WOW, SHOWS CELEBRATING THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY HELPED SHAPE MEDIA TODAY! – A FOLLOW UP…
I recently read an article from PlagmanRules (READ IT HERE) where he talked about some amazing shows that were out in the 1960’s. That got me thinking about how many awesome shows came out during that period.
PlagmanRules talked about some of my favorites shows from the decade – Batman, Dark Shadows, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. All shows that people still talk about to this day, over 50 years on. I thought I was alone in my love for some of these shows of old but it seems that there are lots of fans out there.
So his post has inspired me to talk about some of my favorite shows from this decade. Hopefully I can shine some new light and appreciation on these shows for people who have maybe never seen them before. Some do hold up better than others but you can’t deny the writing and the stories are first rate. TV shows just don’t seem to be made with as much love and passion today.
So here goes…
The Prisoner
Where do I start with The Prisoner. I could dedicate an entire article to this show and not even touch the surface of how awesome it is. The Prisoner was first broadcast in 1967 and is about a former British secret agent who resigns and is promptly kidnapped. He wakes up in ‘The Village’ where he is held prisoner. The people in charge want to know why the Prisoner resigned. This is explained in the opening titles, which is almost like a mini-episode in itself, just another ingenious method of story-telling they used.
This show was way ahead of it’s time, even by today’s standards. Although it only ran for 17 episodes it is extremely iconic and memorable, I don’t think there has been anything like it since. There was a remake a few years ago but it was nowhere near as good as the original.
Obviously I wasn’t alive when this was first broadcast and the show only came to my attention after reading an article online back in the late nineties. When I found out about it I quickly grabbed myself a copy of the series and was instantly hooked. The show is extremely stylish and sophisticated with a fantastic visual setting of a 1960’s futuristic town. The technology is big and bulky but I love it. In reality the village was set in Portmeirion in North Wales, itself an iconic looking place.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who hasn’t seen it. It is a fantastic show, it is extremely clever and something completely new and different. I am not sure how younger audiences will take this series, with the visual style being very much from the 1960’s but the actual plots to the episodes are amazing and very well put together. I would recommend this show to anyone and everyone, easily one of my favorite shows of all time.
Man From U.N.C.L.E
The 1960’s seemed to be going spy crazy, more than likely due to the popularity of James Bond. This show even had input from Ian Flemming who wrote the Bond novels. This was very similar to the Bond movies in many ways. We had the gadgets, the international locations, the action and everything else you associate with the Bond franchise. Again this is another show that was very much a product of its time with a very colorful sixties style. The show ran for four seasons and although it did get a little silly in the later seasons it is still a very fun show to watch. Living in the UK I first came across this show on BBC 2 in the early to mid-nineties. I was a huge fan of the Bond films even back then so this show really appealed to me.
Although I first watched this as a child, I can still really appreciate this show as an adult, it is the type of show that appeals to all ages. The episodes were somewhat formulaic but I don’t find them as repetitive as some other shows. The two leads David McCallum and Robert Vaughn as Illya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo were both great and had a brilliant chemistry together.
As well as the show a number of TV movies were released that are equally as good. More recently a movie was released based on the series, so if you enjoyed that movie that I would highly recommend catching up with series. Call me old school but I actually prefer the original show over the recent remake.
The Munsters
The Munsters is another show I discovered thanks to BBC 2 in the UK. This was a show, like Man From U.N.C.L.E that used to be shown at 6pm. I had never seen Th Addams Family at the time so could not compare the two (even when I did, I still enjoyed The Munsters more) but I used to really enjoy this show. I thought it was really funny and strange all at the same time. I was never a lover of black & White shows when I was young but with this show it never bothered me.
Trying to decipher this show now it is like a monster movie meets a family sitcom. It was a weird mix, but one that I felt really worked. There was a great mix of comedy and really appealed to me as a child. Who didn’t laugh at Herman Munster having a tantrum or pulling the handle off a door?
This is another series that has had remakes but it has never been anywhere near as good as the original run and is well worth watching for some light-hearted comedy.
Dr. Who
I wasn’t sure whether or not to include this show as it is still running today, also I have only seen a handful of the episodes from the 1960’s as most of the episodes have been lost or destroyed (although the BBC have spent years trying to track this missing episodes down). However, because this show is so iconic I thought it would be wrong for me not to include it.
Apart from a brief break in the 1990’s (not including the American TV movie) this show has had a run that started in 1963. Watching some of the earlier episodes now I will admit I struggled with some of them as the production values are crude at best and the quality of the film is not the greatest, but if you can sink yourself into them they are still very enjoyable. I also feel like the show did take a little time to really find its feet, but once it was up and running it was great. You can understand how children would hide behind the sofa after seeing the Daleks or the Cybermen running riot.
The show has been set up for new actors to take over the role of the Doctor in a very unique way that makes changes in appearance and style easily explainable which has allowed many actors to play the role over the years. While some of my favorite years were with John Pertwee and Tom Baker, each Doctor is worth watching and the all have their own qualities. The new series is just as good with some great stories in there, the David Tennant years being my favorite.
