Best in TV - ABC News and People Magazine Special

[frequentsoapfan]

Yeah I was sober! I'll try watching it drunk next time!

[VirginiaHamilton]

I guess now isn't the time to admit that I loved ALF during its original run when I was a kid.

Then again, I'm the same person who ate Small Wonder up with a spoon back then.

[Khan]

Shows like "ALF" and "Small Wonder" are fine when you're a kid and "don't know no better." It's only when you grow up and can no longer go to Never Never Land....

[frequentsoapfan]

That's what I realized. I remember watching it as a child with my parents but watching it as an adult it's blah.

[Khan]

Actually, I don't know which is more surprising: the number of shows that don't hold up as you transition into adolescence and adulthood, or the ones that do. I loved watching reruns of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as a teenager, but I hardly think theirs was a show directed at a young demographic. But when I watch, say, "Charles in Charge" these days, all I can do is ask myself, "When did I EVER like this show?" LOL!

[allmc2008]

This might be an unpopular opinion but I HATE I Love Lucy!! I do not find her funny and yes I think the chocolate factory episode with her and Ethel is annoying as sin! She is WAY over rated!!

I think the best sitcom should have been All in the family. That show CHANGED Television for ever. I just started watching Mary Tyler Moore on YT and I also think she should have been up there. It was the first sitcom to be centered around Adults. It is like pre cheers/Seinfeld/friends.

I wish one year they would take Lucy out of the running and have someone who actually deserves to be number 1 win for a change.

[EricMontreal22]

In terms of TV shows, it really isn't (although Another World was way more popular here near the end of its run, and Y&R does air, a day ahead, late afternoon--usually four or five when many kids would be home from school--locally in the 90s DAYS aired at four a day ahead too, at least on the West Coast). But, if it makes a different, my experience does tend to be with people who grew up in (mainly white or Asian) upper middle class homes.

I was saddened to not see a dark horse like thirtysomething there. I'm sure, being voted for online, the demos were largely younger and chose shows they recognized (hence why there's no chance something like Edge of Night would make soap).

I find Lucy mildly amusing--which is saying something as I usually hate that kind of slapsticky/physical humour. But it would never be close to my top. But everyone knows it, and it was undeniably a huge influence--and still is (from flat out rip offs like The Nanny to the format in general), so I kinda, kinda get it. But yeah, would be interesting to take it out.

[Gray Bunny]

I'm not surprised at all by the results. In the last 30 years, GH, DAYS, AMC, and Y&R were the most popular, iconic, and mainstream-worthy soaps. They were also almost always in the top half of the ratings race throughout. B&B is an afterthought, OLTL is not as iconic and well-remembered as her ABC sisters, and ATWT and GL fell out of the top spots in popularity 20 years ago, aside from a few bright spots here 'n there.

It's amazing to see how active fans of Dark Shadows still are after all these years. I could see ATWT being in the top 5 for once being the king of the ratings, but ATWT fans just aren't as vocal (or maybe they're dead. literally) as other soap fan bases.

[CSF]

I'm actually not surprised by that at all. I never loved GH but its the most famous soap of all time. In the 1980s, the soap to watch in the daytime was General Hospital and the soap to watch in primetime was Dynasty.

Dark Shadows was a surprise to me, but like others said, it was a cult classic and it was such a popular show for kids to come home to after school and watch. It wasn't your typical soap which set it apart obviously and attracted kids and teens, hence its popularity. Even though it didn't last for many years, people of that generation would always remember it. I don't see B&B, OLTL, AW, GL or ATWT ever being the rank in a category like that. They may have been good and at times great, but AMC, GH, Y&R and Days were like a brand.

[CSF]

I totally agree with you. I thought about that with ATWT, being number 1 for 20 years but if you look back, it ran unchallenged for so long and it was the infancy of television really. Its easy to see why soaps like AMC and Days were able to dethrone it, they were modeled on the same format almost.