Www ©11 @lwA©@w] me >hc 20. The Vast Wasteland SEVEN YEARS AFTER MERGING WITH United Paramount Theaters, the ABC television network had reached apparent respectability. The network's commitment to the action-adventure format had paid off and, though it was still far behind CBS, ABC had successfully nosed out NBC for the number two slot in the 1959-60 season. Just as the new decode began, ABC was often placing as many programs in the top ten as the other networks, sometimes even more. OMie Treyz, president of ABC-TV since 1958, noted this improvement with considerable pride. He went even further, though, and asserted that ABC was actually number one, citing a special Nielsen ratings survey that measured markets in which all three networks had full time affiliates to back his claim. Despite these pronouncements, ABC was not yet generally considered at parity with its rivals and was still unmistakably the "'third network." Though ihe number and strength of its affiliates had increased. ABC was far weaker than CBS and NBC. lis news, public affairs, sports, and daytime programming were virtually nonexistent. Even its success in prime time had come almost entirely from one program type, action-adventure, with only occasional hits in other genres. If the action-adventure format faded before a viable followup was found, ABC could slip back into oblivion in a very short time. While it searched for potential new prime time hits, ABC began to expand both its news and sports coverage in an attempt to increase prestige and build on its momentum. Its first important move in these areas was the surprise acquisition of exclusive television rights to the I960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. For the privilege of carrying the first Olympics held in the United States since the advent of television, the network paid $167,000. ABC viewed this investment in the Winter Games as essentially a iosing venture that was valuable only as a bargaining tool in an attempt to acquire the more profitable Summer Games scheduled for Rome. When it failed to win the rights to the Roman Games. ABC canceled plans for coverage of the winter contests, feeling that they would cost too much and not attract sufficient viewer interest. CBS picked up both the winter and summer TV rights and found itself producing all eighteen hours of winter coverage on an unsponsored basis, just as ABC had expected. When the Winter Games brought in unexpectedly high ratings, both the networks and sponsors; were appropriately stunned. Events such as a dramatic down-to-the-wire hockey win by the U.S. over the Soviet Union captured the public's attention and revealed a substantial audience for types of sports previously considered of only marginal interest. In August, i Squaw Valley with twenty hour: coverage of the events in Rome, fei The extensive use of video tape ra\ I . . in the United States on the same d; the games an immediacy and ter absent in the long-delayed fdm repi I the Winter and Summer Olympic ( ratings success. For ABC, tbey wer Though it had lost this contest events were a natural area for it to | come up with many dramatic spo ; half decade and ABC could com] i them head-on, and attempt to outbid ,kc" ff! Or, it could pick up contests tbey had dioppcd prj ered at all. ABC had already become the sole one of the first TV sports, boxing, bv attrition. CBSj Blue Ribbon Bouts in 1955 as a worn-out remnant! days, even though the show had [uaintained.ai audience for seven years. ABC picked it up on joined NBC and DuMont in carrying TV pugilist)] 1950s. By the end of the decade, DuMoni had toldi corruption in the boxing profession and well-pubt boxers shortly after being pummeled m the rmghacy a sinister and .subversive tinge that was re/lcctftd In lime 1960, NBC ended its association with bi Gillette's Cavalcade of Sports matches Lifter sixt& left ABC alone in the field, and n run bouts until 1964. As boxing declined during the late 1950s, «| planted it as the chief focus of telcv scanned these for areas of possible c*pai>inii. M^J* ball was firmly in the grip of CBS and NBC. v;hi$j a weekend "game of the week." Beyond that, IN. rights co the popular World Series contest rdev£| professional football, however, was especially at" because it seemed to have elevated a gitnie of rsthejj for thirty years into serious contention wil!) baseb*i pastime. Though NBC controlled college foot* CBS presented the National Football League (wto ed from DuMont), the sport seemed ripe *'orPlu^ game was growing and there was scnoni-of a new professional football league. #jfe*J»jfrniin 11 Hit* TbCltfew 1 *\twt* Itevpch'd'vi ugptetf in i i ; i far ABC uJ i*i i1 j H a\ da cFT'j.&^'ajM jj t AK xapuv f, , . CKHKiirii far** ii 'i t publli. dilftri ,mv ; ftsrtf u I r and pndtige \- 11: fiWK. ABC \ ,» s'-t"- "?**s>™ Njiniya- !■. *i \ jAM»f> popm or ti " ► awt tlvn jfe. \\ kk, >ti> | .Wjilhiiia.i t r^p. DO 1 • j :reM and appreciation for tic more" comprehensible to 1Hl Lcplays"' (which at first ed \ievvers with the oppor-Itus transformed the sport i television than at the Jcneated. football became a Nstious programs in the j, io examine the personali-. U-produced entries as i CBS'1* Twentieth Century imporiiini, plans for a new the NH- for fan attention J] of I960, ABC filched the NBC and signed a biih the brand new American ■e for pronunence in football. Wished draw and the upstart srt ABC. Although the AFL either talent or prestige, like jfciihei partner proved to be d ■ of TV sports in urda\ aJtcrnoon Wide World jrbca-^ei fim McKay, Wide of Roone Arledge, a sports s!BC aJony with the NCAA n:fhe then accepted practice re in regular time periods to g.;as.many-different sports as gram. Using both live and ibled coverage of the Oiym-selection of contests from nusiasts to events previously letwork television including and tennis. The rapid pacing ped Wide World of Sports to ^settings and events as part ■program was an unqualified it.established the network's ■■ l.ve. source for sports. In this perfectly, f challenge in upgrading its to compote with NBC and stionably far behind in both .if network television in the ie:pace of its competition, 1948, just as the other net-aows.: The Monday through like a radio news and com-s would: present the day's ntes of interpret,it ion. The number of analysts such as s first female network news id-Yiews disappeared within '..very well on radio, it was racious demand for visuals, ws show and, for all practi-ursnever. During this inter-■■■ ■ developed their television ■C .settled for once-a-week adip analysts such a$ Paul As a sign of the growing strength and independence in the NBC and CBS news departments, neither allowed outside sources to produce news or news-related programs, keeping the nightly news shows and occasional news specials under direct network control. ABC, on the other hand, was forced to rely totally on outside sources for both film footage and program production, and it aired documentary series such as Crusade in Europe, Crusade in the Pacific, and March of Time through the Years from Time-Life in lieu of its own news and public affairs programming. Once the ABC-United Paramount Theaters merger of 1953 brought much-needed cash to the network coffers, ABC reactivated its news organi2ation and resumed Monday through Friday newscasts in October 1953, with veteran newscaster-quiz master John Daly, formerly of CBS. Under Daly's leadership, ABC news improved substantially, even adopting the CBS-NBC dogma of ''no outside documentaries." Unfortunately, due to the comparatively small budget for the ABC news department, this rule translated into no ABC documentaries at all. Most of ABC"s affiliates refused to take the network's improved news posture seriously anyway and did not bother to carry Daly's fifteen-minute news show. In an attempt to remedy this situation, ABC moved the program into prime time (10:30-10:45 P.M.) during the 1958-59 season, but this shift placed it in a hopeless battle with the popular entertainment programs on the opposing networks. Even though ABC had upgraded its treatment of the news by 1960, it still had the weakest of the September 11,1960 Danger Man. (ATV), Patrick McGoohan portrays secret agent John Drake in this British series, which CBS brings to the States for a brief summer ran beginning in April 1961. September 26,1960 The largest television audience yet—seventy-five million Americans-—runes in the first of four debates belween presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Howard K. Smith of CBS is moderator of the first {held in Chicago), which focuses on domestic affairs. Though the two are rated about even by radio listeners, television viewers give Nixon poor marks for personal appearance. He appeal's tired and haggard while Kennedy looks sharp and bright. November 27,1960 Issues and Answers. (ABC). The third network at last gets its own Sunday afternoon interview show. First guesc Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois. December 16, 1960 Bill Shadel takes over ABC's nightly news show following che resignation of latin Daly. January 5.1961 Mr. Ed. An off-beat syndicated series featuring Alan Young as Wilbur Post, a young architect who one day discovers that his horse, Mr. Ed, can talk. Allan "Rocky" Lane provides the voice for die giwd-natured palomino. The program is so successful that CBS puts it on network television in October. 1961, where it becomes a national hit. January 7,1961 The Avengers. Britain's iTV network presents the spy duo of Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry) and a mysterious character referred to simply Steed (Patrick Mac nee). 136 1960-61 SEASON 137 o, m M) ■§ a^otj Ii ©roje 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 M local i ne urieyermt; anuw (ijiieyewie; Bronco; Sugarfoot} SURFSIDE SÍX Adventures In Paradise Peler Guny O local To Tell The Truth j PETE AND GLADYS BRINGING UP BUDDY Danny Thomas Show ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Hennesey PRESIDEFjfiÄi COUNTňnviiii N local Riverbcat Tales Of Wells Fargo KLONDIKE DANTE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW Jdukput Howl'IV-"5 Mnton Bt»i'i T EXPEDITION BUGS BUMNY SHOW The Rilleman Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp STAGECOACH WEST Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond lor"-1 U Ic 001 Father Knows Best The Many Lores Ot DobieGiilis TOM EWELL SHOW Red Skeitgn Show Garry M ore Show E local Laramie Alfred Hitchcock Presents THRILLER NBC Specials W local HONC KONG Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet Haw, a„Eřo Naked City E local THE AOUAMAUTS Wanted: Dead Or Alive MY SISTER EILEEN I've Gof A Secret D local Wagon Train The Price Is Right Perry Coma's Kraft Music Hall PETER LOVES MARY local T local QUESTWARD HO Donna Reed Show The Real McCoys MY THREE SONS The Untouchables Take A G fin J .,K H looa! THE WITNESS Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater ANGEL Ann Sothern Show Person To Person UuHontShow W' R local THE OUTLAWS Bat Masterson Bachelor Father Tennessee Ernie Faiiin>llccl public relations fluff Daly had feared and it presented some nt u most imaginative television documentary work in years. xjUsIv ir£ ABC's desire for material that could match the work ai M3C v£ CBS. Drew's first program in the series, "Yanki No!" 1 from Ed Murrow's See h Now "Christmas in Korea" show. d',vn; playing the role of the narrator and avoiding the artificial m'liingo formal interviews. It attempted to capture people and evenl*- il5 _ they were" in a cinema verite style comparison between Cuba [thusiastic. Subsequent shows in the series tackled objectmatter as the effect of automation on the U.S. awesome Servant"7) and the defiant attitude emerging :ah blacks ("Walk in My Shoes"). In each of these, etite style seductively underplayed a far stronger ethan most network documentaries of the time chose hough purporting to present things as they were, carefully selected the film clips they used in order to , ^.ecific viewpoint, without an easily identifiable ' ian: advocate of the position. This style was aimed at "" a strung point about a controversial issue without **r" . ' *e viewers with dramatic accusations that might 3?". Im before the problem could be fully explored. Someone ' 0f Ed Murrow might be able to use the force of his * " * V ! ,uid reputation to argue a specific point of view (as he J*"''" ttrhis- broadcasts about Senator Joseph McCarthy) but "i *s were the exception. Murrow, in fact, had sometimes the instances in which he had taken a strong stand made t to present other unrelated issues to people who hi! ideJ he was biased and not to be trusted. Because height-J*1 * ;ne5s;of an issue was all that could ever be expected to . 'fwuf ' ' tven the best documentary, it was vital that the audi-ig to give the program a fair hearing. The cinema 1 . " t"ABC's Closeup series allowed the audience such jjj^ gave the network the class documentaries it warned inough the use of an outside crew merely postponed the njcesbso development and expansion of ABC's own news depart-wcral more years. 1 P \s department at NBC occasionally followed the verite i ling NBC White Paper series. The technique was ■«^$*^pd,in such reports as "Sit In" (a personal study of the individuals - t-in tactics being used to integrate stores in Nash-e) but the producers usually stuck to well-made but traditional ferviews: of controversial topics, being careful to avoid .i. explicit or implied. The subject matter of these ■anged from an analysis of the U-2 spy plane affair to an iii'iof both sides of a rebellion going on almost unnoticed ifc Portugal's African colony of Angola. Another NBC floating documentary series1, Project 20, usually avoided such controversy "Sfnbrcly and focused instead on more cultural topics. One typical i »- The Real West,'' attempted to present a view of the old "Wey moie realistic and accurate than the fictional TV Westerns. y Gary Cooper, the program used old photographs and temoirs to portray the events leading to the closing of the i die conquest of the nation's Indian tribes. , - Of all the networks, CBS provided the most dramatic documentary of ihe:season, "Harvest of Shame," one of the strongest pieces b$F.d Murrow since the Army-McCarthy days. On November 25, *%60 m the middle of die Thanksgiving holidays. Murrow brought 1 % living:..and; working conditions of America's migrant farm '" ■ the attention of die general public, which knew next to Mtiung about the topic. As a sort of updated Grapes of Wrath, the program depicted the squalid conditions of the migrant workers in sharp contrast to the wealth of their employers, the food growers. te growers': side of the issue was also presented, but Murrow too* a hmi >iand and left no doubt in viewers' minds that he felt L^?-methm^ to be done, such as federal protection for the work-£ * fbera' did was effect a one-to-one transplant of modem S' devices to Stone Age animal equivalents. Fred and r: rate(f gnormous dinosaurs instead of mechanical bulled drove a car powered by his own two feet. Pterodactyls trapped to their served as airplanes. That was it. atire Just formula animation. Nonetheless, the series seasons.on ABC, though the characters of Fred, Wilma, (their daughter), Barney, Betty Rubble, and Bamm Bamm » reached their most effective penetration of the market > show-ended its prime time run and moved to its natural Saturday morning kiddie circuit, and then into syndicating several spinoff series along the way. BC's immediate future, The Flintstones provided a quick „y i i fed- for the network to exploit, and by the 1962-63 season, auDched three additional "adult" cartoon series that fol-'he líintstones style: Top Cat (a Sergeant Bilko imitation), ff. , tie Colonel {Amos 'n Andy of the animal world), and j (The Flintstones backwards). Of course, the cartoon riuch too limited in appeal to serve as a substitute for ifion-adventure series, but it underscored the return to •Ml' patchwork: style of filling its prime time schedule with ' f- anything, in the hope that a flash hit would take hold. change, ABC was not alone in feeling the absence of high **(£"r ;hws. All three networks had reached the bottom of a r n,. .Tiling slump in 1960-61. Only two new series made it into ,[■ ten. ABC's leisurely My Three Sons and CBS's rurally Griffith Show. My Three Sons was just a routine fi-L- -ay featuring Fred MacMurray, while CBS's show iunited the "No Time for Sergeants" movie team of land Don Knotts. Their roles were essentially contin-ár.film characters, grown a bit older and relocated in 11 town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Andy played an (Standing and mature good ol' boy who served as the town's li&and -Knotts was the hysterically bug-eyed paranoiac deputy, j^-šFife, who constantly tried, and failed, to fit his own image JiflEbe traditional tough cop. Barney never understood that big city picssurctactics were unnecessary in Mayberry because it was ^ffr&aily crime/free.: The program's tempo reflected the slow-as-of a small rural town and a good deal of time was demoted to warm -family segments featuring Andy as a gentle * i:' ig.to raise his young son, Opie (Ronny Howard), with Jfcehelp of fits aunt, Bee Taylor (Frances Bavier). These vignettes fid&med The Rifleman pattern of a father-son relationship as Opie |e^ied homey lessons about life either on Ms own or from his dad. ^pcomedic foundation of the show, though, rested with the plyast between this very normal family life and a handful of ^_ ^Ž^berrv s citizens who could be set off on some crackpot notion "s*!*? nuiicT of moments. Aside from occasional outbreaks of ;d by Barney, the show's stories often involved some *ftre town's, other colorful characters such as Otis, the town ™U lo\d,.the barber; and the two personifications of country ter and Goober Pyle. Through it all, Andy was never / dIKl did-not bother to carry a gun. He knew that nothing had ;t e*f happened.in.-that town and that nothing ever would. The calm nebs of the program, combined with the balance between 'fg&y ^ ^sanity, proved very popular with viewers and they íj^,ltóMncyofMaytoerry for eleven years. ^lacB iT* *tí'° íllS0 a feW outstanding dramatic shows that season. * řWnUlfc espajlded hour version of Naked City (with a new .£ nun. Paul Burke), the surprisingly serious private eye , «f <- heebnate (with Sebastian Cabot as a portly professional criminologist who was the guiding genius behind prettyboy detectives Anthony George and Doug McClure), and the offbeat character studies of Route 66. George Maharis and Martin Milner played a pair of wandering anti-heroes who set out on U.S. highway 66 "in search of America" and some direction for their lives. Milner played a clean-cut college boy who had lost his family fortune with the death of his father and Maharis portrayed a reformed juvenile delinquent from the ghetto. The two had pooled their funds, purchased a Corvette (the show was sponsored by Chevrolet), and become drifters who cruised the country, inevitably drawn along the way into the lives of people who were facing some crisis. The wide open format allowed the series' chief writer, Stirling Sil-liphant, the opportunity to introduce a varied assortment of offbeat personalities and place them into modern morality plays. These people were good at heart, if slightly warped, and it was up to Maharis and Milner (acting as unofficial social workers and psychoanalysts) to help them face the consequences of their actions and reassert their goodness. Filmed on location, Route 66 was a good show due to its strong cast, good writing, and flexible format. The only aspect that made no sense was how episodes taking place in Butte, Montana, or in rural Mississippi could he part of a series named after a road that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. These series provided a few moments of high quality entertainment in an otherwise depressingly mediocre season. Effluvia such as Peter Loves Mary, National Velvet, The Tab Hunter Show, Pete and Gladys, and Guestward Ho! filled the airwaves. Westerns reached a new level of sadism with the gory vengeance killings and inrtafamily homicides of Whispering Smith, and the sadistic white slavers and threats of brutal mutilation in The Westerner (produced and directed by Sam Peckinpah). Even two former The pride of Mayberry: (from left) Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts), gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), and sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith). (CBS Photo Archive © 2003 CBS Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved.) 1960-61 SEASON 141 television greats, Jackie Gleason and Milton Eerie, turned up in roles that were embarrassing and demeaning to their tremendous talents. Gleason returned to television as the host of an insipid quiz show, You're in the Picture. Contestants behind a large picture canvas stuck their faces through cutouts in Ihe scene and tried to identify the situation in the picture, using clues provided by Gleason. This format lasted one week. Gleason scrapped it and took over the show himself, announcing on the second program that the premiere had, "laid, without a doubt, the biggest bomb in history." He devoted the entire program that week and the next to a thirty-minute comedy monologue based on the frantic meetings by the show's producers as they desperately tried to salvage something from the venture. They finally wrote it off as a total loss and Gleason used the two remaining months of the program's run to feature whatever friends he couid talk into helping him out. Even though Gleason's show was an obvious loser, it remained on the air for two more months because, at that time, the networks did not bother with wholesale mid-season schedule changes and replacements. They felt that a show doing poorly in January could not possibly improve dramatically before the season ended, so to try to promote and improve it would be a waste of time and money. It was much wiser to write off the bad shows, let them finish their run, and concentrate instead on assembling the new fall schedule by the end of February. Milton Berle's reappearance was not a great public flop like Jackie Gleason's, but it was no less degrading. Mr, Television, the man whose talents had enticed many Americans into purchasing their first sets, was relegated to providing patter for Jackpot Bowling. Each week, sportscasier Chick Hearn did the play-by-play and Berle appeared at the beginning, middle, and end of the show to tell a few jokes and hand out a few thousand dollars in prize money. The comedown of Gleason and Berle was staggering but representative. The previously respected geniuses of television's early years were being reduced to cheapened pawns whose name value was callously exploited. Where would it all end? Would Sid Caesar turn up as a carnival clown on a kiddie show? Would Fred Coe begin producing laxative commercials? Would Pat Weaver wind up running a UHF station in Arkansas? Would Tony Miner start working for Soupy Sales? No esthetic genius appeared invulnerable. Television seemed hell-bent on eradicating any reputation for quality it had developed. Though the networks pointed with justifiable pride to their highly praised documentaries and news shows, programs such as Jackpot Bowling, Surfside Six, and The Flintstones more accurately reflected the true state of the industry. Television's critics had all but given up complaining that the networks had gone too far in sacrificing program quality to viewer quantity, realizing that their protests would be brushed aside with the latest statistics indicating that viewing totals were up again. After all, the network chiefs responded, the public cast its vote of support every day by tuning in whatever they churned out. Among themselves, though, even broadcasters admitted that the 1960-61 season