Posted on 08/04/2025 5:39:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The sixties was one of the more creative decades in modern history: The music, the clothes, the movies, the pop culture. But maybe most creative were the goofy TV comedy series.
The sixties were one of the most creative periods for art in modern American history. Mostly known for innovative music, now called "classic rock," the decade also broke meaningful ground in the areas of dress, pop culture, literature, movies and more. The sixties reminds this journalist of the fertile twenties in American literature with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck and the like.
What isn't acknowledged much is the outrageous creativity of sixties television comedy series. Think about the goofiness of "Green Acres" (sophisticated New Yorkers moving to a rural farm), "I Dream Of Jeannie" (an astronaut and a genie) and "Mr. Ed" (a man with a talking horse). What minds came up with that stuff, I can't imagine, but there was a refreshing innocence about the shows, and, to this day, many are still in syndication.
I picked out five of the more memorable to look at, listed below in random order.
(1) "I Dream Of Jeannie": With the Cold War space race between the U.S. and former Soviet Union in full swing, this series had some relativity to the time period. It ran for five seasons on NBC, starting in 1965.
Major Anthony Nelson, an astronaut played by Larry Hagman, later to star in “Dallas,” becomes stranded on a remote island when his reentry capsule meanders off-course. While on the island, he finds a bottle that's washed up on shore. When he uncorks it, out pops actress Barbara Eden, a beautiful genie dressed in Persian garb who helps rescue him and is his willing "slave" going forward.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
No, I included "The Loner". It's third from the bottom on my list. I watch it on YouTube too. It was a great show and deserves to be better known. Yes, when you watch it, you can tell it has Rod Serling all over it. :) I recently watched a two part episode that could have almost fit nicely on the "Twilight Zone".
I intended to include "The Virginian" and a few others, but I ran out of gas toward the end of my list. :) Classic show.
In the book Trampus is the villian!
Many T.V. shows were originally radio shows first...Amos & Andy,The Lone Ranger, Superman ( first a comic book and then films ), The Jack Benny Show, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Sargent Preston of the Yukon, and many others.
MY LITTLE MARGIE “broke the 4th wall” prior to Dobie, IIRC.
I liked both, growing up, still do, and I don't know how nor why I got those two different artists mixed up last night.I do know better, as I too have Gorey's books.
Imagination free from political ideology.
My Father would always challenge us to count how many doors he passed thru. We were always one short, the car door he exited to enter the building.
There is no creative talent anymore. It’s all pop culture driven garbage.
Can you imagine being a fly on the wall in the current “brain” storming sessions of these twits?
They think creativity is having most TV commercials show a Black man with a white woman - but when they are ALL the same it's indicative of lack of creativity.
Well sir or ma’am if you would care to Google Arkansas Ozark mountains you might have a different view.
I suppose it depends upon what you call a mountain. Besides, the Beverly Hillbillies were from Tennessee.
No Petticoat Junction? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkgA-PHolE
From Wikipedia “It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer of Missouri who move to posh Beverly Hills, California after striking oil on their land.[1] The show was produced by Filmways and was created
Sorry cut off some text “as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri who move to posh Beverly Hills, California after striking oil on their land.[1]”
So they were from the Ozarks. I was wrong about Arkansas. And needless to say the Ozark mountains are not in Tennesee.
I suppose many of will have to show up to those remedial US Geography classes.
“Can you imagine being a fly on the wall in the current “brain” storming sessions of these twits?”
No kidding. It would be SO appalling.
Is it your contention the Ozarks are in Tennesee?
No. My contention is that the BH hailed from Tennessee. I did forget that there are Ozark bumps in Arkansas.
Well ok. If you want to stick to a belief against all evidence that’s your right.
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