According to a panel of a dozen professional television watchers consulted by CNN, the most influential television series of all time is NBC’s Hill Street Blues (1981-1987). A total of 46 programs were named by members of the panel and presumably the shows were ranked by the number of panelists who considered them influential. Here’s the full list:
- 1. Hill Street Blues
- t2. I Love Lucy
- t2. The Sopranos
- 4. The Tonight Show
- t5.All in the Family
- t5.Survivor
- t7.The Cosby Show
- t7.60 Minutes
- t7.Friends
- t10.The Today Show
- t10. American Idol
The only show that I feel shouldn’t be included in the list is Friends. As for M*A*S*H, it did receive honorable mention (alongside shows like The Simpsons The Mary Tyler Moore Show Law & Order, Lost and Sesame Street). Does it deserve more than just an honorable mention, though? Did it do more to influence the future of the sitcom than, say, All in the Family or The Cosby Show? Hit the comments with your thoughts.
I don’t put much stock into these so-called panel discussions. They are made up of members who are biased towards the programs they like. I have yet to see a list as such which was universally approved.
That said, I do believe M*A*S*H was one of the foremost series that incorporated a dramedy element and did it so successfully. For Pete’s sake, the finale was THE most watched program ever for a show that was going off the air after ELEVEN years…that has to say something about the quality and kind of show it was (and still is).
The characters are still referenced today in various other TV shows. Ive personally seen and read characters being called Radar or Hot Lips or anyone else so many times in books and TV series, Ive lost count. What does that say about its referencability (not a word, I know)??
Besides, half the shows on there in the Top 10 are news shows….The Today Show?? What did that have to do with influencing the culture. Just made people get up early so they could catch it?? I don’t get it!!
As I said, the proof should be in the numbers and when M*A*S*H went off the air, it set a record that is and IMO will never be matched for a recorded TV series. That itself should tell this “panel” about the influence it had on the country. Anything else is just their opinion.
See, I can understand shows like I Love Lucy, The Cosby Show, and All in the Family being on such a list, because they really did change the TV landscape of their times: Lucy was the most success sitcom of the 50s, Archie Bunker made TV history in the 70s, and the Huxtables re-defined the sitcom family of the 80s… but for M*A*S*H, and even The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Sesame Street to not be on the list is just plain wrong. First and foremost, there’s no better example of good, solid, intelligent writing and direction than with M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore was a figure for feminism in the 70s, and Sesame Street is STILL on the air after 43 years, teaching children and such.
And why is Survivor and American Idol on the list at all?!
I actually think the arguments for including both of those shows were relatively sound, particularly for Survivor. It has been almost 12 years since that show premiered and the current reality trend is still going strong.
“Professional television watchers” cracks me up!
I can’t argue with Hill Street Blues and a couple of the other choices. The choices of “Friends”, “Survivor” and “American Idol” are kind of a joke. To me Friends is another in a long line of generic, unfunny sitcoms with empty unlikable characters.
Then you have M*A*S*H, a show that you can actually learn something by watching. A show that can make you feel so much genuine human emotion and drama, done so classy and fluidly. From the scenes that crack you up, to the ones that make you angry and sad, all the way to those scenes of pure joy, the show never seems to miss a beat.
I want to see if Friends is still on the air in the year 2034. M*A*S*H has had such strong staying power since its 1972 premiere, and now entering its 40th anniversary, the show has remained on the air in syndication and on other cable networks ever since. I think that speaks volumes.
It’s all opinion based, and to each their own. It doesnt matter what any panels or polls say, all that matters is what you yourself believe.
When it comes to influential to myself, M*A*S*H is tops. Right there with it are The Wonder Years and Northern Exposure. Those are the shows that influence me, my beliefs and attitudes on life and the way to treat and respect people.
I wish I could become a “professional television watcher.”
I think we all do Arj, I think we all do. XD
For me – influential television shows…..
1. MASH of course! At the time it was on, the writers thumbed their nose at all wars, including Viet Nam, while holding true to the premise that war is hell, and babies (ahem, young men who should be at the prom) should not be forced to go die for something so stupid.
2. 60 minutes – for obvious reasons.
3. Captain Kangaroo (Way before Sesame Street)
4. Star Trek (because it showed the entire Earth as finally coming together in the Federation, how it might possibly come about – and showed a racial balance, even if that balance included aliens as a race) – also for the “non interference” of the Federation in other planet’s policies.
5. St. Elsewhere – for being among the first to deal with Aids as a more than homosexual disease
6. Life Goes On – for the realistic portrayal of a family that has a Downs Syndrome son.
7. I Love Lucy – because Lucille Ball was a powerhouse, and back at that time, it was a rare thing for a woman to be. She was very demanding about the performance of others on the show – as well as her insistence that her husband, a Cuban, be her husband on the show.
8. All in the family – Wayyy ahead of its time.
9. Mary Tyler Moore – single woman with a career, not always trying to find a man, and being taken seriously at work.
10. Sanford and Son – Black sit com – where the actors don’t behave in a stereotypical way, this could have been funny no matter what color they were. I think it was much better than the Jeffersons.
These are my opinions – and the reasons these shows were influential – NOT necessarily the BEST shows….. just the ones that voiced change.
As for the choices by the “professionals” – I kind of get American Idol, because it changes lives – but of course so does “Brits got talent” – and they are not as dependent on looks as American Idol is. The Sopranos? Really? And I loved Hill Street Blues, but what made it influential? I REALLY don’t get Friends OR Survivor. So, everything is really just opinion.