What will the last 20th century show standing be?

[Tom]

[Nerdglasses]Since there was no year 0 AD, the first century was year 1 through year 100, and so on and so forth which puts the 20th century as 1901-2000 and thus puts Survivor, Big Brother, and CSI on that list[/Nerdglasses]

LOL, thinking the same thing about shows that premiered in 2000.

 

[Tom]

Your for got to add Star Trek....Oh wait..what was I thinking! LOL

 

[Gary Mitchell]

He is close to tying (if not breaking) the 20 season record for playing the same character currently held by Kelsey Grammar and that guy from Gunsmoke.

That guy from Gunsmoke? That guy's name is James Arness.

 

[RandyS]

Hey, I just noticed that Futurama is on this poll. Has the new episodes started airing already or is there going to be more direct to DVD movies?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I can't see the Simpsons going anywhere, any time soon, unless one of the main voices decides to price themselves out of the equation (which I doubt will happen).

Probably. Although, I think there are all sorts of possibilities for the cast members to price themselves out of the equation. At this point, I suspect that they're making so much money that the show would probably not be able to survive any kind of dip in ratings.

An interesting fact is that Belzer has been playing Munch for 7 season of Homicide: Life on the Street and now 11 seasons of SVU. He is close to tying (if not breaking) the 20 season record for playing the same character currently held by Kelsey Grammar and that guy from Gunsmoke. Alternatively, maybe Belzer could replace Merkeson on L&O so he can keep playing Munch until he dies.

Hasn't the entire cast of The Simpsons already surpassed Grammer & Arness? But I suppose Grammer & Arness are still king if you're only counting live-action performances.

Although, I'm not sure we can count Munch because he's barely on the show any more. Still, I like the idea of having Munch replace Lt. Van Buren. Richard Belzer in charge of anything is always fun. (When he played the President of the United States in Species II, it's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.)

Of the shows in the OP, I voted for Law & Order. Since news always happens that is more bizarre than any scriptwriter could ever make up, there will always be inspiration. My only fear is that the show could end up with boring actors after Sam Waterston leaves. To me, the Jack McCoy/Lenny Briscoe seasons were the Golden Years of that series.

While Jack McCoy is my all-time favorite Law & Order character, I wouldn't mind seeing him leave at this point so long as they kept Michael Cutter. He's like Jack McCoy: The Next Generation!

Also, I'm more invested in the formula than I am in Lt. Van Buren, so I wouldn't be too sad if they had to get rid of her because Merkerson is making too much money now.

So long as we're limiting it to scripted shows, what about Saturday Night Live? I suspect that SNL & Doctor Who will long outlast any of the shows mentioned in the original post.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Of the main shows in the OP, here's my guesses as to which will fall 1st:

1. Futurama. Even on cable, I suspect this show is too clever to survive. Plus, its track record has been pretty spotty.

2. Law & Order. I'm glad to see many of the rest of you are so optimistic about its future. I've heard so much doom & gloom lately, it's been very depressing. I suspect NBC may just want to end it with an even 20. (Supposedly, NBC only kept it on this long so that it would get to 20 and so Dick Wolf would stop bitching about Gunsmoke.)

3. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Meloni & Hargitay are only under contract for another 2 years. I don't think they'll stick around any longer than that. At best, I think NBC will try & fail to put out a Season 13 without Stabler & Benson.

The last 3 standing will be Family Guy, The Simpsons, & South Park. I'm not sure which will be the last of these 3. My guess would be Family Guy. The Simpsons ran out of gas long ago and I think the tendency for the culture right now is shifting towards Family Guy.

 

[The Fatman]

Damn you, Hermiod, you beat me to Monday Night Raw. Which fits the bill as being a scripted, prime time, entertainment program... and it's definitely going to be on for a long, long time.

Of the shows listed in the OP: Smart money's on The Simpsons. While I know the popular opinion around here is the show is creatively out of gas (and you're not hearing me argue), it still pulls in 7-8 million viewers a week. As long as the cast is willing, that show isn't going anywhere.

 

[faubert]

I heep hearing about how long RIchard Belzer has been playing Munch but nobody ever mentions how long Dann Florek has been playing Captain Donald Cragen. People forget that he was the original Police Commander on Law and Order. He started playing that role in 1990. He left Law and Order after the third seanon and was replaced by S. Epatha Merkerson.

 

[MichaelDornFan]

I heep hearing about how long RIchard Belzer has been playing Munch but nobody ever mentions how long Dann Florek has been playing Captain Donald Cragen. People forget that he was the original Police Commander on Law and Order. He started playing that role in 1990. He left Law and Order after the third seanon and was replaced by S. Epatha Merkerson.

