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Dukes of Hazzard

Plenty of television series have taken their viewers into suburban homes and urban metropolises over the years. For audiences more akin to something with a little backwoods country charm, however, The Dukes of Hazzard was right up their alley. With its rural setting, colorful and attractive characters, and a really fast car, this long-running series based on the daily lives of a couple of former moonshiners put aside cerebral themes in favor of fuedin’ schemin’ and car-chasin’ fun.

TJ Hooker

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After commanding the USS Enterprise around the galaxy for three years on the television series, Star Trek, William Shatner made a celebrated return to the airwaves in the early 80s. This time around, he traded his gold shirt, spaceship and phaser for a police uniform, cruiser and a gun, keeping the streets safe from crime on the ABC series, TJ Hooker.

The Six Million Dollar Man

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If anyone had any doubts that science fiction could be an enormous success in prime time, those doubts were put to rest with The Six Million Dollar Man. The story of a man who, as a result of a devastating crash in the line of duty, is put back together with advanced technology, then goes on to work as a secret agent, kept viewers (mostly young ones) riveted to their television sets for four years.

Northern Exposure

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A classic fish-out-of-water story if there ever was one, Northern Exposure was one of the cleverest, quirkiest and most under-appreciated television series in the 90s. Following the lives of a collection of colorful characters in a small Alaskan town, the show received an avalanche of critical accolades and developed a faithful and smitten fan following that persists to this day.

The Addams Family

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Here was a family for the morbidly minded and the theme song said it all: they were creepy and they were kooky. Ooky, even. The opening sequence music had one of the catchiest tunes around, with finger snaps and everything. And, although there were other monsters (er, Munsters) on the television airwaves of the 60s, The Addams Family contained a decidedly darker humor than its prime-time cohorts and, as a result, won the hearts of millions of loyal fans along the way.

I Dream of Jeannie

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In decades past, few shows were ever been able to rival sports programming when it came to capturing the attention of the adult male television demographic. Why, to do that, one would first need a beautiful woman – perhaps a subservient beautiful woman – okay, how about a beautiful subservient woman that not only worships her male master but has the power to grant his every wish. To borrow from sports terminology – Game, set, match. This winning, testosterone-inducing formula helped make I Dream of Jeannie one of the most popular and successful sitcoms of all time.

Candid Camera

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Long before the perpetual era of “reality TV" took foothold, a mischievous little series called Candid Camera offered us all the opportunity to laugh at other people on television. It also encouraged millions of viewers to ponder the unsettling realization that someone, somewhere, might just be pointing a camera at them.

Blossom

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One of the more popular sitcoms among the youngsters of the early 90s, Blossom consistently delivered the laughs each week for five seasons on NBC. And if you were one of the many adolescents tuning in, there was a pretty good chance you learned a life lesson or two along the way.

Chico and the Man

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Two conflicting characters make for some great comedy. Think Laurel and Hardy, think Fred and Ethel, think Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. And for a short time in the 70s, Chico and the Man. Portrayed by Freddie Prinze and Jack Albertson, respectively, the popular sitcom debuted in 1974 and followed the story of a cranky caucasian garage owner and his smooth-talking Puerto Rican mechanic. And for a few seasons, we not only laughed at their antics, we learned that the most unlikely of bedfellows could become friends.

Highway to Heaven

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It is commonly understood that grown men don’t cry – unless, of course, they happen to be subjected to a show produced by Michael Landon, television’s rainmaker when it comes to turning on the eye faucets. Given a few moments of viewing time, the man could make a statue sob. And, after years of coaxing viewers to cry with the hit series Little House on the Prairie, he was up to his tear-inducing ways again in his next endeavor, Highway to Heaven.