All,

What are some of your favorite TV shows from the Fifties? I think my favorite is Perry Mason.

Pam

One of my favorites was Disneyland with the four different themes that rotated. Always wanted Tomorrowland to be on. I like the dramatic programs such as Hallmark Hall of Fame, Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre. Some of the comedies were The Jackie Gleason Show, Ceasar's Hour, Toast of the Town. Some of the half hour shows that I liked included T-Men in Action, Dragnet (the real one), The Big Story, Burns and Allen, Father Knows Best and Ozzie and Harriet.

There were so many back in the 50s that I enjoyed. TV was new and fresh and had an innocence about it that just isn't available now. We look at Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, Fibber McGee and Molly and think they were hilarious. Some of the routines they did would not be politically correct now and I think that is a shame. When Ralph Cramdon would threaten Alice "to the Moon Alice" we all knew that he was just blowing and that in the end he would say "Alice you are the greatest". Now days it would be said that he was condoning domestic violence.

Oh well, so much for the innocence of the 50s and early TV.

Smiley

The Fifties were such a major time for television viewing. Just a few of my favorites were Milton Berle, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, Cheyanne and the rest of the Warner Bros westerns and detective shows, Playhouse 90 and one of my favorites: Space Patrol.

From the 50s:

Perry Mason
The Untouchables
The Twilight Zone
The Honeymooners

From the 60s:
Man From UNCLE
The Fugitive

From the 70s:
M*A*S*H
All in the Family
Columbo

I pretty much agree with Smiley, However, the ones I really remember and ejoyed were: Stories of the Century with Jim Davis, Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford (10-4), Boston Blackie with Kent Taylor, Tombstone Territory with Pat Conway. A couple more off the beaten track: Crunch & Des with Forrest Tucker, The Gray Ghost with Todd Andrews. Any Western or Detective show during the 50's I watched.

Barcroft

Barcroft: I agree with you also. I had forgotten about Space Patrol. Boston Blackie was a favorite. As you said any western or detective show. I think this was later but Mr. Lucky and Peter Gunn. The Golden Age of TV was truly the 50s. Smiley

Yes, Smiley, I know. That's one reason I'm here (sigh). The world get madder every day [:\] I know I'm going to hang onto my piece of sanity even if it kills me [:lol] The world just seemed a different place back when I was small (yes, I know everyone here feels the same way about when they were small). But I am old enough to remember when the U.S. was a safer place to live and being decent was more mainstream than an exception as it is today. And I may be a bit of a relic and am darn proud of that--my dad is a War 2 vet so that probably made a big difference in my upbringing. I'm so grateful that my parents never hesitated to lay it on the line to me and I never intend to change... And I think I'll take those days over today's messes anytime... (sniff, shall we all blow our noses at one time, now? [:)] )

In the 60s I especially liked That Girl, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, and My Favorite Martian.

I always enjoyed the 70s Wonderful World of Disney program. My dad is/was particularly fond of Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason, and Fibber and Molly McGee. My mother was the original Perry Mason fan and I caught on from there.

And I love the song Mr. Lucky.

CC/Barcroft are Space Patrol and Boston Blackie on Nick at Nite (not that we have cable now [:)] ) I remember my mother mentioning Boston Blackie...

How about these categories:

Favorite TV Game Shows: Mine are/were What's My Line and To Tell the Truth and later Match Game (with Richard Dawson)

Favorite Songs of all time: Mine include David Rose's Holiday for Strings, Theme from a Summer Place, Charmaine, most anything by Leroy Anderson, and so forth.

Pam

Speaking of Game shows. Does anyone remember Roger Price and "Droodles"? That was a favorite, allbeit show lived. It was on from June to September of 1954. Another favorite was "I've Got a Secret". I actually have a friend who appeared on that show. Her secret was that she was a former Miss America. (Don't ask me now what year it was - that was forty years ago.) I like the money games shows like "The $64,000 Question" and "Twenty-One". Smiley

Again no contest : Captain Midnight (Jet Jackson) - it had everything : a strong lead (Richard Webb), comedy sidekick (Sid Melton), a scientist (Olan Soule) and all those secret squadron members (including me, SQ4)
50' TV was the best of any decade - things were so much simpler then (I was born in 1950), everything was black or white (no gray), we had complete faith in the government and science (including atomic power) would deliver utopia on Earth. I watch Boston Blackie once (in 1959 - I live in Australia) but I can't remember what it was like (was it Kent Taylor ?) - I've often thought about chasing down some of the B movies starring Chester Morris (Leonard Maltin gives them excellent reviews).
TV didn't arrive in Australia until 1957, my grandparents got one in 1958 and we finally got ours in 1961. The general diet of TV programs in those days was American series from the 50's - so even though we were late starters we still got to see this great 50's era of TV. The best of which was Captain Midnight (one day all 39 eps will be available as a DVD boxed set, I hope ..)

Hi Pam:
Here are my favorite fifties TV shows:
1. Boston Blackie
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. Sea Hunt
4. Highway Patrol
5. The Gene Autry Show
6. The Roy Rogers Show
7. Hopalong Cassidy
8. Amos and Andy
9. Sergeant Preston of The Yukon
10. City Detective
11. Big Town
12. You Are There
13. The New Adventures of Charlie Chan
14. Rootie Kazootie
15. The Adventures of Robin Hood
16. Topper
17. Racket Squad
18. The Cisco Kid
19. Dangerous Assignment
20. Mr. & Mrs. North
21. Trouble With Father
22. My Little Margie
23. Sky King
24. Our Miss Brooks
25. The Lone Ranger

Thanks, Bill!

My father was fond of Amos and Andy.

I do remember watching Topper on TV later; that was a very interesting show.

Was Zorro one of your favorites? We have a good friend who keeps us in stitches with his stories. He tells of how he used to pretend he was "Zorro". He'd fly down the hill on his bike wearing a cape and he tells a story one time where the cape got caught up in the mechanisms of the bike and how we went flying over the handlebars. The way he tells the story has you rolling in the floor.

Pam

Yes Pam I also watched and enjoyed Zorro. Fortunately, there are many tv shows from the fifties available on DVD in video stores and Radio Spirits has a whole line of DVDs that each contain three radio shows that transitioned to TV in the fifties along with an episode of each shows tv version.

I mentioned a short-lived game show called DROODLES in a post above. It was only on for three or four months in the early fifties. Does anyone remember how they came about the name Droodles for the show? Smiley

Smiley, I too really liked Roger Price and his "Droodles." I attempted several times to draw a droodle to post, but was unsuccessful with aligning the keyboard symbols. Oh, well. Anyway, I think the word "Droodles" is a pairing of "drawing" and "doodles" (that which you do on a notepad while on the phone, for example). Price also published a few books of Droodles and a Droodles game I seem to remember.

jadm: You are exactly correct. I will try to explain a droodle. You would draw a simple pencil line drawing and then give it a simple caption. One that I remember was two concentric circles and a loop on either side. That could be a donut with handles. It loses something trying to explain it but as jadm and I could tell you it was a very funny program. Smiley

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