Monday, November 3, 2008

Put some FUNK-DE-FUNK in that vote!


The panelists have laughed, they've cried.

They've watched enough bell bottoms to emblazon little discotheques into their retinas.

And when all is said and done, they've agreed on 16 proposed nominees for the Hulu Award for Best Show of the Seventies (seventies, in this case, being any color program that aired before 1979).

Remember, Hulu Review readers and the general public can vote on their pick in the comments section of this post. The audience vote will have the same weight as one panelist.

Here are the 13 proposed nominees, and what our panelists had to say about them:

Barney Miller
The Bob Newhart Show
Charlie's Angels
Dragnet
I Dream of Jeannie
Kojak
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Night Gallery
One Day at a Time
The Rockford Files
Starsky and Hutch
What's Happening?
Welcome Back Kotter

Here's a sampling of the discussion from our panelists:

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Sam from http://axiomsedge-scifi.blogspot.com (read his full, witticism-filled post for more)

The Rockford Files: A favorite from my childhood, when Friday nights meant Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, and James Garner’s magnificent embattled detective. Rocky, Dennis, Angel, and Stephen J. Cannell’s great story sense round out in this, the second best detective show of all time (behind only Columbo in my mind).

The Mary Tyler Moore Show
: CBS revolutionized early ‘70s television with sitcoms based on contemporary issues. MTM’s liberated woman running from a broken engagement (this was originally supposed to be a divorcee but CBS was afraid viewers would assume she had divorced Rob Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show) fit that mold perfectly. A show that was about something without being so heavy-handed it lost the funny.

The Bob Newhart Show
: Another from the CBS stable, a show devoted to the funniest straight man of all time. A show that rarely had a point to stab us with but always had a situation we just couldn’t help but laugh at, and a cast that was always welcome in our living room.

Barney Miller: A cop show with heart and soul. Sometimes pounded it’s point home like a Van Helsing in a medieval castle but usually kept things light enough to allow us to smile through the staking. At it’s best, there were none better; slightly more uneven than the others listed here, though, overall.
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John from http://axiomsedge-scifi.blogspot.com
(read his full, witticism-filled post for more)

Barney Miller – An intelligent comedy that managed to be funny as well. How come they can’t figure out how to do shows like this anymore?

Mary Tyler Moore Show
– Set the standard for ensemble comedies and delivered plenty of laughs. Many will argue that it is better and more important than my top choice, and that may be true. I just liked Barney Miller more.

The Bob Newhart Show
– Yet another example of sitcoms at their prime and of a good ensemble show. Also inspired one of the early classic drinking games.

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Emily from http://eclairefare.wordpress.com/

The Bob Newhart Show was built upon the shoulders of its star comedian. Newhart's deadpan, dry style of humor paved the way for future comedians like Ray Romano, and his comic skills made this show a classic.



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Lindsay from linzmcc.blogspot.com

Whats Happening!. Writing this took so much longer because I was sitting and watching clips from the show. It is still funny after years and years and how can anyone resist Shirley's attitude?

Mary Tyler Moore. Mary was such an important character. She was the first independent working woman of TV, and America respected her for it.

Charlie's Angels. What girl doesn't wish she was one of Charlie's Angels? Hot, smart, and they can kick your butt!!

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Liz from www.lizarrasmith.wordpress.com:

Barney Miller--I barely remember this show as a kid, but watching now it has totally aged well, as relevant as ever. Excellent cast, great writing.

Night Gallery--I am a bit biased here because I am huge fan of Twilight Zone/Rod Serling..

One Day at a Time--I have always loved the premise of this show, and the fearlessness of the writing.

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Rae from www.ramblingsofatvwhore.com

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – Three words: Mary. Tyler. Moore.

The Rockford Files – Possibly a controversial choice and I must admit it having a large amount of content on Hulu was what edged it out over other choices but James Garner alone makes this show well worth watching. And I still think this show was partly responsible for the abundance of PI shows in the 80s.

Charlie's Angels – It may be my own personal bias coming through but three girls kicking butt? Who could resist it? Plus I think it truly captures the spirit of the 70s.


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Antonice from http://antlouis.wordpress.com/

What's Happening?--I don't have much to say about this show. In my opinion, the cast of characters made, this show. Shirley, Rog, Rerun! Good stuff! If you haven't seen it, take a look at Hulu and watch a few clips!

Charlie's Angels--As a female,this show made me feel I can do and be anything! Thanks to these girls, girl power was amplified in the 70's and still holds true today(maybe the SPice Girls had something to do with that now) but it was a great show for what it was, at the time!

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Rockford Files, of course