was less-than-exceptional, and there were plans to tinker with a few programs and perhaps introduce a few new programming wrinkles; but there was no hurry. Improvements might take place eventually, but in laying out the schedules for the 1961-62 season the emphasis remained on gaining a competitive edge, not upgrading quality. A few mundane programs were accepted as a necessary part of broadcasting along with the desperate rating battles and unstable program formats. It was all business as usual. Each of the networks totaled their profits and losses for the season and prepared for the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters. Every year broadcast executives met to discuss the industry, pat themselves on the back, and listen to a bl^j by an important government figure (usually from the 1 (.e^ did little to dispel the convention euphoria or the; n„r ^ everyone there was doing a great job "serving the publu. Newly appointed FCC chairman Newton Minow was deliver the address on May 9, 1961, before that year's y^'^' ering in Washington. Coming only two months after he lunk, ^ Minow's speech would be his first chance to express ^ about broadcasting directly to its important executives and Though the thirty-five-year-old former law partner oi Adla' n5 ' venson was an unknown quantity, it was assumed th;ii h „Q toff probably follow the usual pattern of praise tempered w ^ exhortations that the industry do even better in the ft: the bigwigs of network TV were in the audience: Robert S and Robert Kinter of NBC, Leonard Goldenson and 01 ABC, and Frank Stanton and James Aubrey of CBS. Tt prepared for what Minow chose to say: I invite you to sit down in front of your televiš when your station [or network] goes on the air and there without a book, magazine, newspaper, pro] loss sheet, or ratings book to distract you-and ket eyes glued to that set until the station signs off [ can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland Yuu will see a procession of game shows, violence, ; participation shows, formula comedies about unbelievable families, blood and thunder, violence, sadism, murder, Western badmen, - Yv ľsU,™ goodmen, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and ; cartoons, and, endlessly, commercials, many , cajoling, and offending, and, most of all, buialoin True you will see a few things you enjoy, but they u> I be very, very few,, and if you think I exaggerate, try it At this point, the trade journal Variety later reporte brow (always perpetually wrinkled) showed a few Treyz's face had turned white, while Stanton's was ret of Kinter and Aubrey were frozen in masks, and Goldrnsun ;> hdi iced into a Mona Lisa smile. Minow went on: Is there one person in this room who claims that huad casting can't do better? Is there one networ this room who claims he can't do better? Why is s< of television so bad? ... We need imagination i grarnming, not sterility; creativity, not imil mentation, not conformity; excellence, not mediocnU. The members of the NAB were stunned. No one had ever u ked to them that way before. What's more, Minow, as head nl rne ICC might actually do something to implement his seriously affect the industry. Consequently, no one dart-rebuke him as he delivered his speech, though the i filled with behind-the-scenes grumbling. Newspapers picked up Minow's "vast wasteland'; phrase i-ifl critics used it as a quick condemnation of the entire indus'O ' Though broadcasters grudgingly came to the general lOii&cnJS-that in some respects Minow was right and the 1960-61 se^cn 1*1 been exceptionally weak, they were in a bind. Despite 1 tion that something should be done immediately to imp sion programming after the adverse publicity directed tovwd the 1961-62 schedules had been locked up and sold s and could not be changed in May. The best the networ was slot a few more public affairs shows, paint rosy.['i^lirt\^ 1962-63, and prepare to endure the barrage of criticism ihej * ^ certain would greet the new season. . . I.^)^D\K\ 21.1 Still Have the Stench in My Nose CZARS WERE BRACED FOR DISASTER fallowing FCC Ji.iirman Newton Minow's roasting of the industry " tflbis \&>l fla«.UJland" speech. Lavish reforms were promised by network pounWi* for the 1962-63 season, but as the 1961-62 the need for such dramatic action faded. Though : television aired in the new season, Minow's bv accident, marked the rock bottom end of a i-the identification of a permanent, insoluble situation h\ei \ince the rise of the big money quiz shows in 1955 hility of TV had been eroding steadily as the indus-' try put asidt many high quality drama, comedy, and news shows " which lirew imh adequate ratings in favor of programs that offered shy, but unstable, instant success. In searching hit formats for the 1961-62 season, network i , . i ^'eloped, by chance or instinct, several concepts that rc\]\cd some of.television's best work, updated for the 1960s. Major EircakLlirtiu^hs took place in legal, medical, movie, and sitcom format's wuh programs that set the pattern television shows ofboth hig'i ami low quality would follow for the remainder of the ; only a handful of these new shows that fall, but they provided enough good new television to take some of the immediate sijn» jom the vast wasteland description and to ■convince peupli. lhat, after one of the most uninspired seasons in TV fusion, sonwihing was being done to improve programming. ma of The Defenders came directly from the so-. .called gulden (i«c i if television. Back in February 1957, Studio One had presented ,i two-part story of a father-and-son legal team that r fead to oiucu-iK' both intrafamily disagreements and judicial by Reginald Rose and produced by Herb Brod-r ^n, The Dclcndcis" offered a situation far more complex than the Jvccagt IV Lriine show. As lawyer pere, Ralph Bellamy found , "nscif shows.of old, with one important difference. ,■ insisted that their client receive Ihe best defense ^(en though he was probably guilty. The story received al-" Drama anthologies such as Studio One had demanded that viewers accept a whole new world every week, without offering any identifiable continuing characters to provide a much-needed personal link. Even if the shows were first rate and dealt with themes and issues that hit home, many viewers felt it just was not worth the constant effort required to follow the maze of new faces and settings. Instead they turned increasingly to continuing series with familiar central characters or, at best, anthology series with stable, well-known hosts such as Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling. In the waning days of the drama anthology genre, producers used big name Hollywood guest stars in an attempt to overcome the continuity gap, but the tactic was not very successful because the format problem still remained: in the intimate world of television, Ihe public preferred familiar characters and settings. In The Defenders, Brodkin and Rose tied together their high quality writing, production, and selection of guest stars with a strong pair of central characters: E. G. Marshall as trial lawyer Lawrence Preston and Robert Reed as his son, Kenneth. Within the very accessible framework of courtroom drama, they presented tight character studies as well as the public debate of controversial topics television normally never dealt with. Nonetheless, it still looked for all the world like just another good lawyer show and CBS slotted it on Saturday night following Perry Mason. The placement was perfect because the two programs complemented each other. Perry Mason was a well-directed murder melodrama while The Defenders focused on characters and issues. The treatment of touchy subjects was never obvious and overbearing because Brodkin and Rose carefully incorporated it into each week's case. The trial process became a full-scale debate presenting both pro and con arguments through Marshall, Reed, and the supporting characters and guest stars as they planned the best ways to handle the legal strategy. Through all the topical discussions, however, the program still maintained the basics of good drama with strong characters and entertaining scripts. The Defenders was the first TV series to examine the effects and implications of enterftinment blacklisting. Jack Klugman portrayed a John Henry Faulk-type character who found his broadcasting career ended after his sponsor was frightened by a small pressure group. Another episode, "Voices of Death," scrutinized the flaws in the judicial system itself and raised the possibility that an innocent person could be sentenced to death. The first episode 142 WATCHING TV 143 mu ExpeMon The Cheyenne Show (Cheyenne; Bronco) Tne Rilteman Surtside Six BEN C ASE.Y ,-.S, To Tell The Truth Pete And Gladys WIMOOW ON MAIM STREET Danny Thomas Showj Andy Griffith Show Henriesey I've Got A Secrěi to* National Velvet The Price Is Righl 37th PRECINCT Thriller Bugs Bunny Show Bachelor Father CALVIN AND THE COLONEL THE NEW BREED ALCOA PREMIERE üell And Howell q( " Up Marshal Dillon DICK VAN DYKE SHOW The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis Red Skelton Show | ICHABOD AND ME Garry Moore Show Laramie Alfred Hitchcock Presents DICK POWELL SHOW CAIN'S HUNDRED looa, STEVE ALLEN SHOW TOP CAT Hawaiian Eye Naked City local THE ALVIN SHOW j Father Knows Best i MRS. S, GOES TO Checkmate | U-S. Steel Hour "~ Armstrang C role Thealor ,oca, Wagon Train JOEY BISHOP SHOW Peny Gome's Kraft Music Hall BOB NEWHART SHOW DAVID rJHINKLE'f JOURNAL local Adventures 01 Ozzis 1 Donra Reed Show And Harriet | The Real McCoys My Three Sons | MARGIE The Untouchables local FRONTIER CIRCUS NEW BOB CUMMINGS SHOW THE INVESTIGATORS CBS Reports local The Outlaws DR. KILDARE HAZEL Sing Along With Mitch local STRAIGHTAWAY THE HATHAWAYS The Flintstones 77 Sunset Strip TARGET: THE CORRUPTORS local Rawhide Route 66 FATHER OF THE BRIDE Trie Twilight Zone Eyewitness l„0„ INTERNATIONAL SHOWTIME Robert Taylor's Detectives Bell Telephone Hour FRANK McQEE'-HERE AND HQM Dinah Shore Show Matty's Funday Funnies The Roaring Twenties Leave It To Beaver Lawrence Welk Show Fight Ol The Week Wask^J local Perry Mason THE DEFENDERS Have Gun, Will Travel Gunsnnoke local Tales Ol Wells Fargo The Tall Wan NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES Maverick (from 6:30) FOLLOW THE SUN Lawman BUS STOP Adventures In Paradisic1 Lassie Dennis The Menace | Ed Sullivan Show General Electric 1 , , _ „ Theater [ ^ck Benny Program Candid Camera | What's My Line The Bullwinkle Show Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? Bonanza DuPont Show Of The Week ABC CBS NBC /q CBS NBC ABC CBS NBC 111 mĚĚ of the series thrashed out the issue of mercy killing while another installment, "The Benefactor," dealt openly with abortion, then illegal and barely acknowledged. This episode, in which a doctor spoke out in favor of the practice, caused a public controversy in which eleven of the 180 stations that normally carried the program, as well as the regular sponsor, palled out for that week. Despite such a daring (yet generally evenhanded) approach to important issues, The Defenders was an immediate ratings winner for CBS. Throughout its four-year run it maintained high standards of production quality while attracting a large and faithful audience that did not seem to mind "serious drama" on a weekly basis. NBC and ABC turned to a different profession, medicine, in their pursuit of ratings success. Aside from Medic (Worthington Miner's 1954 series for NBC starring Richard Boone), doctors bad been largely ignored by television until those two networks realized that the medical profession offered the opportunity to present romantic, good-looking heroes in situations that were literally matters of life and death. For its medical drama, NBC reached hack two decades with Dr. Kildare, based on an old MGM film series that starred Lew Ayres and Lionel Barry more. For the TV update, Raymond Massey portrayed the Barrymore character of crusty but compassionate Dr. Leonard Gillespie, the senior medical guru at Blair General Hospital, and Richard Chamberlain played the young idealistic intern, James Kildare. The two central characters established a relationship similar to the father-and-son lawyer team of The Defenders, in which Ihey consistently disagreed on operating policy for each week's patients Gillesrj^ the experienced veteran, preached patience and under<.tdiiJ:iig_ while the impetuous Kildare put principle before tradition, o~en ^ making the innocent mistakes of youthful inexperience. I nWttTfc Defenders, though, the stories emerging from their comlulb ras not in-depth discussions of complex issues but rather soap opera. While a very good soap opera, Dr. Kildm just a sugar-coated view of life with inordinately good looking people experiencing one heightened dramatic crisis after mtiflia.^ There always seemed to be some beautiful woman v,nli u "jd -disease who fell in love with Kildare, or a visiting speLuhsnd'e threatened to have Kildare suspended over some minor pmi.-eo'i.rEl infraction. Chamberlain, while a fine dramatic actor, proiKtea *n almost too good choir-boy image in these situations. He ie\3 seemed to have an impure thought or a desire to do anything m ^ other than cure disease. The steady stream of guest sl.ii1-. t cartoon morning programming). Mary Tyler Moore (the Ietisi> scty-va^j phone operator "Sam" on Richard Diamond) assumed the Laura, and Larry Matthews played Ritchie. In a stiolw oi get veteran comics Morey Amsterdam and Rose Mane, v-bo labored for years in the wilderness after some suceis m ihfecj days of broadcasting, were cast as the new Bndd> Amsterdam had been a frequent performer in network televi^ early days and Rose Marie had begun singing oi i N' -i network when she was three years old (as Baby I' ^' both brought an essential sharp comic edge to thai chara I CBS was convinced and scheduled the new series rename11 Dick Van Dyke Show, to begin in October 1961 The ne*1 lifted the program's highly workable format far above m> ^n. promise. Although the series took a few seasons !■ The Dick Van Dyke Show became a worthy succe^oi M Lflty |, -tg own large and loyal audience. The program also team behind the scenes including executive producer : ard and directors John Rich and Jerry Paris. Reiner If the scripts for the first two seasons himself, but also to- such as Bill Persky, Sam Denoff, Garry Marshall, , . n wno understood the series dynamic perfectly. Ik Van Dyke Show set its action in both the Petrie home fhNew Rochelle (Reiner's home in real life) and Rob's Manhattan. The home scenes were solid and grounded, □rt for the domestic situations provided by next door Millie and Jerry Helper (played by Ann Morgan id director Jerry'Paris), but the office scenes were bits of reliance that gave the show its drive. Reminiscent of ifeiiori Leonard program. The Danny Thomas Show. $fis fellow writers set Dick Van Dyke in a world they Wan Dyke, the star of a TV sitcom, portrayed a writer ornedy series, in a part written for him by writers of a t By working with a setting they faced every day TV comedy show), they infused the office scenes imated humor as Rob, Buddy, and Sally tossed quips fin a rapid-fire style reminiscent of an old vaudeville he writers also directed some effective barbs against If in scenes that involved the show's vain star, Alan ■), and the flunky producer, Brady's brother-in-law, Richard Deacon). Whether the comedy was set at iome, the: situations were always humorous and tut still basically identifiable and real. The stories nd satire on the times, but the presentation of comic plications that someone who worked as a New York sr might face. ■as I Love Lucy and Leave It to Beaver had symbol-195IK and The Dick Van Dyke Show did much the S-for the tttst halt of the 1960s, perfectly capturing the feeling isense of the Kennedy years. (With her bouffant hairdo, Mary SCMoore c\en looked a little like first lady Jackie Kennedy in 5 days.) The scnts presented a range of characters living in a world not very different from the one that many viewers faced. Rob and Laura lived in a real middle class town in which real people commuted to and from real jobs. He was a decent, intelligent, hard-working father and she was a helpful and clever wife who was neither wacky, gorgeous, nor conniving. They were true partners in marriage. The program effectively replaced the interchangeable blandness of the 1950s with a generally believable view of successful middle class life of the early 1960s. The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Defenders, Dr, Kildare, Ben Casey, and prime time movies were important signs that television was improving and had begun lo break out of its mediocre state of the 1960-61 season. Nonetheless, they were only a handful among the new shows that premiered in the fall. Most of the new entries were weak vehicles for talented performers, mindless fluff, or just very bad television. For the most part, the 1961-62 season still carried the unmistakable marks of a vast wasteland. Several new sitcoms merely maintained the moid of late 1950s blandness: Window on Main Street reactivated Robert Young in his favorite role as thoughtful patriarch; Room for One More, starring Andrew Duggan, continued television's fascination with families enlarged "by adoption or remarriage; Hazel (based on the long-running Saturday Evening Post cartoon) cast Shirley Booth as maid to possibly the dumbest family in TV history; and Mrs. G. Goes to College provided an awkwardly improbable swan song for Gertrude Berg as a newly enrolled student. Two promising young comics, Bob Newhart and Joey Bishop, made misdirected, undistinguished debuts as comedy headliners. Newhart, whose comedy album The Button Down Mind had been a 1960 sleeper hit, was miscast as a genial host of a half-hour variety show. Bishop, who had made a name for himself with his ad-lib witticism on TV panel and talk shows, found himself playing a public relations man in a ploddingly scripted sitcom that wasted his quick wit. Nat Hiken, the creator of Sergeant Bilko, tried unsuccessfully to duplicate the formula of that series with Car 54, Where Are You? Two excellent character actors, Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne, The Dick Van Dyke Show home setting: (from left) Dick Van Dyke as Rob Petrie, Larry Matthews as son Ritchie, and Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie. (CBS Photo Archive © 2003 CBS Worldwide, inc. Ail Rights Reserved.) 146 WATCHING TV 1961-62 SEASON 147 were cast as the bumbling policemen who cruised the Big Apple in squad car 54, but it was Bilko without Bilko. Ross, as Gunfher Toody, faithfully duplicated his bumbling oo-oo-ooing Bilko character of Mess Sergeant Rupert Ritzik, but it was not enough. Though he and Gwynne, as the drab, earlo be-pulling Francis Muldoon, provided hilarious caricatures of the Jack Webb lookalikes that appeared to populate nearly every cop show, the two worked best as supporting actors. They could not match the mad energy of Phil Silvers, whose domineering personality had held the Bilko show together, and Car 54, Where Are You? seemed constantly in search of a main character. Hiken had slipped up on the basics of a good sitcom and as a result the program provided merely adequate diversion, rarely matching the energy of its catchy opening theme song. One new sitcom, though, managed to top all these minor artistic flaws with a premise that seemed designed to epitomize the term "vast wasteland": The Hathaways, one of the worst series ever to air on network TV. The show marked the last step in television's vilification of American parenthood, presenting Jack Weston and Peggy Cass as surrogate parents to three chimpanzees, Enoch, Charley, and Candy. Weston and Cass treated the three chimps as human children, dressing them in children's clothes and encouraging them to imitate human actions such as dancing, eating, and playing. The scripts, acting, and production were horrible, and the premise itself was utterly degrading to both the audience and the actors. (Weston often wore an expression that made him look like a befuddled monkey.) The Hathaways more than justified the network executives' early apprehension about the new season and, though it lasted only one year, it stood as an embarrassing example of the depths programmers had reached in their desperate search for a chance hit in any format or premise. Ai the office in The Dick Van Dyke Show, (from left) Dick Van Dyke, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell, and Rose Marie as Sally Rogers. (CBS Photo Archive © 2003 CBS Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved.) Despite the total worthlessness of sitcoms -S1 Hathaways, the programs that attracted the heaviest cr 1961-62 season were the so-called "realistic" crime s programs presented violence that was at best merely g at its worst sordid, morbid, and gruesome. Among gratuitous shows were Coin's Hundred and ' Corrupters, two inferior permutations of The Untouc the present. In Cain's Hundred, Mark Richman portra' Cain, a former mob lawyer who came over to the sic and helped track down his former employers, the hundred top mobsters. Though the series bore si resemblance to The Untouchables (Richman's Can-was very similar to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness; and P executive producer of Cain, had worked on the pi Untouchables'"), it lacked high quality supporting cl any feel for realism. The series focused on little else Target: The Corrupters set its violent gunplay respectable guise of uncovering modern crime by ■ adventures of an intrepid newspaper reporter who ■ federal agents 1o weed out and expose corruption. No area of modern life they investigated, though, violence ble. The series began with a dramatization of crime u garbage collecting and within the first twenty sec premiere episode, a garbage man was shot. 87th Precinct went beyond violence into morbidit overtones. It was a bad version of Naked Cm, foe daily grind of New York City law enforcement. Dei Carella (Robert Lansing) led a squad of plainclothi were all morose, shoddy, and dense. The plots emph thrills and titillating violence. One episode featured tin sadistic murderer who first tattooed, then poisoned victims. After a particularly gruesome chase, he was Miimfct detained by Carella's beautiful deaf-mute wife and then uptui Such individuals and plots cast an appropriately somber the entire series. Of all the exercises in violence, ABC's drama anthologv Stop provided the most graphic, brutal, and controversial and the one that touched off a wave of outraged reaction anoi network affiliates as well as in the halls of Congress, based on the 1956 movie of the same name, Bus Stop se central cast in a tiny Colorado town where they awaited the v.tt guest stars who inevitably began each story with their-arm ai at town's bus depot. At first, the Twentieth Century Fox. series ffijfc in light Hollywood fluff such as an errant father.reu rmi'g & defend the honor of his wrongly accused son. To spice ap episodes, the show turned to more sensationalist tabloid rrktewl culminating in "A Lion Walks Among Us" (directed b Altmanj. Bus Stop used pop singer Fabian as its guest star das Though really a very clean-cut young mant Fabian was cast ^ degenerate drifter capable only of deceit, betrayal, and m win acquittal of one charge of murder in the town, he had an dfl with the D.AAs alcoholic wife and then used that to blac D.A. Once released, he killed his own lawyers. In a "'balance of justice," the D.A.'s wife then killed him. This sordid episode was labeled "rancid" by oue oiuc twenty-five stations refused to air it. They claimed it was nt>«ei and that it glorified violence and perversion while deliheist' using a teen favorite to entice young viewers. Senator Job of Rhode Island, who was rapidly becoming a vocal new of television, agreed. He