The Three Most Important T.V. Shows Ever Created

1. Will & Grace- Throughout the history of T.V., there have been many shows important to issues of discrimination. Will & Grace's positive portrayal of homosexuals is helping to break down today's stereotypes of gays in the media. Will's character is the complete opposite of what many think of as the typical gay man; he is a masculine lawyer with solid values and a serious demeanor. His friend Jack, on the other hand, represents more of the traditional gay man; an effeminate actor with a tendency toward the dramatic. Yet Jack is so hysterically funny, it's impossible not to love him.

2. Candid Camera- This was one of the first T.V. shows to be unscripted and feature ordinary people rather than actors. Some call it the "granddaddy of the reality TV genre." Candid Camera opened up the door for today's reality T.V. craze: something that I have mixed feeling about, but will admit revolutionized T.V. and has become an important social phenomenon.

3. Oprah- Over the past 20 years that her talk show has been running, Oprah has become more than a person: she is an icon. She has influenced the nation on matters of race, religion, sexuality, poverty, and gender, to name a few. Any book introduced into her book club becomes an instant best-seller. In 1998, Mark Steyn of the National Review wrote that Oprah is "therapist to an entire nation."