11. The CBS Evening News With Water Cronkite (1962-1981): CBS has had tremendous stability when it comes to evening news anchors. First was the late Douglas Edwards, who hosted the network’s weekday news show from 1948 until 1962; then came Walter Cronkite who stuck around until 1981 when Dan Rather replaced him. Rather remains in the CBS anchor desk (though Connie Chung joined him for a few brief, not-so-successful years in the 1990’s). But the name most associated with the CBS Evening News was Cronkite, who replaced Edwards when the NBC juggernauts of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley pushed CBS into second place. Cronkite proved to be the right anchor at the right time. As the decade unfolded, complete with an unpopular war overseas and growing unrest at home, viewers wanted reassurance. That’s what Cronkite provided. His authoritative style and CBS’ decision to showcase such reporters as Rather and Charles Kuralt paid off; by 1967, CBS regained the lead in evening news and held it until Uncle Walter said good-bye to his audience for the last time. The true shame was that CBS didn’t use Cronkite more after his retirement; by the late 1980’s, American broadcast news moved toward a tabloid mentality, which accelerated in the 1990’s with such events as the O.J. Simpson trial and the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. With all due respect to Rather (along with NBC’s Tom Brokaw and ABC’s Peter Jennings, competent men all), TV news is a little poorer without Walter leading the way.

12. The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971): This Paul Henning comedy about a backwoods family that discover oil on their property and move to Southern California was blasted by just about every TV critic of the period. Yes, the situations were weak, the characters were broad stereotypes, and the production was typical Hollywood. But the casting was dead-on (led by Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett and Irene Ryan as Granny), and the show was very funny. Viewers knew the difference; six weeks after its 1962 premiere, “The Beverly Hillbillies” became the top-rated series on US television and held that position for two years. In fact, a January 1964 episode entitled “The Giant Jackrabbit” remains the highest-rated half-hour sitcom episode in US television history. CBS executives (especially Bill Paley) seemed to be embarrassed by “Hillbillies”; it was green-lighted by James Aubrey, who was president of the television network from 1959 until 1965. Known as the “Smiling Cobra” to his enemies, Aubrey leaned toward mindless comedy--or as he once outlined in an infamous memo, “broads, bosoms and fun.” “Hillbillies” fit that description perfectly; so did Henning’s follow-up shows “Petticoat Junction” and “Green Acres.” By 1971, all three shows were gone, victims of a purge by CBS executives to rid the network of its image as a stogy broadcaster with shows that appealed to older, rural and poorer viewers. “Hillbillies” later spawned a 1981 television reunion movie, and a successful theatrical film in the 1990’s. And of course, the reruns continue. Y’all come back now, ya hear?

13. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-1969): The musical and comedy team of Tom and Dick Smothers were unlikely hosts for a topical variety show, but they managed to draw viewers--and the ire of CBS executives. Slotted against NBC’s very popular “Bonanza” on Sunday nights, everybody thought the Smothers would quickly fail. They were wrong. “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” became a top-20 hit for CBS (knocking “Bonanza” from the top spot), even though the youth-oriented show poked fun at Middle America. Censorship, religion, sex, politics, the Vietnam war--nothing was sacred for the Smothers. But CBS executives became uneasy about the show’s content, and began censoring the show--even ordering the Smothers to have a finished show completed in time for the network “standards and practices” people to view before every Sunday night airing. There were unconfirmed reports the Nixon administration put pressure on CBS to cancel the show; President Nixon apparently didn’t want to be ridiculed on the show the way his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, was. Whatever the reason, CBS pulled the plug on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” in the spring of 1969. (The show was replaced with the country-fried variety hour “Hee Haw.”) The Smothers tried several more times to get back onto television; each attempt was unsuccessful. But the show’s success was a preview of the more “relevant” series CBS would air in the 1970’s, to both critical and popular acclaim.

14. 60 Minutes (1968-Present): Until “60 Minutes,” most news documentary shows focused earnestly on one topic. But creator Don Hewitt wanted to try something new--several different subjects in an hour-long programme, with topics ranging from exposing corruption, to stories behind the headlines, softer celebrity profiles and brief looks at our quirky world. Originally hosted by Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner, “60 Minutes” premiered as a biweekly show on September 24th, 1968 in prime time, alternating with the “CBS News Hour.” Three years later, it was moved to Sunday afternoons, where it began building a loyal audience. In late 1975, CBS moved “60 Minutes” back to prime time--Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM, a time reserved under Federal Communications Commission rules for news or children’s programming. Being the only adult alternative on the heaviest viewing night of the week, “60 Minutes” thrived; by 1979 it was the highest rated programme in prime time--the first time a news programme had ever held that spot. To nobody’s surprise, “60 Minutes” spawned such imitators as ABC’s “20/20” and NBC’s “Dateline”; CBS even began airing a second version called “60 Minutes II” in 1999. Thousands of segments and a number of correspondents later, the original “60 Minutes” remains the undisputed champ of the news magazine format.

15. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977): By the late 1960’s, CBS knew it had to offer new programmes that appealed to younger viewers that were tuning to NBC’s “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and ABC’s lineup of urban oriented shows. But noble CBS efforts such as “He & She” and “Good Morning World” flopped, and the network fell back on its aging staples. In 1970, CBS--with the help of new network president Robert Wood and programming chief Fred Silverman--finally found the series that would bring a new generation to the network. Mary Tyler Moore, the former co-star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” played a single woman who left a longtime boyfriend to start a new life. Moore’s Mary Richards was a radical departure from TV’s portrayal of single women; she was not hunting for a man to marry, and she was smart enough to take care of herself without help. And when she dated, she dated (with the implication that she had sexual relations with a select group of them). The show’s trademark of literate, adult humour was brought to life by the talents of Moore and one of the best ensembles ever in a US comedy--Ed Asner as gruff boss Lou Grant; Ted Knight’s pompous newscaster Ted Baxter; Gavin McLeod as sarcastic writer Murray Slaughter; Valerie Harper as best friend Rhoda Morgenstern; Cloris Leachman as trendy Phyllis Lindstrom; Betty White as “happy homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens; and Georgia Engel as Ted’s wife, Georgette. Apart, they were great; together they were pure comic dynamite. Like DVD, “Mary Tyler Moore” ended its seven year run while still creatively on top. (Rhoda, Phyllis and Lou Grant went on to star in their own series based on their characters.) In May 2002, a bronze statue of Moore throwing her tam into the air--the famous scene in the show’s opening credits--was unveiled in Mary Richards’ fictional hometown of Minneapolis. Guess she made it after all.

16. All In The Family/Archie Bunker’s Place (1971-1983): “All In The Family” became the platform of CBS’ effort to get rid of its image as the “Country Broadcasting System” and attract younger, wealthier viewers. But it was more than that. Based on the BBC series “Till Death Us Do Part,” “Family” turned into the most popular US series of the 1970’s, and broke with US sitcom tradition. Archie & Edith Bunker were a lower middle-class couple living in New York’s Queens district with daughter Gloria and her husband Michael (known “affectionately” to Archie as “meathead”). And unlike most sitcom heroes of the past, Archie was not all that lovable. He seemed to be angry all the time, conservative in politics, and a bigot to boot. But thanks to producer Norman Lear and the late, great actor Carroll O’Connor, Archie showed signs of humanity. That was the show’s saving grace, along with the honesty and goodness of Jean Stapleton’s Edith. Combined with the talents of Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner as Gloria and Mike, the four presented realistic comedy tinged with drama, videotaped each week before a live studio audience. Bill Paley and some other CBS executives hated the show, but they didn’t protest too much when “All In The Family” became a cash cow for the network, and an enduring hit. Even when it changed its title to “Archie Bunker’s Place” in 1979, focusing on Archie’s trials and tribulations at his new neighbourhood bar, O’Connor was still wonderful. (Sadly, Edith died of a heart attack off-screen in the fall of 1980; the producers wanted to give Archie new romantic possibilities. But the show lost its heart and soul when Edith passed away.) “All In The Family” endures in reruns--a constant reminder to a new generation of television executives that once in a while, it pays to take a chance.

17. M*A*S*H (1972-1983): If “Mary Tyler Moore” brought humanity to sitcom characters, and “All In The Family” made social issues humorous, “M*A*S*H” proved once and for all that war was hell. Based on a book by a doctor who wrote about his experiences during the Korean conflict; it led to a very successful film in 1970--and the television series followed two years later. Until “M*A*S*H,” most military sitcoms downplayed the reality of combat in favour of typical comedy hijinks. At first, “M*A*S*H” seemed to follow the “war is fun” blueprint of such series as “Phil Silvers” and “Gomer Pyle.” But Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, who developed the television version, had a different vision--they wanted to show the frustration and futility of combat, with the 1950’s Korean experience a parallel to America’s 1970’s frustration over Vietnam. The turning point came during the first season with an episode called “Sometimes You Can Hear The Bullet”; it showed a character the viewers were getting to know dying on the operating table. From then on, episodes deftly mixed silly slapstick with serious and touching drama. The show was also boosted by a wonderful cast, especially Alan Alda as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce, who could make us laugh, cry and angry without turning us off. “M*A*S*H's” military setting also allowed characters to leave the series and be replaced by people who were completely different, helping the show reinvent itself over and over again. (The decision to kill off the departed Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake as he was going home went against the television “rule” that good characters never died. But it was the right move.) The final episode, “Good-bye, Farewell and Amen,” chalked up the highest rating ever for a US television series when it aired February 28th 1983--a tribute to how beloved the series had become during its 11-year run. In its own inventive way, “M*A*S*H” helped American television grow up a little. In constant reruns, it still does.