happened to be holding hear very topic of TV violence when the episode aired and he l0"il^| get it out of his mind. He brought it up in congressional f1 3 j I - , innovative force in television comedy. dams Trust) l and again for months as the perfect example of the terrible sssös he was fighting. "I looked at it/' he said, "and I haven't jtelean since I ^ull have the stench in my nose." I- Vits Stop brouhaha, network television weathered ^following Newton Minow's vast wasteland speech ns; no longer saturated each evening's line-up. i we.:way to medical soap opera. Serious drama '^returned in iht; guise of a continuing series. Situation comedy rebirth. And public affairs programming increased Overall; television had steered itself away from the mediocre excises .of the immediate past and pulled itself out of the nit a had falk-u into after the quiz shows. In the process, TV m _ managed to iconic some of the luster to its tarnished respect-more,, the public's perception of television quality ^ell. Consequently, executives planning the 1962-63 J compulsion to implement the full scale changes they pledged immediately following Minow's speech. In-^ ut t'1 dipped back into business as usual and worked at itations and spinoffs of the respectable and success-ralncw douur, sitcom, and movie formats. At the same time as the n seriously considering exactly what to copy for the tales,.television lost one of its true originals, Ernie [ied on January 12, 1962, in a car crash. Ibeen the first true television comedian. Even back m fhrei "> G«t R<>cid\ days on a local Philadelphia station, he ' than ind the visual possibilities inherent in television mb "i\ oiher performer on the air. Though other comics as Milton Rede and Sid Caesar were visual performers (that is, their acts had to be seen to be appreciated), they were only doing vaudeville in front of a camera. Kovacs understood the potential for humor in the tricks and effects that were possible only on television. Since his brief stint as a part-time host of the Tonight show in the 1956-57 season, Kovacs had been offered few opportunities to perform on network television. He made a few movies in Hollywood while being wasted as host of several low-level ABC series such as Take a Good Look (a panel quiz show that used his characters and skits as game clues) and Silents Please (in which he supplied funny voice-over comments to cut-downs of old silent films). In early 1961, Kovacs talked his sponsor, Dutch Masters, into allowing him to produce, write, and act in a series of monthly specials in the company's regular Thursday night Silents Please slot. The cigar makers enjoyed having the cigar-chomping Kovacs as host to that show and agreed to support the experiment. On an absurdly small budget for the project he envisioned (§15,000 per show), Kovacs launched his series. From the very first special in April, he totally departed from the then-established form of TV comedy (monologues followed by skits) and presented instead short unconnected bits of humor (blackouts) with an emphasis on visual, often abstract, tricks of TV technology. One thirty-minute program consisted of the visual interpretation of sound, with no narration whatsoever. For instance, instead of showing an orchestra playing "The 1812 Overture," Kovacs used snapping celery stalks and slamming desk drawers as visual accompaniment to the music. He also directed digs at his regular show, Silents Please, by taking the logical next step in his manipulation of the old films. Instead of providing just voice-over comments, he used a special effect to physically step into the picture as a frustrated director calling out humorous and absurd orders to the performers. The program also featured Kovacs's cast of his own continuing characters he had developed over the years, who were quite funny even without the aid of his technological tricks. The most familiar was Percv Dovetonsils, an effeminate, permanently soused poet who read nonsense verse with ludicrous titles such as "Ode to an Emotional Knight Who Once Wore the Suit of Medieval Armor Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art While Engaged to One of Botticelli's Models." Others included Miklos Molnar, a Hungarian chef also "under the influence," who presented cooking tips; Auntie Gruesome, a dolled-up host to a creature features-type TV show, who ended up scaring himself with his long and gruesome descriptions of the horror stories; and Wolfgang Sauerbraten, a German radio DJ who introduced the latest hits in gibberish German-English clearly aimed at lampooning American broadcasters. Even such sacred objects as the closing credits fell to Kovacs's wit: Once they appeared as writing in a sink and were washed down the drain after each name. Kovacs turned out eight such specials on ABC before he died and, though hampered by a meager budget, he nevertheless tried to do something different with television. Many viewers were frankly befuddled by what they saw because it departed so dramatically from their expectations for television comedy-variety. Yet that did not matter. What was vitally important was that in an industry content with blandness and imitation, Kovacs dared to challenge the limits of TV technology and steer it into previously unexplored territories. He pioneered a style that woul^completely alter television comedy, but that would not occur until years later, when his approach and technique were used to form the basis of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Long after his ABC specials were aired and forgotten, the world at last understood just what he had been trying to accomplish, and applauded. 148 WATCHING TV 1961-62 SEASON 149 22. CBS + RFD = $$$ ■levision cou Id inadvertently aid one side or an- DESPITE ALL THE PROMISES of programming reform made by television executives in May 1961; the 1962-63 schedule turned out to be business as usual. The improvements during the 1961-62 season had blunted Newton Minow's vast wasteland charge and diffused criticism by the government and the public. Profits and ratings once again became the chief concerns of network programmers and they began to cast a critical eye at the overabundance of news and public affairs shows which bad proliferated chiefly as a public relations device to shore up television's respectability. By the 1962-63 season, six prime time programs, two on each network, provided a total of four hours of this, type of material weekly: Howard K. Smith News and Comment and Bell and Howell Closeup on ABC; CBS Reports and Eyewitness on CBS; and David Brinkley's Journal and Chet Huntley Reporting on NBC. Nonetheless, several hard-hitting news reports reached prime lime in the process, giving the network news departments the opportunity to flex their muscles. CBS, with a sideways glance at the cinema verite style of ABC's Closeup documentary series, bad hired Jay McMullen in 1961 as its own roving verite reporter. Even thongh at the time the networks had serious reservations about investigative news reporting for television (preferring traditional public affairs documentaries and discussions instead), McMullen was assigned to dig for unusual and controversial material. His first (and best) piece for CBS, "Biography of a Bookie Joint," managed to overcome most network objections to the form and demonstrated the effective impact of investigative TV journalism. McMullen found a key shop in Boston's Back Bay area that was visited by nearly 1,000 people each day. including many policemen. Further investigation revealed that the key shop was actually a bookie joint. He set tip an observation post in a room across the street from the shop and, over a period of months, watched and filmed the comings and goings of the key shop's customers and even managed to shoot (admittedly jerky) footage of the shop's interior using an 8mm camera hidden in a false lunch box. Federal agents were informed of the illegal operations by McMullen and they, in turn, apparently tipped off the crew with the time of their impending raid on the shop, giving McMullen the opportunity to film it. "Biography of a Bookie Joint" emerged as an engrossing, real life crime thriller, complete with a dramatic sweep by the Feds as a climax, and it was widely acclaimed by viewers across the country. In the city of Boston itself, the report caused immediate and long lasting convulsions. The local affiliate did not air it for one Fill ■■, extt5 and one-half years, while legal wrangling took place police commissioner was forced to resign, and the M legislature censured one member for the disparaging made on the program about his colleagues. In the ensu police, tarnished by the evidence on Elm of their par the illegal gambling joint, tried to disprove the fad contained in the story. Others contended that blatant news mismanagement and biased reporting.:! and objectivity of McMullen's story was proved con step, though the charge of bias would be leveled wit frequency as investigative TV journalism developed decade. In 1962, NBC presented its own real life dramatic i ture, "The Tunnel," a ninety-minute war story set ■.in 1 foreign-oriented documentaries of the time were pen-pieces that inevitably settled for fluff travelogue visits Monaco" and innocuous insights like "Mouamba: L; flier," but "The Tunnel" presented the desperat brave heroes in conflict with clear-cut bad gnys.:l followed the daring escape of fifty-nine East Berlinei 450-foot tunnel dug by twenty-one West Berliners. 1 fear of exposure and capmre hung over everyone until climax of the story when the joyful East Berliners made their way under the Berlin wall to freedom. Sc this story that, due to the international tensions -Cuban missile crisis in October, "The Tunnel" (origi uled to air in October) was delayed two months. December, it earned critical acclaim, registered surpris ratings, and proved to be far more dramatic than t action shows that usually filled prime time. Besides offering a crime expose and war drama, t also displayed more daring in traditional documentari-reports. CBS Reports tackled such previously taboo, birth control and teenage smoking as well as new cone ecology. In "The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson". (I April 1963), CBS presented an evenhanded examin; heavy use of pesticides and their possible disruption, ol of nature, which Carson described in a book she 1 Because the issue was not familiar to most Americans, a network documentary tremendously aided Carson s as the great debates in 1960 had helped relative ua Kennedy achieve an equal footing with Richard Nixor of the public. Simply by acknowledging and intervK .3* jmcst impossible to ignore an issue or personal-on's major TV controversies, in fact, developed K. Smith examined die personality and fhen-mer Vice President Richard Nixon. CBS: bis long-time home, at the end of 1961 [paring Southern bigots to Nazi storm troopers rom one of his occasional commentaries on the TV news (oddly, the comment was left in the S said that Smith had crossed the line between rial opinion, so Smith said odios, signed with ing 0f ]962, and immediately received his own Smith-News and Comment. Unlike David Chet Huntley Reporting, and Eyewitness (with ud Charles Kuralt), which all mixed feature Irnews reviews. Smith attempted to revive the ■news commentators of the 1930s and 1940s, mmerttators including Quincy Howe and Drew ) bring that style of news analysis from network ji the late 1940s and early 1950s, but the format ■static for television. Smith set his program in a [ and embellished the commentary with charts, lm clips, and interviews. Despite all the window ied essentially just "talking heads" with little television. Nonetheless, the program created ■vember 1962 with "The Political Obituary of : ifter his unsuccessful bid for the presidency, tost a bitter campaign for the governorship of Califor-Ippeared that he was, in fact, through with politics (or ^Following his latest defeat he proclaimed to the report-1%'CaIifomia that they would not "have Nixon to kick iinore. because, gentlemen, this is my last press confer-$h" took Nixon at his word and devoted his program on '11 fo a review of the man's political career, presenting ■r loth; supporters and detractors. Among those ■N ixon wa.* Alger Hiss, a former state department official -een labeled a "Red subversive" in the late 1940s by then alive Nixon and who eventually served time for perjury, aiautefdm interview, Hiss said that Nixon's main moti-Ssdoggedly pursuing him had been pure personal and binon. Hiss's charges were immediately followed by of .filmed praise for Nixon by Representative Gerald rS> the. careful balance of opinions, the very appearance Jilted a firestorm of protest. One of the show's sponsors, nsurance, pulled, out. Conservative politicians and some im. panic.ul.arly the Chicago Tribune, kept the story alive constantly issuing shocked statements asking how a ak such as ABC could allow a convicted liar on the air. fisnews," Smith replied, "and we're in the news busi-not running aSunday school program." Other sponsors t£e program and ABC sued Kemper for violating its Oie network eventually won its case). In spite of ABC's aefense, though, it did not appreciate the trouble Smith 3 up and the veteran newsman was by-passed for major f-ts for the next year, and his News and Comment disap-foe summer. 5 pnigiam joined most of the other public affairs shows dropped or lost their regular prime time slot as the modified their commitments to news throughout 1963. pointed out that there had been too many shows appear-B mi ^e reduced frequency would loosen budgets and ^ quality presentations. Though these programs were His generally well done, there were too many of them and their sheer number diluted the audience and stretched resources far too thin to allow quality productions each week. Besides, the special public affairs programs had already served their chief function very well by contributing to the overall prestige of television and apparently proving to the FCC that the medium was no longer a vast wasteland. No new government regulations had been imposed and none appeared on the horizon. There was therefore no overwhelming reason to continue to carry too many unprofitable shows with generally unspectacular ratings in prime time, though the networks insisted that they strongly supported the continuing growth of their individual news departments. Even at the season's high water mark in prime time public affairs, many of television's critics saw a network retreat from the form as inevitable. Though they applauded the material carried by ABC, CBS, and NBC, they began searching for some way to break the iron grip of network influence and control over programming. The UHF system and educational television were two potential tools fo that end and both exhibited long overdue development in the 1962-63 season. They had both been created by the FCC in 1952 as the freeze on TV station construction was lifted, but had remained catatonic for nearly a decade. The conamission launched educational television in 1952 with a bold stroke, setting aside 242 station allocations specifically for noncommercial broadcasting. Despite this promising beginning, educational broadcasting experienced very little growth over the next ten years. By I960, there were only forty-eight educational stations on the air. All but four of them were associated with the fledgling National Educational Television (NET) network, but that only produced eight hours of programming each week. What's more, expensive coaxial cable connections were out of the question, so the filmed shows were sent to the affiliates through the mail. Such cost-cutting measures were necessary because, in setting up noncommercial stations, the FCC had left one important problem unresolved: funding. If the stations were to be noncommercial but also independent of the government, where was the money for operational expenses to come from? A few private corporations, particularly the Ford Foundation, stepped in from the beginning and contributed millions, but it was nowhere near the amount necessary to launch a national chain of stations that could be taken seriously by viewers. There was an additional problem. Viewers. Many of the frequencies so generously earmarked by the FCC for noncommercial use were on the UHF band. None of the eighteen million television sets in use in 1952 were capable of receiving UHF signals. Stations in a few markets such as KQED in San Francisco and WGBH in Boston were lucky enough to receive VHF allocations, but for the most part viewers could not tune in the educational stations, so there was virtually no audience. More important, by the end of the 1950s, major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Washington still had no educational station at all. The near invisible status of noncommercial television reduced it to a very expensive laboratory and made it impossible to stir any interest in improving the situation. Until the important figures in broadcasting and government living in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington could see educational television in operation, a solution to the funding problem would never be worked out. In order to provide a noncommercial outlet in New York City, a group of New York-based forces (calling themselves Educational Television for the Metropolitan Area) decided to buy an existing commercial VHF station and set it up as a showpiece for educational TV. After protracted delays and legal challenges, the group purchased Newark's WNTA, channel 13, for $6.2 million. One- 150 1962-63 SEASON 151 M local Cheyenne The Ride man STONEYBURKE Ben Casey 0 local To Toll The Truth I've Got A Secret THE LUCY SHOW Danny Thomas Show Andy Griffith Show NEW LOR ETTA YOUNG SHOW Stump' N local IT-S A MAN'S WORLD SAINTS AND SINNERS The Price Is Right David Brinkley's Journal k ,' ~ T local CO MB ATI Hawaiian Eye The Untouchables U local Marshal Dillon LLOYD BRIDGES SHOW Red Skelion Hour Jack Benny Program Garry Mo ore Shaw ■ E lecal Laramie EMPIRE Dick Powell Show Chei Rap 1 W ,«a, Wagon Train GOING MY WAY OUR MAN HIGGINS Naked City ■ local css Reports Ttie Many Loves 0) THE BEVERLY Dick Van Dyke Show u.s. St ^el Hour E CBS News Specials Dobie Gill is HILLBILLIES Armstrong CircleTheat ' D local THE VIRGINIAN Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall THE ELEVENTH HOLh local Adventures Of Ozzie Donna ReerJ Show Leave It To Beaver My Three Sons | McHALE'S NAVY Alcoa Premiere m T And Harriet Fred Astaire Presentin H local Mr. Ed Perry Mason THE NURSES Alfred Hitchcock Hc-m R local WIDE COUNTRY Dr. Kildare Hazel ANDY WILL JAMS SHO F loca, the GALLANT MEN The Flintstones I'M DICKENS, HE'S FENSTER 77 Sunset Strip R local Rawhide Route 66 FAIR EXCHANGE Eye, 1 ,-ca, International Showtime Sing Along With Witch DONTCALLME CHARLIE JACK PAAR show S Beany And Cecil ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS SHOW MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON Lawrence Welk Show Fight Of Trie Week A local JACKIE GLEASON SHOW The Defenders Have Gun, Will Travel Gunsmoke T local SAM BENEDICT New Joey Bishop NBC Saturday Night At The Movies S Father Knows Besl THE JETSONS The ABC Sunday Night Movie Voice Of Firestone Howarc Y b i h News An U Lassie Dennis The Menace Ed SuHi an Shorn The Real McCoys General Electric Tiub Candid Camera Whal'i ENSSGN otoole Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color Car 54, Where Are Bonanza DuPont Show Of The Wi N You? # Dinah Shore Show V:. ■BBS WĚĚĚ^m wBĚĚ^Ě. gains, the fate of educational television [ with the development of UHF, because that's e educational stations were located. tem had also begun in 1952 and it faced a long support among set manufacturers, viewers, and the beginning, manufacturers saw no reason to ey to include UHF capabilities unless their cus-1 it The public would not demand UHF until there vorth watching on the system. Until there were to payfar exciting new programs, there could not watching, and with so few viewers, what spon-|e investment? For more than two years the status ed unchanged. In September 1954, following industry pressure on the FCC to do something to the commission amended its rales and increased sued and operated stations a network could pos-geven as long as two were UHF stations. It was rnetwork affiliate in a major city were on UHF, efficient demand by the public to push set manu-^nning production of sets capable of receiving HF signals, thus breaking the stagnant situation. ;■ CBS and NBC had purchased two UHF stations offering their shows on UHF only to viewers in onsin and Hartford, Connecticut (CBS), and New cut, and Buffalo, New York (NBC). This did not ed demand for UHF sets. Instead, a few interested third of the money was donated by CBS, NBC, and ABC, who saw educational television as an excellent way to answer the criticisms leveled at the commercial networks. They could point to their generosity in supporting the noble project even as they continued to concentrate on more profitable popular appeal entertainment. As long as educational television stuck to classroom type programming aimed at the egghead fringe, they knew it would never provide any real competition for the mass audience. WNTA was renamed WNDT (later changed to WNET) and it hit the New York airwaves on September .16, 1962, as the sixty-eighth educational station in the country. Newton Minow and Ed Murrow hosted the gala opening festivities which were attended by representatives from all three commercial networks. Yet there were conflicting priorities and philosophies among the many divergent interests that had united to establish the new station and these immediately surfaced during the chaotic two-and-one-half-hour premiere broadcast. The networks were most upset by an eighty-three-minute British film which extolled the BBC and labeled American television as 80% junk. They felt the film was a stab in the back after all the support they had given the new station and CBS, NBC, and ABC executives went away angry. The station also faced union problems and had to shut down for two weeks immediately following the premiere telecast in order to resolve them. When WNDT returned, New Yorkers had an opportunity to see, 152 WATCHING TV at last, the wonders of noncommercial relevisior I ■ throwback to the very early days of commercial lele\iMun. from the expected educational fare for children, t discussion shows (Books for Our Times, Invitation tc 4rt£ tempts at educational fare for adults (Russian for of Sweden), an overload of British films, and the incwtdb'e.c: ciatingly detailed thirty-minute studies of esoteric subiuch si Japanese brushstroke painting. All were numbing and not entertaining, but channel 13 was new to broad cas imp. money, and uncertain which tricks of the trade unuld w»rk world of noncommercial television. The increased visibility of educational tele\ision did about important changes, though. The federal govemmen' be handing out small yearly subsidies and the Foal Foil creased the amount of its support. Educational Mali broadcasting (though on UHF) in Washington and ^Si and the NET network developed its first quasi-bits Intent" Magazine was a weekly news feature program put w^i"' foreign broadcasters (chiefly from the BBC) who co\eied' events as well as reporters on the commercial [ictv-ofk's, sometimes surpassed them. In February 1963, VvCiUH in B« began producing The French Chef which featured Juto ^ demonstrating elaborate cooking techniques. Within a tew m she became the network's first star as her imposing distinctive voice appeared on NET stations across die ^ > people purchased expensive special converters that allowed their old sets to pick up both UHF and VHF signals while most simply tuned to another network. The FCC then decided to attempt a much more sweeping change and announced that it would suggest ordering cities throughout the country to be designated as either all-UHF or all-VHF markets. The problem with "deintermixture" (as the proposed policy was labeled) was that no city wanted to be converted to an all-UHF market, rendering every television set in town useless. The FCC faced intensive lobbying for and against deintermixture, and wavered back and forth throughout 1956 and 1957, though Peoria, Illinois: Madison, Wisconsin; Evansville, Indiana; and Hartford, Connecticut were actually designated as deintermixture test cities. In late 1957, the commission, in effect, opted for "undeintermixture" and allowed the UHF situation to remain unchanged, thus ending any serious efforts for expansion. By 1959, NBC and CBS had sold their UHF stations and the problem remained unsolved for nearly three more years. In February 1962. the FCC took up the question again and decided to aim directly at the chief stumbling block to the growth of the UHF system, the home receivers themselves. Instead of counting on the subtle pressures of supply and demand to motivate television set manufacturers into including UHF reception capabilities on their sets, the commission proposed to Congress that a law be passed requiring the feature on all new American televisions. Throughout the spring, FCC chairman Newton Minow carried on The Clampett clan: (from left) Jed (Buddy Ebsen), Granny (Irene Ryan), Jethro (Max Baer), and Elly May (Donna Douglas). (CBS Photo Archive ©2003 £BS Worldwide, Inc. All Bights Reserved.) 