I suppose he started playing the character at an earlier date, but he's only been doing it for a total of 14 seasons.

 

[Frontier]

Family Guy. Having been canceled, twice, it's had breaks to keep fresh. It's taken the cult love Simpsons used to enjoy. Simpsons and original L&O are fading, though Simpsons had strength in feature film country. Futurama is too niche. SVU could go the distance, but if either Benson/Stabler ever leave -- and they do contracts one season at a time now -- it could go belly-up, and to boot it's on NBC.

Family Guy has the best chance of surviving the longest at this point. Though it's quite a ways to catch up to L&O or Simpsons.

 

[rafterman1701]

Don't forget that Belzer also played Munch in a episode of The X-Files AND an episode of The Wire.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I voted South Park because that's what I hope. Harry Shier is getting old, so The Simpsons will end when he dies or retires.

 

[Kira Nerys]

the simpsons

 

[TheGodBen]

I have seen exactly ONE episode of "The Simpsons" - I really don't understand the appeal of that show.

And if someone watched The Way to Eden they wouldn't understand the appeal of Star Trek. The Simpsons now is a pale shadow of its former self, but 15 years ago it would not have been an unreasonable claim to say that it was the best show on television; it was smart, incredibly funny and had a fantastic extended cast of characters. Watch Last Exit to Springfield, Cape Feare or You Only Move Twice, then you'll understand why a show which hasn't been funny for the last decade still has a loyal viewership.

Every time I hear that The Simpsons is renewed for another season another little part of me dies, so knowing the universe as I do it will only be cancelled the day after I die. Family Guy has reached saturation point with three different shows on the air, so there's a possibility that franchise will crash and burn in the next few years. South Park probably stands the best chance of surviving because it is relatively cheap to produce and Parker and Stone have no interest in stopping it.

 

[Tom]

Don't forget that Belzer also played Munch in a episode of The X-Files AND an episode of The Wire.

Who created the Munch character? Somebody must be making money on his usage in these shows (besides Belzer).

 

[Hermiod]

Don't forget that Belzer also played Munch in a episode of The X-Files AND an episode of The Wire.

Tommy Westphall!!

 

[Count Zero]

Dr. Who was off the air for nearly two decades, though; that's hardly the same thing as The Simpsons or Law and Order (Family Guy and Futurama are arguable, I suppose; they both stopped too, though in mid-decade rather than before it started).

Yes, Doctor Who was off the air for nearly 16 years, but still, it has been on air for 30, which is longer than any of the other shows in the poll.

 

[Sci]

Dr. Who was off the air for nearly two decades, though; that's hardly the same thing as The Simpsons or Law and Order (Family Guy and Futurama are arguable, I suppose; they both stopped too, though in mid-decade rather than before it started).

Yes, Doctor Who was off the air for nearly 16 years, but still, it has been on air for 30, which is longer than any of the other shows in the poll.

The problem is that, legally, the current Doctor Who is a separate television program than the original; they merely share a name. Now, certainly, they feature the same main character and are set in the same continuity, but they are still legally separate productions. And the current series began in 2005, whilst the original series ended in 1989.

Meanwhile, you're all forgetting about this little show called Saturday Night Live that's been going strong since the mid-70s.

 

[MichaelDornFan]

Dr. Who was off the air for nearly two decades, though; that's hardly the same thing as The Simpsons or Law and Order (Family Guy and Futurama are arguable, I suppose; they both stopped too, though in mid-decade rather than before it started).

Yes, Doctor Who was off the air for nearly 16 years, but still, it has been on air for 30, which is longer than any of the other shows in the poll.

The problem is that, legally, the current Doctor Who is a separate television program than the original; they merely share a name. Now, certainly, they feature the same main character and are set in the same continuity, but they are still legally separate productions. And the current series began in 2005, whilst the original series ended in 1989.

Meanwhile, you're all forgetting about this little show called Saturday Night Live that's been going strong since the mid-70s.

Eh, I suppose SNL might technically fit into the restrictions I mentioned, but it still isn't really the kind of show I was thinking of. And I don't really consider Saturday evenings to be "prime time," though that's obviously just a meaningless personal opinion.

 

[The Fatman]

^^ "Prime Time" is from 8-11Pm Eastern and Pacific (7-10 Central and Mountain), Monday-Saturday. Thus, SNL doesn't qualify as it airs during "late night" programming.