******
- Verified Buyer
The large, glossy, evocative photographs alone justify the value of this highly recommended 335-page book. The write-ups for each show, while brief, ranging from two to five pages, are well-written and researched and there is a detailed, small-font, six-page index. Most commendably, unlike other sitcom books which grudgingly include a handful of the usual black-and-white entries, such as "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and then concentrate on the 1980s and 90s, just over half (fifty-two, to be exact) of all titles appearing here, had premiered between 1949 and 1970. Among the 101 titles, are two cartoon shows ("The Flintstones" and "The Simpsons") structured as sitcoms. Listed below, for the record, are the shows which the authors selected as "the 101 greatest TV comedies of all time":29 shows -- 1950s and 1960s [produced live or recorded on black-and-white film]: 1. The Goldbergs (1949-54), 2. The Life of Riley (1949-50, 1953-58), 3. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950-58), 4. The Jack Benny Program (1950-65), 5. The Amos 'n' Andy Show (1951-53), 6. I Love Lucy (1951-57), 7. I Married Joan (1952-55), 8. Mr. Peepers (1952-55), 9. My Little Margie (1952-55), 10. Our Miss Brooks (1952-56), 11. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-65 in bw, 1965-66 in color), 12. Topper (1953-55), 13. Private Secretary/The Ann Sothern Show (1953-61), 14. Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964), 15. December Bride (1954-59), 16. Father Knows Best (1954-60), 17. The Honeymooners (1955-56), 18. The Bob Cummings Show (1955-59), 19. The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59), 20. Leave It to Beaver (1957-63), 21. The Real McCoys (1957-63), 22. The Donna Reed Show (1958-63), 23. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-63), 24. Car 54 Where Are You (1961-63), 25. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), 26. Mister Ed (1961-66), 27. The Patty Duke Show (1963-66), 28. The Addams Family (1964-66), 29. The Munsters (1964-66)20 shows -- 1960s [produced on black-and-white film and color film (as of September 1966, all primetime programming has been in color)]: 1. The Flintstones (color 1960-66), 2. The Andy Griffith Show (bw 1960-65, color 1965-68), 3. My Three Sons (bw 1960-65, color 1965-72), 4. Hazel (bw 1961-64, color 1964-66), 5. The Beverly Hillbillies (bw 1962-65, color 1965-71), 6. The Lucy Show/Here's Lucy (bw 1962-65, color 1965-74), 7. My Favorite Martian (bw 1963-65, color 1965-66), 8. Petticoat Junction (bw 1963-65, color 1965-70), 9. Gilligan's Island (bw 1964-65, color 1965-67), 10. Bewitched (bw 1964-66, color 1966-71), 11. Get Smart (color 1965-70), 12. I Dream of Jeannie (bw 1965-66, color 1965-70), 13. Green Acres (color 1965-71), 14. Hogan's Heroes (color 1965-71), 15. The Monkees (1966-68), 16. Family Affair (1966-71), 17. That Girl (1966-71), 18. The Flying Nun (1967-70), 19. Julia (1968-71), 20. The Brady Bunch (1969-74)21 shows -- 1970s [all titles not labeled "film" were produced on videotape]: 1. The Partridge Family (film 1970-74), 2. The Odd Couple (film 1970-75), 3. Mary Tyler Moore (film 1970-77), 4. All in the Family (1971-79), 5. Sanford and Son (1972-76), 6. The Bob Newhart Show (film 1972-78), 7. Maude (1972-78), 8. M*A*S*H* (film 1972-83), 9. Good Times (1974-79), 10. Happy Days (film 1974-84), 11. Barney Miller (1975-82), 12. One Day at a Time (1975-84), 13. The Jeffersons (1975-85), 14. Laverne & Shirley (film 1976-83), 15. Alice (1976-85), 16. Soap (1977-81), 17. Three's Company (1977-84), 18. WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82), 19. Taxi (film 1978-83), 20. Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86), 21. The Facts of Life (1979-88)14 shows -- 1980s [videotape]: 1. Family Ties (1982-89), 2. Newhart (videotape 1982-83, film 1983-90), 3. Cheers (1982-93), 4. The Cosby Show (1984-92), 5. The Golden Girls (1985-92), 6. Growing Pains (1985-92), 7. It's Garry Shandling's Show (1986-90), 8. Designing Women (1986-93), 9. Perfect Strangers (1986-93), 10. Married...with Children (1987-97), 11. Roseanne (1988-97), 12. Murphy Brown (1988-98), 13. Saved by the Bell (1989-94), 14. Coach (1989-97)14 shows -- 1990s [videotape and digital recording]: 1. Evening Shade (1990-94), 2. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-96), 3. Wings (1990-97), 4. Seinfeld (1990-98), 5. The Simpsons (1990-present), 6. The Nanny (1993-99), 7. Frasier (1993-2004), 8. Ellen (1994-98), 9. Friends (1994-2004), 10. Newsradio (1995-99), 11. Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), 12. 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001), 13. That '70s Show (1998-2006), 14. Will & Grace (1998-2006)3 shows -- 2000s [digital recording]: 1. Malcolm in the Middle (2000-06), 2. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present), 3. Scrubs (2001-present)The book also includes eleven photo spreads: 1. "Flops" [two pages], 2. "Brilliant but Cancelled" [one page], 3. "Pets" [one page], 4. "Military Sitcoms" [one page], 5. "Character Actors" [two pages], 6. "Sitcoms from Radio Shows" [one page], 7. "Sitcoms from Movies" [one page], 8. "Cheesecake and Beefcake" [one page], 9. "Movie Stars Who Tried Television", 10. "Flops Part II" [two pages], 11. "Character Actors Part II" [two pages]
