The Ten Most Influential TV Shows in History

Television has created many indelible and memorable programs since its advent during the late forties. But only a few programs can ever be said to have such a powerful influence on the style and substance of television as a whole. Here is a list of ten shows that have gone on to have a huge influence on what we now see on television.

1. Ernie Kovaks Show - Airing on NBC between 1955 and 1956, the Ernie Kovacs Show was more a critic's darling than a ratings champ, but this show took the medium of television to new and fascinating heights by exploiting its nascent possibilities. King of the sight gag, Kovacs used visual effects in ways that were unheard-of at the time. When most television shows during this period were visually static, the Ernie Kovacs Show thrilled the few viewers watching it with an invisible girlfriend who grew more opaque with each clothing she removed, a carton of milk that flowed horizontally, and one of the first psychedelic effects shown on television when a can of orange juice was placed in front of a kaleidoscope while being highlighted by a flashlight that was shown directly in the camera's lens. While such effects might not seem like a big deal today, the primitive tools Kovacs used to create these effects revealed his own genius in pushing the boundaries of what was possible on television. The Ernie Kovacs Show influenced later programs such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Saturday Night Live which also used sight gags as part of their jokes.