How The Waltons, a quiet Depression-era family drama, overcame doubts and tough competition to become one of the most beloved shows on 1970s TV.
theme song
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The original Gilligan’s Island pilot had three actors who were cut before the series began, a slightly different name, and a completely different theme song. Get the scoop here!
Occasionally, top TV show theme songs aren’t just popular – they join the soundtrack of a generation. These 16 hits won acclaim for being more than being the tune played over opening credits. Have a listen!
‘Family Ties’ has the most enviable time slot in network TV, following ‘The Cosby Show.’ But the four-year-old sitcom has managed to create its own following, and now clocks in at #2.
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was a TV sitcom about a widower and his son, Eddie that debuted in 1969. The memorable theme song was by Harry Nilsson.
While television hardly needed another cop series, ‘Starsky and Hutch’ was one of the better reasons to turn on a TV back in the ’70s. Here’s why.
Discover why the Taxi TV show remains a classic, with its unforgettable cast, sharp comedy, and heartwarming moments that still resonate today.
On the original ’60s version of the ‘Lost in Space’ TV show, somewhere the universe, a family is marooned while on a voyage to colonize a new world.
What do you get when you mix equal parts Mel Brooks and James Bond? Get Smart – one of the most hilarious spoofs on spies and private eyes ever. (Also see the memorable opening credits!)
Check out these TV theme songs that set the scene — from The Brady Bunch era to the ’90s favorites!
Premiering on CBS in 1975, One Day at a Time was a revolution – both for the humor, as well as the way it portrayed a divorced mother raising two children. Let’s reminisce!
Born in the gritty era of 1970s television, Baretta featured a unique blend of police procedural and character study. Starring Robert Blake as Tony Baretta,
There were only 17 episodes made of H. R. Pufnstuf, but the kitschy kiddie TV show earned its cult status through reruns that aired through the ’70s and into the ’80s. Here’s a look back!
Good Times wasn’t just about humor; it tackled pressing social issues of its time — including unemployment, racism, and poverty.
First appearing on TV in 1975, Welcome Back Kotter would go on to become one of America’s best-loved sitcoms. Most notably, it starred a young John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino.
From the hilarious misunderstandings to the lovable characters, “Three’s Company” has an enduring appeal. Reminisce with us!
Moonlighting was a hit TV comedy/detective drama in the ’80s, starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd as an unlikely private investigator duo.
Nominated for 7 Oscars, the 1970 Love Story movie starred Ali MacGraw as Jenny, the romantic-tragic girl, and Ryan O’Neal as the rich college boy who won her heart.
Gary Coleman stars as Arnold, a street-wise youth from Harlem, who is adopted by a white millionaire and becomes confused and suspicious about his sudden change of fortune on the comedy series, Diff’rent Strokes.
In this sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati was a struggling radio station. Then someone new turns the station into a top-40 rock music outlet, and things get interesting.
NBC TV’s midseason situation comedy series, ‘Sanford and Son,’ about an aging black Los Angeles junk dealer, appears to be an instant, impressive hit.
Laverne & Shirley was a series about two spirited young women – Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney – who worked in a brewery and managed to have fun on and off the job in Milwaukee in the 1950s.
M*A*S*H debuted on TV in 1972, and centered around a team of doctors during the Korean War in the early 50s. M*A*S*H was a huge success, lasting for 11 seasons, and broke records on its way out.
Let’s look back at the popular sitcom The Facts of Life – meet the actresses, hear that catchy theme song one more time, and get the lyrics for the hit show’s opening credits!
Revisit the picture-perfect view of the ’50s with the Cleaver family, and their oh-so-retro daily ups and downs on the classic TV show, ‘Leave it to Beaver.’ You’ll also find out how Alfred Hitchcock was involved with this success story!
For two years, Tom Hanks pounded the streets of the city searching for a job. Then he was flown to LA, screen tested, and finally selected for the role of Kip Wilson in ‘Bosom Buddies.’ And so a star was born.
Spooky sitcom stars Fred Gwynne & Yvonne De Carlo talked about their lives & what it was like to film the vintage 1960s Munsters TV show in these classic cast interviews!
‘All in the Family’ was a huge hit TV show that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1979, and was number 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Find out about the series here, and see the famous opening credits, too!
