Most "real" fiction TV written show?

What do you think was the most real fiction show written for actors?

You have to be careful. Sometimes the characters could exist but the plots are too fictional.

A Mayberry town can look real as far as the physical town, but does any deputy only carry one bullet anywhere in real life?

I didn't ever watch the "Waltons" much, but I would characterize that there is way more high drama there than is in real life. Many of the ordinary family shows fail in that way.

"All in the Family" would be my pick so far. The characters weren't too exaggerated and the plots weren't too far from reality. The back in forth between the characters could happen, which help keep the show going.

But it fails at times too, especially if they are reaching too hard for a moral premise.

I could be wrong about "Sanford & Son" but Redfox was too comedic. But that's a show that could have been close, since nothing too unreal happened.

Much of the court and police dramas fail as far as I know. Maybe there something new, I'm not aware of.

Actually, the way the police officers acted in the old "Adam 12' wasn't too bad while they were in the car, but the action part was mostly fictional. And police officers are a little more gritty. But it wasn't bad for its time, at least when they were looking professional.

There's plenty of show that provide real sets, and sometimes realistic scenarios, but I think many fail trying to drive ratings with some idea.

So, I'm still at "All in the family."

Quote: rxwine

So, I'm still at "All in the family."

I was a young adult when AITF came on and
I knew nobody like that. Archie was a bigot
stereotype blown all out of proportion to
make a point. That's what made it funny.
He was surrounded by other stereotypes;
a liberal nutjob son in law, a doormat of
a meek wife, and an indifferent daughter.
Archie was meant to be the bigot we all
knew from work, or the uncle on your wife's
side. But he was a bigot on steroids, he was
outrageous.

Same with Sanford, another racial stereotype
blown all out of proportion. All scripted TV shows
exaggerate, that's how they entertain and get
their point across. Mundane daily life is just
that, mundane. Even Shakespeare did it, that's
what holds the audiences attention.

Quote: Evenbob

I was a young adult when AITF came on and
I knew nobody like that. Archie was a bigot
stereotype blown all out of proportion to
make a point. That's what made it funny.
He was surrounded by other stereotypes;
a liberal nutjob son in law, a doormat of
a meek wife, and an indifferent daughter.
Archie was meant to be the bigot we all
knew from work, or the uncle on your wife's
side. But he was a bigot on steroids, he was
outrageous.

Same with Sanford, another racial stereotype
blown all out of proportion. All scripted TV shows
exaggerate, that's how they entertain and get
their point across. Mundane daily life is just
that, mundane. Even Shakespeare did it, that's
what holds the audiences attention.

I didn't know either of those types to that extreme personally, but they are least extreme I could think of. But I'm also considering plots, and everything else in picking at that show. And I can't come up with a better one, so far.

Homicide: Life on the Street
It took some chances trying to be realistic. One episode took place in an interrogation room , whole episode, and in the end they didn't get the confession.

Oldie but goodie, Dragnet. Kind of over the top but as a kid, I thought Joe Friday told it like it is :-)

Quote: rxwine

I didn't know either of those types to that extreme personally, but they are least extreme I could think of. But I'm also considering plots, and everything else in picking at that show. And I can't come up with a better one, so far.

Cop and lawyer shows are the worst, people
who have those jobs in real life say they're
a joke. More stuff happens in one episode
then they see in a 20 year career. Everyday
life is very boring, even for people with
'exciting' jobs. A lot of sitting around waiting,
and training for when something might happen.

People look at the old shows from the 50's,
like Beaver and Father Knows Best, and think
how wonderful life was then. Total fakery, nobody
had a family like that, nobody I knew. We watched
those shows because we wanted that family.

Though I far from saw even half of the episodes I would say "Rosanne" was not the worst depiction of a lower-middle class family. Messed up relationships, struggles to keep working, daughter gets knocked up because she is just not careful. Lots of other little stuff, keeping in mind that it was a comedy and the later seasons drifted away from realistic.

I think "NYPD Blue" had some realistic elements mixed in. Namely the interaction between characters and bottom-of-the-barrel elements of humanity that would show up from time to time. I disqualified "Law and Order" since from the beginning it was often about greeked real cases.

AITF was great and had loads of real situations for the time. Anyone who lived in the 1970s could see themselves in some situation in the show at one time or another. I always thought they softened Archie too much at the end, more so after Mike and Gloria left.

"The Cosby Show". Nothing unbelievable ever happened on that show. Theo forgot to put tools away, and Denise tried to sneak out to a club, and Rudy stayed up beyond her bedtime. Granted, to find such a well behaved family anywhere was probably "the fiction" portion, but the rest of the show was just normal stuff.

Quote: Face

Granted, to find such a well behaved family anywhere was probably "the fiction" portion,

It was the Father Knows Best of the 80's.
Gag me with a spoon was more like it..

Quote: Evenbob

It was the Father Knows Best of the 80's.
Gag me with a spoon was more like it..

Cosby show realistic, wow, I am gagging on that spoon,
If you want to go in that direction, Good Times was realistic. Another Norman Lear goodie but from the struggling black family perspective. Just like All in the Family, he gave his writers a lot of leeway, this show looking at issues poor black families faced.

"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman".