particular kick out of the singing kid in this Oscar Meyer commercial for bologna.

On Saturday mornings, the commercials focused on two things - breakfast cereals and toys.  Here is a commercial for the Kenner SSP Smashup Derby!  I must have seen this spot a thousand times between episodes of Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo.

I mentioned food and cereal, and often the commercials for those were quite creative using fun characters, cartoons, and witty scripts.  Kellogg's, Quaker, and Post each had their stable of mascots. There were some outliers like Mikey and Life Cereal that were not animated, but I preferred the cartoons including those directed by the famous Jay Ward.  Quisp, Quake, and Quangaroos were products I rarely tasted, but I enjoyed their marketing.

There were also local commercials that caught my eye and had me chuckling.  Long Chevrolet, a car dealership in the suburbs of Chicago, featured a newsboy reading headlines about the great savings and deals.  One commercial deep in the series featured a surprise headline and a hilarious ending (for a grade school viewer).

What commercials stick in your mind from back in the day?  Did they feature toys, food, cereal, or other commodities small or grand?  Do you have a favorite?  And which commercial really got on your last nerve?   TV sales pitches are what we are discussing today at BitBA!  Cheers!

TV Guided: Bronze Age TV- Better, Worse, or Equal?

Redartz:  Recently we were 'riding the retro', and in discussing the shows of the relevant year 1984, there seemed to be several of us less than enthused about the programming of the time. This got me to wondering, given the incredible wealth of classic television during the 70's, and the frequently high quality of tv during the last two decades, was there a slump during the 80's and 90's? This question forms the outline of our discussion today. 

Rather than pontificate at length about my own opinions, I'll just present some evidence (subjective, admittedly) of the programming of these decades and let you all serve as judge and jury. A dozen shows from each decade were selected. All shows represented ranked in the top 20 by Nielsen rating at some point during their respective decade. Granted, there is some overlap in the time frames, but the shows are listed according to the decade generally associated with them. Is there an era or eras that stand above the rest? Was there a decline, or not?  Let's look at the evidence.


1970's


Hawaii Five-O
All in the Family
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Sanford and Son
The Bob Newhart Show
The Waltons 
M*A*S*H
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Rockford Files
Laverne and Shirley
Soap
Mork and Mindy

 1980's

The Love Boat
Magnum, P.I.
Hart to Hart
The A-Team
Newhart
The Cosby Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Miami Vice
Moonlighting
Alf
L.A. Law

 

 

 
















1990s

Rosanne
Designing Women
Home Improvement
Northern Exposure
A Different World
Seinfeld
Frasier
ER
Friends
NYPD Blue
Touched By an Angel
The X-Files

2000s

Law and Order
Everybody Loves Raymond
Survivor
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The West Wing
American Idol
Without a Trace
Will and Grace
Two and a Half Men
Lost
House
Grey's Anatomy

 


 

 

 


2010s

NCIS
The Big Bang Theory
Criminal Minds
Blue Bloods
Dancing With the Stars
The Mentalist
Castle
The Voice
Modern Family
Scorpion
Bull  
Empire

All right, the data is yours, and now you may put it to use. Which era has the strongest , most entertaining programming? Was there a slump, or is there now? Perhaps it's just different material for different times? Look over the shows; consider the times and your memories, then share your thoughts...