CONELRAD | Mutated Television: Fallout

The traditional family sitcom would not become popular again until Ronald Reagan became president and "Cosby" became the biggest hit of the '80s. Along the way, shows like "Family Affair" (which ushered in an era of non-traditional, semi-tragic From one bizarre family to another...

[ 1 ] family sitcoms) and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (which set the template for every workplace sitcom that followed) supplanted both "normal" family shows and Mutated TV programs.

It speaks volumes to the impact of Mutated TV that Herman, Gomez, Lily and Morticia still live on in re-runs today. In fact, these shows and characters remain so popular that they have become identifiable to each new generation since they debuted. Damaged Offspring, indeed.

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1. Buffy, Jody, and Sissy - the children on "Family Affair" - were orphans whose parents had died in a car accident. The other non-traditional classic of the late '60s, "The Brady Bunch," also featured children who had lost parents in some way or another (though it is never explicitly stated what became of the first spouses of Carol and Mike Brady).