Author: Episode 30

In the fall of 2010, CBS marked the 60th straight season of airing a sitcom on Monday nights at 9:00. The future looked bright for the timeslot occupant, Two and a Half Men. While it trailed its competitor, Dancing With the Stars (2nd), in the ratings, it was the second-highest-rated network sitcom, barely bested by…

In an article about the Netflix series Wednesday, Screen Rant references my book, Funny You Should Ask. In an interview with the late co-creator of The Munsters, Allan Burns, he mentions that he and Chris Hayward originally envisioned The Munsters as an Addams Family-like group of eccentrics. However, the duo was not involved in the…

Everybody Loves Raymond was a model of stability for CBS in the early 2000s. As the decade began, even more viewers started to love the show, as it shot to 5th place during the 2000-01 season, tying Monday Night Football for the lead in the Monday night at 9:00 timeslot. After Monday Night Football concluded…

In the fall of 1990, Murphy Brown won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. That win, paired with star Candice Bergen’s second consecutive win for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (she would win three more), gave the show the boost it needed after two seasons of critical acclaim but only okay ratings. Previously…

After several seasons of changing the sitcom airing on Monday at 9:00 p.m. (ET), CBS brought stability to the half-hour by relocating M*A*S*H there in January 1978. It held the slot longer than any series since The Danny Thomas Show from 1957-1964. Having weathered the departures of prolific writer/producer Larry Gelbart in 1976, Executive Producer…

The long-running saga of Mayberry showed no signs of slowing down when Mayberry R.F.D.’s season opener in the fall of 1970 finished in 2nd place in the ratings, following Here’s Lucy, which opened at number one due to a highly hyped episode featuring guest stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. However, Mayberry R.F.D. did face…

After the unsuccessful attempt to make Pat Harrington, Jr. the new lead in The Danny Thomas Show during the 1959-60 season, the series settled back into a comfortable groove. The only significant changes that season involved the shows surrounding it. The previous season, Father Knows Best finished a series high 6th in the ratings as…

In 1951, I Love Lucy became the first television sitcom to achieve massive success. Its momentum was so great that CBS continued to program nothing but sitcoms on Monday night in the 9:00 p.m. (ET) time slot during the regular season until 2014. There’s not much new to say about I Love Lucy. The 2021…

In early 1990, as the NFL negotiated with the networks for the broadcast rights to its games, rumors circulated that Monday Night Football could be switching from ABC to CBS or Fox. There was much consternation in the television press about the possibility of Monday Night Football no longer airing on ABC. The series had…

I recently discussed the worst episodes of acclaimed series All in the Family and The Andy Griffith Show. This time I’m turning the tables and looking at the best episodes of a frequently maligned show — Here’s Lucy. Lucille Ball’s third hit sitcom was popular with viewers, finishing in the top 10 its first four…