Introduction

The 60s were a time of all kinds of revolutions. So it isn't surprising that they revolutionized television and the cinema. Just like art and literature, tv series and movies pushed the boundaries of what was appropriate and explored new ground. Their influence is felt even today and many of them have became cult and legendary, garnering wide acclaim and their fanbase has increased across decades.

Television in the 1960s was very different to now. It is understood that the programs were different, but the actual concept of television was different too, watching television was a separate activity. You scheduled time for it, and it was likely you just turned it on for specific shows (in the way people used to treat radio before TV came along).

In the USA until 1965 and in England until 1967, television was in black and white (if you wanted color you went to the cinema and watched a movie) and everyone was learning on the job. Viewing hours were also limited. TV did not broadcast 24 hours a day. It did not even broadcast continuously.  There were scheduled breaks throughout the day and during the sixties there were many unscheduled breaks as well during which a piece of cardboard would be slung in front of the camera urging "Please do not adjust your set.”

The drama series on TV can be traced back to crime shows (notably Dragnet) and kids westerns (The Lone Ranger) on television in the early 1950s, to film noir and the cowboy movies, and to all sorts of pulp fiction; war dramas), the cult hit Star Trek, and spy stories like I Spy and Mission: Impossible. Never again would action-adventure drama programs dominate the TV schedule as it had in the Sixties.