18. Dallas (1978-1991): For a time, American television viewers became hooked on dramas with continuing story lines in prime time--and “Dallas” led the way. It began as the saga of two members of feuding families that fell in love and married. But it wasn’t long before the focus shifted to the evil J.R. Ewing. As played by Larry Hagman, J.R. became the man everybody loved to hate. Who else would shaft his own brother in a business deal, put his wife in a sanatorium, and sleep with every Texas beauty that crossed his path? It was a perfect diversion for the times. In 1980, American hostages in Iran, a presidential election and economic woes briefly gave way to the burning question: “Who Shot J.R.?” The answer came on November 21st of that year: J.R. was shot by his wife Sue Ellen’s sister, Kristin (Mary Crosby). J.R. survived, of course; that episode became the most watched episode of a television series in history, until the final instalment of “M*A*S*H surpassed it--see #17 above.) “Dallas” also led to a glut of prime time dramas with continuing story lines such as “Dynasty”; “Falcon Crest”; and the “Dallas” spin-off, “Knots Landing.” By 1991, the “Dallas” phenomenon was long over; the final episode showed J.R. considering suicide--sort of a “It’s A Wonderful Life” plot with a twist. “Dallas” was a well-done, well-acted melodrama that kept viewers in the US and around the world glued to their sets. And it proved that Texas oil and Hollywood values COULD mix.

19. Cagney & Lacey (1982-1988): If you ever need an example of how you can talk back to your television set, consider the history of this police drama that featured two women who worked together as detectives. “Cagney & Lacey” began as a 1981 television movie, with the very talented Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey, and Loretta Swit as Chris Cagney. Good reviews and high ratings led CBS to order a series. But Swit was still playing Margaret Houlihan on “M*A*S*H,” so Meg Foster was picked as the new Chris Cagney. When the show debuted as a midseason replacement in 1982, the ratings were low--and one CBS executive thought he knew why. The unnamed programmer told “TV Guide” Cagney and Lacey were “too harshly women’s lib, too tough, too hard and not feminine...The American people doesn’t respond to the bra burners, the fighters, the women who insist on calling manhole covers peoplehole covers. We perceived them as dykes.” Gay rights groups blasted the latter statement, but the decision was made to fire Foster and recast the role of Chris Cagney with attractive blonde Sharon Gless. (And to avoid any hints of lesbianism, the producers made sure Cagney was seen dating lots of men; Lacey was already married with a child.) But the ratings didn’t improve, and CBS cancelled the series in 1983. That normally would have been the end. But executive producer Barney Rosenzweig spearheaded a letter-writing campaign by fans to save “Cagney & Lacey.” It had an effect; reruns that aired during the summer picked up in the ratings. When Daly won an Emmy for best actress in a dramatic series, CBS decided to give the show another chance. “Cagney” returned with new episodes in early 1984; the show jumped into the top ten and its future was secure. By this time, producers focused on the personal lives of the two women and downplayed the police action; the show left the airwaves in 1988, after winning more honors including Emmys for both Daly and Gless. Both actresses went on to other projects, including several “Cagney & Lacey” TV reunion movies. These days, Daly co-stars in the drama “Judging Amy.” And Gless--who is married to her old producer Barney Rosenzweig--now plays the proud mother of a gay son on the US version of “Queer As Folk.” But whatever happened to that unnamed CBS executive who thought the two fictional female cops were friends of Sappho?

20. Murphy Brown (1988-1998): Few comedies in recent memory have caused the political controversy of this well-produced show about a hard-driving journalist for a television newsmagazine and the co-workers who had to put up with her. Candice Bergen’s Murphy Brown bridged the gap among single career women--she was a far cry from the kinder, gentler Mary Richards of the 1970’s, but nowhere near the cartoonish Ally McBeal of the 1990’s. During the show’s fourth season, Murphy became pregnant by her ex-husband and decided to have the baby and raise him as a single mother. That plot twist--which brought the show huge ratings--also drew scorn from the Vice-President of the United States. In May 1992, Dan Quayle had this to say about “family values”: “It doesn’t help matters when prime-time TV has Murphy Brown, a character who supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid professional woman, mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice.” Quayle may have had a valid point, but he and President George Bush were swept out of office by Bill Clinton and Al Gore. (Apparently, it WAS “the economy, stupid,” as Clinton campaign strategist James Carville famously predicted.) But “Murphy Brown” didn’t emerge a winner either; the sitcom lost its edge and bite after the baby was born, along with viewers and critical support. Not even the addition of Lilly Tomlin to the case could reverse the slide. “Murphy” did redeem itself in 1997, when the character had to deal with breast cancer through the season--a first for a television sitcom. It showed both Murphy and “Murphy” at their fighting best--and a reminder that you can still go out on top. It’s ironic to note that today’s television, with its more graphic language and coarseness, makes the Murphy-Quayle flap seem old fashioned by comparison. At least until the next battle over television and “family values.”