1. Naked City
This show, shot in stark black and white, really felt like you were right there on the streets of New York. Each week, a new story, new faces, but always that voice-over reminding you, "There are eight million stories..." It was gritty, you know, not afraid to show the rough edges of life. And the way they filmed it, outside, it gave it an immediacy that was pretty rare for its time. A true procedural before that word was even common.
2. One Step Beyond
Before the *Zone*, there was this. John Newland, always serious, would introduce these tales of the unexplained, often based on "true" accounts. It wasn't about monsters; it was about the strange things people experienced, the psychological scares. The black-and-white photography added to the eerie mood. It left you with a shiver, wondering what really was out there, beyond our understanding. Definitely kept you glued to the screen.
3. Route 66
Two young fellas, Tod and Buz, in a fancy Corvette, just driving across America. Each week, they’d land in a new town, get involved with new people and their problems. It was like a travelogue and an anthology rolled into one. You got a sense of the vastness of the country, and the different lives people led. And gosh, that car! It was quite the adventure for a Monday night.
4. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Now, this was a different kind of sitcom. Dobie, always chasing some girl, but he'd talk right to you, the viewer, about his teenage woes. And Maynard G. Krebs, his beatnik pal, always yelling "Work!" when anyone mentioned it. It captured the awkwardness of growing up, with a smart, witty script. Pretty advanced for its time, breaking that fourth wall like that. A charming piece of Americana.
5. The Prisoner
Golly, this one was a head-scratcher. Patrick McGoohan, after *Danger Man*, just drops into this surreal place called The Village. "I am not a number, I am a free man!" he’d declare. Every episode felt like a puzzle, with layers of meaning and strange symbols. It was British, bold, and utterly unique. You just had to watch to try and figure out what in the blazes was going on.
6. UFO
From the Gerry Anderson folks, but in live-action and full color! Those purple wigs on the Moonbase girls, the sleek interceptors, and Commander Straker's serious demeanor. Earth was constantly under attack from aliens, and SHADO was the only thing standing in their way. It was exciting, visually imaginative for its day, and a bit campy in the best possible way. You felt like the future was happening right now.
7. Rich Man, Poor Man
This was event television, plain and simple. A sweeping saga, adapting a big novel, broadcast over multiple nights. You followed the Jordache brothers through decades of triumphs and tragedies. It proved that television could tell a story just as grand as any movie, and keep an audience captivated for hours. Everyone was talking about it the next day, you know. A real miniseries pioneer.
8. Blake's 7
Well, this was a different flavor of space opera, wasn't it? A gang of criminals and misfits, led by the cynical Blake, fighting a totalitarian Federation. It was gritty, sometimes bleak, and the special effects were, well, *BBC*. But the writing was sharp, the characters complex, and the stakes felt real. A cult classic from across the pond that really stood out.