1962-63 SEASON 153 September 10,1962 Hugh Downs replaces John Chancellor as major domo of Today. September 10,1962 Mai Goode becomes the first black network correspondent, covering the United Nations for ABC. September 19,1962 The Virginian. (NBC). The first ninety-minute television Western and, like Bonanza, it is broadcast in color. Though the series has a strong central cast (Lee J. Cobb, James Drury, and Doug McClure), the stories frequently focus on the. weekly guest stars. September 23, 1962 The Jetsons. (ABC). ABC at last airs \t& first program in color, the premiere of aiiother Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Essentially The Flint stones backwards, the new show is a simple animated family sitcom with the setting moved from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century. September 27,1962 The Andy Williams Shim: (NBC). Mr. Easy Listening enters the limelight in a series produced by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear. Andy's television "family" includes the four singing Osmond Brothers (ages seven through twelve) who open with "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas." September 29,1962 Phase two of The Avengers in Britain. Patrick Macnee continues his role as a dapper adventurer, but he is now identified as government agent John Steed, and teamed up with a beautiful woman, the ultra-cool widow Mrs. Catherine Gale (played by Honor Blackrnan). The writing for the revamped format is much sharper and more innovative: On the first new episode, a double agent is killed while appearing on a television talk show. an effective lobbying effort, with help from the White House,, and salvaged the bill after most observers had given it up for dead. To underscore its strong belief that the proposed law offered the best possible solution to the UHF problem, the FCC announced that if the bill were not passed, it would deintermix eight major markets—immediately. A few days later, Congress passed the bill and the commission set April 30. 1964, as the day the law would take effect. Due to manufacturing production schedules, this meant that the 1965 model sets would be the first with both VHF and UHF capabilities. Though it would take years for the Ml ramifications of the new law to be felt, it was obvious that changes in American broadcasting would be monumental. Eventually, most television sets in the country would be capable of receiving UHF signals, thus allowing many more independent commercial stations, as well as most of the country's educational stations, the opportunity to survive and grow. The slow but steady growth of UHF in the late 1960s would also help solve ABC's long-standing problem of not having enough affiliates. By the end of the decade, ABC, for the first time, would have stations carrying its programming into every major American city. Newton Minow's work with the "all-channel" bill would change the shape of American television far more than his vast wasteland speech. Its passage provided a satisfying conclusion to his tenure as cornmissioner and he resigned from the FCC in 1963, having set into motion forces in television that ue to grow through the next two decades. After the period of uncertainty that culminated in ,„t ^ vast wasteland season, the commercial networks the at last coasting into the new decade with confideni formats, and a sense of control. The 1962-63 seasc nod toward medical drama (following the success o season's Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare), several series ,sei rt War fi, a surprise revival in variety formats, and a ^ successful new sitcom. These were added to a sen ready included strong holdovers in several different lorn^< some outstanding individual news programs, produc overall, a very good season. After ABC's performance in the 1961-62 season s^u: j,e work back into the cellar, action-adventure whiz Ollie r-,^^ forced to walk the plank in March 1962, and the new pres-d "* Tom Moore, continued the search for another succewlul fu^, bring ABC back into contention. He brought in a re^ampee ^ ' ule for the 1962-63 season which contained the usual ABC pourri of gimmicks, adding one new one: war. With World W^j nearly two decades in the past, it seemed sate toi restage the conflict, so ABC presented Gallant Men, ComhnO ^ McHale. \s Navy. Gallant Men from Warner Bros, was pure u:,^-. movie pap that followed the 1943 batde for Italy through the eves' of an American war correspondent who accompanied ar infant squad on vita] "suicide" missions that never seeme him or any other members of the regular cast. The Robert Aitnai-'^ directed series Combat! was more realistic, focusing uing struggles of average soldiers in an infantry, unit uu'dlng through Europe after D-Day, rather than on suppot tous battles that could decide the outcome of the ent bat! drew on a consistendy good cast of regulars, guest stai* ancs ~ first class production unit to develop the personal coulK nj rrsn at war into tight drama. The war setting also allowed a goon deal of violence and ABC knew that could not hurt m the \ McHale's Navy offered an entirely different viev war in a "briny Bilko" situation comedy set on an islanu in .he South Pacific, hi the true Bilko style, the members ot the tra under Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgrune-r spent most of their time bickering among themselves aa-iibl^ and hatching money-making schemes rather than facing the eis-my. Of course, Biiko's adventures had been set ir Army but McHale's were close enough. The Japanese ■ presented as an unseen threat or convenient plot device rather Kit a dedicated, visible foe. Borgnine was cast as a lovable Lonnna Joe Flynn as the perpetually befuddled CO., and Tim Gwiwajws the head of McHale's crew of flunkies. Unfortunately, ihe phew suffered from weak scripting and, as if to compensat characters seemed to be trying too hard to be tun * antics paled in comparison to their obvious Brfko counterparts-Nonetheless, the series did excel at physical humor diid uianj & the Borgnine-Conway interactions bordered on classic -lap^ often saving the program. The inspired moments ol Wf//fl«' Navy made it funnier than many comedies then on the air 'W* other new military sitcoms, NBC's Don't Call Me ( hatbc aid Ensign O'Toole, could barely muster a laugh betwet ■ [ transplant "o *^ CMclUe's NJ'-f the crew managed to survive four seasons, i European front, and two theatrical feature films and "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force"). As usual, ABC drew on this new programming flieme N several more seasons, eventually exploiting nearly even- iliejltf1^ conflict from World War II. Surprisingly, though, th but ignored the successful medical format of the pn CBS to produce predictable imitations. The brought the familiar sudsy style of romantic h topical issues as syphilis, thaUdomide babies, and - glj as the struggles of black nurses attempting to f& dical profession. Naturally, there was an idealistic "-•f the crusty but compassionate head nurse. For medical drama down the road taken by Warner 950s (when it produced a Western that was not a jfSwset Strip) by offering a doctor show that was not show, The Eleventh Hour. Though they did not stray room, -the stories of psychiatrist Theodore w'ndell Corey) demonstrated that the life, death, and [din television's hospitals"could be presented within of other occupations in so-called career dramas. The lanaged to incorporate topical and titillating angles * a frigid woman and her unfaithful husband, illegitimate aocy. abortion, and the murder and rape of a girl by a itfr taints of homosexuality. It was obvious that the eer drama could be just as soapy as straight medical and the studios made plans to develop other spinoffs m the 3son's biggest surprise was the successful revival " "^Jackie election's old variety show after several misfired come-e previous five years. It was virtually the same pro-i had brought to CBS from DuMont a decade earlier uncv dropped by occasionally) and there was no f^fft^sun mr it-- revival to work this time. More than likely, the ibsence of such material from TV for several years, }-position Gleason had achieved as one of the ^■^NTted*™'15 mimostals, generated enough energy and interest to %T-Jiake the show appear fresh and new again. In any case, there were inkles: Most of the skits were placed within the so-ican Scene Magazine"; and Gleason's Joe the Barker was joined every week by comedian Frank Fon-^Kfainc as the-slightly smashed Crazy Guggenheim, whose slurred lfwit manner gave way to a deep operatic voice when henaa asked.."to..sing a song. Gleason once again registered high 'rt^j^llings or, Saturday night and. within two years, used bis clout to re. show to "the sun and fun capital of the world," Another TV veteran, Tonight host Jack Paar. decided the daily f^toafo'ne was too much and moved his variety format intact from his \,late night slotto.prime time on Friday night. During his five years if show, Paar had cultivated a peculiarly ambivalent i -image and, m an era of very predictable leading men, was practi-.^jty^f rhe 0il[y unpredictable character on TV. He fluctuated be->-oFa "good-little-boy-who-loves-everybody" and a £ snarhng slightly blue, cobra that was liable to lash out at enemies, 1 ined, forever prompting the gossip columns to won- * for "Whji 1S jack Paar really like?" During his heyday at the turn ot the decade, he carried on innumerable public feuds on the air, , insiutng nationally known entertainers and columnists that had ^ftossed him, even walking off his own show once after an NBC tensor had. arbitrarily blipped a mildly risque joke from the day's &pe. He made the NBC brass come begging for his return and ■ '™rcdft« he seemed ready and willing to walk off again over other ^iffl Sllt,! as hl& sa,ary and work schedu,e- Paar had dout wi,h Jiid he knew it. Though his move to prime time left a gaping • note m d ,|m ^ network had a]ways fomid difficult to fill, NBC In prime time. Paar continued his successful approach vi. v^-ty md interviews, which included a bevy of showbiz celeb-v *Ut,I,fs (/sa Zsa Gabor, Jayne Mansfield), up-and-coming (such as writer-turner-comic Woody Allen), national- ly known public figures (Richard Nixon was a frequent guest), and home movies depicting his travels to exotic locales of the world. NBC was left with the problem of finding a late night successor. The network chose Johnny Carson, the host of an ABC daytime game show, Who Do You Trust?, for die difficult job of maintaining NBC's lock on late night viewing. Though he had substituted for Paar on the Tonight show a number of times, Carson had a very different style and the network was not sure that he could maintain the program's consistently high ratings. NBC brass realized that Paar himself had been in a similar situation in 1957 when he took over the program, and had responded by shaping it to his own style and taste, and into a ratings winner. They felt that Carson probably had the right instincts for the tough job and hoped for similar success. There was one important complication, however. Jack Paar bad scheduled his departure from Tonight for April 1962 and Carson's contract with ABC did not expire until October. Though September 3ft, 1962 The Saint. Former Maverick cousin Roger Moore portrays yet another Anglican spy, the very handsome Simon Templar a.k,a. The Saint, for Britain's ATV network. September 30,1962 The final episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar air on CBS Radio, quietly ending the era of scripted network radio drama series. The drama anthology Suspense had aired continuously since 1942. Johnny Dollar, airing off and on since 1949, had featured multiple performers (most notably Bob Bailey, from 1955 to I9601! in the title role of an insurance investigator who narrates each story as part of his expense account report, concluding with the signature sign-off, "Yours truly, Johnny Dollar." October 1,1962 The Men- Griffin Show. (NBC). The former singer and game show host tries his hand at an hour-long afternoon talk show, with help from such writers as Pat McConnick and Dick Cavett. This daytime version of Tonight fades by April. April 1,1963 Twenty-six-year-old Fred Silverman, who, during the late 1950s, did his masters thesis at Ohio State on ABC's programming schedule, becomes chief daytime programmer for CBS. May 12,1963 CBS bars twenty-one-year-old Bob Dylan from singing "Talkiri John Birch Society Blues" on The Ed Sullivan Show, even though Sullivan approved it, Dylan takes a hike and refuses to appear at all. May 14,1963 Newton Minow resigns as FCC chairman. May 15,1963 Gordon Cooper sends the first live television pictures from an American astronaut in orbit, |gnt NASA refuses to allow the networks to show them. August 30,1963 The final weekday appearance of American Bandstand. Beginning September 7, die program will appear only on Saturday afternoons. 154 WATCHING TV 1962-63 SEASON 155 he had been allowed to moonlight as host on a part time basis in the past, ABC refused to let him start a permanent stint on another network before his contract ran out. This resulted in a five-month interregnum that provided a golden opportunity for anyone else to attempt to snatch the lale nighi audience from NBC. The network hung tight with guest hosts joining Paar's number two man, Hugh Downs, who remained on hand to provide some continuity. The expected challenge to the Tonight show came, ironically, from a former host of the program, Steve Allen, whose latest variety show for ABC had been foundering. Allen was signed by the Westing-house (Group W) stations to host a pre-taped late night talk show that was syndicated throughout the country and run in direct competition with NBC. With a few months head start on Carson, Allen's new show, produced by Allan Sherman, managed to maintain respectable ratings (lasting until 1964) even without his old familiar family of supporting performers. It was clear that Carson's task would not be easy. Carson took over Tonight on October 1, 1962, bringing along his game show cohort, Ed McMahon, as Ins number two man. (Hugh Downs left the show in September to become the host of the morning Today program.) Like Paar, Carson grew comfortably into the job and tailored the show to fit his style, shifting the emphasis from variety to light talk. He carefully limited his involvement as a central performer to his daily monologue and occasional sketches, preferring instead the role of overall program manipulator whose main job was to keep up the pace by steering guests into productive areas of" conversation (interesting, funny, ribald) and injecting humorous barbs. By not overexrending himself, Carson was able to maintain viewer interest in his personality (a mixture of Midwestern farm boy naivete and Hollywood brashness), even without a familiar family of guests (McMahon and the band were the only regulars). He brought a relaxing charisma to the late night slot and was soon known to all simply as "Johnny." The Tonight show withstood challenges mounted both in syndication (Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin) and on the other networks (Les Crane and Joey Bishop), and Carson remained as host of the slot longer than Jerry Lester, Steve Allen, and Jack Paar combined, giving NBC unquestioned supremacy in late night programming into the 1990s. For the rest of the broadcast day, though, CBS ruled the ratings. At one time in the 1962-63 season, CBS had all of the top ten daytime shows and eighteen of the top twenty prime time shows. Network president James Aubrey's decision to develop CBS's traditional strength, situation comedy, paid off far beyond his expectations. Though there were a few flops such as Fair Exchange (an attempt to expand sitcoms to a sixty-minute format) and the transplanted Real McCoys (with only Luke, Grandpa, and Pepino left), the new vehicle for Lucille Ball was an outright smash. In The Lucy Show she was reunited with Vivian Vance and played yet another TV widow trying to raise her children, outfox her boss (the omnipresent Gale Gordon), and earn extra money. Lucy quickly returned to the top ten alongside Jack Benny. Andy Griffith, and Danny Thomas. By February, the increasingly popular Dick Van Dyke joined their ranks. And then there were the Clamper. 77«? Beverly Hillbillies opened to some of the worst reviews in TV history. Critics tore the show apart for its many obvious faults: The plots were abysmal, the dialogue childish, and the production Hollywood-to-the-core. What they failed to recognize or perhaps refused to accept was that the program was extremely funny. Viewers apparently had no difficulty detecting the comic strengths of the show because, within six weeks of its premiere, it became the number one show in the nation. Not since The $64,000 Question had a new program risen to the top so fast. Like Lucy, Bilko, and The Hone\mooners, The Be lies respected the basics of situation comedy. It C0] ,. humorous premise and central characters that had th continuous exploitation week after week. Another j ( mind of Paul Henning (from The Real McCoys), the n ed a family of Ozark hillbillies who moved to C j striking oil on their property and becoming fabuk s The dichotomy of a hillbilly clan living in a sump u Hills mansion provided two important sources oH naivete of the Clampetts as they persisted in the • manners and morals in posh Beverly Hills, and the < ,( of Beverly Hills itself as snobby rich people put ash : sive standards and bowed to the Clampett fortu j mixture of craziness and sanity in the cast of char; :i this setup to work perfectly as Henning took the mak i Lucy and turned it on its head. In 1 Love Lucy, the tic premise set Lucy as the "2any but lovable inadcar j ly sane world. The Beverly Hillbillies was just the r premise was implausible, so Henning placed one ra ) an otherwise madcap, lunatic world. Jed CLampett (Buddy Ebsen) provided the oa s among the loco characters. Jed was a simple backwc t possessed most of the admirable traits connected wi l he was decent, unpretentious, and sagacious. Mors t else in the show, Jed understood not only his immedi j the strange breed of people living in Beverly Hill . quickly figured out how the big city folks operated : assimilated, keeping his mountain clothes and dov ] despite his new-found wealth. Only Jed, the family i hood peacemaker, kept his head while everyone el . heated spats and irrational flights of fancy. Witl o Clampett bouse and the program itself would have ) anarchistic rubble. With Jed as a central hub of normality, die lunatic ; the show could take off, as the philosophies and manners of Bcnzf ly Hills met those of the Ozark Mountains head on. Je -law, Granny (Irene Ryan), was an unreconstructed Crtntederatd always ready to fly into a rage against the forces of modern Arret! ca. She never accepted her new surroundings as hcj jcjI rotgd remaining convinced that nothing in California wot . . ! close to what she had left behind in the hills. Gram*} 'iiade n attempt to hide her disdain for the city folks and w " -ft j ending war with anyone she saw atlempting to upsei her \\n>4 life. That included practically everybody. Elly May (Donna Douglas), Jed's beautiful b ' f ' daughter, was also off in a world of her own. though she hadxo| quarrel with normal society as long as it played by Jii rule? sfct was familiar with. Consequently, she continued to act ihe wavite felt any normal girl should act, perpetually dumbfounding pote**! suitors by ignoring the traditional shy demure pose o i i tantes and persisting in her tomboyish independen ■ . loved animals, from horned toads to goats, and was also prodd display her physical strength, easily out wrestling an1- nrmr^ciiigjps husband. She never appreciated the fact that she had moved va>&£ entirely new world and she could never understand wh> she had9* little success in finding a mate in the wilds of Beverly HdK " ] Elly May was a clarion of clarity compared to her ■ \ Bodine (Max Baer, son of the former heavyweight champ") the quintessential country rube, a refugee from the si* ih ^'k* JL , had no difficulty understanding the big city: it v a< one ^^8^ playground. Very much a ten-year-old mind in a twcniv >car' , body, he engaged in childish mischief playing with inch ^Vfj|«fc.. Hills toys as hot rods, swimmin' pools, and movie sta * ' * ro needed the constant attention of his Uncle Jed guidance, so that he would not be swept away by nd excitement of the city and lose his hillbilly old the reputation of Beverly Hills were Jed's Drysdale (Raymond Bailey), and his secretary, >Tancy Kulp). The pair provided an upper class ampetts. funny in their own marvelously lam-d even funnier when they tried to imitate the heir clients. Prysdale filled the traditional sitcom !S executive: He was a dimwitted. amoral schem-by the possession and acquisition of money, 'sdale constantly humiliated himself to satisfy Clampetts. He could not risk the possibility that heir boodle elsewhere, so he willingly bent every oduct for them. Miss Hathaway was a stuck-up, ibish big business secretary who was as totally ng the Clampetts as her boss and she effectively o dared cross her path. The two were models of ition and they stood at the center of high socie-tothe hillbillies. In spite of all the reviewers who told viewers The Beverly Hillbillies was a stupid show, the audience laughed. It really did not matter that the plots were innocuous and the dialogue quite silly. The characters were genuinely amusing and it was a joy to see them go through their paces. The program was an exaggerated farce, in the tradition of television's most cherished comedy shows. And it was funny. The overwhelming success of The Beverly Hillbillies, and comedy in general in 1962-63, propelled CBS to an astounding lead in nighttime ratings. On the average, CBS's prime time schedule earned higher ratings that year than any other network schedule in television's past. Added to its total domination of daytime programming, the season's prime time success made CBS appear invincible, and most of the hit shows looked as if they could last for years. More important, the success of Tlie Beverly Hillbillies and veteran Andy Griffith convinced not only CBS, but the industry at large, that rural-based situation comedies were the new key to the public's heart. Once