In 1960, the first prime-time, animated sitcom on American TV. The FLINTSTONES was a hit, running six seasons on ABC, then perpetually in reruns, as well as spawning movies, spin-off shows, revivals, etc. It inspired a small wave of prime-time car…
In 1960, the first prime-time, animated sitcom on American TV. The FLINTSTONES was a hit, running six seasons on ABC, then perpetually in reruns, as well as spawning movies, spin-off shows, revivals, etc. It inspired a small wave of prime-time cartoon sitcoms, including the JETSONS and TOP CAT... But these barely lasted a season each. (Though they had impressive post-cancellation afterlives!)
In 1989 (after a couple years as TRACEY ULLMAN interstitial bits), the SIMPSONS gave a much-needed boost to the nascent FOX TV network. It went from pop-culture fad to immortal cash cow, having run approximately a zillion seasons now. It eventually inspired a number of other animated sitcoms. Most failed to get traction, but there were a handful of winners like FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD, FUTURAMA, and KING OF THE HILL.
Between the Bedrock and Springfield, there was only one moderate success. Starting as a one-off segment on LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE (see last week's Friday upload), WAIT TILL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME ran three seasons in first-run syndication. Featuring Tom Bosley (Mr. C from HAPPY DAYS) as the dad in a generation-gap series akin to ALL IN THE FAMILY.
There was a little tweaking done from the pilot and this first episode. The daughter seems to have been de-aged back to high school, and a younger third child has been added to give the conservative father a sort of ally in the house.
Once again, the passage of time has proven "crazy wingnut" neighbor Ralph's conspiracy theories to have considerable merit!
From September 1972, here is the first episode of the regular series.
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