TV Series Debates #4 [60's Classics] - 'Get Smart', 'Gilligan's Island' & 'The Dick van Dyke Show'

[RH | 4,905]

The 60's.  A lot of classics came from that era.  If you weren't someone to watch old TV in syndication or if you weren't a fan of Nick at Nite, I'm sure many of you guys might have skipped these.

I'm slightly apologetic if that's the case, but you'll see going forward that we will take some weeks to work through categories that defined certain decades.  I think these three shows are a good cross-section of the television that was enjoyed during that time.

The Master List of Debated TV Shows

 

This Weeks TV Shows

Get Smart

Air Dates: September 18, 1965 – May 15, 1970

Total Seasons: 5

Total Episodes: 138 episodes & 2 movies

 

Gilligan's Island

Air Dates: September 26, 1964 – April 17, 1967

Total Seasons: 3

Total Episodes: 99 & 1 reunion movie

 

The Dick van Dyke Show

Air Dates: October 3, 1961 – June 1, 1966

Total Seasons: 5

Total Episodes: 158 episodes & 1 reunion movie

Edited May 23, 2021 by RH

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

You're missing the last option for TDVDS.

I'll never watch any of these.  Just not gonna happen.  I love Mel Brooks so there could be some enjoyment from Get Smart, but it still will never happen because TV shows take a huge amount of time investment, and I have a million things lined up ahead of 60 year old shows.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

They're all pretty great, Gilligan's being a must watch for any sitcom fan.  Haven't seen a ton of Dick Van Dyke but it's up my alley to be sure.  And any Inspector Gadget fans owe it to themselves to checkout Get Smart.

[RH | 4,905]

30 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

You're missing the last option for TDVDS.

Thanks, fixed.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

Out of the three I liked Dick Van Dyke the best - usually cleverly scripted and it had a really good cast.   It will likely seem really dated to anyone that didn't grow up in the fifties/early sixties.

Next is Get Smart - cleverly scripted (especially if you were hip the tropes of the then current spy trend in movies and tv that it mocked*).  Fairly strong cast for the top slots - especially Edward Platt.  Tended to recycle the same jokes a little too often - I got as sick of the "cone of silence" as Edward Platt's character did.

Oddly enough my least favorite of the three was Gilligan's Island  which had arguably the strongest cast - with the exception of Tina Louise and Dawn Wells the other cast members were all really established in the entertainment industry.  There was only so much you could do with the scenario whilst living on coconut pies and souffles  - while I know it was not meant to be taken seriously who on the planet did not either live on the island before the castaways showed up or came there while they were there?

*Here is a neat toy from 1965 that was made to cash in on the spy trend in media.

[Hammerfestus | 3,847]

 

Get Smart is entertaining for an episode here of there but I’m not going to hunt down the series. 7.

 

Gilligan’s Island is the tits.  I would hunt down the series.  9

Never was in to DVD. Probably too 1960s adult targeted for random viewing by some kid in the 90s.  4.

[Webhead123 | 676]

I was raised on a little bit of Get Smart when I was younger, as it was a show my mother was very fond of. I always enjoyed it and found it funny and clever but I haven't watched it in decades, so I can't be sure how well it would hold up for me today. 6/10 but could rate higher.

I think I can count the number of episodes of Gilligan's Island that I've seen on one hand. I don't have a distinct enough memory of any of it to say whether I enjoyed it or not.

The Dick van Dyke Show is definitely my favorite of the three. Dated now, of course, but still incredibly funny and well-written. Dick was always such a talented guy and Mary Tyler Moore.... 8/10

Edited May 23, 2021 by Webhead123

[RH | 4,905]

8,8,9 for me!

I was born in 1981, so by all accounts these shows had run their course and I am certainly not of the generation that was able to catch these as they aired.  However, there seems to be a subset of us 80s kids that just couldn't get enough Nickelodeon and, for whatever reason, this extended into the prime time TV time when Nickeloodeon switched over to Nick at Nite.

I have fond memories of watching all of these TV shows.  I really don't want to be to self-serving when I make these polls.  Especially if I could choose something that rather obscure to you guys as a majority.  However, since I do want to travel through the decades, starting in the 60s made sense (the 50s would have been to obscure, even for me) and I really do think this is a good cross-section of some of the classics from that era.

I can't have a ridiculous 10 TV show per week poll.  But I would have loved to have added Hogan's Heroes (7), The Addam's Family (7). The Munsters (6), F-Troop (5), Andy Griffith (5), Doby Gillis (5) and many others.

So what are you guys favorite shows from that era, other than the the three on the poll?

Edited May 24, 2021 by RH

[Tabonga | 2,318]

21 minutes ago, RH said:

So what are you guys favorite shows from that era, other than the the three on the poll?

Some of these may seem really obscure since (unless some other old fook has joined) I am the only one here who saw them "live" (as it were) in their contemporary milieu.