again, the networks stood ready to give the public exactly what it wanted. In abundance 156 WATCHING TV 1962-63 SEASON 157 he- had been allowed to: mc^ the past, ABC refused to hc ^ network before his contr^ interregnum that provid^ CV attempt to snatch the . ^/"^ hung tight, with guest' % *%x Downs, who remain -^5^-%* . expected challenge/ 4w ^ ^ '* former host of the & for ABC had beef- ^ ' house (Group \^ that was syndici ^* scripts and Garland's overall performance, and both far ton erratic. Against the steadily increasing strength of s Bonanza, the show brought in embarrassingly low ratings, ,plte" the fining lead-in provided by Ed Sullivan. Garland went producers before her program quietly expired in SJKHIg. ■&BC took the biggest variety gamble of the season by providing decade and who bad already become, in the public's eye. e vehicle for TV's enfant terrible, Jerry Lewis. The network invested nearly $9 million in the project, including a share of the expensive, extensive remodeling of the El Capitan theater in ^'fi.ollywoud (scene of Richard Nixon's Checkers speech) to serve the locale for the show. Besides being live (in an era when ing the length of the nightly news show, which had n \ other show was on film or tape), the series violated fifteen minutes since its inception in the 1940s. With tt of network bureaus more than doubled, fifteen minutes wdbija enough time to present all the stories they could turn out Tnmigfi affiliates were reluctant to surrender lucrative local ne\ - several unwritten, laws of prime time television. Variety shows were usually given a one-hour block to fill; Lewis's new live show hours every week. Network prime time schedules normal-Lewis's show ran from 9:30 P.M. until 11:00 P.M.; expanded national newscast, after intensive lobhving In llfcl ^"y^1.30 1\M Most variety shows stocked themselves with a family comics and singers to help ease the pressure on the l »- 1 ried to carry the whole show by himself, relying only on guest appearances by his well-known showbiz friends for ^•^ewis was certainly funny enough to carry his own revision show but, in this case, he tried too many innovations at and the! program, fell flat in its premiere. Everybody appeared camera shots and mike cues were off. A huge screen set up the studio audience could 'see the show just as it was seen home audience failed to work and ended up blocking their With the audience blinded, Lewis's timing was thrown off. afall, the skits were bad. Reviewers labeled it a "tasteless ndlne program never recovered. The harder Lewis worked, re.frantic the show seemed to get, never settling down to II s 'that Ihd **H«rc any style, Wu&k pace, or direction. Instead of being an "informal °ars of fun, entertainment, discussion, and interviews in a spontaneous atmosphere" it took on the appearance of a weekly Jerry Lewis telethon containing a few entertaining performances by superstar guests amid extended stretches of clumsy filler. Perhaps The Jerry Lewis Show might have had a chance if it had been only one hour long so that the writers would not have been so desperate for material, or if it had been prerecorded on tape so thai some of the more complicated bits could have been staged several times and reworked. Even against such tough competition as Gunsmoke and the NBC movie, Lewis might have then triumphed instead of being clobbered by them. In December, ABC, making the best of a bad situation, paid Lewis $2 million to tear up the contract for forty shows. Lewis closed bis final show in anger, blaming his failure on the networks and sponsors who, he said, did not like his "non-conformist ideas." "I don't like to do like I'm supposed to!" he explained. Though Lewis was gone, ABC was still stuck with the remodeled El Capitan theater. In a surprise move, the network decided to replace the flopped Jerry Lewis variety show with another variety show from the same theater. What's more, The Hollywood Palace (as both the series and theater were rechristened) did not even have a regular host. Instead, the program used guest stars as hosts to what was essentially a sixty-minute vaudeo show straight out of the Toast of the Town mold, featuring eight different acts that were presented in the lavish, almost garish, setting of the cavernous Hollywood Palace. Although originating in Hollywood, the show brought the look and feel of Las Vegas-style revues to network television. Apparently, the absence of such material on other networks and the wide range of guest hosts (from Bing Crosby to Phyllis Diller) made the show appear fresh and exciting because, against all odds, it caught on and lasted until the end of the decade. The. Hollywood Palace was another case of a classic format being revived and updated for a new generation of viewers, just as sitcoms such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and drama programs such as The Defenders had successfully brought these forms into the 1960s. Though some mourned the passing of the originals, especially in live drama, it was necessary and inevitable for television to move on. In June of 1963, the U.S. Steel Hour and the Armstrong Circle Theater were axed, and at the end of the 1963-64 season, the last of the New York-based drama series, David Susskind's DuPont Show of the Week, was also canceled. The concept of weekly live drama (or live-on-tape) had fit well with television's early years but seemed an anachronism in an age of mass entertainment shows and high pressure ratings races. More important, though the golden age of television produced many priceless moments, it had been elevated, in memory, to a higher position than it ever deserved. There were, after all, many very bad live dramas, and the productions were often not really the thrilling challenge many people fondly looked back on. Upon the demise of his DuPont Show, David Susskind, who had carried on live drama almost single-handedly for the past few years, candidly acknowledged that the excitement of staging such drama was mostly "hallucinatory; like the kicks induced by cocaine, it's not worth the hangover." With the avenues opened by filmed series, it seemed ridiculous to endure the physical limitations of the studio, the omnipresent, feeling of claustrophobia, and the occasional minor but distracting fluffs of live productions. Film was easier to work with, cost about the same, and, if handled with discipline and skill, could rival the best work from the golden age of television. Susskind's Talent Associates achieved artistic success in a filmed series that very season with East Side, West Side, a career drama modeled somewhat after The Defenders, The series was shot in New York City and dealt with contemporary social problems faced by a Manhattan social worker, Neil Brock (George C. Scott) and his secretary, Jane Foster (Cicely Tyson). Each week's episode 158 1963-64 SEASON 159 DuPont Show Of The WeeK ABC CBS NBC focused on a particular aspect of the seamy side of the big city such as prostihition, juvenile delinquency, and inadequate housing, and often developed into something of a social docudrama on the injustices of American life, with Scott and Tyson sometimes used only peripherally as part of the discussion. In spite of such a potentially dry format, many episodes were gems of insight and warmth (such as .lames Earl Jones's portrayal of an enraged but powerless Harlem father whose baby had died of a rat bite) and the series emerged as one of the best attempts ever to combine dramatic entertainment with social commentary. Nonetheless, there was not very much latitude in the show's premise; as a mere social worker Scott could do little but offer words of advice when confronted with yet another problem. In a. mid-season attempt to remedy this shortcoming, Scott's character went to work for a local congressman so that possible solutions could be presented. Despite the first class writing and production, and the variation in format, the show never succeeded in shaking off its generally maudlin tone and vanished after only one season. The most successful new drama of the season was ABC's The Fugitive, a Quinn Martin production. Rather than dealing with all the social ills of the country, it focused on the struggle of one man, Dr. Richard Kimble, an outlaw that society was out to destroy. Created by former Maverick producer Roy Huggins, the series was loosely inspired by the real-life 1950s murder case of Dr. Sam Shepard, with elements of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Route 66 thrown in. The Fugitive followed the flight of Di Kmht jr (David Janssen), who had been unjustly accused and coi "i murdering his wife, but who had managed to escape:]]!* pol.p guard and execution in the confusion following the wreck uJ % train carrying him to the death house. Though free. KnnMe iati the twin tasks of finding a mysterious one-aimed man £ leaving the scene of the crime (but who could not be fnuml MThe jj time of the trial) and evading the pursuit of police I ■ I Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) who was "obsessed with his capture ' *m In a TV world populated almost exclusively by winners. Kim!>\™, was a loser, free to go anywhere he wanted in the United ^i** i but living in constant fear of capture. He was a prisoner (>* 1 entire country because anyone, even those he befriend 1 travels, could turn him in, wittingly or unwittingly. \Vheiievff| Kimble found himself becoming too involved in people's -J would "clam up" and attempt to fade into the background iir.no 1 ticed. As a convicted murderer under a death sentence, am tx'«| that made him stand out, however briefly, was literally a j death gamble. Yet despite the risks, he was inevitably drawi i toother people's lives because lie needed them in order to f ■ «■ is law, track the one-armed man, and escape his own In » i Janssen's low-key acting style captured perfectly the behavici i> !!|| man on the run, down to the guarded mannerisms and nervous ticJff of a fugitive. Hi s sad, quick smile (a brief ri se in one corni _ , mouth while the rest of his face remained immobile) said it f .W-t ..Aild never find tine peace, even if he met people who i his innocence; he bad to keep running and to find the jjne-anned man because the alternative for him was death. No r. ian kindness could change that cold, hard fact. The ^fens'on created by this setup gave the series an underlying dra-rr - ^.mat was skillfully underplayed but constantly present. I In many ways, The Fugitive was a program ahead of its time, picscntinji the intense struggle of a truly alienated American years before the phrase became popular. Other characters such as Maver-Tcfcand Paladin had operated on a different moral plane than traditional society, but they had chosen that life, thrived on it, and could one day probably settle somewhere without much difficulty. Richaal Kimble could never let down his guard, relax, and rejoin nttnii.il mh'iety. He had been forced outside its boundaries by its lejral machinery even though he was innocent, and his only chance iui su.vjv.:! rested with bis own individual strength and determination. l,nii[ he could find a man the police forces had been unable to locale, trven while dodging these same forces himself, Kimble was m ouicm a hunted man as well as a hunter. In the late 1960s, taction and movies tried to exploit the feeling of alienation that wiyjieu in grip many people in the country then, but most of those ' - ere shallow and failed to grasp the scope of emotions uivohcd. The Fugitive managed to handle the concept of alienation with Limsiderably more success and at the same time treat more complex fhemes of justice, guilt, and justified paranoia as well. Though such themes had previously appeared on TV, chiefly in the e*tinu drama anthologies, The Fugitive developed them over time ?Jt well produced weekly series. It took four years for Richard ^'"'c Ltl come face-to-face with the one-armed man. Through il a'' ^°ries maintained strong ratings (it was frequently in the l°V ten) and a loyal audience that found itself caught up in both the 'peters and the premise, as the series seemed to touch an almost M3en veil «*■ a .... ■ ep vein of American sympathies. Throughout his time in office, President John Kennedy regularly held televised news conferences that covered both domestic issues and international issues. (National Archives Photo byAbbie Rowe/National Park S&rvice) The refinement of themes and formats from television's early days was not limited to entertainment programs. One of the devastating issues of the 1950s, blacklisting, popped up again, even though it had been assumed that the triumph of John Henry Faulk in 1962 had marked the end of the odious practice, ft had not. In early 1963, ABC decided to latch onto the latest teen, music fad, folk music, with Hootenonny, a weekly series taped on various college campuses. For the April premiere program, the reigning queen of American folk music, Joan Baez, was slated to appear with Pete Seeger, the man who had invented the word "booten-anny" along with Woody Guthrie. Then ABC announced that it would not accept Seeger because of his well-known leftist politics and, in particular, because on August 18, 1955, during the height of blacklisting, he had refused to answer questions put to him by the House Un-American Activities Coiurnittee on his Communist Party ties. Blackhsting was not dead, and ABC was not alone in its apprehension over Seeger. In January 1962, NBC had vetoed a scheduled appearance by Seeger on The Jack Paar Show and, in early 1963, CBS had done the same to his planned participation in a folk music special. The networks were still wary of controversial figures and allegations of subversive activities, and now relied on a policy of "network censorship" (the phrase seemed less McCarthy-e.sque than blacklisting) to protect themselves. Though the controversy over Seeger and the issue of his blacklisting soon faded, the issue of censorship remained and^six years later, Seeger would once again bring it to a head. HootenannVs premiere went on without Seeger. And without Joan Baez, the Greenbriar Boys, Tom Paxton, and Ramblm' Jack Elliott, who all refused to perform on the program in protest. Despite this inauspicious beginning, the show recovered and became a surprise hit, hanging on through the spring and summer to earn a niche in ABC's fall schedule for 1963. Hooienanny was an effective outlet for folk music and introduced many performers 160 WATCHING TV 1963-64 SEASON 161 ■pp September 15-21.1963 ABC, which premiered its new shows late the previous season, experiments by unveiling all of its new fall shows in one "sneak preview" week. Tn the process, the number three network beats NBC and CBS out of the starting block. September 15,1963 100 Grand. (ABC). Live, from New York, an attempt to bring big money quizzes back to television after four years of exile. Emcee lack Clark directs grimacing contestants through the "new" but all-too-familiar formula (instead of isolation booths there are big soundproof bubbles). It is the biggest flop in years and the show is axed on September 29. September 15,1963 Arrest and Trial. (ABC). The gimmick; Tie two forty-five minute shows together with a common plot. In the "arrest" portion, Ben Gazzara plays the cop who tracks clown and captures the accused criminal. Chuck Connors plays the defense counselor in the courtroom denouement. Problem; One of the stars has to be proved wrong! September 16,1963 The Outer Limits. (ABC). A well-writleo science fiction anthology series with a distinctive flair for frightening monsters and scary plot twists. After building a respectable following on Monday night, the program is torpedoed in its second season when ABC moves it opposite CBS's Saturday night powerhouse, The Jackie Gleason Show. September 17,1963 The. Fugitive. (ABC). The day the running starts. September 24,1963 Petticoat Junction. (CBS). Paul Homing begins spinning off successful series from The Beverly Hillbillies. September 24,1963 Mr. Novak. (NBC). James Franciscus plays a Dr. Kildare of the classroom, with Dean Jagger in the mentor-principal Dr. Gillespie style role. previously unknown to the American public, including Canada's Ian and Sylvia (Tyson), Ireland's Clancy Brothers, and natives such as the Simon Sisters (Carly and Lucy), the Smothers Brothers, and the very ail-American Chad Mitchell Trio. At the same time, the show displayed little musical and emotional connection with the new wave of folk protest then in vogue. It was the folk equivalent to the Dick Clark Beechnut Show, presenting a new form of music in an antiseptic forum. Host Jack Linkletter (Art's son) was, like Dick Clark, more a clean-cut announcer than someone in tune with the spirit of the music. He and the producers were content with the happy-go-lncky song-around-a-campfire style of such safe singers as Glenn Yarbrough mid the Limeliters, the Rooftop Singers, and the New Christy Minstrels, and they tried to avoid the controversy inherent in protest figures like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Pete Seeger. Though Haatetianny lasted the season, it, and the entire folk music boom, was soon outdistanced by a seemingly brand new musical style that slipped in from over the horizon. In October 1963, The Ed Sullivan Show featured British singer Cliff Richard, who had been the reigning king of rock'n'roll in Britain for five years, but had never made a dent in the American charts. Then, in November, Sullivan met with young British impresario Brian Epstein, who managed that country's hottest 162 WATCHING TV group, The Beatles. Something was up. Sullivan, made his name in television being one step ahead mood, was devoting attention to the British brand . form then often ridiculed, if not completely ignored Ed Sullivan had actually been a little late m pi previous major teen phenomenon, Elvis Presley, si been more attuned to reports in the British pre; generation of successful homegrown rockers. A f to Europe, Sullivan was struck by the frantic reci there had given The Beatles, a reaction the B: already dubbed "Beatlemania." Brian Epstein's s to feature The Beatles on Sullivan's show was coming just a week after the group had stolen the s annual Royal Command Performance variety shoi agreed that The Beatles would be headliners on : Show in February 1964. At that point, in Amencs The Beatles were considered just another British a successful in England but were unable to stir an United States, and the first class treatment accon Sullivan seemed highly unusual. After all, Lhey formed in America and three singles released in t had gone nowhere. By the time Sullivan introduce his audience on February 9, 1964, his agreement short of brilliant. They were the number one gro with records topping both the single and album ch two months, an extensive push by their new i company, Capitol, had helped to turn The Beatle; mania, and their song "I Want To Hold Your Ha one of the fastest selling records ever released. Mi cans were eager to see the group perform li ve tor tl It was a peculiar evening. More than sixty perct,^ vt can television audience (almost twenty-five million home-*, tuneti to CBS, driven both by eager kids and curious adults. Th opened and closed the show and hi the space of one how 'M*-? transformed from motionless publicity photos to real hi beings with distinct individual personalities: Ringo Starr, one with the big nose, sat in the back, "pounding them *tti\ George Harrison, the quiet mysterious one, played while Paul McCartney and John Lennon handled.■ (respccmelij bass and rhythm guitars as well as the lead vocals. Paul cute one while John ("Sorry girls, he's married") projeoed pmcd' a tough guy image. Just as Presley had his hip swivel, 'I lie Beads * displayed their own distinctive symbol, a mop-top hair . ■ -shook as they sang, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" during anolhei v^H song, "She Loves You." Besides seeing and hearing I -perform, viewers were also exposed lo then first direct do** Beatlemania in the U.S. as the studio cameras focused on rwaa — of teenage girls in the audience weeping, screaming, an.' t fainting. Parents did not know whether to laugh at the gio'ip M_ the screaming fans or condemn them, but kids across the uW drank it all in. In that one night, as television allowed null***16 share an experience as one, the medium helped to establish* musical and cultural phenomenon. Ironically, despite their British persona, The Beatle essentially bringing American music back home, refined through their fresh eyes. They drew on rock'n'roll Iiom ifc#J Presley era, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, and even ■ Broadway. Nonetheless, their distinctive accents and powerful sound made them appear totally new, and their exposure to millions of Americans helped create an instant mt> in other British rock groups such as The Dave Clark Fiv* «i"J Rolling Stones, who soon turned up on shows such as Suil ^ j and The Hollywood Palace. In addition, the desire for tinvtn'-1 ■ \ fiherec J\ ISad been building with an increasingly successful trical ^ms on Brit^sil secret agent James Bond, nearly every aspect of American culture with the gea(fes. Television executives now took a closer Ms British material for the American market. This Ibarige from the image British television had carried . 