"Is It Bigger Than a Breadbox?"

Revisiting the original versions of the often-revived guessing games from back in the day.

I've Got a Secret, "Carol Channing has a secret"

OB: Monday night, January 13, 1964, CBS, 8 p.m. EST.

I was born the day after this show first aired.

1

The Greatest Generation of 8-Balls

McHale's Navy didn't invent the military comedy...just the war comedy. And its roots were surprisingly dark.

McHale's Navy, "The Balloon Goes Up"

OB: Tuesday, January 14, 1964, 8:30 p.m. EST, ABC

This episode first aired the day I was born.

In praise of a second banana's second run

A look at how Lucy's sidekick blazed her own unlikely trail in television history.

The Lucy Show, "Lucy Joins an Art Class"

OB: January 13, 1964, CBS, 8:30 EST

I was born the day after this episode first aired.

1

Would YOU Like to Be...?!

The most embarrassingly outdated show I've reviewed for this blog is also an ancestor for one of the most modern of TV genres.

Queen for a Day, "The Hairdresser Show"

OB: sometime in the second week of February 1964, 3:30 p.m.

9

They Walk Alike, They Talk Alike...

Patty Duke co-starred with herself in a now-classic sitcom that belied her ugly off-screen life

The Patty Duke Show, "The Tycoons"

OB: January 15, 1964, 8 p.m. EST, ABC

I was one day old when this episode first aired.

5

Lots of Curves, You Bet!

Like the scenery around a moving train, Petticoat Junction seemed to change constantly...and so did our perceptions of it

Petticoat Junction, "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik"

OB: January 7, 1964, 9 p.m. EST, CBS

This episode first aired a week before I was born.

10

A Vision of Yesterday's Tomorrow

Part two of our look at the 1964 World's Fair is a more critical look, through the eyes of NBC Newsman Edwin Newman.

A World's Fair Diary, NBC News special narrated by Edwin Newman

OB: July 30, 1964, 10 p.m.

2

When You Wish Upon a Unisphere...

We take Part One of a two-part trip through time to the 1964 New York World's Fair, this time with Walt Disney as our tour guide.

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair"

OB: May 17, 1964, 7:30 p.m.

4

Good Evening! Much Love to You All...

Most variety shows were hosted by either singers or comedians ...and then there was Garry Moore.

The Garry Moore Show, "Guests: Florence Henderson and Bill Cosby"

OB: January 14, 1964, 10 p.m. EST, CBS

I was born the day this program originally aired.

8

The Moose Who Came in From the Cold

Now it can be told: the true story, of the conspiracy to kill moose and squirrel. 

The Bullwinkle Show, "Moosylvania Parts 3 & 4"

OB: January 18, 1964, 12:30 p.m. EST, NBC

I was four days old when this episode first aired.

3

Hello, I Might Not Be Going...

Groucho's play may be trying to tell us something about the last stage of his own life

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, "Time for Elizabeth"

OB: April 24, 1964, 8:30 p.m. EST, NBC

I was three months old when this show was first broadcast.

7

Utopia, North Carolina

Mayberry embodied most of the idealism, and none of the ugliness, of the 1960s.

The Andy Griffith Show, "Opie the Birdman"

OB:  September 30, 1963, 9:30 p.m. EST, CBS

I was born three months after this episode aired.

3

Come on Down...a Different Way

The earliest version of U.S. television's longest running game show, gives us a nice museum tour of 1960s consumerism

The Price is Right, "Guest Star: Pat Carroll"

OB: October 16, 1963, 8:30 p.m. EST, ABC

I was born three months after this show first aired.

4

The Way West: Right to Left

Wagon Train's most tumultuous trek was perhaps its next to last season, the only one in color.

Wagon Train, "The Geneva Balfour Story"

OB: January 20, 1964, 8:30 p.m. EST, ABC

I was six days old when this episode was first broadcast.

11

Oh, Roooobbbbbbb...

