Seventies Television Shows

Being a kid in the seventies meant watching a lot of television in my house. Probably too much, but I don't feel it was wasted. We had a lot less channels to choose from, but sometimes less is more. There were some bad television shows back then, just like there are now. But there were also quite a few groundbreaking, well made and entertaining shows as well. Today's blog is going to take a look at a few of those.


-- All In The Family (1971-1979)

This CBS show debuted in January 1971 and ran for 9 seasons. It followed the lives of the Bunker family of Queens, New York. Archie, a World War Two veteran and his lovable wife Edith along with their daughter Gloria and her husband Mike make up the center of the show. Archie is a well-meaning but opinionated and bigoted man who misses the days when people just like him ran things. But with the cultural changes of the 60s, Archie's world is out of whack. Based on an English comedy, Till Death Due Us Part, the show became one of the most successful shows in American television history (and spawned two successful spinoffs -- The Jeffersons and Maude) . What made it so successful was that people could identify with these characters' struggles and that they also dealt with such real life issues as racism, women's liberation, the Vietnam War, abortion and rape.


-- Good Times (1974-1979)

This show, about life in the inner city projects of Chicago, ran for  six seasons. It follows the lives of the Evans family lead by father James, Sr. (John Amos) and mother, Florida (Esther Rolle). Their three children live with them as they struggle to make ends meet. They are a loving and supportive family. While there had been shows before Good Times that focused on African American families, this was the first time a show dealt with the lives of poor inner city people. The original intention of the show was to deal with serious issues in a comedic way. However, with the popularity of Jimmie Walker's character J.J. and his catch phrase "Dyn-o-mite", the show took a different turn. Amos and Rolle were not happy about the change and Amos was fired after the 3rd season. The show ran for three more seasons, but it never recovered. Another little tidbit - this was a spinoff of Maude!


-- The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)

Another groundbreaking show from the Seventies, was The Mary Tyler Moore Show starring Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards a young, single, career woman living on her own in Minneapolis. As the show starts Mary has recently broken off an engagement and is looking for work. She ends up as the associate producer for  a local television news broadcast. Her co-workers and her neighbors become her closest friends. Never before had a show had a single woman who was not dependent on a man for support as it's lead. Her again, was a show that dealt with many serious issues with a humorous angle.
The show ran for seven seasons and is considered by many to be one of the best shows in U.S. television history. And this is another show that produced spinoffs -- Rhoda (1974-1978) and Phyllis (1975-1977).

-- M*A*S*H (1972-1983)

M*A*S*H was one of the longest running shows in television history (it lasted longer than the Korean Conflict where the show was set!). It was based on the film MASH released in 1972. The show and the movie were an allegory for the Vietnam war, although that lessened through its eleven year run. It followed the lives of doctors, nurses and other army personnel in a surgical facility near the front lines of the Korean War. There were many laughs, but the show also dealt with many real life issues, especially concerning these soldiers dealing with being in a war zone and far away from their loved ones. The series finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the most watched episode of television at the time it aired February 28, 1983 with 125 million viewers.

-- The Waltons (1971-1981)

Set during the depression and World War II, The Waltons, followed this large, extended family as it struggled to survive in a small Virginia mountain town. It was based on Earl Hammer's book "Spencer's Mountain" and a 1963 film of the same name. John and Olivia Walton, along with their seven children and John's parents offered a warm and familiar place for viewers in the Seventies. The stories are told through the eyes of the now middle-aged John Jr., or John-boy as he was known to everyone. Unlike some shows of the time, the Walton children grew up, married and moved away. This leant a very believable quality to the show. Americans laughed and cried right along with the Waltons for nine seasons and several made-for-TV movies. One of the most well known, and often parodied, parts of the show was the ending when several of the characters would comment, through voice over, on the events in that episode as they would all bid each other good night.


-- Post by Tracy