1950s. . latchful eye of the British government, the noncom-Broadcasting Corporation had always followed a at steered away from the pure entertainment pro-iped American television. In September 1955, after 12 commercial television came to Britain and began th the' BBC. At first, the newcomers relied heavily riierican filmed series, turning out only a few of their j: the return trip to the States. (Shows such as The ''Robin Hood and Ivanhoe dealt with traditional is of England: knights, castles, feudal lords, and the );. British television began producing its own proved, and sometimes surpassed, American fare, st major homegrown commercial hit was Granada ipn Street, a soap opera which debuted in 1960. ing with beautiful rich people, as traditional Ameri-1, the program centered on the exploits of just plain class city of Manchester, the sort that might be •awThe Honeymooners. Gleason's show was an h, to the general American view of TV heroes. In ion Street quickly became the top-rated show and tings became commonplace in other series, lalf years later, the BBC (aiming to meet its com->n head-on) presented a sitcom take on the world „j wtu„„....."eet, Steproe and Son, starring Wilfrid Brambell flater cast ^ Paul McCartney's grandfather in the Beatles' film "A . rjl it") and Harry Corbett. The two portrayed Albert aid'Harold Sieproe, father and son junk dealers who were forever over money and the future. As the elder Steptoe, played to perfection the garrulous and possessive aging "•Met determined to prevent his son from leaving the homestead; i ; to underhanded tricks to break up Harold's bud-rices or mclinations to venture into a new business on his :*wm. He always succeeded as Harold inevitably decided to remain «the junk business, at home, with his dad, despite the constant . afericrcnttg The vibrancy of Brambell and Corbett in their charac-* -* ■ I as the unique nature of the setting, quickly caught on ^th the British; public and by late 1963 Steptoe and Son replaced ■Coronation Street for a while as the country's most popular pro-^ gFam. It was one of the first important British programs to catch an i ■ stwork's attention and NBC showed a few Steptoe and bp dip* on The Jack Paar Show in April 1964, while subcontracting with Embassy Pictures to produce a pilot for an American - vtssjon el the^how. The pilot, however, was rejected and plans for fC Senes ^ere eventually shelved. Even adapted for American jast&s. the "life among the lowly" concept did not seem quite right ^StaiE-sidr audiences weaned on solid middle-class heroes. levision's first major success in the American market a* uith ik own. particular brand of spy adventures, a field that ! -marlcably unsuccessful in the U.S. Throughout the cold S" J*"Ener*Can Pru tusi noon, November 22, when Walter Cronkite broke in K> ai'tirod that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. Within a fi^ minutes, ail three networks suspended regular programme ^ began what became four days of noncommercial televisioi | loss of $40 million in advertising revenue). By presenting, li'^iS the far-flung events of that weekend at a moment's notice, cmw sion news proved itself truly deserving of both serious attain*, and popular acclaim. People throughout the country lool - j television for news of the tragedy. They saw the official anfli meut that Kennedy was dead, as well as the first appearance iw-** new president, Lyndon Johnson. They followed the reti I Washington and the formal ceremonies of the state funeral:. ■ i; newsmen on each network distinguished themselves throi f the long hours on the air and several new faces became ]■ :j "news celebrities." ■■■■ f On CBS, Dan Rather, who scooped ail others in reporting Kennedy s death, became unofficial anchor of the Dallas reports, while Roger Mudd and Harry Reasoner, two veteran network importers who had worked largely unnoticed for years, came to the toreh-ont with their handling of the events in Washington. On ABC, Howard K. Smith returned from oblivion and teamed up , addition to the ABC news staff, Edward P. Morgan. They »-;re so effective together thai they became the regular ABC aachor team for the political specials of 1964. Through it all. . television treated the events of the Kennedy assassination with a ad style many had thought impossible. For the first time, people throughout the country began to appreciate how much teieviyun really meant to them and just what it was capable of. ■ i well-known critics such as former FCC chairman Newton Vp&pw marveled. "Only through television could the whole coun-■ ..grasp the tragedy, and at the same time the strength of the democratic process that passed the administration from one presi-%*Cto another within two hours. Television's treatment was ^sittve, mature, and dignified. We always hear that telvvision is a yOMg medium. If so, it grew up in a couple of days." gMore than any other event to that point, the Kennedy assassinate cemented television's role as national information source and "#onal.uniner. /;.Asdisturbmg as the. assassination was, television faced an even ^settling event two days after the president had been shot, as the medium immediately discovered the dangers and conflicts of its increased stature. Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin, was to be transferred from one jail to another on Sunday morning. November 24, and the press, especially television, demanded to witness the event. It was no longer sufficient to merely report that something had happened, the activity had to take place before the cameras. Dallas police complied with the request by making their plans public so that reporters, or anyone, could see Oswald leave the city jail. At .11:20 A.M., at the end of a memorial service for Kennedy in Washington, NBC cut live to Dallas just in time to show the fjrst real-life murder on television as it occurred: A man in a dark suit and hat came out of the crowd, there was a pop, and Oswald dropped from sight, fatally shot. CBS and ABC both just missed also telecasting the event live, but a new device developed for TV sports coverage allowed all three to show the murder again and again with the added impact of slow motion video tape replay. In demanding access to Oswald, a roan who had become an instant media Figure, television had focused attention and publicity on what should have been a routine procedure, the prison transfer. Unknowingly, television and television news had crossed a line into a new situation in which it would become increasingly difficult to view the medium as just another reporter. Television was beginning to affect the course of events, transforming seemingly inconsequential actions into important moments in history merely by its presence. 164 WATCHING TV 1963-64 SEASON 165 24. The Unloved Messenger TELEVISION BECAME THE OBJECT of increasing vilification throughout 1964 for both its entertainment, and news programming. The more effective and complete coverage of developing issues and special events by the network news departments upset people of every ideology. They resented the growing encroachment by TV news upon their personal lives and beliefs as well as the unsettling nature of the news itself, often equating the bearer of bad tidings with the disturbing events it reported. At the same time, a move to pure escapism in entertainment programming triggered by the huge success of CBS's rural-based comedy line-up offended the sensibilities of many viewers who found the tube pandering more and more to the lowest common denominator. In contrast to the fondly remembered high drama of TV's golden days, the networks' fall schedules offered country bumpkins, ridiculous settings, childish plots, witches, Martians, and pure soap opera. It all seemed deliberately designed to appeal to viewers who looked at television as a mindless escape tool. Critics pointed to the continuing number one status of The Beverly Hillbillies as irrefutable evidence that quality television had fallen on hard times. The Beverly Hillbillies never deserved all the public defilement it received, but the program was a symbol of the direction television entertainment had taken under the guidance of CBS president James Aubrey. His rural comedy philosophy had kept CBS number one in the ratings and it cleared the path for a host of inferior successors launched by all three networks, with CBS leading the way. Most of the new programs lacked the comic energy of the hillbilly original and were responsible for generally humorless TV. As parent to the trend, though, The Beverly Hillbillies received its share of the blame for the sins of its offspring. Even though imitations of successful formats were expected as a normal part of the industry, the blatant, almost incestuous, development of the new sitcom spinoff shows struck many as going too far. Spinoffs had been an accepted practice in broadcasting for decades, especially in the field of variety. Popular personalities such as Phil Harris and Dennis Day (from The Jack Benny Program), Julius La Rosa and Pat Boone (from Arthur Godfrey's shows), and Gisele MacKeilzie (from Your Hit Parade! had all been promoted from second string status to programs of their own because their association with an established hit gave them an instant advantage over the competition. Situation comedies had certainly followed program trends in the past (wacky housewives, talking animals, showbiz widowers) but in courting the rural themes television developed a very systematic approach to the spin-off process. A specific character or gimmick from a successful sitcom c, fully eased into a new setting and &how, as close to the original possible. Sometimes there were even crossover casi -tppearaccesJ from the established hit. Unfortunately, many of tl failed to develop past the surface gimmicks and did not deliver tlfi strong secondary characters and good scripts necessary tor support? Yet with the momentum provided by familiar hooks and ta;( simple-minded escapist fare prospered. Beverly Hillbillies producer Paul Henning had -tanol ÍI cloning process in the 1963-64 season with Pettic which presented the adventures of the folks "back in llie Hs, Henning took veteran character actor Bea Benaderet who nisi cousin Pearl Bodine, Jethro's widowed mother (a mil Beverly Hillbillies), rechristened her Kate Bradley (also a v idw) and put her in charge of the Shady Rest Hotel in the tm-liu. backwoods town of Hooterville. Though Petticoat Jmutio, haoft outward trappings of The Beverly Hillbillies, there ■ tive crazies or charged conflicts in it. The setting was muč) tot restrictive. Gone was the incongruity of the progenitor My rich and poor, socialite and hillbilly. Hooterville was a une-hoi town. Even occasional invasions by city slickers such a« Hoi Bedloe (Charles Lane as a railroad executive determined lo ■ the town's ancient train, the Cannonball) were doo start. The aseptic peace of 1950s TV had been tran i hills and nothing could disturb it. Worst of all, the character *« far too bland to be funny. While Benaderet was usu lent supporting character (in roles such as Blanche Morton, crazy neighbor to George Burns and Grade Allen I tier «1 mother figure of Kate Bradley was not credible eitl center or cagey manipulator. Her three daughters were a> changeable as their names: Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B."tv W~ Gravelly voiced Edgar Buchanan tried his best in scheming moneymaker, Joe Carson (the hotel's sell-proc'ai«" manager), but Uncle Joe's ventures usually produced little in° ^ than a few jokes about him being a scheming loafei In shoř. -if. series was harmless fluff, not at all offensive, but not \a" either. It was pure escapism, a sort of "chewing guin for rtu and mind," not only far removed from the everyday grim realit?-1!' the big city, but also a world apart from rural reality as well Nonetheless, the hillbilly connection worked . Junction was an instant hit. Its premiere episode can. ' 1 number five show of the week. Hooterville was undent, and the program lasted seven seasons. In 1965, the .-.!»>» •f**"^ •' ~ lated clone, Green Acres. For that series, Henning *^alCU ^ jornluia one step further by keeping the same fville), using many of the same characters (there crossovers with Petticoat Junction), and introducing :^ras a mirror image of The Beverly Hillbillies: two 'ddie Albert and Eva Gabor) moved to the country, ity brought the series much closer to The Beverly iality and, once again, home viewers were entranced • clucked on for six years. . the success of Petticoat Junction in the 1963-64 irned: to another popular series, The Andy Griffith a spinoff in the fall of 1964, Comer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The pje character of a halfwit gas station attendant (played by £as: drafted by Uncle Aubrey, taken from Mayberry, ; and placed in a Marine base in California. There, ■The tutelage of the often infuriated Sergeant Vincent Carter * .tton), the simple country rube repeatedly exasperated yet lilitary minds. The setting and premise were nearly IcaJ to'Andy Griffith's first major vehicle, "No Time for 1955.: To complete the circle (and to make certain '^uioff was1 properly launched) Andy accompanied Gomer Maybeny. taking him into his new setting, and keeping a t^fiil eve on him throughout the first episode. Gomer clicked the series stood as further proof that spinoffs from established valuable tool that, if handled properly, could produce nally potent program. Gomer's success was especially .urse the show not only outscored the direct compe-teranJack Benny (who had moved to NBC that year tiwing a contract dispute) but also easily outperformed die very premise on ABC. As a very familiar character, Gomer stood j-anioni! the fall premieres and found it much easier to gain a told and build an audience than did the unknowns {Sammy jlcfoon and Harry Hickox) of the ABC version, which even took .-djfSrAo Time lor Sergeants title. The country took Gomer to heart ^BS new fob, making Nabors a star in his own right as the series tfnained in the top ten through the 1960s. Gomer's wide-eyed innocence aho presented a reassuring view of the military in an era ^-tfsm people were beginning to become aware of the presence of " Mamies in a real war. Gomer Pyle was always the all-Aineriun country boy. ,-j^jSon.c cntks, however, found the character to be the personifi-=J'< ■verything objectionable about the rural slant being 2 'pursued b\ CBS, Gomer was a naive country bumpkin who obvi-—flljly read nd enjoyed nothing more challenging than Captain : books (as his cry of "Shazam!" indicated), yet he spo of television's new heroes. His character might have been a second banana but as a lead his effusive manner familiar expressions such as "Sur-prae/ Sur-pri.se/ Stir-prise/" ■iatd-lee Sergeant Carter!" were particularly discordant and lo some. Nonetheless, the program was well done and often and &iuh reactions more likely reflected deep resentment at * ncai total domination by escapist fare in entertainment pro-gfflraing The style seemed as pervasive as Westerns and quizzes ■nwn at their saturation points, but it looked as if the spinoff Potential and continued high ratings earned by the silly gimmicks ^jmpleion heroes would assure them spots in the network cl" tJCS tur;years. While some viewers were upset, most people ry enjoyed.foe programs. They were light, uncomplicated, and -aven from bad news, dction-adventure shows in the late 1950s had given the Westerns that were not Westerns, the escapist sitcoms tytnoti'lfXpaUdtfd bey°nd strictly rural settings. Though not direct & rrom anX established hit, the premises of these new shows were just as unlikely as millionaire hillbillies and included such hooks as Martians, monsters, and witches. Of these, the program that showcased Aubrey escapism at its worst was Gilligan's Island, which followed the adventures of the passengers and crew of a sight-seeing charter boat that was shipwrecked on an uncharted South Pacific island. The show literally went to the ends of the earth to avoid reality in a premise that seemed to overwhelm the writers with its limitations. Though the castaways were confined to a tiny island and could never be rescued (or the show was over), .someone from the outside world was always finding the way to their doorstep, then departing without them after going through the same sort of obvious jokes and misunderstandings. It was like repeating one skit from a comedy variety show over and over and over again. Yet even with this strained set-up and repetitious scripts, the cast might have been able to overcome these limitations by developing a sharp comic sense in each of their characters. Instead, most just settled into the plastic caricatures they had been given: the hard working skipper (Alan Hale, Jr.), his well-meaning but bumbling first mate (Bob Denver), a dumb but beautiful movie star (Tina Louise), a pretty homespun Midwestern girl (Dawn Wells), a brilliant research professor (Russell Johnson), a multimillionaire (Jim Backus) and his pampered wife (Natalie Scbafer). Hale, Backus, and Denver made valiant attempts to bring life to their roles, but even they usually fell short. Denver brought the spacey. naive innocence of his Maynaxd G. Krebs character to first mate Giiligan. but what had worked well in a supporting role to Dobie Gillis could not carry an entire series. He was just another lost child on the island. Backus and Hale flashed moments of wit, but it was a losing battle. Overall, the show resembled nodiing so much as a kiddie cartoon and it seemed designed to capture the interest of young children by presenting cardboard adults who acted like ciiildren in grownup bodies. This strategy attracted a fair size audience and allowed the program to survive for three seasons, though it rarely elicited more than an audible groan from most of the nation's adults. Other new gimmicks might have appeared as silly as Giiligan's Island on the surface, but the better ones kept a tighter rein on the initial premise. Rather than building a sweeping but all-too-limiting setting that could prematurely strangle the series, other producers settled for a slight wrinkle to reality that could be continuously exploited. In this vein, a Martian and a witch were incorporated into moderately normal situations and acceptable, if not outstanding, TV fare resulted. Both My Favorite Martian (starring Ray Walston as a Martian shipwrecked on Earth) and Bewitched (Elizabeth Montgomery as a suburban housewife who happened1 to be a witch) used their zany hooks primarily as an excuse to display entertaining visual tricks in that week's situation. Once the complications were introduced, die actors and scripts, not the gimmicks, carried the episodes. Still, a totally bizarre setting could succeed as long as it stuck to the basics of comedy. If the characters and atmosphere on Gilligan's Island had been developed beyond dull caricature and cheap tropical sets, the program migjjt have been able to transcend its limitations. ABC proved it could be done that season with the hilarious adventures of an entire family that came directly out of the world of late night creature features, The Addams Family (based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams). Though the plots for the series were usually just adequate, the characters and setting were devilishly sharp. Gomez (John Astin) and his wife Morticia (Carolyn Jones) headed the freaky family that lived in an appropriately spooky old family mansion just outside of town. Rather than limiting the program to predictable monster jokes or half-hearted attempts to make the characters appear a 166 1964-65 SEASON 167 M local VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA NOTIMF FOR SERGEANTS WENDY AMD ME BING CROSBY SHOW Ben Casey O locjy To Tell The Truth I've Got A Secret Andy Griffith Show The Lucy Show MANY HAPPY RETURNS SLATTERY'S PEO11 F . local 90 BRISTOL COURT (KAREN; HARRIS AGAINST THE WORLD; Andy Williams Show ilfrorl HUfhrn^L. U-----1 1 1 1 N TOM, DICK AND MARY) -# JONATHAN WINTERS SHOW T local Co m bat 1 McHale'sNavy TYCOON PEYTON PLACE The Fugitive U local WORLD WAR ONE RedSkelton Hour Petticoat Junction The Doctors And TheNirr«ps lovak rue (ijflhi coriwnun p "That Was The Week Bel! Telephone Hour1 1 "* E oca! That Was NEC News Special" W local Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet Patty Duke Show SHtNDlŮ MICKEY Burke's Law ABC Scope'" local CBS Reports The Beverly Hillbillies Dic-k Van Dyke Show CARA WILLIAMS Dannv Kavp Shnui E CBS News Specials SHOW □ local The Virginian NBC Wednesday Night At The Movies T local The Flintstones Donna Reed Show My Three Sons BEWITCHED PEYTON PLACE Jimmy Dean Show H local THE MONSTERS Perry Mason Password THE BAILEYS OF BALBOA The Defenders local Dr. Kildare Hazel Kraft Suspense Thealor ■ ■ R !_Jrtl*JÍCL D*_"L_JľJĽ # P-errv Como's American television and the task of bringing the delicate balance of refined wit, cruel violence, desirable women, expensive gimmicks, and occasional self-parody to television seemed especially difficult. NBC was the first to jump on the bandwagon, enlisting James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, for a very Bond-ish proposed TV spy series, originally titled Mr. Solo. Fleming had to drop out of the project due to ill health, but the show made it to the air in the fall of 1964 as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Though obviously working with a substantially smaller budget than the multimillion-dollar Bond film epics, the series was a very good television equivalent, comfortably adopting many of the most attractive Bond gimmicks. The f/nited Network Command for Law and Enforcement was a powerful CIA-type organization headquartered in the bowels of New York City, with a secret entrance hidden at the innocent-looking Del Fiona's tailor shop (behind the fake wall of a changing room). U.N.C.L.E. deployed a world-wide network of agents and an arsenal of elaborate gadgets, specially designed guns, and exotic electronic gear including miniature communicators, tiny listening devices, and coded identification badges. Concerns over world domination, the balance of power, and freedom were bandied about, but this was a cosmetic device to give the scripts a topical flavor for what amounted to a weekly-battle between good and evil. Just as Bond's British secret service squared off against SPECTRE, U.N.C.L.E. faced the highly skilled forces of Thrush. (Its acronym was never revealed in the series, but an authorized tie-in paperback novel, The Dagger Affair, revealed it as the Technological Hierarchy for the removal of l/ndesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). The two organizations were engaged in a never-ending struggle that appeared more like a high-powered chess game between two superpowers than a fight for world domination. Particular schemes assumed important propaganda value and served as arenas for a perverse, sportsmanlike competition between the best agents from both sides. Napoleon Solo (played by Robert Vaughn) was U.N.C.L.E.'s top agent. Like Bond, he was a company man who flaunted the rules of discipline to pursue his own pleasures, placing more trust in his instincts than in standard operating procedures. Solo was a highly refined, highly educated boy-next-door type who fell somewhere in between the aristocratic aloofness of Sherlock Holmes and the gritty earthiness of Sam Spade. He was an excellent Bond surrogate who always got the job done for agency head Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). The chief difference between the man from U.N.C.L.E. and James Bond was that Bond operated solo but Solo had a partner. At first, JJlya Kuryakin (David McCallum) was little more than a right-hand flunky to Solo. (He was featured for all of five seconds in the jpilot episode for the series.) In February, however, McCallum was sent on a promotional tour of eight major cities with low U.N.C.L.E. ratings, during which he earned the right to become an equal partner to Solo. Not only did the ratings go up in the cities he visited, but to the surprise (and delight) of the producers, it became obvious by the enthusiastic response of female fans that the Kuryakin character had become a teen heart-throb. From then on, McCallum's sensitive, intellectual, continental allure was used as an excellent complement to Vaughn's middle-American goodness. In contrast to the James Bond films. