Just for fun: Here are the 100 top rated TV shows of all-time

[book_worm]

Top 100 US TV Telecasts by Rating through February 1, 2009


Rank
Program Net Rating Share
Households (000) Telecast Date

1 M*A*S*H Special CBS 60.2 77 50,150 Feb. 28, 1983
2 Dallas CBS 53.3 76 41,470 Nov. 21, 1980
3 Roots Pt. VIII ABC 51.1 71 36,380 Jan. 30, 1977
4 Super Bowl XVI Game CBS 49.1 73 40,020 Jan. 24, 1982
5 Super Bowl XVII Game NBC 48.6 69 40,480 Jan 30, 1983
6 XVII Winter Olympics - Wed-2 CBS 48.5 64 45,690 Feb. 23, 1994
7 Super Bowl XX Game NBC 48.3 70 41,490 Jan. 26, 1986
8 Gone With The Wind-Pt.1 (Big Event-Pt 1) NBC 47.7 65 33,960 Nov. 7, 1976
9 Gone With The Wind-Pt.2 (NBC Mon.Mov.) NBC 47.4 64 33,750 Nov. 8, 1976
10 Super Bowl XII Game CBS 47.2 67 34,410 Jan. 15, 1978
11 Super Bowl XIII Game NBC 47.1 74 35,090 Jan. 21, 1979
12 Bob Hope Christmas Show NBC 46.6 64 27,260 Jan. 15, 1970
13 Super Bowl XVIII Game CBS 46.4 71 38,880 Jan. 22, 1984
13 Super Bowl XIX Game ABC 46.4 63 39,390 Jan. 20, 1985
15 Super Bowl XIV Game CBS 46.3 67 35,330 Jan. 20, 1980
16 Super Bowl XXX Game NBC 46.0 68 44,150 Jan 28, 1996
16 ABC Sunday Night Movie (The Day After) ABC 46.0 62 38,550 Nov. 20, 1983
18 Roots Pt. VI ABC 45.9 66 32,680 Jan. 28, 1977
18 The Fugitive ABC 45.9 72 25,700 Aug. 29, 1967
20 Super Bowl XXI Game CBS 45.8 66 40,030 Jan. 25, 1987
21 Roots Pt. V ABC 45.7 71 32,540 Jan. 27, 1977
22 Super Bowl XXVIII Game NBC 45.5 66 42,860 Jan. 30, 1994
22 Cheers NBC 45.5 64 42,360 May 20, 1993
24 Ed Sullivan CBS 45.3 60 23,240 Feb. 9, 1964
25 Super Bowl XXVII NBC 45.1 66 41,990 Jan. 31, 1993
26 Bob Hope Christmas Show NBC 45.0 61 27,050 Jan. 14, 1971
27 Roots Pt. III ABC 44.8 68 31,900 Jan. 25, 1977
28 Super Bowl XXXII Game NBC 44.5 67 43,630 Jan. 25, 1998
29 Super Bowl XI Game NBC 44.4 73 31,610 Jan. 9, 1977
29 Super Bowl XV Game NBC 44.4 63 34,540 Jan. 25, 1981
31 Super Bowl VI Game CBS 44.2 74 27,450 Jan. 16, 1972
32 XVII Winter Olympics - Fri-2 CBS 44.1 64 41,540 Feb. 25, 1994
32 Roots Pt. II ABC 44.1 62 31,400 Jan. 24, 1977
34 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 44.0 65 22,570 Jan. 8, 1964
35 Roots Pt. IV ABC 43.8 66 31,190 Jan. 26, 1977
35 Ed Sullivan CBS 43.8 60 22,445 Feb. 16, 1964
37 Super Bowl XXIII Game NBC 43.5 68 39,320 Jan. 22, 1989
38 Academy Awards ABC 43.4 78 25,390 Apr. 7, 1970
39 Super Bowl XXXI Game FOX 43.3 65 42,000 Jan. 26, 1997
39 Super Bowl XXXIV Game ABC 43.3 63 43,618 Jan. 30. 2000
40 Thorn Birds Pt. III ABC 43.2 62 35,990 Mar. 29, 1983
41 Super Bowl XLII Game FOX 43.1 65 48,655 Feb. 3, 2008
41 Thorn Birds Pt. IV ABC 43.1 62 35,900 Mar. 30, 1983
43 CBS NFC Championship Game CBS 42.9 62 34,960 Jan. 10, 1982
44 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 42.8 62 21,960 Jan. 15, 1964
45 Super Bowl VII Game NBC 42.7 72 27,670 Jan. 14, 1973
46 Super Bowl XLI Game CBS 42.6 64 47,505 Feb. 4, 2007
47 Thorn Birds Pt. II ABC 42.5 59 35,400 Mar. 28, 1983
48 Super Bowl IX Game NBC 42.4 72 29,040 Jan. 12, 1975
48 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 42.4 60 21,750 Feb. 26, 1964
50 Super Bowl X Game CBS 42.3 78 29,440 Jan. 18, 1976
50 Airport (Movie Specials) ABC 42.3 63 28,000 Nov. 11, 1973
