Top 5 old-school TV comedies

Today, a debate while you wait for NCAA tournament games to begin -- top five old-school television comedies.



5. 'The Andy Griffith Show': Is it possible to turn on your TV and not find Andy and the gang carrying on in Mayberry on some channel? A classic show about another time that holds up well largely because Barney was the best comedic sidekick in the history of TV (sorry, George).



4. 'The Dick Van Dyke Show': Start with the obvious; Mary Tyler Moore, who played Rob Petrie’s wife Laura, was the hottest babe of the ‘60s. And Van Dyke was outstanding at physical comedy (remember his trip-over-the-ottoman entrance) as well as a deft main character. Just plain funny, and still funny, even though the married Rob and Laura slept in twin beds.



3. 'M*A*S*H': Humorous and serious and tragic at the same time, passing along its messages about war and death with wry twists that usually made you think. Hawkeye made Alan Alda an icon. Don’t you bet the guy who played Trapper John (uh, that was Wayne Rogers) is sorry he ever left the show?



2. 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show': You get a show named after you, you’ve made it, at least temporarily. Then you’ve got to be consistently funny. Moore and her cast did that, bringing their Minneapolis TV newsroom to entertaining life. Mary wanted to make it on her own and did, in a big way.



1. 'All in the Family': The first program to really add bite to comedy, taking pokes at topics ranging from racism, sexism, everything-ism. Archie Bunker was the little man launching malapropisms, raging against the machine and on the wrong side of history in almost every area. But, over time, he still managed to learn a few things and make us laugh in the process.

I’m sorry but “I Love Lucy” and “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” haven’t held up all that well, although Lucy still has her moments. The sleeper that just missed was “The Bob Newhart Show.” You may have other ideas, so give us your list.

Comedies of the modern era come tomorrow.

—Stan Olson