Shows that ended at the Right time

[nomadcowatbk]

Shows that went out on top and cancelled by the producers despite network offers

Cosby Show
Seinfeld
Home Improvement
Cheers
Everybody Loves Raymond

 

[cd637299]

You can throw in "The Dick Van Dyke Show"....CBS wanted the next season in color IIRC, and the DVDS brass preferred to go out on top.

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[Mark Giardina]

Add "The Fugitive" to that list which ended its four year run on ABC in September 1967 with one of the highest ratings (for many years) for the two part conclusion "The Judgment."

 

[bpatrick]

"M*A*S*H" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

I'd also add "Leave It To Beaver"; in 1963 Wally was
about to enter college and Beaver, high school; that
would have broken up the brother dynamic. Also, the
show never had to deal with the social issues of the '60s.
"The Patty Duke Show" is another that ended (1966) before
having to deal with boyfriends being drafted, hippies, women's
lib, etc., which probably would not have made good comedy fodder.

 

[landtuna]

"The Patty Duke Show" is another that ended (1966) before
having to deal with boyfriends being drafted, hippies, women's
lib, etc., which probably would not have made good comedy fodder.

I dunno.....Rowan & Martin made a fortune with those very subjects two years later. ;D

 

[bpatrick]

True, but "Laugh-In" was basically satire, whereas Patty's show
played more as a light family sitcom, which is why I don't think
those topics would have made good comedy fodder for her show.
And let's face it: issues didn't really become the stuff of sitcoms
until "All In The Family" in 1971.

 

[landtuna]

True, but "Laugh-In" was basically satire, whereas Patty's show
played more as a light family sitcom, which is why I don't think
those topics would have made good comedy fodder for her show.
And let's face it: issues didn't really become the stuff of sitcoms
until "All In The Family" in 1971.

Those issues, had they been taken on headfirst, would have undoubtedly changed shows like Patty Duke considerably. They may have succeeded or they may have been too much for loyal viewers and failed. Either way they would have attracted new viewers who didn't like the pablum of LITB and PD and Andy Griffith and the like. Patty Duke has shown she can handle a wide variety of parts. Whether that would have helped the show in that new environment is questionable but I think it could have been successful. It is clear the country was ready for something new after the "white bread" shows of the 50's.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

How about "Turn-On"?

Seriously, I'd have to give a vote to "The Bob Newhart Show". Newhart had already fended off CBS's attempt to give Bob and Emily a baby. (His legendary response to the network: "That's great...Who are you going to get to play Bob?")

 

[radiorob2.0]

How about "Turn-On"?

I was going to add that and "You're In the Picture", both one episode wonders.

Seriously, I'd have to give a vote to "The Bob Newhart Show". Newhart had already fended off CBS's attempt to give Bob and Emily a baby. (His legendary response to the network: "That's great...Who are you going to get to play Bob?")

His show "Newhart" ended on top along with Mary Tyler Moore.

 

[Bob1370]

Newhart is one of two guys who walked away at the top of his (and his show's) game not once, but twice. Not only was the original Bob Newhart Show still fresh and leaving us wanting more when he packed it in, his follow-up, Newhart, stayed creatively at its best right to the end, PLUS having one of the most classic finales in TV history.

The other star who did it twice is Ted Danson. Cheers was excellent all the way. Same with his later show Becker...still a lot of creative gas in the tank after seven seasons.

The most expensive "stick a fork in me, I'm done" proclamation was probably Jerry Seinfeld's. The network and its parent company's CEO Jack Welch offered Jerry $125 million and a seat on the GE Board of Directors to do one last season of 22 shows in 1998-99. He said "no" in December 1997 because he thougt the show was about to hit the wall creatively, had maybe a half season's worth of good episode ideas at the most...so he told GE it was better to quit a half-season early rather than a half-season too late.

 

[nocomradio]

I might have to disagree with MASH though. By the end in '83, it was getting a little long in the tooth with all the replacement actors/actresses. It was becoming a bit of a Love Boat style of show then.

The pilot episode was the best. It mirrored the movie very well.

 

[The King Bee]

One of the finest TV comedies ever, "Barney Miller," was wrapped with an interesting final plot line after seven great years.