50 Love Story (Sun. Night Mov.) ABC 42.3 62 27,410 Oct. 1, 1972
50 Cinderella CBS 42.3 59 22,250 Feb. 22, 1965
50 Roots Pt. VII ABC 42.3 65 30,120 Jan. 29, 1977
55 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 42.2 59 21,650 Mar. 25, 1964
56 Super Bowl XLIII Game NBC 42.0 64 48,139 Feb. 1, 2009
56 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 42.0 61 21,550 Feb. 5, 1964
58 Super Bowl XXV Game ABC 41.9 63 39,010 Jan. 27, 1991
58 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 41.9 62 21,490 Jan. 29, 1964
58 Super Bowl XXII Game ABC 41.9 62 37,120 Jan. 31, 1988
61 Miss America Pageant CBS 41.8 75 19,600 Sept. 9, 1961
61 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 41.8 59 21,440 Jan. 1, 1964
63 Super Bowl VIII Game CBS 41.6 73 27,540 Jan. 13, 1974
63 Super Bowl XL Game ABC 41.6 62 45,867 Feb. 5, 2006
63 Bonanza NBC 41.6 62 21,340 Mar. 8, 1964
66 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 41.5 61 21,290 Jan. 22, 1964
67 Super Bowl XXXVIII CBS 41.4 63 44,908 Feb. 1, 2004
67 Bonanza NBC 41.4 60 21,240 Feb. 16, 1964
69 Seinfeld NBC 41.3 58 40,510 May 14, 1998
69 Super Bowl XXIX Game ABC 41.3 62 39,400 Jan. 29, 1995
69 Bill Cosby Show NBC 41.3 56 36,100 Jan. 22, 1987
72 Academy Awards ABC 41.2 75 22,620 Apr. 10, 1967
73 Super Bowl XXXIX Game FOX 41.1 62 45,081 Feb. 6, 2005
74 Winds Of War - Part 7 ABC 41.0 56 34,150 Feb. 13, 1983
74 Bonanza NBC 41.0 58 21,030 Feb. 9, 1964
76 Gunsmoke CBS 40.9 65 19,182 Jan. 28, 1961
77 Bonanza NBC 40.8 63 21,460 Mar. 28, 1965
78 Super Bowl XXXVII ABC 40.7 61 43,433 Jan. 26, 2003
78 All In The Family CBS 40.7 62 25,270 Jan. 8, 1972
78 Bonanza NBC 40.7 61 21,410 Mar. 7, 1965
81 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 40.6 59 20,219 Feb. 20, 1963
82 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 40.5 62 20,169 May 1, 1963
82 Gunsmoke CBS 40.5 64 18,995 Feb. 25, 1961
82 Roots Pt. I ABC 40.5 61 28,840 Jan. 23, 1977
82 Bonanza NBC 40.5 58 20,780 Feb. 2, 1964
86 Super Bowl XXXVI Game FOX 40.4 61 42,664 Feb. 3, 2002
86 Super Bowl XXXV Game CBS 40.4 61 41,270 Jan. 28, 2001
86 Bonanza NBC 40.4 61 21,250 Feb. 21, 1965
89 Miss America CBS 40.3 68 21,200 Sept. 12, 1964
89 Super Bowl XXVI Game CBS 40.3 61 37,120 Jan. 26, 1992
89 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 40.3 54 20,069 Jan. 23, 1963
92 Super Bowl XXXIII Game FOX 40.2 61 39,992 Jan. 31, 1999
92 Winds Of War - Part 2 ABC 40.2 54 33,490 Feb. 7, 1983
94 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 40.1 60 20,570 Apr. 8, 1964
94 Beverly Hillbillies CBS 40.1 58 19,970 Feb. 13, 1963
94 Gunsmoke CBS 40.1 61 18,807 Feb. 4, 1961
94 Gunsmoke CBS 40.1 65 18,807 Feb. 11, 1961
94 Bonanza NBC 40.1 57 21,090 Feb. 14, 1965
99 Miss America CBS 40.0 72 20,520 Sept. 7, 1963
99 Dallas (B) CBS 40.0 59 31,120 Nov. 9, 1980
99 World Series - Game 6 NBC 40.0 60 31,120 Oct. 21, 1980
99 All In The Family CBS 40.0 58 24,840 Jan. 15, 1972
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/03/21/top-100-rated-tv-shows-of-all-time/14922

[graywarrior]

1. I was just telling someone here that I worked for Nielson and the most viewed show

all over the country is MASH.

