Fall of 1966 New TV Shows
During this, our 50th year of producing theatre in Naperville, we’ve been looking at what else was happening in town during the year of 1966. Of course plenty of citizens were watching their television sets!
No doubt you’ve seen media reports about the 50th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series which first aired on September 8, 1966.
But there were plenty of other shows that debuted during that fall TV season — many of which you may remember.
“The Monkees” and “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” were both new. “Girl” only lasted one season while “The Monkees” made it until 1968.
Two other shows that debuted in 1966 were “That Girl” and “Family Affair,” both of which stayed on the air until 1971.
This was the era of goofy comedies. The creators of “Gilligan’s Island” reused props and music for a new show in 1966 called “It’s About Time” that starred Imogene Coca as a cavewoman named Shag. A second time-travel show, “The Time Tunnel,” also started that fall. Neither one made it past the first season.
“Mission: Impossible,” also a new 1966 show, wound up self-destructing messages until 1973. Other TV shows you may remember from that season were:
- The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
- The Rat Patrol
- The Green Hornet
- The Phyllis Diller Show
“Pistols ’n’ Petticoats” is one you probably don’t remember and “Rango” with Tim Conway was once ranked among the 50 Worst Shows of All Time by TV Guide.
1966 was the first season to show nearly all the prime time programs in color. It was also the year that “Dark Shadows” began, but since “Shadows” was a daytime soap opera, it was filmed in black and white for another year.
Since there was no way to record TV shows, folks would have to miss their favorite to go out at night. Fortunately for us, when we produced shows over the summer, it was during rerun season!
The image for this article is Creative Commons Television by dailyinvention is licensed under CC BY 2.0