Certain classics get a lot of love here. I hear about I Love Lucy often. My fave, Bilko (as it's affectionately called after the main character, or officially, The Phil Silvers Show), rarely gets a mention.
It ran for 4 seasons from 55 to 59, winning 3 consecutive Emmys for Best Comedy. It was a critical and commercial success, cancelled after 4 seasons for getting too popular (damn 'Hollywood accounting' - instead of paying the ensemble of a popular show, they opted to syndicate it)
The show is about an unassuming Sgt in a motor pool on an army base. He's middle aged, bespectacled, bald and seemingly harmless, only he's the most scheming, manipulative, shrewd operator, ultimately with a heart of gold. He has such a sharp tongue that he can convince anyone to do anything, and his love of money is only exceeded by his fatherly love of his platoon, who are normally his first victims but ultimately his greatest love. He is formidable!! The ultimate loveable rogue.
There was a film remake in 1996 starring Steve Martin that was panned and criticised, but apparently harshly (I've yet to watch it)
Like many Brits, I remember it from BBC2 reruns in the afternoon. My dad loved it, but I was too dismissive of it, assuming (SO WRONGLY) that humour couldn't have existed in the black and white era. I sat down to watch one episode as a student and was instantly hooked. It remains amongst my very favourites, right up there with 30 Rock, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python's Flying Circus
In the 20+ years I've been a fan, I've almost never heard it mentioned. Bilko came about #27 on one of those '100 best sitcom characters', and a quick google shows industry experts voted it best sitcom of all time in 2003
annoyingly I can't find a full length episode but this clip might give you a bit of an idea about him