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. downplayed cynical sadism and violence in favor of a stronger emphasis on tongue-in-cheek humor and character interaction. An innocent bystander (usually a beautiful woman) was always introduced to the plot to bring the high-level conflict down to a less abstruse level. If the future of mankind did not mean anything to viewers, then a damsel in distress certainly did. More important, with the increased visibility of Kuryakin, the men from U.N.C.L.E. 168 WATCHING TV 1964-65 SEASON 169 The arrival of U.S. marines in Vietnam in March 1965 brought about an increase in TV coverage of the war. (U.S. Army) ■. developed a natural repartee, very much in the style of John Steed and Kathy Gale in Britain's The Avengers. Because the world of international intrigue all too often involved plots that threatened "the fate of the entire Western world," such an approach was vital to prevent overkill and made the weekly life-and-death perils much easier to take. Though occasionally the program went overboard and turned the entire episode into one long joke (as in the "My Friend, the Gorilla Affair"), when kept in check the lighter touch lifted The Man from U.N. C.L.E. far above the level of mundane TV melodrama into a first class escapist spy adventure. ABC and CBS did not get their spy programs out until the next season, though in April CBS, perhaps spurred by U.N.C.L.E.'s mid-season surge, brought back the British spy series, Danger Man, under a new title, Secret Agent (featuring a catchy new theme song by Johnny Rivers), The new hour-long version of the program had begun in Britain in October with Patrick McGoohan still in his role of agent John Drake, though he had softened the character a bit to emphasize a wry sense of humor. It proved only slightly less successful than U.N.C.L.E. and confirmed that TV spies were a viable commodity. One marvelous tongue-in-check series somehow lost in this season of escapist fare was The Rogues. Produced by Four Star Television, the program was developed as a sophisticated, high quality vehicle for a troupe of veteran performers led by two of the compa-ny's star-owners, Charles Boyer and David N/iven. (They had also participated in the 1950s drama anthology series, Four Star Playhouse, the company's first venture.) Set in London, The Rogues presented the complicated schemes and crimes of an international family of con artists, led by Niven (as Alec Fleming), who rotated the lead each week with Boyer (as French cousin, Marcel) and Gig Young (as American cousin, Tony). Occasionally, all three would join forces for exceptionally challenging plots, and ihey^ftai _J enlisted the aid of British cousins Timmy (Robert! rmi&i tut j grande dame Margaret (Gladys Cooper). Naturally, the Femng \ family only chiseled victims that deserved it (bad guys suet South American dictator played by Telly Savalas),: often le . them embarrassed and humiliated as well as fleeced. Despih reviews and a strong lead-in (the number one rated Boiur&fj the program failed to register high ratings and was dropped by .NBC ; after only one season. To those disgusted by what they abysmal level of entertainment programming, such a decisip, not surprising. Gilligan's Island and Petticoat Junction live but a witty, sophisticated program was not even given a s chance. The critical blasts labeling TV's entertainment programm _ childish and unimaginative were ironic because, at the same the medium was also being lambasted for its aggressive (sqmestf intrusive) approach to the news. In either direction, tele faced outraged viewers, though objections to the news were M' more serious. Television entertainment was a matter oftasl tastes differed and changed. Television news touched deeph hel^ ^ and long-standing personal beliefs, and it was becoming m ingly apparent that some people would have been pleased TV network news completely disappear from their lives. - Resentment of the news had grown out of its increased-visihiim. mid the exposure it gave to developing controversial issues, of the additional coverage was merely a function of time, fifteen years viewers had grown accustomed to frfteen-i nightly newscasts. In 1963 the programs had doubled ,ffl 1 The number of bureaus and correspondents had also menv* substantially. Resources available for normal coverage vx •' average news event allowed much more depth and deta* • tjst following everyday procedures correspondents s° °' ^ ^tensive reports. Though the reporters were not .articular cause, some viewers felt that the addi-Boh made certain issues seem much more important ^so^true, however, that the network news departments ecifically devoting portions of the additional nightly S^to an examination of social and political issues previ-^ undiscussed. That was one of the reasons they had -thelonger news time in the first place: to win the oppor-Sfe at length, with important issues. Viewers did not lllant K face some of these issues, though, and many srhat they saw as an intrusion on' their lives. There were mintless special interest newspapers and magazines Plvery ideological slant (not everyone had to read the jimes), but if people chose to watch network news at all flhbice of only three similar programs. Each one tried to H!ey of all the important national news events of the structure of the network news programs made it all but j to skip disturbing news items; they came unpredictably une before an irked viewer could stop them. Despite the efforts to take an unbiased stance in the reporting, what ol and objective in one region of the country could touch sitive spot in another. It was not like radio either. That feijithe individual listener to form a picture to fit precon-ions based merely on sounds and narration. Television, (iereasing emphasis toward "on the spot" news film, tfomrdly disturbing sounds and pictures into the home ere difficult to ignore. The period of the mid-1960s was itile. social change anyway and many people resented pierced to confront so many different issues each night in own living looms. More and more, they linked their growing r&entment id the changes in the country with television, television news, anu ih\. networks. The messengers that had, at first, merely j&r&ed the wnid of a new order soon became interchangeable with jl old story of the king who punished the messenger who :bad news, viewers reacted to the alterations in their "fees by turning on the tube and attacking it. One of the first events to jjpark the u.sve of such negative viewer reaction was the mass 1 prote&t maich on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., _J, 1963. ***">■ The protest.was the largest such assembly in Washington since '- * 1 World War I veterans (dubbed the "bonus march-- m") had gathered hi 1932. The networks, which had been slowly te-amount of their civil rights coverage through the treated the assembly as a major national event, " *i ■ > a space shot or presidential election. There were t special live reports throughout the day, prime time specials, and lateiughl uiapups. The coverage showed more than 200,000 civil agiMa Mippotters as peaceful, reasonable people gathered together rosuppon n] a righteous cause. Reverend King's impassioned and -■^ijqucni T Have a Dream" speech in favor of civil rights and sttphun served as the emotional high point to the day and it was carried Ine to people throughout the nation. Favorable public ie presentation provided a tremendous boost to civil nfihb icgjshition before Congress. Legislators began to think that, _ ,^rhaps. pj^age 0f a cjvu rights bill would not be political suicide, ^efenders of segregation, however, saw the changing mood as Junius and television's participation as unforgivable. a lluec-hour NBC prime time special on civil rights, broad-g^1 inc u''ve. after King's speech. Mississippi Governor Ross Am^'1 SlUl' ^lat te'ev's'on was ,0 b\&mt for civil disorder in '•nca R\ raising the expectations of America's blacks too rapidly, he said, the medium had created the climate that allowed "rabble rousers" such as King to gain power. Though Barnett might have been somewhat biased, having felt the sting of bad TV publicity in his own moves against civil rights activities (his efforts to block the admission of a young black man, James Meredith, to the University of Mississippi in 1962 had received extensive TV coverage), he was by no means alone in his beliefs. In the spring and summer of 1964, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, in his first run al the presidency, pointed very specifically to the extended civil rights coverage by CBS. NBC, and ABC, as well as the New York Times and the Washington Post, as "unnecessary." Publicity given to civil rights activities, be contended, not any underlying social injustice, was responsible for the civil rights problem. On July 18, 1964, the problem of minor disorders resulting from the push for civil rights exploded into a much more dramatic confrontation as the first major inner city race riot in decades erupted in New York City's Harlem. TV crews rushed to the scene and were shocked to discover that both sides hated reporters. Police, sensitive to the possibility of bad publicity for the force, did not welcome the presence of the news crews, but neither did the rioters. To them, television, with its fancy remote trucks and equipment, was just another arm of what they saw as a white power structure, which was ready to distort their viewpoint and the meaning of their actions. Both sides, during the night, beat up reporters. For the remainder of the summer, thoughtful documentaries and discussions filled the airwaves, as people bravely searched for the complex, underlying causes of the problem, but they usually reached the predictable general conclusion that difficult slum living conditions and police brutality had touched off the violence. In this light, "Harlem: Test for a Nation" (on NBC) naively cited two cities as models of how to avoid riots: Detroit and Los Angeles. Detroit had an integrated police force; and the black section of Los Angeles, Watts, did not even look like a slum, it was almost a heavenly suburb. One year later, this "suburb" erupted into violence that totally overshadowed the Harlem riot of 1964. Two years after that, much the same occurred in Detroit. In the summer of 1965, all three networks picked up dramatic and mildly sensationalist overhead shots of the riot in Watts from a helicamera devised by the crew from an independent Los Angeles station, KTLA (whose grimly appropriate news motto had been: "If hell breaks loose, turn to KTLA!"). Helicopter pilot Hal Fish-man provided a blow-by-blow description of the rampaging mobs, audacious looters, biiming buildings, and police-civilian confrontations. Thirty-five people died and more than $200 million in property damage took place. At the same time, the news crews were stoned by the mob, equipment was stolen, and a number of $10,000 mobile vans were torched. The beleaguered police displayed little concern for representatives of a medium many felt was glorifying violence with its reporting anyway. In covering Watts, television was once again caught in a no-win situation. TV conveyed the terror of a volatile situation in a way no other news medium could. The expanded scope of network news had dovetailed almost e.xacdy vMth the rapidly developing issue of civil rights, in both its peaceful and violent forms. In general, TV failed to satisfy anyone with its coverage. Many people saw it as an all-too-willing forum for anti-establishment figures out to win converts and propagate violence, while many frustrated blacks fotmd it insensitive and ignorant. With the country reeling from racial tensions and the aftereffects of the Kennedy assassination, it took a great deal of guts for NBC to go ahead with its plans for an American version of the popular British satire program That Was The Week That Was. The BBC had, in fact, dropped its version of the program at the end of 170 WATCHING TV 1964-65 SEASON 171 September 16,19*4 Shindig. (ABC). Britain's pioneer of television rock'n'roll, Jack Good, shows America how it's done. His fast-paced showcase for rock talent not only features top artists such as The Beatles, but also presents up-and-coming performers such as Billy Preston and Bobby Sherman. September 19-25,1964 "NBC Week." Following ABC's lead, NBC puts all of its tall premieres into one easy-to-publicize week. NBC also emphasizes the fact that it is the first network to have more than 50% of its prime time fare in color. October 5,1964 90 Bristol Court, (NBC). An experiment in program packaging. NBC presents three standard sitcoms as part of one ninety-minute show. The hook? All the characters in Karen, Harris Against the World, and Tom, Dick, and Mary live in the same apartment complex: 90 Bristol Court. Only Karen survives past January. October 7,1964 NBC and Universal Studios present the first two-hour made-for-television movie, "See How They Run," starring John Forsythe and Jane Wyatt. Tins film-—and a few others like it aired this season—-receives very little publicity and registers mediocre ratings. November 8, 1964 Profiles in Courage. (NBC). Robert Saudek, former Ofnnibits guru, presents a series of twenty-six historical dramatizations inspired by John Kennedy's 1956 Pulitzer Prize winning book. 1963 because, it explained, 1964 was to be an election year in Britain and it would not be right for the BBC to make fun of politicians. Despite the fact that the U.S. also faced elections that year, NBC did not follow suit and instead Set about convincing both Madison Avenue and the American public that topical, political humor could be entertaining and profitable. One fortunate result of the cancellation of the British TW3 was that it allowed David Frost to join the American version when it premiered in January 1964 (though at first he remained in the background as just another member of the TW3 family). Elliott Reid originally acted as the host and he was joined by Frost, Henry Morgan, Phyllis Newman, Buck Henry, puppeteer Burr Tillstrom, and Nancy Ames (the singing "TW3 Girl"). At first, the writers were unsure of their ground (satire was certainly new to American television) and settled for standard TV jokes with topical names plugged in. By the late spring, they began to find their mark and the show picked up noticeably in both pacing and overall quality. The writers developed satirical approaches to topical issues and events while also poking fun at television itself, especially its commercials. Variety shows had been doing sendups of overplayed, all-too-familiar commercials for years (at the time, Danny Kaye's were among the best), but TW3 did them one better. In one instance, a silly but genuine catsup commercial was run as scheduled. It featured talking hamburger buns that, at the spot's end, joyfully threw their tops into the air when they heard the brand of catsup to be used. When the show resumed, the cast added an unexpected coda: As David Frost began talking to the audience, dozens of hamburger bun tops fell from above and covered him. 172 WATCHING TV The program was at its best, though, rri 1Ts topical moments- Guesl comics Sandy Baron ai peared as a pair of singing segregationist phirhbe Strom staged an award-winning detente of Eas puppets that met atop the Berlin wall. Presirk infamous beagle episode (in which the presides pet dogs by its ears) inspired a sendup feanirrnj; (Him Beagle Johnson) being snatched by giant before it could reveal LBJ's choice lor his vice ning mate. Johnson was a godsend to the writers many easily caricatured qualities: he was tall, ej with an obvious accent. As humorous a tar; Barry Goldwater, a Republican presidential cand even more tempting. One of the most effectivi putdowns of Goldwater came in the form of various quotes from the candidate's public staten In its first half season (January through June fairly well as a Friday night lead-in to Jack I Frost took over as host in the fall of 1964, how the program to perhaps the toughest spot on its night against Petticoat Junction and Peyton Plo two top ten shows, TW3 came into direct conf presidential campaign. Just as the elections in the end of the BBC version of TW3, the Am. elections effectively doomed the U.S. counterpai unusual way. The fate of TW3, however, was ji mish in a running battle over the proper role c contest. As in its civil rights reporting, the med were as severely scrutinized as the candidates gies. Once again, a deep resentment of teievi; revealed. The competition between the network news . dally between CBS and NBC) was particularly nerce:i The Huntley-Brinkley Report found itself at the start pi a yet: deadlock with Walter Cronkite for nightly news supren tional wisdom in broadcasting circles held that the network won the convention and election coverage would cany i turn into the lucrative nightly news shows and probabh remain top for the next four years. An increased interest in the primaries provided a convenient warm-up arena, ac networks took the opportunity to roll out their latest g: computers, to help them make "instant vote project Kennedy's dramatic primary victories in 1960 had alerted report to the potential importance of these local contests and, staffs and new technological tricks available, it seemed sti,iiegica| ly wise to cover them. As the votes in these elections < spring, CBS, NBC, and ABC raced with each other to be tte 1# to declare a winner, using their fancy new equipment I techniques did more than impress the regular viewers jnd pc« cians watching; it left them flabbergasted. How could t declare a winner with only a minuscule percentage * totals in? CBS, for example, declared Senator Barry GildftdlJ* victor in the crucial California primary in June with only 2't oi J"*, state's vote totals listed on die tote board. Actually, the feat was illusory. The network computer* did no! rely on the official vote tallies for the projections because ihc^en only took hours to trickle in, they were often quite Misleading well (an area strongly supporting one candidate miglu r£?n[t first and show a huge lead that would be wiped out by >ub^qw^ these precincts and they called the net-tie votes were counted, allowing televi-two hours after the polls closed, rime 0f six hours in the past. Instant vote '"l^th"■result-of long hard work and calculated 2 sliurihand label stuck and the audience saw the 15 b light Though there was nothing dishonest *** b. *j ^aru'^netheless irked people and raised vague jaiently deciding that it was best not to tamper with a Mliooai personality so obviously loved and admired. Besides, the Iront-VIudd team had fared no better than Cronkite anyway. Hel't ampaign in the fall between Goldwater and President l Was one of the most bitter and vicious races in years, and as the forum for one of the major battles: imagery. s,ng sumc campaign commercials that bordered on being down-r,2to I'.'ictKal, the Democratic Party subtly (and not. so subtly) ■ Ttec Goldwater as a man likely to kill little children by irre-sporisibly-. and indiscriminately using nuclear power. In September, ,riessage lelied on subtle implication: A cute little girl was shown gathering daisies in a field and counting to herself as she picked the petals from the flowers. Her counting blended with and was replaced by the countdown to an atomic bomb explosion. At detonation, the fiery blast replaced the little girl on the screen. Then. Lyndon Johnson was heard saying: 'These are the stakes— to make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark." An armotmcer then urged viewers to vote for Johnson on election day, saying that "the stakes are too high for you to stay at home." Not voting for Johnson apparently would lead to nuclear disaster. This commercial was considered so outrageous that it was withdrawn after only one official appearance (during a movie on NBC on September 7), but it was then picked up in news reports and played so often there that its message reached an audience far beyond its single play. Another commercial aired soon after this and left less to the imagination. Another cute little girl was shown licking an ice cream cone as a voice-over announcer calmly explained that the girl could be in serious trouble. The ice cream could contain some dangerous strontium 90 radiation from nuclear fallout because Barry Goldwater had opposed the nuclear test ban treaty. If he were elected, there was no telling how long the little girl might last. Though the Democrats pulled this spot after Republican complaints, the damage had been done. Millions had seen it. The Republicans, through the Mothers for a Moral America, presented their own lapse in taste, a thirty-minute film, "Choice." The movie painted a picture of the U.S. on the edge of moral collapse with images of topless bathing suits, pornographic book November 9,19*4 The Les Crane Show. (ABC). Johnny Carson at last faces some network competition in the late night tall show game. Thirty-year-old Les Crane generally steers his ninety-minute show towards substantive issues rather than celebrity chit chat, using an "in the round" setting and a shotgun microphone to take questions from the audience. January 1,1965 After four years. ABC gives up its Monday-through-Friday fifteen-minute late night news program and instead institutes a similar format on weekends only. January 12,1965 Hullabaloo. (NBC). A glitzy copy of ABC's Shindig, emphasizing scantily-clad, wildly gyrating "go-go" dancers and using mainstream pop stars such as Annette FunieeHo and Frankie Avalon as guest hosts. February 1,1965 Twenty-six-year-old Canadian newsman Peter Jennings replaces Ron Cochran as the anchor of ABC's nightly fifteen -minute news show. April 27,1965 ^ Edward R. Murrow, 57, dies of lung cancer. May 10, 1965 The Men- Griffin Show. Group W revamps its syndicated late night talk show, installing Merv Griffin and his sidekick, Arthur Treacher. June 7,1965 Sony introduces the first commercial home video tape recorder. Price; $995. 1964-65 SEASON 173 covers, and frenzied black rioters as illustration. It was scheduled to run on NBC on October 22. but at the last minute Goldwater repudiated the production as "nothing but a racist film" in its portrayal of blacks and canceled it. Goldwater's personal TV presentations were remarkably traditional in comparison to such titillating fare, largely relying on the old style of buying thirty-minute blocks of time to plug his campaign rather than using the already well-established technique of presenting thirty- or sixty-second ads. Nonetheless, he did manage to stage his own bit of subtle media manipulation. He arranged for his thirty-minute programs to be scheduled, as often as possible, on Tuesdays at 9:30 P.M. on NBC, preempting Thai Was The Week That Was, which constantly ribbed the senator in its skits. The September 22, 1964, season premiere of TW3 was replaced by Goldwater's program. The September 29 episode would also have been preempted but NBC had already agreed to sell a sixty-second spot on the show to the Democrats, so TW3 began its new season only a week late. However, the Republicans managed to buy out the October 6. October 13, and October 27 slots. When tbey were unable to preempt the show on October 20, they bought a half-hour of time on CBS, to compete with TW3. Tuesdaj election day, so NBC's election coverage wipe regular programs. At last, on November 10 election and President Johnson's landslide victc to Goldwater's shenanigans by beginning that v a film of bis concession speech, adding a voicec substituted the words, "Due to circumstances 1 regularly scheduled political broadcast schedui pre-empted." It was an appropriate, very funny response ready been mortally crippled in its quest for evi In the vital first weeks of the season, it had ran Place and Petticoat Junction were top ten hits tbal many viewers would turn to NBC instead, accident. By spring, TW3 was gone, a victim o change in attitudes. In the seventeen months si) reception given the TW3 pilot, the mood u changed. There were deep feelings of confust resentment among viewers. Fewer and fewer pe ing at anything so close to home as the news. . The Second Season OF 1965, FOR THE FIRST TIME in television atworks presented their entire set of new season kek. For seven nights, beginning September 12, i with a staggering selection of thirty-five new :e than sixty returning shows. This insane com-:omplete turnaround from the previous network g out the season premieres from late September er, a procedure that had been in effect for nearly eason for the change was quite simple: the CB S nearly 1960s had turned into a tight, three-way ie networks could afford to allow their competi-.vantage. SCj.which had fallen back to last place after a brief fling at spot in the early 1960s, had initiated the practice Tor: the premieres of its new shows in the fall of en the network repeated the strategy in the fall of 1964, it »-theriumber one position for the First two ratings reports 64^65 season. Even though CBS regained the lead by N&wmbei, ARC remained in its best position in years. Building on &e advantage piovided by its strong early returns, ABC nosed out &BC#& the number two network for the season. NBC and CBS n£> mtfiidon of allowing ABC to repeat that success in the ^-HS&j66 su.m>n and both entered the September melee with their tcie weeks. of scattering the premieres of new programs over one month shining in late September, had begun in the early days radio and had been automatically carried over to TV. It at such a leisurely pace gave viewers plenty of time to I tune in new shows while continuing to follow their old ri* i" I- lousequendy, the best way to launch a new show was to cl before or after a proven hit in order to catch the spill-ice. Such a policy obviously favored the network with sLnumber of established hit shows and left most of the ., Pfwt)I'0&J,,J-1^ on the others imwatched and unnoticed. An industry '"- I irnb developed: The network with the greatest number of sin-the fall would probably be the network that came in .the early 1960s, ABC had been in the position of chang-H n^arh one-half of its schedule every fall, and, more than any er ncUvork, it had to constantly combat viewer indifference to ! llpfatti' liar new programs. As a result, the network had become beked m the number three position and was desperate for a way to Hie experimental premiere weeks in 1963 and 1964 sJlM diioiher ploy in its search for a solution. ABC's placement of all its new shows in one eye-catching dramatic seven-day sweep made a great deal of sense. With NBC and CBS still in summer reruns, viewers were more inclined to give ABC a chance. As a result, several of its new shows such as Twelve O'Clock High, The Addams Family, Bewitched. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sear and Shindig became hits early in the 1964-65 season. Some programs even managed to maintain their momentum once the other two networks unveiled their own new offerings. For example, Peyton Place, ABC's experiment in prime time soap opera, received an invaluable boost when viewers tuned in the first week "just to see what all the fuss was about" and became hooked by the dramatic complications and character conflicts. Returning ABC programs benefited as well. Ben Casey, for instance, had nearly been canceled after a very weak performance against The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Beverly Hillbillies in the 1963-64 season but, with the head start provided by the premiere week in 1964, it found its old audience and became a hit again in a new time period. In short, ABC's plan worked and the network broke the vicious cycle that had helped condemn it to last place. The quick lead and continued strength of ABC during the 1964-65 season were a dramatic slap to CBS and its president, James Aubrey. Though, technically, a number of specials and preemptions (for the Summer Olympics and presidential election campaign) had provided the extra boost that took ABC to the top in its premiere week, there was no denying that the unchallenged king of TV had been seriously shaken. Worse yet, of CBS's own new programs for the 1964-65 season, only Gomer Pyle and Gilligan's Island were major successes. Drawing on the strength of its veteran hits, CBS regained the ratings lead by Thanksgiving, but by a very slim margin. Faced with the very real possibility of presiding over the network's first losing season in more than a decade, Aubrey boldly broke another industry tradition himself and began a major mid-season overhaul of the CBS schedule. For years, the netw^ks had operated under the assumption that it was meaningless to tamper significantly with their schedules once the season had begun. It was felt that viewing patterns for the year were formed and set by late November and would not change until the summer break and the next fall. Certainly there had been alterations in the network schedules between January and March in the past, but they were usually a stop-gap maneuver and not part of an overall programming strategy. Aubrey's actions were a calculated effort to repair tbe damage suffered in the fall and to steer CBS back to undisputed control of first place. 174 WATCHING TV 175 in r T U E W E D T H R F R I S A T ,o=al TwelvB O'Clock High THE LEGEND Uh JESSE JAMES A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH The Farmer's Daughter Ben Casey --_____ Local To Tell The Truth I've Got A Secret The Lucy Show Andy Griffith Show Hazel STEVE LAWRENCE SHOW _____ local Hullabaloo JOHM hOKÜYIH SHOW Dr. Kildare Andy vvuiiams snow # Perry Como's Krati Music Hall RUN FOR YOUR LIFE ■■ ' ' local Combat! Ma Hale's Navy F TROOP Peytgn Place The Fugfiiuo local Rawhide Bed Skelton Hour Petticoat Junction local MY MOTHER IHh CAR PLEASE DON'T LAI THE DAISIES Dr. Kildare NBC Tuesday Night At The Movies local Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet Patty Duke Show GIDGET THE BIG VALLEY Amos Burke, Secret Agent- local LOST IN SPACE ThB Beverly Hillbillies GREEN ACRES Dick Van Dyke Show Danny Kaye Show - local The Virginian Bod Hope fresems ine^nrysier nieder t Bob Hope Show 1 SPY tocal Shindig Donna Reed Show O.K. CRACKER BY Bewitched Peyton Place THE LONG HOT SUMMER local The Munsters Gilligan's Island My Three- Sons CBS THURSDAY NIGHT MOVIES local Danie Boone LAREDO MONA McCLUSKEY DEAN MARTIN SHOW local The Flintstones TAMMY Tlie Addams Family HONEY WEST Peyton Place Jimmy Dean Show | ( THE WILD, WILD WEST HOGAN'S HEROES GomerPyle, U.S.M.C SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW Slattery's Piwiiln local CAMP RUMAMUCK HAMK CONVOY MR.ROBERTS The Man From U.N. CLE. local Shindig The King Family Sliovi Lawrence Welk Show Hollywood Palace | i local Jackie Gle asan Show TRIALS OF O'BRIEN THE LONER 1 GunsmoKO local Flipper 1 DREAM OF JEANN1E GET SMART NBC Saturday Night At The Movies Voyage To Ttie Bottom Of The Sea THE FBI The ABC Sun day Night Movie Las* My Favorite Martian Ed Sullivan Show Perry Mason Candid Camera | What's My Lips NBC News Sp-(fr 6:30} Wait Disney's Won deilui World Of Color j Branded Bonanza THE "WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARM' ABC CBS NBC f ABC CBS NBC The underlying assumption of Aubrey's mid-season revamping was thai the new CBS shows were good, but the schedule had not been put together quite right. He made eleven changes for the winter of 1965, focusing his efforts on shifting time slots rather than introducing new shows. For example, Slattery's People, a traditional lawyer drama starring Richard Crenna and featuring Ed Asner. was shifted from Monday night opposite the resuscitated Ben Casey lo Friday night following Gamer Pyle, replacing the weak newspaper melodrama of The Reporter. The reasoning was simple: Slattery's People had received good critical reviews and should have been able to develop into a hit against a fading veteran, but the show had faltered when Ben Casey experienced its surprise revival. With Goraer as a new lead-in, Slattery's People could benefit from his spillover audience and slow down the progress of Twelve O'Clock High, a new hut increasingly popular ABC show. Aubrey discarded the mediocre Reporter series and, with a clever trick, even managed to reduce (he ratings damage on Monday night. Though he conceded the slot to Ben Casey and ABC by moving in CBS Reports, he stripped the news program of all national advertising, realizing that the Nielsen company did not count unsponsored shows in the ratings. Other shifts followed a similar pattern and involved such "deserving" programs as the sitcom My Living Doll (Julie Newmar as a gorgeous female robot). Aubrey's frantic mid-season changes worked no miracles, though CBS's ratings improved slightly and it managed to eke out a slim victory for the 1964-65 season. At the end uf Rhn^ 1965, Aubrey was fired. Rarely in television his ton had executive fallen so far, so fast. Yet there were suggestions Aubrey had undercut his own position by allowing three \Jr> vttji| programs (The Reporter, The Baileys of Balboa, and 77> Ctfr Williams Show) onto CBS's 1964—65 schedule becauy. m. roS financial interest in their production outfit. What's r showing by all three was seen as the central reason CHS had bej to slip in the fall of 1964. When Aubrey's winter tinkenne rauef magically restore the network to its previously iinuucf supremacy, he became a marked man under a cloud of bii^i™^ Aubrey was replaced by Jack Schneider, whose mam backrjva was in sales and administration, rather than prog' ■"nnmis » faced the task of keeping CBS on top for the 1965-66 scu'Clj what promised to be another tight race. With all three networks launching the 1965-66 seasui< :nes| week in head-to-head competition, any small advant | as potentially decisive. NBC and CBS focused on gimmick that could provide the edge necessary for vie''1"-a decade after color TV sets first went on sale, coimi.iict" ** buying them in great numbers at last. The long-hc . I boom had begun with set sales and color broadca*""" "niv dramatically in just two years. During 1964 there t increase in color set purchases. In the fall of 1964, NBC the first major color season, with more than 50% ol ih f>11 ■ During the summer of 1965, the networks began ' events such as space shots in color. In the fall - hpcame the first nearly all-color network with only % 1 j Dream of Jeunnie and Convoy, in black and • ' tjmei CBS reached the 50% color mark in its C lagged far behind both and felt the pinch immedi-t'n2S for the 1965 fall premieres came in. Noc only advantage of having the only premiere week on llo had not moved fast enough on color. For the first of th? toP ten snows were in color. Six percent of Conies had color sets and, not surprisingly, people s watched color shows more than the national aver-nd its black and white stalwarts such as Peyton Place v.sliding lower and lower in the ratings. |rC t0°k a str°ng lead in the new season and once as in the cellar, facing the grim prospect of a major , schedule for the 1966-67 season. Driven by desper-ferk decided to discard another industry tradition in iVaging the 1965-66 season. After die fall premieres, tsually focused their attention on setting up the next lule, locking it up by February, and letting unsuc-run their course. If Aubrey had achieved moderate IS in 1964-65 with his mid-season tinkering, why y further: treat January like a new season, with both and major time shifts. A house cleaning would be vay, so why wait until the next fall? Thus, in Janu-launched "the second season." y September premiere week made a so-called second In the early 1960s, the bible of network TV, the " T|J* jok (published twice each month), took almost a i ^uipiiCi print, and distribute. For ex.ample, the book Isnns; the period of September 5 through September 19 (called &first September" book) would not be in the hands of eager ^jferinurs unitl: the last days of the month. The book covering Sf\ i ) through October 3 (called the "second September" ~:) v.oild arrive in mid-October. Each month contained a "first'" "s"econd' book with similar delays, so that when the fall ^micros stretched from mid-September through October, the first en bonk to take into account all of the new shows for the fall ik autond October report, which was nol in print until the week of. November. Now, with the new season completely hed by. mid-September, the second September ratings book u Junction as the first true gauge of a program's popularity, thus -reliable■■information on program performance was availa-aureatire month earlier than before. There was enough time to £*ji3 and select shows for a second season that could begin in -i-^Th* obvious ramification of a formal second season was that '"J'- i ; were given a chance to air. This was a double-'■^•pflde'tiopnient because, at the same time, a potentially popu-Ifcshov. miti low. ratings at the start might be yanked off the air aye it had a.chance to build an audience. In the process, having ;*Jcond ,ea?on start in January delayed until March final deci--~fcfl£8 on the next fall's line-ups because programmers wanted to Wow well second season entries performed. 3VRC j unveiled its second season amid great fanfare ('The *7?mem of 'he fall starts all over again!"), but most of the new - wmhed. Which was not surprising because most new ABC ^ * 'it the time bombed. Despite the additional month available - many of ABC's new shows were thrown together at the rUumre. or quickly imported from England. Nonetheless, some bkm oflhe Ume shins-worked Friday arrangement, and its ratings returned to the level of the 1964-65 season. In addition, the network increased its percentage of color programs. Most important. ABC came up with a smash hit lo revitalize its schedule, the camp heroic adventures of Batman. Critics had often complained that television was filled with comic-book-type characters. Batman accepted the comic book roots of its hero not as a putdown but as an inspiration, proudly flaunting them, though in a very different manner from its fraternal crime stopper, Superman. The syndicated Adventures of Superman television series of the 1950s had the trappings of the comic book adventures (the man of steel's colorful costume, invulnerability, power to fly. and super-strength), but ultimately it was just a traditional kiddie-cop adventure presenting Superman as an exceptional, but in many ways typical, stalwart crime fighter. He usually faced die same faceless hoods and routine crimes encountered by his colleagues in the police force and private detective agencies. Batman (billed in the comics as "the world's greatest detective") could have easily fit into the same mold. Instead, producer William Dozier went a different direction and enlisted writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (who became executive story editor) to shape a hero appropriate for an age of superhero-type spies and secret agents. They looked not so much at the character of Batman but at the ginimkks surrounding him and, most important, at the style of the comic book medium itself with its flashy colors, impossible gadgets, and unusual action sequences. Dozier decided to stage the series as a television comic book, but with one important difference: all the comic book elements were grossly exaggerated and the program turned into one huge tongue-in-cheek joke. After all, could two adults in leotards and capes really be taken seriously] Adam West (as Batman and the caped crusader's alter ego, ---- ----^ M»4 la'I well. Peyton Place, for instance, changed . -Thursday-Friday rotation to a Monday-Tuesday- Gourmet food was often the order of the day for Colonel Hogan (Bob Crane, left) at Stalag 13 on Hogan's Heroes, aided here by guest star Hans Conried as Major Bonacelli. (CBS Photo Archive ©2003 CBS Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved.) 176 WATCHING TV 1965-66 SEASON 177 September 12,1965 After building a following for five years oil ABC, the American Football League jumps to NBC. September 14, 1965 My Molher the Car. (NBC). Jerry Van Dyke plays a suburban hubby who discovers his dead mother reincarnated as a decrepit automobile on a used car lot. Ann Sothern supplies the voice for "mother,'1 who speaks to her son through the car radio. September 15,1965 Green Acres. (CBS). Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor play-backwards dampens (city slickers that move Co the country) in a third-generation Paul Henning hillbilly .spinoff. September 16,1965 The Dean Martin Show. (NBC). Martin returns to television in an easy-going variety hour carried almost completely by his relaxed, slightly naughty personality. September 16,1965 CBS Thursday Night Movies. (CBS). The number one network becomes the last to add prime time movies, beginning with Frank Sinatra in "The Manchurian Candidate" from 1962. September 18,1965 / Dream of Jeannie. (NBC). Barbara Eden plays a beautiful 2,0D0-year-old magical genie who attaches herself to an American astronaut (played by Larry Hagman), As "lord and master," he gets as many wishes as he wants. September 19,1965 The FBI. (ABC). Quinn Martin presents Efrem Zimbalist, .Tr. in a series based on actual cases from the FBI's files. October 24,1965 With the debut of Saturday's Scherer-MacNeil Report (anchored by Ray Scherer and Robert MacNeil) and Sunday's Frank McGee Report (in addition to the weekday Huntley-Brinkley Report) NBC becomes the first television network to offer thirty minutes of nightly news seven days a week. aristocrat-goldbrick Bruce Wayne) and Burt Ward, (as Robin the Boy Wonder and Dick Grayson, Wayne's young ward) played the heroes as marvelous caricatures of the gung-ho, power of positive flunking super patriots that had dominated comics since World War H. Batman and Robin were very, very serious about fighting crime in Gotham City but, though they never cracked jokes, much of what they said was hilarious. With a perfectly straight face. Batman would wax prosaic on the evils of crime and the importance of good citizenship, even while struggling to escape from a seemingly foolproof trap. Robin greeted every challenge with boyish enthusiasm and shamelessly displayed his perception of the obvious with such phrases as "Holy ice cubes, Batman! It's getting cold!" It was too ridiculous to be true; so naive that it was preposterous; so bad that it was good. That was Dozier's trump card. By hopelessly exaggerating every aspect of the show, he fashioned an environment that re-created the comic book world for children but also offered "camp" humor for the teenagers and adults. The style touched every aspect of the show, from the full-screen comic book 178 WATCHING TV captions that adorned every fight (matching each punch iu ~ "Crunch!," "Pow!," "ZAP!" or "Ka-zonk" typ perimposed on the scene) to the dramatically bokcy Wl0-5 announcer-narrator (Dozier himself) who solemnly lMw(p inevitable question in each episode: "Is this the end ol Ba'mai Robin?" The series, in color, ran twice each week, on and Thursday nights, and Dozier ended the Wertocsd,,) tyS^i with absurd cliff-hangers designed to lure even the nuw mci^-lous audience back for part two: "same bat-time, same £ channel!" The exaggerated perils were a direct sendup „f 1)|c ' kiddie serials that had run on the radio and in the during the 1930s and 1940s, using the cliff-hanger «me-coax fans back for the next episode. At various mi es, Batman and Robin were on the verge of being l rtven fr^f^ eaten by lions, unmasked, or turned into postage sumps ij. ^ heroes used a ludicrous arsenal of "bat" gimmicks in their skirmishes including the batmobile, batcopter ratcompuj^" batpole, and batarang; all housed, of course, in the 1 At the beginning of each story, Police Comrnis,ion,'i (Neil Hamilton) would solemnly summon Batmai \ , using a special batphone "hotline," or by switching on . _ooi|J[; batsignal searchlight. The reason was always tl dastardly villain had appeared. That might have alarm in Gotham City, but it was good news for viewer- heci^et wide range of Hollywood performers donned the g,ub ol BinrM's most popular comic book opponents. Unlike the d\ nainic duo, ^ ^ villains in the series obviously were having a arcat ,tme anfT relished the opportunity to taunt their hated adversanes with J to their impending crimes. For them, the thrill of bailie puUwk more than the cold hard cash. Burgess Meredith (Penguia,, CkaT^ Romero (Joker), and Frank Gorshin (Riddler) were the matf popular guest stars, though others such as Art Carne\ fAidwrj. i Vincent Price (Egghead), Maurice Evans (Puzzler), Ckwgc Sand^ ers (Mr. Freeze), David Wayne (Mad Hatter), Victor . ■ ■ \ Tut), and, at various times, Julie Newmar, Eartha Kilt, and Lee ^ among these programs was Britain's The Avengers VftT brought to America as part of its second season lineup. ~ ■ € Honor Blackman had departed from the series and ^tMacnee (as John Steed) had a new cohort, the lovely, leggy Hi s (3s ^rs' ^mma Pee1)' who picked up the saucy, flip-* terpiay and the deliciously ambiguous relationship with LTjfceMfs. Gale, she was a strong, sexy, independent woman "fight crime as well as any man. Such a notion was unheard of at the time in American television (the best side networks could offer was Anne Francis as a female i-'Jioiiey West), and The Avengers began building a ican cult following and winning high critical praise. Dwn productions included both'tongue-in-cheek spy I sharp sitcom spoofs that marked a return to the quality ssics;as Sergeant Bilko. The two adventure series that ly out of the U.N.C.L.E. mold were NBC's I Spy and "sThe Wity Wild West which both featured pairs of witty, agents. / Spy presented Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as lfflielit agents (posing as an international tennis star and -.Ranter) roaming the world in search of Russian, Asian, and ;wigs. Though eschewing the Bond-U.N.C.L.E. device il super-secret non-aligned organization of evil in favor :ahsnc foes and dramatic situations, the program's its and humorous edge were its chief attractions. Cosby, >mtc and nightclub entertainer, worked in some snappy Gulp: (often about Cosby's ghetto youth in Philadelph-engaged in typical spy shenanigans throughout the list it had been feared that Cosby's co-starring status possible trouble spot for the show, but the mere pres-ick performer on television was no longer automatical-id a major risk. Only three NBC affiliates refused to air n Albany, Georgia; Savannah, Georgia; and Daytona II^B&en, Honda). Television was improving its attitude on racial i fact, the industry felt comfortable enough to award nyfor his I Spy role. performer brought a frenzied lunacy to the role (mad Liutihtc: the most common trait among them) and their ant effective balance to the mock-deadpan of Batman and Robin Dozier's comic book for television combined superb #irA-humor, colorful costumes, unusual ca camp Ann Meriwether (Catwoman) were equally enter* ^ ( ^ , .Wii£ Wild West offered a unique combination of (emphasizing weird angles), and pure imagination. Tin .resulting an instant hit that justified ABC's second season gamble and g^ctar exact! v who or what menace inspired fears of such threats out viewers something unusual to laugh at beyond the thick-headed * antics of GomerPyle and Gffligan. Bafrrwn relied on the u aul'Hii ' ^ ^ ......_......, _ ^ ^ ™&QLtu LlJ good and evil, but treated the melodrai . - ' ;_i . i lome of l]ie best eiectrorijc gadgets of the twentieth battle between g as a very silly game in which the villains were the most appeAs characters. (Batman and Robin were far too serious and ihc jow were incredibly dumb.) Though by no means the only kmpiwi cheek program that season, Batman was undoubta distinctive. It launched a nationwide bat-craze, inspiicd muni a parodies in every medium (most never matching the oiiu.ul). <^ heroes starting in the fall of 1965, as all three netwo follow the lead of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryak ABC's overdose of action-adventure clones from Ma Sunset Strip had so many flippant characters appeare uninspired knockoffs at the turn of the decade, this new Sol sit':| at Ti Uifh|jp wine o programs contained first class talented performers. writing, clever situations and1'* e and Western adventure by reaching all the way back to / the MavencL loots of flippant cowboys for its unlikely premise of ■ spies opejating in the American West of the 1870s. President ^IJfy^cs S (irant personally assigned special U.S. government -• agents James 1 West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross f-MdJum to thcWestern frontier, though it was never made quite raid the sagebrush and rumbling rumbleweeds. The producers and , wnei, ncvei let that bother them, nor did they feel obligated to í-Cen tur} were '■.'cemte-npoiYiiy doing in the 1870s (thinly disguised inventions of the time). Instead, they used the ^j^u'quehonfc provided by the combination of genres to gently spoof 1 i p is and spy formats while, at the same time, developing (off-beat and intriguing stories. Conrad and Martin , required light banter in the face of danger and even revealed a willingness among viewers to laugh at square >» g-'^ffliiaged i0 'Save the Western world" (of the nineteenth century) heroics and pillars of authority. ' _ nes of crazed madmen such as their most frequent The late-blooming success of The Man from U. \ ilito Loveless (Michael Dunn), a dwarf with grand previous season bad set the stage for the influx of toii=ue->n-M:Hv ^WbiUns wlth its fatratolls cast ^ ne md md w "»» a solid, entertaining hybrid and a CBS Friday night staple "bei-, for four - easons. 1 and humor had teamed up earlier in television history in "es as Maverick, but in the new programs the line between ensure