re: What Decade Was The Best For American Television?

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Not sure how you are categorizing them but a lot of these shows started before 2010

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They are categorized not by their first release date but rather by when they were available. For example, American Idol is listed in 2000s as well as 2010s. That method made the most sense to me.

Another example: Seinfeld. The show began in 1989 and ran until 1998. To list it as a 1980s show seemed wholly spurious as it was clearly watched mostly in the 90s. Shows such as Seinfeld that were released on the edge of a decade were listed under the decade where they spent the overwhelming majority of their run time. Shows that spanned decades widely, such as Gunsmoke and Law & Order, were listed under more than one decade. For example, Law & Order ran from 1990 until 2010. It made sense to me to list the show under the 1990s and 2000s.

A previous poster mentioned that Quantum Leap was missing from the 1980s. The show is listed under the 1990s as it ran from 1989-1993. To list it as a 1980s show because it spent only the first few months of its existence in the decade just seemed misplaced.