[Kaleva]

45. I remember the hype about the last show of "The Fugitive"

[Fuzz]

2. Lol, The Day After. I remember that!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. The presence of "Lol" and "The Day After" in the same sentence is unsettling. -nt

[Fuzz]

5. Heh, sorry. You're right. I remember all the hype around it which made me lol

[DireStrike]

3. Why do people like Football so much?

It's one of the more boring sports to watch. 5 minutes of delay for every 5 seconds of play.

[book_worm]

6. beats me?

[Oregone]

11. Because they are told to like it

It is the ultimate sport for commercial delivery, due to timeout and huddle times. There is an incredible amount of money riding on the fact that Americans love football (and as of now, pretty much just Americans). Many of these viewers have not played another sport like Rugby (or even played football for that matter), and understand the merits of them. This makes them easy to convince that Commercialball is the best sport ever.

Ive played a variety of sports, including football. I put football at the bottom of the pack for watching and playing. But the bottom line is that it sells products.

[blondeatlast]

39. Never thought of it that way but I think you are on to something. It's DEADLY dull,

I much prefer watching soccer and basketball.

When the commercials are the most anticipated part of the program, you know something ain't right.

[Hepburn]

13. It's the huddles that attrack me...

...the rest of the game? Boring! But when those guys with tight buns bend over in those tight pants and the muscles in their calves pop out?

Be still my heart....:loveya:

[Echo In Light]

14. From childhood on, people are encouraged at every turn to worship the gladiator mentality

[gratuitous]

28. Random violence punctuated by committee meetings

What's not to absolutely love?

[blondeatlast]

40. ...

:spray:

[Bill McBlueState]

31. the ratio's actually 2 seconds of delay for every 1 second of play

The average football game takes 3 hours to run 60 minutes off the game clock.

But numbers aside, that doesn't automatically make the game boring.

[DireStrike]

33. Ok, thanks

Must be something else that makes the game unbearably boring. Could have sworn it was the fact that they never play, though.

[rufus dog]

34. Not to act like a KozaK but....

you need to factor in the time the clock keeps running. So if a play stays in bounds; without an incompletion, then the clock continues to run. So a 5 to 7 second dive up the middle takes off almost a minute of time.

[Bill McBlueState]

36. good call

But this reminds me of one of the more exciting aspects of a football game, for me at least. Whether each team can capitalize on the odd timing rules late in a game (clock management) is the source of a lot of drama.

[JackRiddler]

50. No! More like 15 minutes of action in the 3 hours.

The clock runs between plays. As you surely know, it stops for side changes, turnovers, scores, runs out-of-bounds, incomplete passes, timeouts, quarter changes, 2-minute warning, penalties, challenges and official deliberations. After about half of all plays, it keeps running. There's excitement sometimes when they're rushing to line up, otherwise: 2 hrs. 45 minutes of huddles and commercials, 15-20 minutes of play.

[JackRiddler]

53. A theater of two defining American obsessions: War and Law

Two over-specialized high tech armies are deployed by their respective high commands to battle violently for territory, but under strict terms set by an all-powerful and often arbitrary State. A 1000-page rule book meticulously lay out the details of clean and dirty HITS. Americans LOVE the idea of war as a civilized, regulated, repeatable activity with no doubt as to who won or lost! Every play ends on the sheriff's whistle. Most of the plays are followed by significant official rulings of many kinds: ball placement, in-bounds and out, possession calls, clock times, and, of course, 10-20 penalty calls that often determine the outcome. The rulings occasion deliberations and have even given rise to a body of precedent and jurisprudence. Unresolved cases are sent to an appeals court in the booth, and there is even a Supreme Court in the form of the Commissioner's Office and a legislature of team owners (These bodies play a more pronounced role than in most other sports.) In recent years, the opposing generals have even been given the right to pursue litigation.

And on top of it all, the corporations who broadcast and finance the show by advertising get to determine the time structure. It's a vehicle for 70 minutes of lucrative commercials and in-game promotions in just three hours air time.

(Refer to George Carlin's discourse on the comparative merits of football and baseball.)

[Subdivisions]

7. With the exception of a very few, this is one dumbed-down populace.

Dominated by the Super Bowl (which gets it ratings mostly from the commercials and as an excuse to have a party) and The Beverly Hillbillies?

