News Feature: Sitcoms on Local Television, Part II

Sunday, September 04, 2005

News Feature: Sitcoms on Local Television, Part II

Continuing our two-part feature on sitcoms on local television, we now focus on the earlier days--the sitcoms of the '50s and '60s.

Let's begin today with the '60s. The '60s was most known for the rural sitcoms and they were all very popular especially The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows still rule the airwaves today in reruns, too. But what about some of the rarely seen sitcoms from the '60s? Among them missing from cable and local television today are Car 54 Where Are You?, Dennis the Menace, Donna Reed Show, Family Affair, Flying Nun, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Gidget, Hazel, Joey Bishop Show, Julia, Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Monkees, Patty Duke Show, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and That Girl. The ones that are barely seen on some locals or a rare cable channel include F-Troop (one local and AmericanLife TV), Get Smart (ME-TV in Chicago), Gomer Pyle USMC (few locals), The Lucy Show (few locals), Mayberry RFD (AmericanLife TV), McHale's Navy (two locals), My Favorite Marian (one local and AmericanLife TV), My Three Sons (few locals), and Petticoat Junction (ME-TV).
Shows like Addams Family, Andy Griffith Show, Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heroes, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Ed, and The Munsters are airing a lot on cable and local channels. There are no '60s sitcoms that are just on cable. So, whatever big show that is airing on cable, is also on some or a few local channels as well. There are still a lot of '60s sitcoms not airing at all, though. I think this is a bit worse than the '70s and maybe on par with the '80s.

Moving on to the golden age--the '50s, where the sitcom really started. We think of I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver when we think of the '50s. There are a few sitcoms from this era that are not airing at all, they are: Amos 'n' Andy, Ann Sothern Show, Bachelor Father, Bob Cummings Show, December Bride, Father Knows Best, Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks, Phil Silvers Show, and The Real McCoys. Most of those you probably have not even heard of except for like Father Knows Best or Phil Silvers Show. The ones that are barely seen on some locals or a rare cable channel include Abbott & Costello (one local), Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (some locals), George Burns & Gracie Allen Show (some locals), The Honeymooners (ME-TV), I Married Joan (some locals), Make Room for Daddy (few locals), and My Little Margie (few locals). Most of those are on low budget channels in public domain. Shows like I Love Lucy & Leave it to Beaver are airing a lot on cable and local channels. There are not many '50s sitcoms in general, so I can't say whether this is good or bad. But for sure we need some of these shows on local tv or cable such as Father Knows Best. Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet lasted so long, and is now relegated to low budget locals and public domain, which is quiet sad. While The Honeymooners didn't have a lot of episodes, it is not airing as much as it used to.

Finally, we have gone through the sitcoms of the '50s-'90s and I'd say between the '60s-'80s needs the most work. If we can't get them back on television, I guess DVD is the only other option. Some of the shows that have come out on DVD and are no where seen on television in this country include Too Close for Comfort, ALF, and That's My Mama. Looking at those shows from the '60s that are not airing currently, none of them are on DVD yet. So DVD is probably the answer as it seems local channels are more focusing on talk shows, court shows, and newer sitcoms, while cable channels are leaning toward original programming and newer sitcoms as well. Let's hope the sitcoms that are not airing at all get DVD releases quicker than some of the ones that are airing, but most of the ones that are airing on teleivison have already started coming out on DVD.
I hope everyone enjoyed this piece on sitcoms on local television, and we hope to bring you quite a few more of these features in the future.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, July 13

Ghosts - "Patience" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While Sam and the ghosts race to find him, Isaac comes face to face with Puritan ghost Patience (Mary Holland) for the first time since she was lost in the dirt.

The Simpsons - "Homer and Her Sisters" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a fight in an escape room, Krusty's aunt fixes Homer's relationship with Patty and Selma.

Krapopolis - "Ice Week!" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty struggles to keep his cool when he gets the hots for a visiting reporter; Shlub is paid a visit by an old friend; Hippocampus and Stupendous risk missing the festivities altogether.

Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.

Going Dutch - "Pilot" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The colonel is reassigned to take emergency command of USAG Stroopsdorf in the Netherlands; Sgt. Conway provides the colonel and Shah with a tour of the things Stroopsdorf is known for... cheese, laundry and bowling.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Friday, July 11

Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.