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 ...
And Star Trek!
That was my favorite.
A friend of mine mentioned that “Leave It To Beaver” is really a morality play disguised as a comedy.
Now when I watch it I look for that. I think my friend is right.
The Invaders
You make a good point.
“Who writes this crap? The Clampetts were from Tennessee, not Texas,”
If i remember right the pilot introduces them as being from Arkansas. Granny always talked about being from Tennesee though.
I learned to read lips by watching Mr Ed...
I still Dream of Jeannie
Mission Impossible, Johnny Quest, Star Trek, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, The Munsters,
The Clampers were from Bug Tussell Texas. Tennessee don’t have oil wells
I wouldn’t mind one of those !!
The Captain Jack episode, 1st season, where the boys get a mail order alligator ends with them getting a dog.
But you never see the dog again.
So they get: a monkey, a horse, a rat (’Peter Gunn’), a rabbit, a burro ...maybe Ward and June should have let them keep the dog.
Yes, it was clean, wholesome show, I enjoy it very much.
Todays sit coms are dirty and mean spirited.
As a kid I used to watch I Dream Of Jeannie just to watch Barbara Eden. That girl was smoking hot. As an old fogy I still watch reruns just to watch Barbara Eden.
Yes, it holds up (Invaders)
Also not yet mentioned:
The Fugitive
The Monkees (silly)
Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in (silly)
Avengers
The Saint
Barbara Eden has a birthday coming up in 19 days.
Mr. Ed is cured by Cialis or Viagra.
I watched a “Leave it to Beaver” episode where he got in trouble at school for wearing a weird sweatshirt. Now days a teacher might encourage a boy to try on a dress and get his wiener lopped off.
Sixty years between that America and this Bizarro one may as well be an eon.
I have a tagline for just this topic.
These shows were actually funny and caused you to laugh out loud with no sex, profanity or other modern curse. I still watch them.
Don’t forget “Get Smart.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lygSFXYVts
I like to watch McHales’s Navy.
Tim Conway was a hoot.
The sixties... The birth of the left, hippies, the drug cult, great movies and a lot of cheaply made cars. But the miniskirts were nice... :)
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