How my favorite TV couple were so different from the ones who came before them

The Dick Van Dyke Show, "All About Eavesdropping"

OB: October 23, 1963, 9:30 p.m., CBS

I was born three months after this episode first aired.

2

Don't Fall in Love with a Cartwright

Apparently the Ponderosa was one of the biggest fictional ranches in Nevada, yet there was still no room for women

Bonanza, "My Son, My Son"

OB: January 19, 1964, 9 p.m. EST, NBC

I was five days old when this episode was first broadcast.

4

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

It was really just like any other Ed Sullivan show...except for those two segments that, you know, changed pop culture forever

The Ed Sullivan Show, "The Beatles' First Appearance"

OB: February 9, 1964, 8 p.m. EST, CBS

I was three weeks old when this broadcast first aired.

4

A Relentless Pursuit of an Innocent Man

The most genius idea ever for a TV show, and how it paved the way for modern cable drama

The Fugitive, "The Garden House"

OB: January 14, 1964, 10 p.m. EST, ABC

I was born the day this episode was originally broadcast.

"The name? Richard Kimble.

3

Heeeeeeeerrrrrrrreeee's You Know Who!

Johnny was always Johnny, but his Tonight Show evolved a lot in 30 years.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, "Guests: Hedda Hopper, Sam Levinson, Jack Douglas & his wife Reiko, Jonah Jones"

OB: January 14, 1964, 11:15 p.m.

1

Submitted for Your Approval

The dreams, nightmares and life experiences of Rod Serling become a haunting challenge to the way we think and watch TV.

Twilight Zone, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"

OB: October 11, 1963, 9:30 p.m EST,. CBS

I was born three months after this episode first aired.

1

One of the Best Shows You've Never Heard Of

East Side/West Side was dark, harsh, often depressing and even hopeless.  It was great.

East Side/West Side, "One Drink at a Time"

OB: January 27, 1964, 10 p.m. EST, CBS

This episode aired when I was 13 days old.

"Nostalgia Ain't What It Used to Be"

Yogi Berra's famous words might not have drawn so much laughter if he'd been talking about reruns...then he would've been spot-on.

A Smiling Face from Christmas Past

Behind Danny Kaye's smile was a personal life as complicated as any of his trademark, comic tongue-twisters.

The Danny Kaye Show, "Christmas Show, with Mary Tyler Moore and Nat King Cole"

OB: December 25, 1963, 10:00 p.m.

2

Lassie!  Quick, Get Help!  Timmy's Not in a Well!

She may have rescued people from wells, lakes and caves, but our favorite collie also had to navigate an audience through an emotional minefield

Lassie, "Lassie's Gift of Love"

OB: December 15 & 22, 1963, 7:00 p.m.

2

Once More, Over the Rainbow

How CBS likely sabotaged Judy Garland's last truly great work, her variety show 

The Judy Garland Christmas Show, "With Lorna, Joe, Liza, Tracy, Jack Jones and Mel Torme"

OB:  December 22, 1963, 9:00 p.m.

3

How We Fought World War II in the '60s

The Greatest Generation takes a trial run at telling us what they did in the war

Combat!, "The General and the Sergeant"

OB: January 14, 1964, 7:30 p.m. EST, ABC

I was born the day this episode was first broadcast.

3

The Case of the Tried and True Formula

...or how you can set your watch by a formulaic plot that still manages to surprise you

Perry Mason, "The Case of the Capering Camera"

OB: January 16, 1964, 9:00 p.m. EST, CBS

I was two days old when this episode originally aired.

1

Modern (Stone Age) Family

This, kids, is how cave people invented the prime time cartoon, and many of the tropes that go with it.

The Flintstones, "Flintstone Hillbillies"

OB:  January 16, 1964, 7:30 p.m. EST, ABC

I was two days old when this episode first aired.

3

Man.  Woman.  Birth.  Death.  Infinity.

