Classic American Television Series Flashcards
long-running CBS variety show occupied the same time slot—Sunday night at 8 pm—for over two decades.
The Ed Sullivan Show
centered on Lucy Ricardo, played by comedian Lucille Ball, and her husband Ricky Ricardo, who was played by Ball’s real-life husband Desi Arnaz. The show’s other major characters were the Ricardos’ neighbors, Fred and Ethel Mertz.
I Love Lucy
considered the first TV spinoff, as it centered on a character—Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden—who had previously been introduced on The Jackie Gleason Show.
The Honeymooners
the longest-running prime-time series in American television history until The Simpsons overtook it. Set in Dodge City, Kansas in the late 19th century, it centered on U.S. marshal Matt Dillon.
Gunsmoke
This classic sitcom centered on the title talking horse—a palomino whose voice was provided by Allan Lane—and his owner, architect Wilbur Post.
Mr. Ed
Rod Serling created this anthology series,
The Twilight Zone
One of the most popular TV series of its decade, The Andy Griffith Show starred its title actor as Andy Taylor, who was sheriff in the sleepy small town of Mayberry, North Carolina.
The Andy Griffith Show
This sitcom centered on Mary Richards, a young woman who moves to Minneapolis, where she goes to work in the newsroom at WJM-TV
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Producer Norman Lear created this sitcom, which was based on the successful British series Till Death Us Do Part. It starred Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton as the central couple, Archie and Edith Bunker
All in the Family
a highly successful CBS sitcom that dealt with controversial social issues—in this case, war. Centering on the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea, it was adapted from the 1970 feature film of the same name directed by Robert Altman
MAS*H
