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pantomime abilities made for so much fun. I'll always remember the episode when Rob Petrie goes to son Richie's school and teaches them about how to be a comedy writer. That was classic. I loved the song and dance, all the times when Rob and Laura sang and danced together. It was like a variety show. They often performed Carolina in the Morning, and that always made me smile. The Helpers made the best neighbors, and Carl Reiner as Alan Brady just can't be topped. This show is simply the best. Even if it's not listed as number one, by rights, it should be because The Dick Van Dyke Show had it all - drama, tenderness, romance, and comedy.

5) The Donna Reed Show - Everyone wanted Donna Reed for their mother. She was the ideal mom, and the Stone family was the image America held as the ideal family. Right or wrong, this is the show that is often held up as an example of what family should be. Donna, Alex, Jeff, Mary, and eventually Trisha were who we wanted to be. There was lots of love, open communication, some arguing, and in the end, a very happy, caring family. Along the way, The Donna Reed Show delivered quality laughs and giggles. It's the show that nurtured the singing careers, such as they were, for Shelley Fabares and Paul Peterson. Maybe more importantly, this show was Peterson's foundation for growing up as a child star. Years later, he formed A Minor Consideration to help cute child stars who grew up and became not so cute and were abandoned by an industry that had treated them like royalty while their shows were on top and then like nothing when the shows had gone off the air. No matter how you look at it, The Donna Reed Show has left a legacy, not just of what was funny during its time, but the image of our ideals and the gift of Peterson, who has helped so many of the young stars of past and present.

4) My Three Sons - My Three Sons stayed on the air so long that by the time it was canceled, all of the sons were married, except for the youngest boy who had been adopted. Fred MacMurray was the understanding father of three boys in the beginning. A widower, it was just he and Bub to raise the boys, and when William Frawley who had played Bub died, it was William Demerast as Uncle Charley who took over the task. It worked, and it worked well. The boys all grew up, and what kept it fresh is just that each boy went through adolescence a little differently than their older brothers. Then one day, Steve Douglas remarried, and that added

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