Im very interested in america of 70th/80th/90th? What TV series from that times would you recommend to immerse myself in that times?
Posted by Duncan_The_Fish@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 59 comments
Hi, im looking for a TV Series from 20th century...
HermioneMarch@reddit
I feel the culture waa truly reflected by All in the Family.
lavasca@reddit
and its spin-off, The Jeffersons.
texasrigger@reddit
And its other spin-off, Maude. Chico and the Man was another great one from the same era.
TheJokersChild@reddit
Also Sanford & Son, based on Steptoe & Son.
blindtig3r@reddit
Another program copied from the UK.
epicenter69@reddit
For some reason, Mork & Mindy comes to mind. Bonus points because it has Robin Williams.
TheJokersChild@reddit
Interesting choice because it was spun off from a '70s show about 1950s Milwaukee. But it was set in late-'70s Boulder, CO.
BrettScr1@reddit
The Golden Girls is very instructive about American culture imho. You have characters representing 4 archetypes: the 1st generation Italian immigrant from New York, the 2nd generation Italian immigrant from New York, the Scandinavian-American from Minnesota, and the Southern Belle, who are all old enough to be able to look back on their lives and tell the viewer a lot about 20th century life in the U.S.
Horror_Reason_5955@reddit
Roseanne was a good representation of blue collar American life in the 90s. My own family struggled a lot and it was very relatable growing up.
PabloPicasshooole@reddit
Stanley Kubrick believed Roseanne offered "the most authentic view of the country you could get without actually living there"
165averagebowler@reddit
I found it too relatable and didn’t like it for that reason.
ligmasweatyballs74@reddit
Dukes of Hazard
Fun_Machine7346@reddit
MASH (it just gets betrer as it goes along , stick with it) All in the Family
Perdendosi@reddit
Mash is about a Korean war, which happened in the 1950s.
TheLizardKing89@reddit
The MASH finale is the most viewed non-Super Bowl TV broadcast of all time.
TheNinjaJedi@reddit
In the USA? Surely The World Cup finals have more viewers as the superbowl doesn't come close to it.
r2d3x9@reddit
Al In the Family is very good, and tells you a lot about the early 1970s. Hawaii Five 0, adam-12, Emergency! Threes Company are great shows that tell you something about the 70s. MASH is about the Korean War in the 1950s. Not gonna get much insight into the 70s-90s. Also, it’s adorable, but watch the movie it has a much sharper edge to it. The Dukes of Hazzard is a great tv show, it’s a characature of real life but also it’s a show that you could not make today!!
NatAttack50932@reddit
Are you looking for shows produced in those eras, or shows that represent those era?
That 70s Show, for instance, was produced in the late 90s, but it is a really dead-on representation of teen life in the 70s.
Rancor_Keeper@reddit
I really enjoyed the show Family Matters, also Carl Winslow, which was the actor that attracted me to the show because he was also in Die Hard. A lot of TV Dads I feel were very pivotal to kids, especially boys, growing up that didn’t have their Dads around all the time. So we needed a positive male role model. TV was everything to us back then.
FoxglovePattycakes@reddit
The first show that came to mind was Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, but that's probably not what you're looking for.
goddessofgoo@reddit
For 90s - Seinfeld, 90210, Full House, Family Matters, My So Called Life, Funky Brewster
165averagebowler@reddit
Punky Brewster
maxman1313@reddit
Friends
False-Cookie3379@reddit
Wonder Years (1960s but still good show), That 70s Show, All in the Family, Growing Pains, Golden Girls, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Family Matters, Full House
MarketEconomist@reddit
Wonder Years for the 70s.
HeyBlinken-@reddit
Freaks and Geeks will give you some really interesting insights into America's culture.
Physical-Incident553@reddit
Miami Vice -80s
IMakeOkVideosOk@reddit
The X files for the 90s
plinkitee@reddit
I'm currently on season 3 of Barney Miller and loving it
segascream@reddit
Probably the best "slice-of-life" shows from the 70s would be 'All In The Family' and something like 'Good Times'.
90s, I think I'd recommend 'King of the Hill' and 'A Different World' (though I admit I don't know how closely that resembles the actual HBC experience)
80s, I can't be much help on, because I was watching a lot of Transformers and ThunderCats at the time.
Meowmeowmeow31@reddit
Columbo is not realistic but it is one of the best shows of the 20th century. The 70s decor and fashion are wild.
segascream@reddit
Are you looking for the best examples of a particular genre from those decades? Are you looking for what everyone was watching at the time?
