Television in the Sixties

If television came of age in the 1950s (see last article) then in the 1960s it became a powerful medium to change the world. In the sixties were laid many of the foundations on which have been built the television traditions of the new millennium. General conversation now began to reflect the previous day's programming ... "Did you see..." became the standard opening gambit.

A time of rebellion

Just as young people in the real world began to question some of the institutions and standards of society, so television poked irreverent fun at the previously sacrosanct.

The sixties spawned satire ("That Was The Week That Was", "The Frost Report"), sit-coms with a social conscience ("Til Death Us Do Part ("All in the Family" in the USA), "Steptoe and Son" ("Sanford and Son" in the USA)), classic character comedy ("Dad's Army", "The Likely Lads"), and the unclassifiable "Monty Python's Flying Circus".

Many of the comedy series of the sixties would never have been made in the corporate world of modern TV. After all, a show about a cockney bigot with a dysfunctional family in the poverty-stricken East End which consists largely of conversation in a single set sounds an unlikely premise for a programme. Yet Johnny Speight's creation of Alf Garnett in "Til Death Us Do Part" (who turned into Archie Bunker in Norman Lear's "All In the Family") was as funny as he was unforgettable.

A time of drama

TV drama in the sixties pushed the limits of the medium and the imagination. Stylish productions of Shakespeare; innovative, emotional film drama like the BBC's "Cathy Come Home" which provoked legislative change; the BBC established a reputation for quality costume drama such as "The Forsyte Saga"; popular serials such as "Peyton Place" and "Coronation Street" were well written and well acted; it was an unforgettable time.

American TV produced TV drama that had a gloss and a quality unmatched by other countries. And although it's easy to say US TV failed to push the boundaries in the same way as European broadcasters, they did produce some remarkably long-lasting characters. Jack Lord starred as Steve McGarrett in a staggering 220 episodes of "Hawaii 5-0", and the catch phrase "Book him, Dano, Murder one" echoed round the world. And Jack Lord was one of the original choices for the lead role in a TV series which claimed to be a kind of "Wagon Train" to the stars. In the end, the role of Captain James T Kirk went to William Shatner, while his half-alien first officer, Mr Spock, was played by Leonard Nimoy. The series went on to become a television legend, spawning umpteen feature films, one sequel cartoon series and three long-running live-action series.

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