My Television Childhood
As a child growing up in the UK (born in 1955) I was enthralled at a young and impressionable age by the wave of fantasy/thriller/space adventure/comedy TV programmes that were in utter abundance during the late 1950s and 1960s, mainly on the UK's only commercial channel. There was also the BBC, but I don't recall seeing many of those exciting adventures there, although there must have been a few. My list is loosely divided into genres: 1950s puppetry and space fantasy (The Adventures of Twizzle); 1950s/1960s adventure drama (The Adventures of Robin Hood); fantasy spy/government agency adventures (The Avengers) and 1960s US comedy/spy/adventure/sci-fi shows (Mister Ed). A memory list of programmes that defined that era of my young childhood. Looking down the list TV just seemed much more exciting in these innocent days.
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- CreatorRoberta LeighStarsNancy NevinsonDenise BryerThe adventures of a male doll who is able to extend his legs and arms.
- CreatorRoberta LeighStarsKenneth ConnorOlwen GriffithsJill FreudA mechanical boy with a magical flashlight on his head has adventures on earth and in Topsy Turvy Land, which is located on a distant star.
- CreatorGerry AndersonSylvia AndersonStarsDavid GrahamSylvia AndersonPaul MaxwellThe interplanetary adventures of the crew of the World Space Patrol (W.S.P.) spacecraft Fireball XL5, patrolling Sector 25 of the galaxy in the year 2062.
- CreatorRoberta LeighStarsRonnie StevensDick VosburghMurray KashCapt. Dart, Slim and Husky patrol the solar system in their Galasphere 347 as part of the peace-keeping force, the United Galactic Organization.aka Space Patrol
- CreatorMitsuteru YokoyamaStarsBillie Lou WattRay OwensPeter FernandezWhen terrorist groups, criminals and aliens become too strong for Earth's overstretched armed forces, the virtually indestructible robot named Gigantor is built to combat them.
- CreatorGerry AndersonSylvia AndersonStarsSylvia AndersonPeter DyneleyDavid GrahamIn the year 2065, the Tracy family run International Rescue - a top-secret organization whose ongoing mission is to rescue people trapped in extraordinarily dangerous situations using their advanced Thunderbirds machines.
- StarsRichard GreeneVictor WoolfArchie DuncanRobin of Loxley, otherwise known as Robin Hood, and his band of Merry Men protect England from the evil machinations of Prince John while King Richard the Lionheart is away fighting in the Crusades.
- StarsRoger MooreRobert BrownAndrew KeirThe adventures of Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a noble knight and champion of justice during the rule of the evil Prince John.
- CreatorFriedrich SchillerStarsConrad PhillipsWilloughby GoddardJennifer JayneDepicts the legend of William Tell, who, as the stories say, shot an apple off of his son's head and lead the rebellion to free Switzerland.
- StarsRobert HoffmannFabian CevallosErich BludauAfter shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe survives alone on island, building shelter, reminiscing about past. With wildlife as company, months pass. One day he discovers footprint, making him wonder if he's still alone.
- CreatorSydney NewmanStarsPatrick MacneeDiana RiggHonor BlackmanA quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners.
- StarsRoger MooreIvor DeanLeslie CrawfordSimon "The Saint" Templar, a wealthy adventurer and 20th-century Robin Hood, travels the world in his white Volvo P1800S, solving unsolvable problems and righting wrongs.
- StarsHelga AndersHelmuth SchneiderFranz MuxenederYoung teenage horse fan Julka spends her holidays at the Lipizza Stud Farm run by her Uncle Dimitrij.
- CreatorRichard HarrisDonald CottonStarsGerald HarperJuliet HarmerJack MayIn 1902, Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant is frozen alive in a block of ice by his archnemesis, the Face. In 1966, workmen discover him and he is revived, perfectly preserved but completely bewildered by his new environment, "swinging '60s" London, until he meets beautiful Georgina Jones, who helps him adapt. Before long, he is back to adventuring, solving crime, and fighting evil wherever it lurks.
- StarsSteve ForrestSue LloydPaul FerrisStories of an antique dealer who is really an undercover agent.
- CreatorRichard HarrisDennis SpoonerStarsRichard BradfordRicardo MontezWarren StanhopeMcGill (known as "Mac") is a former U.S. intelligence agent based in London. After being thrown out of the agency for something he did not do, he finds his infamous reputation has preceded him everywhere he goes. To make ends meet he takes odd and intriguing "private eye" jobs throughout Europe, all the while trying to clear his name.
- CreatorMonty BermanDennis SpoonerStarsStuart DamonAlexandra BastedoWilliam GauntAfter a plane carrying three UN Agents crashes in the Himalayas, they are rescued by an advanced civilisation secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities.
- CreatorMonty BermanDennis SpoonerStarsPeter WyngardeJoel FabianiRosemary NicolsAn elite department within Interpol, Department S inherits those cases which the other member groups have failed to solve.
- CreatorDennis SpoonerStarsMike PrattKenneth CopeAnnette AndreWhen Hopkirk gets killed, he reappears as a ghost - pretty handy to have around in this line of work.UK title Randall and Hopkirk (deceased)
- CreatorWalter R. BrooksSonia ChernusWalter BrooksStarsAllan LaneAlan YoungConnie HinesThe misadventures of a wisecracking talking horse and his human owner.
- CreatorPaul HenningStarsBuddy EbsenDonna DouglasIrene RyanA nouveau-riche hillbilly family moves to Beverly Hills and shakes up the privileged society with their hayseed ways.
- CreatorDavid LevyStarsJohn AstinCarolyn JonesJackie CooganThe misadventures of a blissfully macabre but extremely loving family.
- CreatorSam RolfeStarsRobert VaughnDavid McCallumLeo G. CarrollThe two top Agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H.
- CreatorSol SaksStarsElizabeth MontgomeryDick YorkDick SargentA witch married to an ordinary man cannot resist using her magic powers to solve the problems her family faces.
- CreatorJay SommersStarsEddie AlbertEva GaborTom LesterA New York City attorney and his wife attempt to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.
- CreatorIrwin AllenStarsGuy WilliamsJune LockhartMark GoddardA space colony family struggles to survive when a spy/accidental stowaway throws their ship hopelessly off course.
- CreatorLorenzo Semple Jr.William DozierStarsAdam WestBurt WardAlan NapierThe Caped Crusader and his young ward battle evildoers in Gotham City.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
- CreatorIrwin AllenStarsJames DarrenRobert ColbertWhit BissellTwo scientists with a secret time travel project find themselves trapped in the time stream and appearing in notable periods of history.
- CreatorLarry CohenStarsRoy ThinnesKent SmithMax KlevenThe Aliens are here, posing as human, and not friendly. David Vincent has seen them land and now must evade them and convince others of their presence while not being put in the booby hatch.
- CreatorIrwin AllenStarsGary ConwayDon MathesonStefan ArngrimA spaceship from Earth crash-lands on an Earth-like planet on which everything, including the human-like inhabitants, is twelve times the size of its counterpart on Earth.