1. Naked City
And here, we saw a city come alive, not just as a backdrop, but a character itself. Filmed on location, often in stark black and white, it gave us a raw, almost documentary feel that was quite something for the era. The stories, they weren’t always tied up neatly, reflecting the messy reality of police work. It truly felt like you were walking the streets alongside those detectives, seeing a slice of life, gritty and unvarnished. A genuine early gem.
2. The Prisoner
Now, this one, it confounded you, didn't it? Patrick McGoohan, after Danger Man, drops us into The Village with no explanations, just questions. It was surreal, maddening, and utterly unique, blurring the lines of reality and allegory with every bizarre encounter. And you'd tune in each week, hoping for answers, but mostly getting more puzzles. A true experiment in long-form storytelling that left you talking for days. Be seeing you.
3. UFO
Gerry Anderson, but no puppets this time, not really. This was serious science fiction for the grown-ups, with those sleek, futuristic designs and those distinctive purple wigs. Humanity defending itself against alien invaders, all under the moonbase's watchful eye. It had a stylish, often melancholic feel, and the special effects, for television back then, they were quite a sight. It felt genuinely like a glimpse into a very possible, if grim, future.
4. Soap
Oh, this one stirred the pot, alright. A sitcom, yes, but it dared to be serialized, like a daytime drama, but with jokes. The Tates and the Campbells, a crazy bunch with adultery, murder, kidnapping, and even aliens. It pushed boundaries weekly, getting laughs from situations other shows wouldn't touch. And the cliffhangers! You just had to tune in next week to see what fresh madness they'd concoct. Quite the groundbreaking affair.
5. Sapphire & Steel
And then, something altogether different. This British production, it was quiet, unsettling, and just plain weird. Two enigmatic beings, Sapphire and Steel, dealing with anomalies in time itself. The pace was deliberate, the atmosphere thick with dread, and the dialogue sparse but impactful. It wasn't about big action; it was about creeping existential horror. And Joanna Lumley and David McCallum, they were simply captivating, even when just standing there.
6. Hill Street Blues
This changed everything for police dramas, didn't it? No more neat cases solved in an hour. Instead, you got the messy, overlapping lives of officers and detectives, all starting their day with "Let's be careful out there." The ensemble cast, the serialized plots, the grittiness – it felt real. You saw the bureaucracy, the exhaustion, the small victories and crushing defeats. It was complex, adult storytelling that broke the mold.
7. St. Elsewhere
Just when you thought hospital shows were all white coats and miracles, along came St. Elsewhere. Like Hill Street, it embraced the messiness, the dark humor, and the sheer absurdity of life and death in a big city hospital. An ensemble cast that felt like a family, albeit a very dysfunctional one. And the stories, they weren't afraid to tackle tough subjects or veer into the utterly bizarre. Quality television, through and through.
8. Max Headroom
Now, this was a jolt to the system, a real blast of the future. A dystopian vision of television gone wild, with that stuttering, computer-generated host. It looked like nothing else on the air, all sharp angles and neon. And the ideas? It was talking about media saturation and corporate control long before we truly understood it. A bit too clever for some, perhaps, but undeniably groundbreaking in its aesthetic and its message.