The Addams Family
The Beverly Hillbillies
Bewitched
Car 54 Where Are You
The Gale Storm Show
I Dream of Jeannie
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
My Little Margie
The Real McCoys
Top Cat (cartoon series - but ran on a weeknight IIRC for the first season)

One thing about most sitcoms of that era was they were really well done for the first season or two and then just seemed to run out of steam.

If you ever want to watch a real loser of a show check out My Mother the Car:

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Tabonga

[RH | 4,905]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Some of these may seem really obscure since (unless some other old fook has joined) I am the only one here who saw them "live" (as it were) in their contemporary milieu.

The Addams Family
The Beverly Hillbillies
Bewitched
The Gale Storm Show

Yeah, I know we don't have to many guys (or gals, I suppose) that are out of their 40s around here.  Still, I appreciate having people such as  yourself around here.  I know forums are a "dying" place on the web, but I think it's easier to get "kids" (cough, anyone in their early-30s or younger, cough) to come around here since this is a gaming site.

As I would suspect, I know the first three shows on your list, but I've never heard of the Gale Storm Show.  I'll have to look that up.  Even as a kid when I enjoyed N@N, I knew there had to be a ton of great shows that simply never made it to syndication.  I'm guessing that's one of them.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

2 minutes ago, RH said:

Yeah, I know we don't have to many guys (or gals, I suppose) that are out of their 40s around here.  Still, I appreciate having people such as  yourself around here.  I know forums are a "dying" place on the web, but I think it's easier to get "kids" (cough, anyone in their early-30s or younger, cough) to come around here since this is a gaming site.

As I would suspect, I know the first three shows on your list, but I've never heard of the Gale Storm Show.  I'll have to look that up.  Even as a kid when I enjoyed N@N, I knew there had to be a ton of great shows that simply never made it to syndication.  I'm guessing that's one of them.

I put the Gale Storm Show (it may have been good - I simply don't remember ever watchin it) on by mistake - I was thinking of My Little Margie which starred Gale Storm - who was a singer/actress of the period.

There are probably some others I am missing - I will add them if they occur to me.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

One other important show that shouldn't be overlooked was the Amos 'N' Andy show (1951-1953).  I only saw some of those on reruns (I was born in 1952).

The show suffered (image wise) from the necessarily close association with the long running radio show and movies that were a travesty since they mostly featured white actors in blackface or as the voices on the radio show and were pretty sad from a modern perspective.

The TV show was a different kettle of fish though since it featured a black cast (appearances by any even minor white characters was very rare) who by and large were self employed middle class people who ran their own businesses and if married were faithful to their spouses.  The Kingfish was a schemer but that was nothing unusual for sitcoms - Ralph Kramden (Honeymooners) and Sgt. Bilko (Phil Silvers Show) were also petty schemers.  (All three had schemes that generally backfired on them.)

Although initial reactions to the show carried over from objections to the radio show and movies from what I can tell the current analysis by media historians/commentators looks much more favorably on it.  As far as I know it was the first national show to feature a black cast and it was a springboard for later shows featuring blacks and also helped launch a lot of careers in the entertainment industry.

 

[Hammerfestus | 3,847]

The Munsters is clearly superior to the Addams family.  But the real question is Bewitched vs I dream of Jeanie.  

[RH | 4,905]

5 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

One other important show that shouldn't be overlooked was the Amos 'N' Andy show (1951-1953).  I only saw some of those on reruns (I was born in 1952).

The show suffered (image wise) from the necessarily close association with the long running radio show and movies that were a travesty since they mostly featured white actors in blackface or as the voices on the radio show and were pretty sad from a modern perspective.

The TV show was a different kettle of fish though since it featured a black cast (appearances by any even minor white characters was very rare) who by and large were self employed middle class people who ran their own businesses and if married were faithful to their spouses.  The Kingfish was a schemer but that was nothing unusual for sitcoms - Ralph Kramden (Honeymooners) and Sgt. Bilko (Phil Silvers Show) were also petty schemers.  (All three had schemes that generally backfired on them.)

Although initial reactions to the show carried over from objections to the radio show and movies from what I can tell the current analysis by media historians/commentators looks much more favorably on it.  As far as I know it was the first national show to feature a black cast and it was a springboard for later shows featuring blacks and also helped launch a lot of careers in the entertainment industry.

 

Wow, I'd like to add that to a poll but unfortunately, I think there aren't enough of us familiar with it. I'm going to have to look and see if I can find some episodes on YouTube, or maybe it's buried in Hulu or Amazon Prime. Regardless, I'd be interested in it for it's historical importance.

However, I'm sure most of us on here haven't heard of it until now so I'd be afraid to give it a poll and it have a low vote score. We already have one show on our Too Few Votes list (BoJack Horseman) and I don't want to many on there.

[RH | 4,905]

2 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

The Munsters is clearly superior to the Addams family.  But the real question is Bewitched vs I dream of Jeanie.  

