TV became popular in the 1950s, but the 1960s saw its real explosion. By the end of the 60s the vast majority of US household had a television. With this gain in popularity came the addition of more channels and more shows, and it wasn’t all about watching the news. TV became a way to relax after work, keep the kids company on the weekends, and introduce people to worlds outside their own neighborhoods. Along with that came the characters we got to know so well that we couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen the next week. Do you remember your favorite characters? Thanks to advances in television and the internet, it’s easy to find out.
It’s pretty easy to find a retro channel that shows episodes of your favorite 60s shows, as well as streaming services that allow you to watch those shows from beginning to end. It’s a great chance to walk down memory lane, revisit your favorite heroes and villains, and recapture a bit of your childhood. Watch with the entire family and show them what good TV was really like, but make sure you brush up a little first to show off your knowledge.
Who could forget watching the Brady kids grow up, or the tapping toes intro to My Three Sons? Maybe you liked your TV families a little more on the kooky side and never missed an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies or The Munsters. In the 60s we would finally find out if Eddie Haskell grew up to be more than the neighborhood rascal.
The 1960s also brought us a slew of great Western shows that left us coming back for more every week. The Wild Wild West was partly tamed with cool gadgets, while The Big Valley taught us that even people of means have obstacles to overcome. The Virginian was on for most of the 60s, giving us a chance to follow the goings-on at the Shiloh Ranch and introducing us to actors we would follow for decades to come.
Family shows, Westerns, and classics that live on like Star Trek, Batman and Mission: Impossible all entertained us in the 60s. Now that we’ve taken a short stroll down TV memory lane, let’s see how many 60s TV characters you remember!
