1950's & Early 60's TV Shows

[Dixon Cannon]

MeTV has gone cable and we pick it up here in Phoenix. My favorites 'Twelve O'Clock High' and 'Combat!' come on in the middle of the night!

-dixon cannon

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

And the test pattern (or as my brother used to say, tess patter) was the most popular show on TV.

I remember test patterns and it reminds me of an old Cheech and Chong bit.

Cheech: Whatcha watchin', man?
Chong: I'm watching a show about Indians
Cheech: That's not a show about Indians, man. It's a test pattern
Chong: Far out, man

 

[Gingerella72]

It's surprising, with the popularity of Mad Men and the recent "retro" craze that more stations haven't tapped into that by showing reruns of those old shows. They might not think it worthwhile to target the boomer generation, but the younger generation is a gold mine waiting to be tapped into by discovering those shows.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

RTN runs these old shows, 'Leave it to Beaver' 'Bachelor Father' 'McHale's Navy' and stuff of that nature. I love watching that stuff!!

Appealing to the over 45 crowd is not what TV networks are about, unfortunately.

The famous 'Rural Purge' when the networks dumped the shows that appealed to that crowd (Andy Griffith, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw, The Lawrence Welk Show, Mayberry RFD, etc) proves that fact. They dumped them because that age bracket is not the big consumer group in the US.

Ironically, Hee Haw and the Lawrence Welk Show went into Syndication and CBS and ABC affiliate stations ran them in lieu of the scheduled programs, because the rating was higher. Welk ran until 1982 and Hee Haw until 1993. Roy Clark even did a song called the "Lawrence Welk Hee-Haw Counter Revolution Polka" that essentially said even though these shows got the axe because they weren't popular with the young crowd or in the cities, they kept on going because 'They still do the polka in Milwaukee, still do the waltz in Tennessee'
(Sorry, I know you're all thinking, 'God, he's on his Welk/Hee Haw rant again!')

It's surprising, with the popularity of Mad Men and the recent "retro" craze that more stations haven't tapped into that by showing reruns of those old shows. They might not think it worthwhile to target the boomer generation, but the younger generation is a gold mine waiting to be tapped into by discovering those shows.

 

[Gregg Axley]

We're getting Directv back, after a year using U-Verse (my wife got us into it and out of it again after the year contract was up...). Now I'll have RFD channel back!!! Hee-Haw and other programs we watched will be available again. :eusa_clap

 

[Sam Diamond]

I grew up watching Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, Mayberry RFD, Gomer Pyle, Green Acres, Wild Wild West...etc. Out local channels would also program older stuff, Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel, Honeymooners, Car 54...I love these old shows. Throw in the Three Stooges and Little Rascals. My son who is into westerns, has discovered Bonanza, High Chaparral, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, and a lot of the older westerns.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I love RFD-TV. I must watch 4 hours of it on Saturday nights (If I'm not out causin' trouble! lol)

We're getting Directv back, after a year using U-Verse (my wife got us into it and out of it again after the year contract was up...). Now I'll have RFD channel back!!! Hee-Haw and other programs we watched will be available again. :eusa_clap