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Burbank, California What makes a television series great? Many things, not the least of which is timing and good luck. However when a series does become a classic, it's usually because the audience can relate to the characters and their stories. The audience either sees themselves in the characters (The Kramdens) or sees in the characters someone they would like to hang out with. (The gang at Cheers). The great shows continue to influence popular culture in the years beyond their production. Friends was great fluff for its time, but it will have no lasting creative impact on the world other than a warm Brady Bunch kind of memory for the generation weaned on the show. The following is my list of The Greatest TV series of all time. I could have put The Mary Tyler Moore Show on the list instead of Cheers. But I didn't, even though Cheers was somewhat a derivative of Mary. More people hang out in bars than newsrooms. I've finished with The Most Important TV series of all time, the one that had the greatest impact on all of show business either before or since. Have fun, and let the debate begin. I Love Lucy We say in the television business, that "funny is money," and nothing has endured longer than I Love Lucy. This show was born out of Lucille Ball's desire to keep her Cuban bandleader husband Desi Arnaz off the road, as Desi was a bit of the ladies' man. When no network was willing to cast the thickly accented Desi as Lucy's husband, they used their own money to produce the pilot. In doing so, they created a comedy classic, one against which all other comedies are still measured. It was Desi's idea to shoot the show in front of a studio audience to create energy for the performers and use multiple cameras to record the action. For that alone, Desi deserves to be in the Directors Hall of Fame. For more on Lucy, read Why I Love Lucy, by Billy Van Zandt at www. HOFMAG.com. All In The Family A show that you couldn't get made in today's world of political correctness. Carroll O'Conner's brilliant portrayal of Archie Bunker was not so much that of a hateful bigot as it was that of an ignorant man. If Archie were a bad guy, the sweet Edith would never have fallen for him. Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers created great comedy foils as Archie's liberal tormenting daughter and son in law. The episode in which Archie finds Sammy Davis Jr.'s briefcase in the back of a cab is a comedy classic. All In The Family spawned numerous spin offs including The Jeffersons, Maude and Good Times. That's impact! 60 Minutes The father of all the news magazines. The joke used to go that you knew you were going to have a bad day if Mike Wallace showed up at your door. 60 Minutes has never sold out to sensationalism or celebrity. It gave us the news unvarnished, inventing investigative journalism along the way. Under the tight reins of executive producer Don Hewitt, 60 Minutes became America's most trusted name in news. A crack staff of reporters and producers didn't hurt either.
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