You've gotta be kidding me!

[Echo In Light]

12. Exactly. "For fun?" Talk about fucking revealing and depressing

[book_worm]

16. What did you expect "Omnibus" and "Studio One"???

[Echo In Light]

20. I expected it to reveal exactly what it does. Zero illusions here re that.

[earthside]

21. Remember the times.

One of the reasons The Beverly Hillbillies was so popular was because it was decidedly anti-establishment during the tumultuous Vietnam War/Civil Rights years. The 'rubes' from the hills were sticking to 'the man'; power to the people, so on and so forth.

Frankly, I always found it encouraging that The Beverly Hillbillies were so popular -- and from looking at that list and the number of times that program shows up, I think you can conclude that The Beverly Hillbillies just may be the most popular television show of all time.

[Bill McBlueState]

32. it might be a mistake

to generalize about the entire population based on what a fraction of the population does with a fraction of its time.

In other words, do you think heavy TV viewers are an unbiased sample of the American public?

[left coaster]

35. A nation of football watching goobers..

It all makes sense now..

Soooo.. what do you say, gang? Triple vodkas all around? what.. too early for you?

[Uncle Joe]

51. The Beverly Hillbillies was a stereotypical perfection of comedy.

It allowed one segment of the population to laugh at the uneducated "hayseeds" and the people more sympathetic with the "common folk" to deride the unabashed greed of the bankers, playing one segment of the population off against the other in the same program.

Unlike real life; usually the Hillbillies came out on top at the expense of greedy Banker Drysdale, but I also believe this set the tone for modern day Republican Party politics.

The Hillbillies; having been great shots and fighters, along with their innocent naivete; was their badge of honor and this created their cosmic shield of sorts, allowing them to thwart the machinations of their ambivalent ally.

Maybe this is why parts of rural America resistant to change have been less cognizant of the danger posed by the corporatist wing of their own party.

Personally I enjoyed watching the program in my youth.

[-..__...]

8. The only ones I've ever seen...

are the "Beverly Hillbillies" and "All In the Family" episodes.

The "Seinfeld" one, more than likely.

[Fumesucker]

9. I would never have guessed the Beverly Hillbillies in there that many times..

Uncle Jed! Uncle Jed! There's a strange critter down in the cement pond and I can't find Ellie May nor Miss Jane nowhere's.

[book_worm]

10. Hillbillies, apparently, was the top rated program of the early to mid 60's!!

[izquierdista]

18. Only 3 stations

You probably don't remember when TVs had a dial that went from 2 to 13 and at least half of them were snow.

[TahitiNut]

23. Hell... most folks don't remember TVs before they had remote controls.

:shrug:

[Ezlivin]

41. In the sixties my dad had a remote control: Me

It kept me thin, getting up from the couch or the floor and walking to the Zenith to twist the knob.

Now my 80 year-old dad keeps his HD television on most of the day. It's tuned to Fox, unfortunately. Fabulous image quality, horrible content.

[Fumesucker]

26. I used to have to take the tubes all out about every three months..

Hike them down to the tube tester in the drug store and find out which one had let the magic smoke out this time.

I took electronics in HS and I was the only one in the family that would dare take the TV apart, there be high voltage gods in there that can strike you dead if you don't properly propitiate them. I took great delight in discharging the HV power supply cap with a screwdriver and having the "crack" make everyone in the house jump.

I just didn't realize that the Beverly Hillbillies was that damn popular.

[TahitiNut]

43. I remember those days quite well. I was also the designated tube tester.

I miss the days we could service our own appliances and cars.

[LanternWaste]

46. it's probably just easier to think people are dumb...

it's probably just easier to think people are dumb than to think in context... :evilgrin:

[riverdeep]

15. It's not really comparable.

The shows are all skewed to an earlier time when people didn't have as many channels. Now, there are not only more channels but other distractions in the evening. The market is much more fragmented. Except for sports, for some reason, you're probably never going to get the country on the same page.

[book_worm]

19. that's true. Most of these shows are from the era when the three networks dominated: CBS, NBC, ABC

[Toucano]

27. That's true.

The only program from this decade represented is the Super Bowl.

[surrealAmerican]

17. Wow, I hadn't realized that the Beverly Hillbillies ...

... was that popular. I noticed also that the mid 1970's to mid 1980's seem to be the most heavily represented time. I guess that was sort of a "golden age" for broadcast television, at least as far as ratings go.

[ecstatic]

22. odd. What would aliens or future generations

think of this list?

