Big hits that are rarely seen today

[safe]

Webster was previously mentioned in this thread and it is currently seen weekday mornings, plus an additional two shows are seen on Saturday mornings, on Me-TV Too.

[All My Shadows]

I really liked the set-up, and I hate so say it, but I preferred the post-Edith episodes (not saying those eps of ABP were better than AITF, tho). Carroll O'Connor, Anne Meara, and Martin Balsam made a nice team.

[SFK]

Dang, I wish I got that channel. Laughing to myself thinking about Webster's obsession with special guest star Diahann Carroll. And then there was special guest star Ben Vereen as Webster's "junkie" uncle. George didn't want him around Webster because years ago he saw him shooting up. It was insulin, the man had sugar! And of course that awesome house with the dumbwaiter and secret passages like the one inside the grandfather clock.

[All My Shadows]

Yes! We used to get Webster right after Family Ties and right before Charles in Charge in the afternoons, and I loved that little block. I remember being devastated when Webster set Mim'n'George's apartment on fire, but then I was overjoyed when they moved in with Mary from Soap and her husband. I can't remember individual episodes, but I definitely enjoyed that show. I feel like Punky Brewster should have been included in that block, but it never happened.

Speaking of, I know it wasn't very successful in its original run, but when's the last time PB had any national airings?

[SFK]

I want to say that Punky was on Ion or Pax ten or so years ago. Or it may have been WGN which is where I last watched Webster. I think it was the Family Channel that ran Punky in the '90s. Fact: I do drunken George Gaynes and Susie Garrett impressions.

[P.J.]

Burns & Allen. You'd think '50's tv started and ended with I Love Lucy. I'd take Gracie Allen any day of the week over Lucille Ball. I'm probably the only one who would, but I don't think Gracie gets nearly enough credit as a comedienne.

Part of the problem has to do with it being more on kinescopes than film, but still.

Oh, and Mr. Ed.

[All My Shadows]

I love Lucy and Gracie equally, but I agree Burns and Allen doesn't get the love that it deserves. It currently airs on Antenna TV, and it's been a part of their lineup for over two years. TV Land aired it for a few years about a decade ago as well.

[SFK]

I watch Burns and Allen EVERY. NIGHT. I'm a night owl and I stan for Bea Benaderet.

[SFK]

BTW, B&A was very ahead of its time in how meta the format is. Also watching the show you see where a much later sitcom like The Golden Girls got a lot of its schtick, which is probably rooted in Vaudeville/Borscht Belt comedy.

[SFK]

Oh, and Mr. Ed airs early mornings on This TV.

[P.J.]

I wish I could get either of those channels. I never even heard of ThisTv, and I don't get the digital channels on DirecTv.

I was reading a book (I think it was George's Gracie Allen biography) and it talked about how they developed a lot of innovations, but get no credit for it today. I forget exactly what they were, but George was as hands on as Desi was for ILL.

It's too bad Gracie's legacy has been diminished by time. You get a feeling she was a really lovely person. And I think I prefer B&A because you sort of feel George's love shining through, KWIM? Where Lucy is kind of tolerated in spite of her harebrained schemes, Gracie was loved for her slightly off-kilter view.

[DRW50]

I Love Lucy was Lucy trying and failing to fit into the regular world. Burns & Allen was - it's Gracie's world, everyone else is living in it.

The product placement, which was so attacked in the 60s as being unacceptable and corruptive, now makes the show seem very modern. And it's more effective than most production placement efforts today.

[Soaplovers]

Mr. Believdere... when was the last time that show was re-run?

[~bl~]

ThisTV is a local digital channel, it isn't available everywhere in the US.

[All My Shadows]

There's a channel called FamilyNet that's been airing it for a while, though I don't know if they still do.