It’s hard to imagine a time when the television airwaves weren’t filled with mind-numbing, superficial reality TV shows. However, there was a time when the boob tube wasn’t so bad. Over the past 50+ years we’ve been able to watch pioneering programs that have deeply affected American culture and the media industry as a whole. Who knows where’d we be without their inflluences? Some say we’re worse off because of the envelope it pushed while others praise them for revolutionizing the way we think and behave. Take a look and let us know what you think. See our picks after the jump!

Television comedies are experiencing a grand resurgence. With such hit comedies as The Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Two and a Half Men, 30 Rock, and The Office, the viewing schedule is not lacking the funny these days. Maybe one day these awesome shows will join our list of the funniest TV shows ever, but for now, we’ll stick to the classics. What hilarious comedies are you loving?

Network TV has been dying for years, but in the 2008-2009 which ends this coming month, it finally croaked. If some of you don’t care, well, no crap. Did you check out Better Off Ted the other night? Yeah, me either. It didn’t used to be like this — networks rolling out dozens of new shows each year only to cancel them four episodes into their runs…