Ben Casey. M. D. was a neurologist; the writers found another way to work with your head

Ben Casey, "Keep Out of Reach of Adults"

OB: March 11, 1964, 9 p.m. EST, ABC

I was two months old when this episode was first broadcast.

Man.  Woman.  Birth.  Death.

2

Death, Grief and Continuing Coverage

...in which our shattered nerves have to withstand another murder on television, and TV's first burial of a president

Continuing Coverage: the Assassination of President John F.

"Here is a bulletin..."

That November day in which a daytime soap, and a few reruns, get handed the cruelest plot twist of all

Continuing Coverage: the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

November 22-25, 1963, ABC, CBS, NBC

I was born seven weeks after this tragedy.

2

A Martian Wouldn't Say That...Would He?

We mere earthlings don't have all the advanced powers of a Martian...like the ability to rise above a weak script.

My Favorite Martian, "RX for a Martian"

OB: January 19, 1964, 7:30 p.m. EST, CBS

I was five days old when this episode was first broadcast.

42

"Open Up the Windows, and Let the Neighbors Hear You Loud and Clear!"

Rock and roll's biggest foe shows us how to put on a show, and invents DJ karaoke in the process.

Sing Along With Mitch, "With Special Guest, Milton Berle"

OB: Monday, January 13, 1964, 10 p.m.

6

Ode to Festus

You know you're watching an adult western when even the "comic relief" character is a philosophical tough guy.

Gunsmoke, "Prairie Wolfer"

OB: January 18, 1964, 10 p.m., CBS

I was four days old when this episode first aired.

"...Matt Dillon, U. S. Marshal.

America's (Once) Favorite Family

The Nelsons didn't try as hard to be heartwarming or hilarious; they were happy just to be pleasant

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, "The Swami"

OB: January 8, 1964, 7:30 EST, ABC

This episode aired six days before I was born.

Martians and Monsters and Bears, Oh My!

The Outer Limits combined a monster-of-the-week and limited-budget special effects of the era, with some deep philosophy

The Outer Limits, "Don't Open Till Doomsday"

OB: January 20, 1964, 7:30 p.m.

Suspense and Plot Twists, Old School

Today, Professor Hitchcock gives us lessons in how to dispose of a dead body, and when not to use a corpse to make a point

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "The Cadaver"

OB: January 17, 1964, 10 p.m.

2

As Much Fun as _________

Two formats of Match Game show how a lot of videotape, a move to California, and a little alcohol, changed celebrity game shows in ten years' time

The Match Game, "All Star Edition"

OB: January 21, 1964, 4:00 p.m., NBC

I was a week old when this broadcast aired.

4

What They Did in the War

How Route 66 broke new ground in television...right about the time viewers started tuning out

Route 66, "Like This It Means Father...Like This--Bitter...Like This--Tiger..."

OB: January 17, 1964, 8:30 P.M.

Of Fallen Kings and Giant Jackrabbits

How some wacky Beverly Hillbillies episodes set all time ratings records, possibly for surprisingly serious reasons

The Beverly Hillbillies, "The Giant Jackrabbit"

OB: January 8, 1964, 9 p.m. EST, CBS

I was born six days after this episode first aired.

5

Krafting the Multi-Layered Story

The writers of this Kraft Suspense Theatre episode apparently wanted the suspense to continue after the closing credits

Kraft Suspense Theatre, "Who is Jennifer?"

OB: Thursday, January 16, 1964, 10pm EST, NBC

I was two days old when this episode was first broadca

2

Was Jack Benny Too Old for CBS?

I don't think so, but I was just born and not really running that network.

The Jack Benny Program, "With Peter, Paul and Mary"

OB: January 14, 1964, 9:30 p.m. EST, on CBS

I was born the day this episode was first broadcast.

4

My earliest specific TV memory...clearly NOT the first show I ever watched, but the first thing I remember...is an episode of The Munsters, in which Marilyn is crying and Herman is comforting her.

7
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