Sep 21, 2014 5 min read

Television often takes its cues from other mediums, but in 1964, that wasn’t the case. Even as the Beatles were shattering the music mold, television was plodding along with the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Fifty years ago this week, TV viewers were getting their first peek at the 1964-65 season, and it looked very much like what went before it, albeit somewhat more creepy, kooky and adventurous, at least from a three-hour tour perspective.

Many of the old shows – with the emphasis on old – were returning, including “The Ed Sullivan Show” (17th season), “What’s My Line” (16th season), “The Red Skelton Hour” and “The Jack Benny Show” (14th season), “I’ve Got a Secret” and “Ozzie and Harriet” (13th season) and “The Wonderful World of Disney” (11th season). CBS even picked up “The Joey Bishop Show,” a castoff comedy from NBC.

“Sing Along with Mitch” may have been canceled (although it would return briefly in 1966), but variety was alive and kicking and all but oblivious to the quantum change on the radio. While none could match the tenure of “The Ed Sullivan Show” or “The Red Skelton Hour,” variety shows remained popular and were helmed by such artists as Andy Williams, Jimmy Dean, Danny Kaye, Jackie Gleason and Lawrence Welk. “The Bell Telephone Hour” (primarily music) and “The Jack Paar Show” (primarily talk) were on the schedule as well.

Rural comedies, already dominant with “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Petticoat Junction” and “The Beverly Hillbillies,” added to their ranks with “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.” and “No Time for Sergeants,” while rural and Western dramas continued to thrive. Joining “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “Wagon Train,” “The Virginian” and “Rawhide” were “Daniel Boone” and “Kentucky Jones.” While “Daniel Boone” became a Thursday night staple throughout the remainder of the ’60s, “Kentucky Jones” lasted just one season even though it starred Dennis Weaver, who had just defected from “Gunsmoke.”

Some network brass figured out that the attraction of all those Westerns may have been action as opposed to cowboy hats and horses. ABC successfully launched “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” while NBC countered with “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

The comedy genre was tweaked here and there, but the breakout hits were of another time, place and dimension. “Bewitched” was by far the biggest hit of the year, attracting more viewers than any show except “Bonanza.” And “The Addams Family” and “The Munsters” were instant, though short-lived, successes. Both series survived just two years, but spawned movies, updated versions or animated series, and they remain among the most successful syndicated shows in television history.

While both had catchy theme songs, the honor of “best intro” that season goes to “Gilligan’s Island,” which began its three-hour tour (complete with luggage!) that continued for three years.

The boldest concept, though, belonged to ABC. It decided to air a prime-time soap opera not once, but twice a week. “Peyton Place” was so successful that midway through the season, a third night was added. The series was an unqualified smash and had a solid six-year run.

The season’s most traumatic event – at least for kids – was on “Lassie,” where Timmy Martin and his family moved to Australia, and the wonder dog was cared for by forest ranger Corey Stuart. Viewers adjusted, and “Lassie” adventures continued well into the ’70s.

One of the bigger hits that year wasn’t a series at all, but a well-placed timeslot instead. It was ABC’s “Sunday Night Movie,” one of the first competitors to put a dent in the ratings of NBC’s “Bonanza” and CBS’s powerhouse coupling of “Candid Camera” and “What’s My Line.”

As in any season, the bulk of new shows didn’t survive. In addition to the touted but ultimately disappointing “Kentucky Jones,” such forgotten titles as “The Baileys of Balboa,” “Many Happy Returns,” “Mr. Broadway,” “The Reporter” and “Valentine’s Day” failed to find an audience. The critically acclaimed “Slattery’s People” with Richard Crenna did only marginally better, surviving until December 1965.

NBC experimented with “90 Bristol Court,” a succession of three sitcoms – “Karen,” “Harris Against the World” and “Tom, Dick and Mary” – with the same setting. Only “Karen” made it through the season.

ABC attempted to capitalize on the variety craze with “The Entertainers,” hosted by Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett, late of “The Garry Moore Show,” which had ended its run a few months earlier. To virtually everyone’s surprise, it tanked.

Conversely, to no one’s surprise, an ill-advised prime-time version of “Mr. Magoo,” in which Magoo became a different historical figure each week, was an immediate bomb.

The failure of the Burnett, Weaver and Magoo shows, along with sitcoms starring Bing Crosby, Robert Cummings (“My Living Doll”) and George Burns (“Wendy and Me”), should have signaled that TV viewers were looking for a Beatle-esque change in the TV landscape. Still, even if witches, monsters and castaways weren’t quite the answer, they achieved the same result as the Fab Four. They became an indelible part of our pop culture.

The most promoted aspect of that season, by the way, wasn’t any particular show or genre, but rather the fact that many shows were now being aired in color. Evidently, that didn’t matter to most viewers, who had yet to purchase their first color TV. The majority of the top shows, in fact, were still filmed in black and white.

1. “Bonanza”

2. “Bewitched”

3. “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.”

4. “The Andy Griffith Show”

5. “The Fugitive”

6. “The Red Skelton Show”

7. “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

8. “The Lucy Show”

9. “Peyton Place II”

10. “Combat”