[book_worm]

24. MASH makes sense and I do remember all the build up regarding "Who Shot J.R."

which is why "Dallas" is so high. "Roots" is represented twice which is understandable because it really was a milestone. I remember, too, that when "Gone with the Wind" was broadcast in two parts in 1976 it was a real event. Remember there wasn't home video then and most people had never seen the movie only heard about it or read the novel. Bob Hope Xmas specials are listed twice (70 & 71) they were highly rated because they were broadcast from Vietnam. The Ed Sullivan 1964 rating is when the "Beatles" appeared. I guess "Elvis" didn't make the list? But overall The Superbowl just domintes this list.

[wolfgangmo]

25. That list is what my daddy would have called...

... mighty slim pickin's.

[SidDithers]

29. Betcha that list doesn't change much going forward...

too many choices, too many channels now, for a huge population to watch just one thing (maybe with the exception of major sporting events). The days of a network series finale drawing record numbers (like MASH, Cheers or Dallas) are long gone.

Sid

[chat_noir]

30. Ed Sullivan made the list because of the Beatles appearances

In preparation for their appearance, the CBS Television office on West-Fifty-Third Street in New York was overwhelmed by more than 50,000 requests for tickets to a studio that held 703. During their appearance, the Beatles sang five songs in the following order: All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There, and I Want To Hold Your Hand. On this night, 73 million people watched The Beatles. Their appearance had such an impact that most normal activities in America came to a standstill watching their performance. Criminal activity in most of the major cities and towns in America was put on hold, and getting a taxi or bus in New York was almost impossible, until their performance was over. Mass hysteria resulted wherever the Beatles appeared, and Beatlemania was created. Can you imagine 73 million people watched? That's a lot of people. But, I must say that when I see the films of that amazing performance today, it is just as exciting. Oh, and for the girls who watched - do you remember when the camera was focused on John Lennon when The Beatles sang Till There Was You? The television stations superimposed the words, "Sorry Girls, He's Married," over Lennon. Oh well...

The Beatles went on to appear, either in person or on video tape, eight more times on the Sullivan Show. For their first historical visit, and the next two, The Beatles received $10,000.00 plus pay for their expenses.

The next time The Beatles appeared on the show was on February 16, 1964. This would be a live performance from their hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. In preparation for this appearance, The Beatles played to a live audience during the afternoon at the hotel, then at 8 p.m., played the Sullivan Show live performance via satellite. The Beatles sang six songs; She Loves You, This Boy, All My Loving, I Saw Her Standing There, From Me To You,and I Want To Hold Your Hand.

http://www.iamthebeatles.com/article1036.html

[clbuck]

37. Nowadays, you're lucky if a show gets 15 million viewers.

In the old days, 15 million viewers meant cancellation.

TV viewing has really fragmented in the last 10-15 years, with hundreds of cable/satellite channels, the Internet, DVDs, video games, and (more recently) online video sites like YouTube and Hulu.

[bobbert]

38. Exactly, with a few hundred channels and internet TV I'm not surprised

That the super bowl is the only thing in the last 10+ years to be on there. Cheers in 1993 is pretty surprising to me. There's just too many other ways to get instant gratification nowadays then to have to bend your schedule to fit around a tv show. The super bowl is popular because there's so many parties, remember that millions of those viewers are at bars and half of those people don't even know the rules of football.

As far as you people ripping on football... At a high school level, the game is a lot about who's bigger and stronger, but once you get to the pros there's a lot of mind games going on. It really can resemble a chess match is you pay attention to the right details... plus the fact that it's one game that's important rather than a series of 7 makes it that much more exciting.

[fishwax]

42. Odd that there are two winter olympics broadcasts and no summer olympics

:shrug:

[JSK]

49. I was wondering about the 94 Olympics

If that was the Tonya Harding night.

[fishwax]

52. oh, good point -- you're probably right

[applegrove]

44. I wish I could come across the DVD of Roots some day. I saw parts

of the original series but not much. I was a kid and I loved it.

[Politicalboi]

47. TV shows include

Football, Baseball, and Miss America? And what No Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver? Or on the other side of the scale The Simpson's?

[JackRiddler]

48. Hundreds of cable channels, On Demand, TiVo, Netflix and Youtube have made this list obsolete

Note that the only programs in the 2000s are Super Bowls. And yet more people watch TV than ever. Aside from live sports events, no scripted program is likely to ever achieve these kinds of ratings for a single broadcast ever again. At least this opens up niche markets for quality shows.

(But what does it mean that different episodes of House, including recent ones, are on several channels simultaneously? Have they developed a rating system to reflect total viewers for the same program if it's repeated several times within a week or month, or is shown three or four times consecutively?)