TV In The 1970s

TV IN THE 1970s

What was television like in the 1970s?

It was the decade of Roots and the decade of The Love Boat. Silly television comedies were everywhere! The 1970s was the decade of Laverne & Shirley, The Fonz, Mork and Mindy, WKRP, Three’s Company, and both The Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family. 

Dramas became very formulaic and for the most part fairly bland. But Norman Lear created All in the Family a groundbreaking comedy that led to a national debate about racism, conservatism, homophobia, abortion, mental illness, and almost every important social issue of the time. And they did so in a way that was so funny that the show was the top-ranked show on television for a record five consecutive years. As Archie Bunker became the voice of  Richard Nixon’s “Silent Majority” other topical comedies such as Chico and the Man, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Maude, and Good Times began to change the face of what television situation comedies would look like.

Perhaps no one changed the role of women on television more than Mary Tyler Moore.  Her program broke ground with a monumentally popular view of a single working woman in a professional career.  

Finally, M*A*S*H   captivated America with his unique and unforgettable combination of drama, comedy, politics, and personality set against the backdrop of the Korean War but really opening a discussion about what had happened in Vietnam.

This fast-moving multimedia presentation is more than just nostalgic. It’s also an insightful look at what we were watching and why we were watching it at that particular moment in time. The 1970s were a unique decade and television both reflected and shaped the way we live.