I think something showing the difference between non-serialised dramas and serialised dramas is important. That's been the big sea change in the last 20+ years. So you could take something like Law & Order or CSI with their general "reset-at-the-end-of-the-episode" structure, and contrast with something else. That could be The Sopranos, or Lost, or 24. These also bring you a little further up to date. I think you need a handful of post 2000 shows in there.
I also think "participation" in television outcomes is interesting. So contrast Wheel of Fortune where unless you apply to take part, you're entirely passive, just playing along at home, with American Idol where you phoned in to save your favourite.. Viewers were completely invested. And with that participation came some massive ratings in their heyday. There's probably room for something on the business of television. That could be the old-school "pilot" season, which was the norm until relatively recently, versus today's streamers launching shows at any time of the year, sometimes letting you binge and sometimes making you wait week by week (or do combinations, like Andor). You could get into syndication - why it was important to get to 100 episodes or whatever, with 22 episode seasons, vs today's seasons which only occasionally get beyond 10 episodes. There's probably something about news too, and the change in how it's consumed on TV. I appreciate you may not want to walk into politics here though considering the audience. And there's probably something about technology. The introduction of VCRs, later Tivos, and now on-demand streaming. How that changed how we *watched* television on our own terms vs the forced appointment to view. Good luck! Adam On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 3:27 AM Melissa P <[email protected]> wrote: > All in the Family > > > On Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 8:59 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I teach a History of Pop Music elective in my middle school. I’m >> contemplating a companion elective centered around television. Throwing >> this concept open to this group. >> >> Looking at about ten hours of content (one hour a week for one quarter of >> the academic school year). >> >> Do I go chronologically from early early years to the present day, or do >> I focus on a different genre each class (drama, sitcom, talk show)? >> >> Most iconic shows? The ones that need to be preserved in a time capsule? >> A day devoted to the worst TV shows? >> >> I feel like I need to include the following: >> MASH >> Johnny Carson >> NYPD Blue >> Wheel of Fortune >> Monty Python >> The Cosby Show >> Star Trek >> The Real World >> Wide World of Sports >> The OJ Simpson trial >> Cronkite announcing the death of JFK >> >> People will probably also want me to include: >> I Love Lucy >> Milton Berle >> Bob Hope >> Ernie Kovacs >> SNL >> >> Open to any and all ideas >> >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4AXmWNFSG0pZ%3DW6s4bxY3qdJXXpfmJT3Zz1yaTgS1ivXQ%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4AXmWNFSG0pZ%3DW6s4bxY3qdJXXpfmJT3Zz1yaTgS1ivXQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPwnKU797v9tb93qDHu6Rmy75kg-wjR6WDVWxgtmstSHpQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CA%2B_fQPwnKU797v9tb93qDHu6Rmy75kg-wjR6WDVWxgtmstSHpQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGAL09E5zCjvBi3f5Qeyn7EXMfMdGd-B1hM5yZuthG_pqg%40mail.gmail.com.
