Great Old TV Shows

I've always enjoyed the old shows. I watch tons of modern shows but the oldies have what Nick-At-Night used to call "re-watchability".

I Love Lucy, Gilligan's island, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Dick Van Dyke Show, etc.

I like putting on a gameshow or something mindless in the background as I play with electronics. Some good ones I like that I don't think have been mentioned would be:

"I've Got a Secret"



and "What's my Line?"



Some more "modern classics" would be good stuff like

Blackadder



and FawltyTowers

 

For me The Addams Family explored new TV concepts with some success. The Munsters was a wannabee.

 

I've Got a Secret and (its spawn) What's my Line? both pitted presumed thoughtful interrogators against unexpected witnesses. Maybe odd to suggest any connection with McCarthy Red Scare interrogations, but I kinda do. Humorized versions of that. And with strong calls to Groucho's goofy You Bet Your Life interrogations.

From all those, appearances by actually important contestants survive best as youtubations, along with, of course, others very wacky.

 

Since both involved Hollywood, I would say the game shows more mimicked the House Un-American Activities Committee.

 

The Addams Family was definitely the smarter of the two shows, with more subtle humor. However that made it somewhat out of step for that era and the ratings were never great, and for that reason it was cancelled after the second season. The Munsters on the other hand had much broader humor and a more traditional sitcom style and the ratings were very good. It would have gone on for at least a third season if it hadn't been knocked out by Batman, a huge hit when it debuted as a mid-season replacement halfway through The Munsters second season.

Although The Munsters may not have been the most sophisticated comedy, the production quality was very good and they had a great cast. Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) was actually a serious actor, but he was able to call on his days at Harvard when he was president of the Harvard Lampoon and also a member of Hasty Pudding (male Harvard students who put on comedy shows in drag). He also had previously honed his comedy skills on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? One of the regulars on that show was Al Lewis, a vaudeville veteran who followed Gwynne to The Munsters playing Grandpa. Yvonne De Carlo was a show biz veteran singer and actress and as it turned out a natural comedian in her role as Lily. So in other words The Munsters was actually a pretty good show.

 

Daktari, dudes, daktari.

I only foggily remember the show, but it had a cute woman who ran around in shorts and it seems they were always treating a cross-eyed lion....or was that Gunsmoke.

Being a 14-year-old about the time, I also loved:

Love, American Style.



Of course, if I saw it now, I would probably hate it, but it seems to me that it was risque enough to satisfy the hormonal urges of the time...speaking of....I was watching an old Johnny Carson show. I thought TV had censors, but....

On the Tonight Show, Zsa Zsa Gabor was sitting on the set petting a cat and asked Johnny if he wanted to pet her pussy.

Johnny said he would love to if she would just get the damn cat off her lap.

How frightful!!!

 

FACT CHECK: Pussy Quipped

 

Johnny Carson and Arnold Palmer's wife also had an interesting interview.

 

That's also an urban legend, never happened. I can't post the Snopes link because the link title is too risque, but you can look it up. And it also doesn't make any sense, why would the Tonight Show have Arnold Palmer's wife on as a guest?

 

Actually, when I wrote this last night, I googled around and saw the same stuff.

However that does not change the fact that I HAVE A VHS COLLECTION that has the actual scene on it. I watched it last night just to make sure.

But, it is a bit mystifying.

 

Does it give an air date?

 

A couple of others to add to the list:

My Favorite Martian
The Incredible Hulk

Old game shows to add to the list:

The Name's the Same
Beat the Clock (It's had 6 regular hosts since it first aired in 1951 including the legendary Monty Hall from Let's Make A Deal. 67 years later they're still making new episodes. Remarkable.).

 

If you have it, why not put it on YouTube?

Make Snopes change their False rating.

 

Censored, in today's age? I very much doubt it.

And even if YouTube took it down for other reasons, there are other distribution channels to at least carry the evidence.

 

The mysterious death of Dorothy Kilgallen.
Dorothy Kilgallen tried to expose truth of JFK assassination - NY Daily News

 

What's My Line's Kitty Carlisle was the female lead in the Marx Brother's A Night At The Opera.