CHiPS, a light-hearted one-hour action-adventure series, follows the exploits of a pair of young California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers on the busy Los Angeles freeways, and their encounters with the infinite variety of people who drive there.
Debuting in 1976, the classic TV series Charlie’s Angels was widely popular with viewers, eventually becoming a cult classic favorite and spawning feature films and reboots.
The Monkees may have been a prefab TV band, but there was nothing made up about their real-world success. Here’s a look back!
On this 1982 sitcom, the Square Pegs were Patty Greene (a young Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker). Patty was the smart, skinny, nearsighted one; Lauren was the one with baby fat and braces. The round hole was Weemawee High School.
The Andy Griffith Show – with its memorable theme tune – ran between 1960 and 1968, which was more than enough time to establish itself as an icon of Americana, and start the career of a Hollywood legend.
‘The Jeffersons’ was an offshoot of ‘All in the Family’ that took on a life of its own, and made a star out of Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson.
Mork & Mindy was a sitcom that starred a hilarious young Robin Williams as alien visitor Mork, and Pam Dawber co-starred as his earthling girlfriend (later his wife) Mindy McConnell.
Find out about The Muppet Show, an all-family comedy-musical-variety TV series from the ’70s & ’80s, and see the opening credits and theme song lyrics here!
Happy Days starred Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham and Henry Winkler as Fonzie, and showed life in 1956 – or at least the 1956 some like to believe existed.
The original Hawaii Five-O TV show hit the airwaves in the ’60s, and the Aloha State would never be the same again. Here’s a look back.
The first ‘children’s liberation’ album, ‘Free To Be… You And Me’ – featuring stars like Marlo Thomas, Mel Brooks, Harry Belafonte, Alan Alda, Diana Ross and Shirley Jones – was catchy, upbeat, and like nothing else, and by 1976, had sold half a million copies.
For 7 seasons, the original Fantasy Island TV show featured Ricardo Montalban as the mysterious Mr Roarke, the overseer of a mystical island where people could live out their fantasies,
Gilligan’s Island was the hit sitcom that ran for a total of 98 episodes over three seasons – from 1964 to 1967. Find out more about the show and sing along to the theme song here!
The Mary Tyler Moore Show stars Mary in the role of Mary Richards, a small-town single girl who moves to the big city and lands a job as associate producer of a news program on a local TV station.
In the popular ’80s sitcom Silver Spoons, a child-like millionaire meets the son he never knew – and that kid (Ricky Schroder) teaches his newfound dad how to be a grown-up.
‘The Greatest American Hero’ swooped in to save America with laughs – and a catchy theme song (1981)
On the ’80s TV show The Greatest American Hero, an average guy got a suit that gave him superpowers… but then he loses the instruction book. Believe it or not, the show was a hit.
After ‘That Girl’ proved a comedy success for the actress who played the title role, TV executives suggested the series be called ‘The Marlo Thomas Show.’
‘The Cosby Show’ enters millions of American living rooms precisely because it so well mirrors those living rooms. Sure, the Huxtable family is funnier, wealthier and more idealized than most.
Get a blast from the past with this 1978 article about the popular TV sitcom, “What’s Happening!!”, which soared past expectations and entertained millions.
Maude was a groundbreaking television series starring Bea Arthur that broke all the molds when it first aired in 1972.
The Flintstones TV cartoon sitcom ran for 6 seasons in the ’60s. Find out how the story began, plus see the opening credits & the catchy theme song lyrics!
For six years, the NBC series St Elsewhere literally set the standard for network programming, offering a consistently high level of realistic writing, ensemble acting, narrative experimentation and outrageous humor.
The Betty White Show was a snappy, well-executed 1970s comedy TV show that was meant to appeal to anyone who likes to laugh at real humor – witty, cerebral humor.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 1985 TV season is the success of ABC’s “Growing Pains,” a family sitcom starring former talk-show host Alan Thicke as psychiatrist Jason Seaver.
Bob Crane, a breezy, articulate ex-drummer and recent disc jockey-turned-actor, stars in Hogan’s Heroes, a CBS comedy series which has Col. Hogan (Crane) as the leader of Allied prisoners in a German POW camp in World War II.
