Imponderable Prompts - Which TV Show from the 70s is Your Favorite? - Part 1

Last night, my friend, John, asked me this question:

I was thinking about TV shows from the 70's lately ... which would be your favorite?

To which I quickly replied:

 A more refined prompt is required...and more time to comply with the request. ; )

Seriously, that's such a loaded question!  Sure, some favorites quickly sprang to mind, but to commit them down as favorites, or even to pick one as "my most favorite" is near impossible.  We've got to have some defined parameters first:  

Having been born in 1970, I've got the whole decade to consider.  And a lot of shows from the 60s were rerun in the 70s, when I first saw them. (Lost in Space) Do I include those for contention?  What about shows that originated in the 60s, but were still running in the 70s? (Dark Shadows) Or ones that started in the 70s that I might have still enjoyed in the 80s? (I'm looking at you, David Banner.) Are we talking childhood favorites, or ones that I discovered later in life?  Do I divide by genre (sitcom, drama, or adventure...)?  What about Saturday morning versus Daytime versus Primetime? Do I include British shows like Doctor Who or The Tomorrow People, etc.?

Whew, this is going to be tough, but a fun challenge nonetheless...

We quickly established that it had to be limited to shows that premiered in the 1970s.  It doesn't matter if the show reached heights of glory in the 1980s.  If it started in the 70s, it's a 70s show by definition. However, like music, I think eras don't readily line up with the calendar, since my favorite pop music range is 1976 to 1984, with 1978 to 1982 being the ones I gravitate to most frequently (usually). 

Anyway, so I wouldn't forget anything important, I needed to start with a reliable list, and this website seems to be a good source so far.  This is probably going to require an Excel spreadsheet. 

It appears that there are 174 unique shows that were on the Primetime schedule from fall 1979 to spring 1980. Correction:  That website only included a master list of shows that were released on DVD!  I knew it was incomplete when it didn't include Cliffhangers.

Now I've got to do more research...Sheesh, I don't want to buy a book to do this.

To be continued...