THE BEST OF THE SEVENTIES

Best Sitcom: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which, beginning in 1970, provided seven seasons of sophisticated humor and showed a woman succeeding in what was once a man's job. The Game Is On: ABC took long odds by introducing sport to prime time in 1970 with Monday Night Football. Since then just about everything except golf has been played at night, doubling in a decade, to nearly 1,400 hours in 1979, the amount of sport on network TV and giving the fans World Series games played in arctic conditions and, of course, Thursday Night Football.

The Last Puff: By act of Congress, cigarette ads were banned from TV and radio in 1971. The long-range effect on profits --none at all.

Most Influential Series: All in the Family, which was launched in 1971 and proved that controversial subjects and adult language could bring high ratings.

Most Compelling Soap Opera: The Watergate hearings, 319 hours of high-tension melodrama centered on that age-old theme--Did he or didn't he? He did.

Most Convincing Evidence That the U.S. Is Still a British Colony: Upstairs, Downstairs; Elizabeth R; The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Civilisation; I, Claudius; The Pallisers; The Duchess of Duke Street; Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Horatio Alger Award: To ABC, the little engine that could, for puffing its way into the Nielsen station and becoming the top-rated network in 1976, after a lifetime in last place. Most Watched Show: Roots, which not only broke all records of the '70s, but was also the most popular TV entertainment in history.

Most Promising Development: The new technology--cable TV, videocassette recorders and video discs--that is finally giving viewers the choice of what they want to watch.

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