Depending on the day, I could agree. Today I was having fonder memories of The Addams Family, plus it got a "modernized" pair of movies in the 90s and at that time, I like them both.

B vs. IDoJ was easy in my childhood. As a kid I thought Samantha was far cuter than Jeanie. Yep, even at 12, it was a shallow choice.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

Just now, RH said:

Wow, I'd like to add that to a poll but unfortunately, I think there aren't enough of us familiar with it. I'm going to have to look and see if I can find some episodes on YouTube, or maybe it's buried in Hulu or Amazon Prime. Regardless, I'd be interested in it for it's historical importance.

However, I'm sure most of us on here haven't heard of it until now so I'd be afraid to give it a poll and it have a low vote score. We already have one show on our Too Few Votes list (BoJack Horseman) and I don't want to many on there.

I know there are at least some episodes on youtube - and I suspect you can track down dvd sets with the whole series somewhere.  

I read somewhere that it was one of the first (if not the first) tv series to use a multi-camera format.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

I always preferred the Addams Family.   They knew there was an outside world and largely rejected it whereas the Munsters seemed oblivious to how different they were.

Although I did like Spot a lot.

Fred Gwynne also starred in Car 54 Where Are You?

 

 

[RH | 4,905]

I remember Mr. Gwynne in Car 54. That was a good show too. The only episode I recall is there was a big change regarding who could be a cop due to certain physical requirements and Gwynne'd character was worried the whole episode because he was like 7" tall and supposedly there was a maximum height requirement. He spent much of the episode trying to hide how tall he was, and it just felt so bizarre (in a comical way) that a tall guy would have to pretend to be short.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

23 minutes ago, RH said:

Wow, I'd like to add that to a poll but unfortunately, I think there aren't enough of us familiar with it. 

That is not surprising since it was removed from syndication in 1966 and did not re-appear until 2012.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

10 minutes ago, RH said:

I remember Mr. Gwynne in Car 54. That was a good show too. The only episode I recall is there was a big change regarding who could be a cop due to certain physical requirements and Gwynne'd character was worried the whole episode because he was like 7" tall and supposedly there was a maximum height requirement. He spent much of the episode trying to hide how tall he was, and it just felt so bizarre (in a comical way) that a tall guy would have to pretend to be short.

There is a small chain of fifties style diners in Colorado called Gunther Toody's - which was Joe E. Ross's character's name in Car 54 Where Are You?

 

[Tulpa | 3,506]

Dick Van Dyke Show's "It May Look Like a Walnut" is one of the best sitcom episodes ever written. No joke. It's insane that such a surreal episode made it on TV at that time. And it eventually led to Robin Williams* creating the Mork character for Happy Days and his own show after that. Some other episodes of that show were great, too, and still hold up.

Gilligan's Island and Get Smart had pretty good and unique premises, but I think after awhile they got too repetitive. Get Smart had a little bit of character development with Smart and 99 eventually getting married. I think both shows went on a few seasons too long, though there are some standout episodes.

 

*Williams isn't in the episode, but Jerry Paris went on to work on Happy Days and cribbed the Danny Thomas character from the Van Dyke episode to create Mork.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Tulpa

[TDIRunner | 2,741]

I've certainly heard about all of these shows, but I've never really watched any of them.  I occasionally remember my parents watching Dick Van Dyke and Get Smart and I know my in-laws watch Gilligan's Island.  If I turned on the TV and any of these shows was on, I would recognize it immediately, but I can't really vote on any of them.  If I was going to pick one of the three shows to watch, it would be Get Smart.  

[Tabonga | 2,318]

2 hours ago, RH said:

B vs. IDoJ was easy in my childhood. As a kid I thought Samantha was far cuter than Jeanie. Yep, even at 12, it was a shallow choice.

But you got to see "more" of Jeannie!  TV standards of the time dictated that you could  not see her navel - depending on the genie costume she had on they either had pants with waistbands that covered her navel or they put fabric in her navel that was covered with make up.

Yvette Mimieux showed hers on a 1964 episode of Dr. Kildare that somehow got past the censors.  There were navels seen on two of the original Star Trek episodes in 1964 and 1965.  

Cher showed hers fairly often on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.  

After that it started to become more common and the code that covered (as it were) such things was finally abandoned in 1983.

 

[Hammerfestus | 3,847]

1 hour ago, Tabonga said:

But you got to see "more" of Jeannie!  TV standards of the time dictated that you could  not see her navel - depending on the genie costume she had on they either had pants with waistbands that covered her navel or they put fabric in her navel that was covered with make up.

Yvette Mimieux showed hers on a 1964 episode of Dr. Kildare that somehow got past the censors.  There were navels seen on two of the original Star Trek episodes in 1964 and 1965.  

Cher showed hers fairly often on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.  

After that it started to become more common and the code that covered (as it were) such things was finally abandoned in 1983.

 

You sir should be our official navel historian.  
 

edit: I’m ashamed I missed the pun when I first posted.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Hammerfestus

[Hammerfestus | 3,847]