Sunday, September 04, 2005
News Feature: Sitcoms on Local Television, Part II
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
Friday, March 21
Happy's Place - "Alarm Bell" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Isabella requests Emmett's help getting a security system installed, Bobbie claims she can protect her sister better than any alarm or man, leading to Bobbie and Emmett having a competition over who's the better protector.
St. Denis Medical - "Buffalo Bruce and Matty the Kid" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
An emotional support animal is loose in the halls of St. Denis; Alex goes big for Serena's birthday to mixed results.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 17)
Friday, March 21
- John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Dana Carvey (One of the Boys) - Dana is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
- The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - Good Morning America catches up with the Jonas Brothers sometime between 7-9am.
- John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Tatyana Ali (Second Generation Wayans/Love That Girl!/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Tatyana discusses her off-camera work of helping women have safer births and how she is creating community with her quilt company on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - NBC's Today catches up with Selena sometime between 7-9am.
- Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - NBC's Today catches up with Michael in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- The Cast of Harlem - Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson, Shoniqua Shandai & Tyler Lepley talk about Harlem on Prime Video on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Tommy Davidson (The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) and Mark Curry (One Love/See Dad Run/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - Tommy and Mark are guests on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:00am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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