Over 40 years ago, CBS dominated the TV ratings on Saturday nights. People were glued to the TVs when these shows came on. It became a nationwide phenomenon with some of the most iconic shows in history. Do you remember the line-up?
In the 8:00-8:30pm time slot was the hit sitcom ‘All in the Family.’ Legendary creator Norman Lear based the series on a British comedy called ‘Till Death Do Us Part.’
The sitcom featuring the character ‘Archie Bunker’ broke down every TV taboo, including episodes involving topics like women’s lib, racism, government, and menopause. The show touched everyone’s hearts while providing big laughs.
The 8:30-9:00pm slot was ‘MASH.’ The sitcom about the Korean War was based on the novel and 1970 film of the same name by Richard Hooker. The show focused on the doctors and got laughs thanks to memorable characters like ‘Hawkeye,’ ‘Hot Lips,’ ‘Max Klinger,’ and ‘Radar.’
The laughs kept coming at 9:00-9:30pm with ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ It ran from 1970-1977 and won 29 Emmy Awards. The show spawned spin-off series, including, ‘Rhoda,’ ‘Phyllis,’ and ‘Lou Grant.’
The perfect pairing with the show was the 9:30-10:00pm follow-up ‘The Bob Newhart Show.’ Bob’s low-key humor as a Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley. The dysfunctional patients and staff were hysterical as they played against Bob’s straight-man routine.
And the ultimate closer in TV history was ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ at 10:00-11:00pm. The variety show involved comedy sketches and featured the comic legends Carol Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. The actors couldn’t finish a sketch without cracking up at one another’s antics and improvisations. The CBS Saturday night line-up was the perfect evening of TV.
