Sitcoms

After decades of suffering through the Great Depression and World War II, the 1950s were prosperous, vibrant years for Australians. Employment was high and people were encouraged to spend their money freely. Technology advanced rapidly after the war and soon transformed the lives of many Australians. Televisions provided a link to the rest of the world and cars gave people a new mobility that would change the nation's patterns of leisure and living. In 1956, Melbourne hosted the Olympic Games. This fostered a great sense of national pride and cast the international spotlight onto Australia like never before.

"a daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her band leader husband and gets herself into the strangest situations"

The 1960s were a decade of political and social upheaval in Australia. Young people challenged the traditional values of their parent's generation and actively opposed the decisions of the government. Women demanded equal rights and others called for racial equality and a new consideration for the environment. Many more demonstrated against the Vietnam War, conscription and the nuclear industry. Many of these protests were part of wider social movements taking place in other Western countries. Advances in communications technology meant that revolutionary ideas and voices of dissent could rapidly be transmitted and received around the world. Australia's population increased throughout the decade, as European and British migrants continued to arrive. The late 1960s also saw changes to the White Australia Policy, which permitted a small number of skilled Asian migrants to settle in Australia.

The young executive of an advertisement agency, Darrin Stephens marries a beautiful woman, Samantha Stephens. On their honeymoon, Sam discloses a secret to him: she is a witch with magic powers. He makes her promise him that she will live like a mortal, without using witchcraft and spells in their lives, but sometimes she uses her magic to help Darrin and herself. Sam's mother, Endora does not accept her mortal son-in-law, hates him and can hardly say his name correctly. In the suburb of Westport, Connecticut in the street of Morning Glory Circle, where they live, their curious next-door neighbor Gladys Kravitz suspect Samantha, but can never prove the weird situations she sees to her husband Abner Kravitz.

The marriage of Mike Brady and Carol Martin née Tyler. They have the issue of blending their two already large families, Mike who has three children and Carol who has three children. One additional issue is that the Brady household was testosterone laden with Mike's children being three boys - Greg, Peter and Bobby - and the Martin household was estrogen laden with Carol's children being three girls - Marcia, Jan and Cindy. The six children not only have their usual issues in growing from children to teenagers, and in this situation in getting used to a new parent and new siblings, but also interacting with new siblings whose mentality generally reflects their specific gender, which more often than not is totally foreign to them. Mike and Carol also have the new roles of parent to daughters and sons respectively. Add to the mix the girls' cat Fluffy, the boys' dog Tiger, and Mike's longtime housekeeper Alice, and the collective new Brady bunch has the potential to get into one misadventure after another.

The social upheaval and political drama of the 1960s continued throughout the 1970s. In many cases, these protests were part of wider social and political movements taking place in other Western countries. Australian perspectives on immigration, war, sexual morality, the role of women and the environment were undergoing radical change. In 1974, the White Australia Policy was scrapped. Throughout the decade, women won the right to equal pay and maternity leave and Indigenous peoples made progress on land rights. In 1972, Australian troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and in 1975, the nation was rocked by the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

The 1980s was a decade of contrasts. The Australian economy was booming - property values skyrocketed and many businesses made large profits. Many people became pre-occupied with making money and of course, spending it. Fashion, music and television from the decade was glitzy, showy and glamorous. For this reason, the 1980s is sometimes called the 'me decade'- a reference to the prevailing climate of economic greed and consumption.Inflation skyrocketed in the 1980s, resulting in higher prices and an increased cost of living. Unemployment was also high - early in the decade, it was estimated that one in ten jobseekers could not find work. Various factors contributed to the high rate of unemployment

"The goings-on in the life of a successful African American family."Long-running popular comedy television series about the Huxtable family. Doctor Heathcliff Huxtable and Clair Huxtable, a happily married couple, are raising their children (Sondra, Denise, Theodore, Vanessa, and Rudy). The two oldest daughters eventually live successful adult lives and get married (Sondra to Elvin and Denise to Martin). As the children get older, the family gets larger and, to the chagrin of Cliff, keep on coming back home when he wants them to move out and live on their own for good.

Change swept across all areas of Australian social and cultural life - multiculturalism was challenged, Indigenous land rights forged ahead and the republican debate questioned whether our ties to Britain had become outdated. Decades of industrialisation were beginning to be felt, but as the environment showed signs of distress, environmental groups gained strength.

Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the break up of his marriage and his life in Boston (which was covered in the series Cheers). His plans for his new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, ex-police officer Martin Crane, who had to retire and is unable to live by himself owing to an injury caused by being shot in the line of duty. Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric, British, live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Martin's dog Eddie. A frequent visitor to their apartment is Frasier's younger brother Niles , a fellow psychiatrist who, like Frasier, is pompous, snobbish, and overly intellectual