I Love Lucy was most likely the top sitcom of the first decade of television in the United States. Near the end it morphed into the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and its final episode aired April 1, 1960. Exactly 2½ years later Lucy was back with a new sitcom, The Lucy Show. The new show enjoyed great success through the 60's just as I Love Lucy did during the 50's. Its first season, 1962-1963, it was the #2 rated sitcom (behind The Beverly Hillbillies). It was also rated #2 during its 6th and final season (behind the Andy Griffith Show) of 1967-1968. In fact, 3 of the top 4 sitcoms that season aired back-to-back-to-back Monday nights on CBS: Lucy Show, Andy Griffith, Family Affair.
Lucy was back that autumn with a new show called Here's Lucy and that also enjoyed a six year run. During it's 3rd season (1970-1971) it was the #1 rated sitcom on American television.
As I recall, this show started off as a family type of thing with her former I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance and kids, etc., then about halfway through its run it changed formats and was centered around Lucy's job at a bank and no kids.
The Lucy Show
The Phil Silvers Show, sometimes known in syndication as Sgt. Bilko or just Bilko, was a successful and pioneering sitcom in the late 1950's. The Phil Silvers Show featured a large cast and was one of the first sitcoms to not revolve around a family/friends. The only other "workplace" comedy that comes to mind prior to Bilko was Our Miss Brooks which partially took place at a high school but rarely ever showed the teachers actually teaching. Starring Phil Silvers as Sgt. Ernie Bilko who ran the motor pool and gambling operations at Fort Baxter, Kansas (relocated to Camp Fremont, California for the final season). Originally called You'll Never Get Rich, the name was switched to Phil Silvers Show after the 6th episode. It was the 6th highest rated sitcom its first season (behind I Love Lucy, December Bride, The Honeymooners, The Life Of Riley and the Burns & Allen Show).
For its second season it ranked as the #3 sitcom behind I Love Lucy and December Bride. I don't know how it ranked for its last two seasons. In 1957-1958 the top 4 sitcoms were The Danny Thomas Show, December Bride, The Gale Storm Show and Father Knows Best. In 1958-1959 the top 4 sitcoms were The Danny Thomas Show, The Real McCoys, Father Knows Best and the Ann Southern Show.
The Phil Silvers Show was filmed in New York City and was created by Nat Hiken who later did Car 54 Where Are You? Joe E. Ross, one of the stars of Car 54, was also a cast member of Phil Silvers as was Beatrice Pons who played his wife in both shows. The other main star of Car 54, Fred Gwynne, made his TV debut on Phil Silvers. Paul Douglas played Col. Hall who was usually Bilko's foil or victim of his many schemes. Dick Van Dyke made his TV debut in a couple episodes as did Alan Alda in one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phil_Silvers_Show
Lost In Space ran for 3 television seasons, airing 83 episodes between September 1965 and March 1968. Starring Guy Williams of Zorro fame, June Lockhart of Lassie fame, Mark Goddard (who went to high school with a bunch of guys I used to work with), Angela Cartwright (of the Danny Thomas Show), Billy Mumy (child actor that turns up in guest appearances in a lot of 60's shows), Jonathan Harris (The Third Man, The Bill Dana Show) and Marta Kristen.
Lost In Space
