History Of Comedy On Television Essay Research

Comedy Essay, Research Paper

A History of Comedy on Television:

70..s to the 90..s

TV Criticism

The history of comedy on television goes back many years. Through out this paper I will go through many shows that have had a heavy impact on television, and criticize why they had the success that they did.

1970: The situation comedy dropped to 24 this year. This season saw the premiere of a landmark sitcom, THE

MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, breaking with the tradition of the single woman not being in the regular work force, nor being happy single. The variety show dropped to 17 shows. This season marked the end of an era as it was the final season

of the longest running comedy show ever on television: THE RED SKELTON SHOW. Red Skelton was on the air for 18 seasons.

1971: There were 24 situation comedies on this season. The rural comedy came to an end as THE BEVERLY

HILLBILLIES, GREEN ACRES, THE NEW ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, AND MAYBERRY. Among the new shows was the controversial and ground- breaking ALL IN THE FAMILY. It was the first of a new type of sitcom, the ..dramedy.., in this case an advocate dramedy. The variety show had 12 programs on the air. The only new show of the four that premiered that lasted

was THE SONNY AND CHER COMEDY HOUR.

1972-73 The situation comedy dropped to 23 shows. Canceled were the last of the gimmick comedies,

BEWITCHED; all three of the shows created last season for movie stars: THE JIMMY STEWART SHOW, SHIRLEY’S WORLD with Shirley McLaine, and THE SMITH FAMILY with Henry Fonda;

and MY THREE SONS, the longest running of the domestic comedies. Among the new shows was the first of a new type of sitcom, the human dramedy M*A*S*H. The variety show went up to 13 as five new shows premiered. However, none of the five lasted more

than the one season.

1973-74: The situation comedy went back up to 28. However, none of the 13 new shows survived the season.

The variety show dropped to only 10 as all five shows from the previous season were canceled, as was

LAUGH-IN. In addition, all three of the new shows were canceled before season’s end.

1974-75: The situation comedy plunged to its lowest level since 1951 with only 15 shows on the air as all 13 new

shows from the 1973- 74 seasonwere canceled. However, four of the eight new shows became hits: CHICO AND THE MAN, GOOD TIMES, RHODA, and HAPPY DAYS.

The variety show continued its decline to only seven, the lowest since 1962. Only THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW remained from previous seasons; all others, including THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW and THE FLIP WILSON SHOW were canceled.

1975-76: The situation comedy made a violent upswing as 19 new shows premiered, bring the total up to 29.

However, 13 of the 19 new shows were canceled by season’s end. Nonetheless, of the remaining six new shows, four were big hits: BARNEY MILLER (7 seasons), THE JEFFERSONS( 9 seasons), ONE DAY AT A TIME (9 seasons), and WELCOME BACK, KOTTER (four seasons).

The variety show dropped to six, but three of the four news shows were canceled within weeks.

1976-77: The situation comedy rose to 37 as 22 new shows premiered. Only six of the new shows lasted more than

one season, and only ALICE and LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY more than two. The variety show rose to 12, but only one of the 10 new shows, DONNY AND MARIE, lasted out the

season.

1977-78: The situation comedy lost one show, down to 36. 19 new shows premiered, including the first T&A

comedy, THREE’S COMPANY, which became the #1 television show in the ratings. The variety show continued its downward slide, with 10.

1978-79: The situation comedy dropped to 34. Of the 19 new shows, many were canceled within weeks. One, however, became a runaway hit: MORK & MINDY, starring Robin Williams, a wildly inventive and imaginative comedian, who played an extraterrestrial trying to learn about Earth. The writers would often leave gaps in the script simply labeled “Mork does his thing for three minutes”, letting Williams improvise what wouldn’t even occur to them to write for him. The variety show was down to only six, and to make matters worse, MARY, starring Mary Tyler Moore,

was canceled after the first show, leaving only five.

1979-80: The situation comedy jumped to its highest point in history, before or since. There were 45 sitcoms on

the air, 50% of prime- time, with 30 new shows, the largest number of new programs ever. However, 16 of those 30 new shows were canceled within weeks, and seven more lasted only the season. Two, BENSON and FACTS OF LIFE, were hits.

The variety show had seven programs, but three of the four new shows were canceled after only a few nights, including Mary Tyler Moore, her second flop in two seasons.

1980-81: The situation comedy began a decline this season, to 39 from last season’s incredible high of 45. Sixteen

of the nineteen new shows were canceled by season’s end, and the remaining three ended within two

years. The variety show held steady at seven shows, but two of the five new shows lasted only weeks.

1981-82: The situation comedy continued down to 34. Only three of the 15 new shows were canceled quickly,

but only one, GIMME A BREAK!

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