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27 Bits of Trivia About Classic TV Shows

Don’t touch that dial. Stay tuned for the facts!

27 Bits of Trivia About Classic TV Shows

August 17, 2024

Clear your schedules! Because once these classic facts remind you of all these once-beloved TV shows, you’re gonna want to binge every single one of them.

Ah, binge — a word that wasn’t even associated with TV when these shows were on the air. Back then, watching a whole season in a single sitting seemed impossible. But we had fun terms back then too, ya know? Yup, we were really digging these boss programs.

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27

All in the Family

The first content warning 1971 The program you are about to see is ALL IN THE FAMILY. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices and concerns. CRACKED.COM All in the Family featured several of the first slurs to appear on TV, and was preempted by this warning to contextualize them-kind of like how Disney+ warns kids about their racist crows and cats. — Source

26

The first recurring gay character 1972 CRACKED.COM Vincent Schiavelli's portrayal of set designer Peter Panama on The Corner Bar was the first gay character to get regular screen time. — Source

25

The First Major Character Death 570 Jean Hagen Actress Jean Hagen left The Danny Thomas Show in 1956. Producers decided an unexplained death would be less controversial than divorce. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

The First Color Broadcast Guhisson Epiphage Naturall A 1951 variety show called Premiere finally validated anyone who, for whatever reason, bought a color TV before TV was in color. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

The First Belly Button After half a decade being denied Barbara Eden's navel in I Dream of Jeannie, America got to see Cher's, like, all the time, on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Mary Kay and Johnny 1947-1950 CRACKED.COM The very first U.S. sitcom featured the first time a couple slept in the same bed and the first time a woman's pregnancy was shown on TV. — Source

21

L.A. Law 1991 CRACKED.COM The show featured a bisexual woman who kissed a colleague. It was the first same-sex kiss shown on U.S. television. — Source

20

Candid Camera 1948 Candia Camela CRACKED COM The show (originally a radio show called Candid Microphone) was the first televised reality show, featuring regular members of the public as its stars. — Source

19

Another World 1964 CRACKED.COM The soap opera was the first TV show to address abortion. It would be another eight years until Maude's famous abortion storyline. — Source

18

Leave It to Beaver 1957 CRACKED.COM Although not quite the first show to feature a toilet (it was edited out for being too scandalous), it was the first show to show a toilet tank and certainly one of the first to even include a bathroom. — Source

17

The Ethel Waters Show 1939 N в C CRACKED.COM Ethel Waters was the first Black person to star in her own TV show. She would later be the first Black woman to be nominated for a primetime Emmy. — Source

16

Crusader Rabbit 1950 CRACKED.COM This cartoon was the first made-for-TV animated show, created by Alexander Anderson and Jay Ward who also created Rocky and Bullwinkle. — Source

15

Hot L Baltimore 1975 CRACKED.COM George and Gordon were the first gay couple to be shown on TV. The show ran with a disclaimer about 'mature themes.' — Source

14

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy 1953 CRACKED.COM The first televised birth (well, not graphic birth) goes to Lucille Ball, who wasn't even allowed to say the word 'pregnant' because it was too taboo. — Source

13

The Adventures of Champion

The Adventures of Champion 1955 CRACKED.COM The first TV show spin-off was based on The Gene Autry Show, with the titular Champion being Gene Autry's horse. — Source

12

Saved By the Bell

140 141 IC AL The same high school set was used on Saved By The Bell, iCarly, and That's So Raven. This means that same set of lockers first aired in 1989 during Saved By The Bell's heyday, and stayed on the air until iCarly's final season in 2012. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

CRACKED.COM NORTH OLF Tyra Banks' first speaking role was on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Before she screamed her belief in us, Banks had a recurring role as Jackie, Will's friend/ex-girlfriend from West Philadelphia who got to University of California on a basketball scholarship. — Source

10

The Golden Girls

CRACKED.COM THE GOLDEN GIRLS was inspired by MIAMI VICE. In 1984, NBC shot a humorous skit titled Miami Nice, starring two older actresses, for a special advertising their new shows (like Miami Vice). Execs liked it, and the idea was developed into a full series about old ladies living in Miami. — Source

9

The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show CRACKED COM Before there were Muppets, there were just freaky-ass puppets. Kermit looks positively traumatized by his first castmates on Jim Henson's Sam and Friends, a local Washington DC kids' show. — Source

8

Saved By The Bell CRACKED.COM After a middling 13-episode season, The Disney Channel's Good Morning, Miss Bliss decided to ditch Miss Bliss and focus on the snarky kids. — Source

7

Sabrina The Teenage Witch CRACKED.COM Sabrina hails from the Archie universe. She had her own animated series in the 70's, but her first appearance was as the new kid at Riverdale in 1968's The Archie Show. — Source

6

Mork & Mindy CRACKED.COM Mork from Ork originally appeared on Happy Days, attempting to kidnap Richie Cunningham. The episode was technically one long dream sequence, but people loved Robin Williams' performance so much, they edited the ending and spun off a four-season show. — Source

5

Happy Days

Happy Days RONNY-HOWARD CRACKED.COM The Happy Days crew started out on an episode of Love, American Style, which was basically an anthology of unconnected rom-com pilots. Their episode was meant to be a pilot for an entirely different show that was never picked up. Two years later, the characters and settings were yoinked for Happy Days. — Source

4

The Andy Griffith Show CRACKED.COM The world was introduced to Andy Griffith in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show. Thomas takes time off from being a good comedian and terrible father to get arrested in the small town of Mayberry. — Source

3

The Simpsons CRACKED COM America's favorite jaundiced family first appeared as a short on The Tracey Ullman Show. — Source

2

Family Matters

Family Matters CRACKED.COM Long before Urkel stole the show, the spotlight was supposed to be on Harriette Winslow. She was a breakout success on Perfect Strangers, where she played a sassy elevator operator whose cop husband used to drop by from time to time. In this scene, she delivers the line: excuse me baby, this is a family matter, and you're in the line of fire. — Source

1

Beavis And Butt-Head CRACKED.COM The boys got their first taste of televised idiocy with a series of shorts on MTV's Liquid Television, a collection of animations from indie producers. Their first short is about them brutally murdering increasingly larger defenseless animals. — Source

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