What show had the biggest impact?

[Jim Kelly]

ROOM 222 is largely forgotten yet it was a show that combined drama and comedy. I have to remind myself that it was only half an hour, because a lot of the stories played like hour long dramas. It was created by James L. Brooks and people involved with writing and producing went on to do high profile T.V. shows and movies--including THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and M*A*S*H.

[caj]

I believe The Jeffersons were the first show to have an African American married to a Caucasian as regular characters (called a 'mixed marriage' back then).

While there had been successful African American characters on tv, such as Diahann Carroll as a nurse on Julia, George and Weezy may have been the first wealthy black couple.

[Midvillian1322]

Sopranos We got Every great modern show I believe because sopranos changed the way we looked at TV shows. Breaking bad and the wire don't happen without Sapranos. I dont know if HBO becomes what it is now and we get GOT without it. Alot of speculating but the Sapranos changed television imo.

[Gotham citizen]

ALL IN THE FAMILY was pretty groundbreaking in terms of tackling subject matter that no one talked about on TV.

Moreover it started an huge number of (very often) successful spin off: Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Archie Bunker's Place, Gloria, 704 Hauser…

I would add to the list of TV show with the biggest impact Star Trek, Miami Vice and N.Y.P.D. Blue.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Its influence has impacted tv shows, movies, novels and comics for urban fantasy significantly. It's fingerprints are all over Teen Wolf, Supernatural, True Blood, Shadowhunters, iZombie, Smallville, Vampire Diaries, The Magicians, Legacies, Merlin and more. Basically, pick any urban fantasy show made after it and its presence has been felt.

[Powerboy]

I hear the phrase ground breaking thrown around when hearing about different shows. So it had me wonder what show for whatever reason had the biggest impact on pop culture as a whole?

Probably "All in the Family". It's seldom seen nowadays because it was so topical. But it was willing to deal with the social issues that were sweeping the nation in a time when other shows ignored them or barely mentioned them. Racism, Sexism, Gay Rights, Trans-phobia, Corrupt political leaders, corrupt police forces, ethnic bigotry, religious hatred, and on and on. And this was in the 1970s.

We like to believe that we are not influenced by Hollywood but we are. Even in the rural isolated region I grew up in, I became aware of many of these issues because of that show and realized there was a huge other side to the story besides the small town ignorant attitude I had been told.

It was that show that broke the barrier. People may say they have seen all kinds of shows tackle those issues. But every last one of them was after "All in the Family" did it. I don't even think there's any question that it had the hugest impact on popular culture.

Mind you, I get that "I Love Lucy" had people preoccupied with what was happening with the Ricardos as if they were real but that's a preoccupation with the show itself and I know "Buffy" had a big impact on similar shows. But I'm talking about increasing awareness and popularizing new attitudes of a culture.

[Castle]

Break it down to different genres of Television.

Urban Fantasy: Buffy

High Fantasy: Game of Thrones

Comedy: Friends, Seinfeld

Science Fiction: Star Trek

Gantsa/Mafia: The Sopranos

Crime: CSI

Medicine: ER, House, Scrubs

Politics: The West Wing

Terrorism: 24

Spy: Alias

Mystery: Lost

Sports: Friday Night Lights

Teen/YA: Saved by the bell, Boy meets world, Beverly Hills 90210

Legal: Law and Order

Chick flicks: Sex and the City

[Cyke]

For some reason I started thinking about the inverse of this thread. Saturday Night Live is an institution and it's influential, but I feel like maybe its impact is a bit overblown, too, and not on the level of many shows mentioned in this thread already.

Sure, it's launched a thousand careers, rightfully so. It's led to plenty of pop culture memes and trends over the decades. But its movie track record is terrible and the content of the show is rarely mentioned as an influence (unlike, say, talk show hosts or specific comedians). Indeed, I feel like this past season's reliance on old SNL veterans (Sandler, Armisen, Rudolph, etc) past the political skits goes to show how much its stars are valued more than the content itself.

[Jim Kelly]

Most TV shows make their impact in the first few seasons. If they stick around a long time, like THE SIMPSONS and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, they often become moribund and irrelevant.

In terms of having an impact on the cultural Zeitgeist, I'd say THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW was hugely important. Ed scouted for new and innovative stars to introduce to the nation. He did as much to bridge the divisions between races and religions as anyone, by giving people of all creeds and colours a chance to shine.

On a given evening you could experience the likes of Mahalia Jackson and Stiller & Meara--plus Senor Wences, Topo Gigio and Brenn’s plate spinning.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

I'll add that I think HILL STREET BLUES was very influential on the television industry because it began the trend of serialized dramas in genres outside of soap operas like Dallas or Dynasty.

Similarly, CHEERS is very influential because it began the "will they/won't they" type storytelling that a lot of sitcoms and dramas have used since then.

[LordLeviathan]

In terms of structure : babylon 5

[caj]

I'll add that I think HILL STREET BLUES was very influential on the television industry because it began the trend of serialized dramas in genres outside of soap operas like Dallas or Dynasty.

Similarly, CHEERS is very influential because it began the "will they/won't they" type storytelling that a lot of sitcoms and dramas have used since then.

Agree with both of these.

[ChrisIII]

For some reason I started thinking about the inverse of this thread. Saturday Night Live is an institution and it's influential, but I feel like maybe its impact is a bit overblown, too, and not on the level of many shows mentioned in this thread already.

Sure, it's launched a thousand careers, rightfully so. It's led to plenty of pop culture memes and trends over the decades. But its movie track record is terrible and the content of the show is rarely mentioned as an influence (unlike, say, talk show hosts or specific comedians). Indeed, I feel like this past season's reliance on old SNL veterans (Sandler, Armisen, Rudolph, etc) past the political skits goes to show how much its stars are valued more than the content itself.

Hasn't the show usually brought back former cast members as hosts for years though (usually when they have a movie out)? Although I think last season was the first time Eddie came back.

[Arfguy]

I'm going to go with the X-Files. I'm sure there were other shows that had done it before, but it felt like X-Files was that show that really changed modern day TV shows. From the interesting "monsters of the week" type episodes that were so common in shows like Buffy, Angel, Supernatural, etc., to really solidifying the idea of building a larger mythology. Things like referring to people like "Mulder" or "Scully", based on whether a character believed you or not, phrases like "trust no one" or "the truth is out there" to the theme music...I get the feeling that the effects of X-Files are still being felt today.

[Cyke]

Hasn't the show usually brought back former cast members as hosts for years though (usually when they have a movie out)? Although I think last season was the first time Eddie came back.

So two things:

1. I mean this past season has featured more than usual (in guest roles, but not host duties), in part because of the Democratic presidential nominee race. But even after the field narrowed down, they'd be used in later skits, non-political.

2. Former SNL coming back as hosts is fine, as far as i'm concerned. But overreliance for cameo roles and guest stars is what bogs it down lately imo. And it seems to detract from the already-underutilized cast members, like the repertory players.

Essentially, it's stunt casting to tap into nostalgia rather than depend on the strength of the content and the current cast.