The 20 Best TV Shows Of The 1960s

By | September 20, 2022

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source: paramount

The world was changing in the 1960s, from music to fashion, and as television sets were becoming ubiquitous with families you better believe that the programs that appeared throughout the decade were moving away from formulas that worked in the 1950s. As color TV became the norm, programs utilized color in a variety of startling ways, from taking viewers through space to fighting crime.

The TV shows that defined the 1960s are all over the place, just like this wonderful decade. Programs meant for children had inside jokes for adults, and "grown-up" programming touched a nerve with young people at the same time. In this era anything was possible and we can't get enough of it.

Star Trek

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source: CBS

How to even quantify the importance of Star Trek in science fiction, let alone the 1960s? This three-series sci-fi show starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy saw the crew of the USS Enterprise traveling through space and time on new and exciting adventures every week. At the time, the series was seen as a lark, a space show for the kids - it was anything but that. Star Trek inspired children across the world to become scientists and science fiction writers, and it changed the lives of everyone who worked on the original series. Leonard Nimoy, who played the green-blooded Vulcan said of the series:

I can't describe what the whole experience has been, except for that I have been a very, very lucky actor. Ever since Star Trek went on the air in 1966 I never had to worry about work, and that's a major thing for an actor to be able to support a family all those years without worrying about income.