With the 1954 television season now more than 70 years in the rearview mirror, it’s understandable why many sitcoms from the era are mostly forgotten—even shows that had long runs. Several sitcom showdowns from the season pitted a classic series often mentioned in television histories against shows almost no one remembers.
Make Room for Daddy vs. Meet Millie on Tuesday at 9:00
Beginning its second season, ABC’s Make Room for Daddy was coming off an Emmy win for Best New Series. At the conclusion of this season, it would win Best Situation Comedy Series. However, the show would not become a hit with viewers until it moved to CBS in 1957. By then, it would be titled The Danny Thomas Show and would become one of the most popular, long-running, and best-remembered sitcoms of the era. CBS’ Meet Millie was beginning its third year on the network. Though an obscurity today, it did enjoy a four-year run.
Tuesday night belonged to NBC in television’s early days, thanks to Milton Berle. NBC won the 9:00 slot with Fireside Theater, the dramatic anthology that followed Berle’s series, finishing 20th. Even though they weren’t timeslot winners, Make Room for Daddy and Meet Millie were renewed and slotted in the same slot for fall 1955.
Winner: Tie
The Stu Erwin Show vs. My Little Margie on Wednesday at 8:30
Though critically maligned, NBC’s My Little Margie entered its fourth season in the fall of 1954 more popular than ever. It would face one of network TV’s first sitcoms, ABC’s The Stu Erwin Show, originally called Trouble With Father. Around since 1950, that sitcom had an unusual history. Because it aired nearly every week during its first year, it had a large buildup of episodes, allowing it to air completely in reruns during the 1953-54 season. It would now return with newly produced episodes.
My Little Margie landed in the top 30 for the first time, finishing in 29th place, only slightly behind CBS’ Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (22nd), which had a half-hour head start. Because shows produced so many episodes per season in television’s early days, the owners of My Little Margie decided its 126 segments were enough to put it into syndicated reruns, where it remained popular for some time. Despite its solid ratings, there was little reason to make more episodes, and this became its last season. Timeslot loser, The Stu Erwin Show, was also cancelled. Having aired so early in television history on still-growing ABC, the show is one of the longest- running obscure sitcoms of all time.
Winner: My Little Margie
Our Miss Brooks vs. Dear Phoebe on Friday at 9:30
One of the previous season’s most popular comedies, Our Miss Brooks, was entering its third season on CBS. NBC countered with a new Peter Lawford sitcom, Dear Phoebe, in which he played an advice columnist.
Though Our Miss Brooks fell from 14th place and out of the top 30, it was renewed for a fourth season, albeit with some format and cast changes. There’s a good reason Dear Phoebe remains obscure. This was its only season on the air.
Winner: Our Miss Brooks
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