Great American Sitcoms of the 1950s
How Lucy, Bilko, Peepers, Gracie and Others Defined a Television Genre
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About the Book
With a unique definition of the classic situation comedy television genre as developed out of its history on radio, this critical study highlights the best American sitcoms from the 1950s, TV’s first decade as a household medium. Everything from I Love Lucy to Dobie Gillis is covered with a rigorous evaluation that seeks to find this formative era’s finest episodic samples that most prove the sitcom’s inherent artistry.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Jackson Upperco
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 297
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9104-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5394-5
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I: The Sitcom’s Evolution from Radio to the Small Screen 7
One. From Aristotle to Benny: Defining the Situation Comedy 9
Two. The Prehistoric Era: The Television Sitcom of the 1940s 25
Part II: Top Sitcoms and Episodes 35
Three. Somewhere Between Radio and Film: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1950–1951 37
Four. TV’s First Great Situation Comedy: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1951–1952 59
Five. Like Lucy: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1952–1953 86
Six. (Still) Like Lucy: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1953–1954 116
Seven. The Sitcom Boom: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1954–1955 140
Eight. The Golden Age: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1955–1956 166
Nine. The End of the Beginning: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1956–1957 197
Ten. Where’s Lucy? The Best Television Sitcoms of 1957–1958 215
Eleven. The Sitcom Drought: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1958–1959 234
Twelve. Back to Basics: The Best Television Sitcoms of 1959–1960 248
Conclusion. The Genre That Doesn’t Die: Television Sitcoms After the 1950s 266
Appendix A. Writers of Top 50 1950s Sitcom Episodes 271
Appendix B. Shows Officially Released on DVD and/or Streaming 275
Chapter Notes 277
Bibliography 285
Index 287