Duncan_The_Fish@reddit (OP)
Best would be series that showed a life of a normal american in that times
quasifun@reddit
Americans like to watch idealized versions of themselves. Most people in tv shows are happier, wealthier and better looking than real life. This is especially true for the time period you reference.
Duncan_The_Fish@reddit (OP)
I can see it. The best genre for me would be what we now call slice of life anime lol
G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit
One of the closest American animations to being pretty true to life is King of the Hill, from the late 90s through today.
john_hascall@reddit
There were a few that were more "true" than others like Roseanne, One Day at a Time, and Malcolm in the Middle.
myfourmoons@reddit
If that’s what you’re after watch All in the Family and Roseanne
r2d3x9@reddit
TV shows were not real life. For example, Friends had unrealistically enormous apartments
GreatGlassLynx@reddit
70s: All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, Taxi, Bob Newheart
80s: Cheers, the Golden Girls, Designing Women, Family Ties, the Facts of Life
90s: Friends, Seinfeld, Will & Grace, Frasier (a spin-off of Cheers), Roseanne
Note that some of these ran for a long time and carried into the next decade
taskforceslacker@reddit
“All in the family” is a good measuring stick Sitcom from the 70’s. Interesting to note the differences in societal norms between then and now.
mittencamper@reddit
Married with Children reminds us that a suburban Chicago home could be bought on a women's shoe salesman wage. How far we've fallen.
FlightyTwilighty@reddit
You said you wanted "slice of life" but I'm going to go against the grain and recommend you watch the X-Files because it will definitely give you the flavor of the 90s but also some of the absolute most classic UFO / sci-fi / adventure vibes around. Wildly entertaining and it was a huge hit at the time.
Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit
To name a few:
All in the Family, Happy Days, The Jeffersons and Three's Company.
Cheers, Miami Vice and Who's the Boss.
MTV Spring Break, Saved by the Bell and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
CA5P3R_1@reddit
The Muppet Show.
UnrelatedCutOff@reddit
Seinfeld, Dukes of Hazzard, Love Boat, Moonlighting, Magnum PI, Three’s Company, The Jefferson’s, Family Ties, Full House, 22 Jump Street….. I could go on!
r2d3x9@reddit
A-team was a response to the Action for Children’s Television and FCC rules on violence on television. Stephen J Cannel found a loophole that you could have unlimited gunfire as long as they missed and nobody was hurt. McGyver took the opposite approach, rarely picked up a gun. It’s interesting every police procedural or PI show, the big American automobiles when gasoline was relatively cheap, they didn’t have cell phones just pay phones or police radios or mobile phones (with mobile operators)
ray_t101@reddit
The 70’s was pretty much a good time for tv shows sitcoms were king. So shows like Barney Miller, Starsky and Hutch, Food times, All in the family, Sanford and son, the Jeffersons, and Mash. Started in the 70’s and went into the 80’s. The 80’s saw more shows like Hill street blues, Cagney and Lacey, Dallas, and its spin-off Falconcrest, and also more sitcoms like Silver Spoons, Facts of life, Different Strokes, Alf, and let’s not forget shows like The A Team, Tour of Duty, and the talk shows like Gerardo, Jerry Springer, and Montell Williams. By the 90’s I was married and working so not much time for tv so others will have to fill in there. I hope this helps.
r2d3x9@reddit
The Jeffersons give an interesting taste of the early 70s!! People keep saying mash, set in the 1950s in Korean War, based on a movie based on a book. You would learn most about the Korean War if your read the book, a good amount by watching the movie and a little watching the tv show
Terradactyl87@reddit
I assume you mean 70's, 80's, and 90's. For the 70's, shows like Three's Company, Happy Days, and Charlie's Angels were all very popular. For the 80's, shows like Full House, Miami Vice, Cheers, and Saved by the Bell were really big. The 90's had Friends, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Frasier, and Home Improvement. These are basically family sitcoms that would be airing in primetime slots and everyone knew them. More serious shows I didn't really go into.
r2d3x9@reddit
Happy Days was made in the 70s but it was about the 1950s.
Sco_Queen@reddit
Sanford and Son
CasaBonitaCryptid@reddit
While not representative of what normal American life was like in the 80's, the following TV shows were IMO, some of the most iconic 80's shows: Magnum PI, The A-Team, Airwolf, Knight Rider and the Dukes of Hazzard.
DrBlankslate@reddit
70s, 80s and 90s. Not “th.”
Duncan_The_Fish@reddit (OP)
My bad.
R_Stone_25@reddit
Hill Street Blues!
quasifun@reddit
Let’s be careful out there
brownstone79@reddit
Cheers
gravyrider@reddit
Taxi