I loved Thirtysomething. They were my life.
I don’t think I could watch “Family affair” after knowing what happened to the young girl on the show , they basically had her stay as a young girl, and a lot of people think it messed her up, she died of a drug overdose at 18…Brian Keith apparently was much the way he appeared to be, and kept in touch with her and tried to help.
Hogan’s Heroes kind of amazed me, that it even could be made, given the nature of the material. Even thought it makes the Germans out to be clowns (I wonder what Werner Klemperer thought of his son playing Colonel Klink, Otto Klemperer was one of the master conductors of the mid 20th century), and it is obviously a comedy, it also should have been cringe inducing in some respects (the fact that Robert Clary was a survivor of the holocaust may have helped a bit, as that the production team that created the show were mostly Jewish guys probably helped as well). It is a bit dated, but it still is amusing in some ways.
Not really a sitcom, but when I go back and watch some of the old episodes of the Carol Burnett show I realize how great some of that was. My favorites were the episodes where Burnett and Harvey Korman lose it when working with Tim Conway, their parody of “Born Free” was one of the classics, and I am glad that they didn’t correct those situations, it makes it even funnier.
Then there is the grandfather of the sitcom, “The Honeymooners”, an all time classic with an amazing cast.
^^ Many of the characters who played Nazis on Hogan’s Heroes were Jewish refugees from Nazis.
From Wikipedia:
"The actors who played the four major German roles—Werner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Hochstetter)—were Jewish. Furthermore, Klemperer, Banner, Askin, and Robert Clary (LeBeau) were Jews who had fled the Nazis during World War II. Clary says in the recorded commentary on the DVD version of episode “Art for Hogan’s Sake” that he spent three years in a concentration camp, that his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm (“A-5714”). Likewise John Banner had been held in a (pre-war) concentration camp and his family was killed during the war. Leon Askin was also in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka. Howard Caine, who was also Jewish (his birth name was Cohen), was American, and Jewish actors Harold Gould and Harold J. Stone played German generals; Jon Cedar played a camp guard.
As a teenager, Werner Klemperer (son of the conductor Otto Klemperer) fled Hitler’s Germany with his family in 1933. During the show’s production, he insisted that Hogan always win over his Nazi captors or else he would not take the part of Klink. He defended his playing a Luftwaffe Officer by claiming, “I am an actor. If I can play Richard III, I can play a Nazi.” Banner attempted to sum up the paradox of his role by saying, “Who can play Nazis better than us Jews?” Klemperer, Banner, Caine, Gould, and Askin play stereotypical World War II Germans, and all had served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II — Banner and Askin in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Caine in the U.S. Navy, Gould with the U.S. Army, and Klemperer in a U.S. Army Entertainment Unit."
I read this and immediately thought of Bojack Horseman. Probably not worth a watch for you based on the first part of the post (making it an even funnier parallel), but you may get a kick out of it conceptually if you haven’t heard of it.
How could I forget “The Honeymooners”? Thanks musicprnt. Imagine pushing a pilot today that takes place in a drab rundown kitchen with a cast of two plain housewives, a fat bus driver and a goofy sewer rat.
It’s funny how they are always finding “lost episodes” of old tv shows that they want everybody to buy.
Not a sitcom, but loved China Beach.
And Twin Peaks for its weird vibe,.
Yes, loved China Beach as well.
Northern Exposure was another favorite of mine.
Another few other shows I miss are Scrubs and Recue Me, which wasn’t a sitcom but had some hilarious moments mixed in the serious theme of the show. Also, does anyone else remember Hobo Kelly and Romper Room from the late 60s? I don’t know if they were local LA shows or not.
Romper Room was on in the 50’s and 60’s in NY.
Remember Captain Kangaroo and pbs had a really great kids show in the 70s called Zoom? I loved that because they were just normal, quirky, totally non packaged kids.
How about The Monkees? They are celebrating their 50th anniversary; boy do I feel old 
Courtship of Eddie’s Father and Family Affair were my all time favorites; followed by My Three Sons. I believe I must have spent way too much time in front of the tv as I child as I don’t think I missed an episode of any show!! I think I watch ever show each of you have mentioned above. Did we actually have homework in the 60’s, or did I just not do any? 
My older brother had a tv in his bedroom that my parents gave him for a Bar Mitzvah present, so that is where most of my tv watching took place.
I remember Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans! Sally Star anyone?
I don’t recall having near as much homework that my kids do. In SoCal in the days before daytime talk shows (e.g. Oprah) and 4pm newscasts, there was a 3:30pm movie perfectly timed for after school viewing. They had various themes each week and my favorite was Jerry Lewis when they ran Cindefella, the Bellboy, and the Nutty Professor–the original one!
I recently learned that Romper Room was a franchised television show, when one of my friends here in Toledo said she was “Miss Ann” and had the show here. I was on it in Bismarck, ND, when I was 4 years old. Here are some more of the franchisees:
When I was little, I absolutely loved Who’s the Boss?
I do miss The Wonder Years. I wish a similar show were made today about the 80’s, that period of Perestroika, first Iraq War, United States of Europe, “the end of history” when we would all live in peace forever since there was no ideological conflict anymore.
(3The Goldbergs" doesn’t count, because it’s not anchored in time passing - no real year - and it’s a real sitcom, whereas Wonder Years wasn’t really a sitcom.)
I remember Zoom and of course The Electric Company.
Well…gee…if we are adding in PBS shows…what about Reading Rainbow?
Someone asked if Sandy Becker had been involved in a scandal. I don’t know if he was but I wonder if you were thinking of Soupy Sales?? I loved Wonderama too.
My #1 vote is also the Honeymooners. Every show since has been basically a ripoff of it!!
@HarvestMoon1 You must be from the Philly area if you remember Our Gal Sal!
Yes, Romper Room was in many cities. I was on it when I was 5 in Philly.
I remember sitting and waiting for rompers room to call my name and she never did.
There was another show I’m vaguely remembering from PBS. Two girls sang while one played a guitar. I remember the scenery with a red mushroom. They had long brown hair and it had to have been on in the early 70s.