Flashback Fun: 30 Top Shows From The Swinging Sixties

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TV has changed a LOT in the last 50 years.

The programming that aired from 1966-67 barely resembles what we watch today, but at least a couple of the faces are remotely familiar.

Some of the shows even play on classic TV networks. There are a lot of variety shows, no game shows and plenty of movie nights in the top 40.

Very few of the top shows seem relevant to what is now coined the "swinging sixties." Those folks obviously didn't watch TV!!

Each slide below will at least have the show name (duh), the network on which it aired and the estimated audience out of a total number of households with TVs being a whopping: 55,153,000. Imagine.

Check it out and let us know what nights you would have stayed inside!

30. CBS Thursday Movie

CBS Thursday Movie — CBS —11,136,260 Weighing in at #30, it's our first showing of movies!!

29. I Spy

I Spy — NBC — 11,136,260 Yes, Bill Cosby has come a long way from I Spy.

28. ABC Sunday Night Movie

ABC Sunday Night Movie — ABC — 11,246,520 Movie night number 2!!

27. Tarzan

Tarzan — NBC — 11,301,650 So, I hate to admit it, but I remember watching this on reruns at some point but it was only on for three seasons. Dude was kinda hot. Gulp.

26. Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater — NBC — 11,411,910 On the air for four seasons, this won 7 Emmys and was nominated for another 14. Wowza.

25. Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone — NBC — 11,467,040 This was the middle of this show's seven season run.

24. Rat Patrol

Rat Patrol — ABC — 11,522,170 This ran for two seasons and it's risen 271 points in popularity on IMDB recently. Weird.

23. Petticoat Junction

Petticoat Junction — CBS — 11,522,170 Petticoat Junction was about the Shady Rest Hotel in Hooterville where the girls took baths in the water tower. Yep.

22. Get Smart

Get Smart — NBC — 11,577,300 Watching reruns of Get Smart never gets old. Middle of its run here.

21. Dragnet

Dragnet — NBC — 11,687,560 This was Dragnet 1967, which was a reboot of the original series from the 50s, same dudes, now in color.

20. NBC Saturday Night Movie

NBC Saturday Night Movie — NBC — 11,797,820 Movie night!!

19. Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color — NBC — 11,852,950 Made for TV movies, like this...Willie and The Yank.

18. Hogan's Heroes

Hogan's Heroes — CBS — 12,018,340 If you watch a lot of Reelz Channel, you'll see specials on the seedy death of star Bob Crane. Richard Dawson hosted Family Feud forever.

17. Friday Night Movies

Friday Night Movies — CBS — 12,018,340 Movies, movies and more movies!

16. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour — CBS — 12,238,860 Variety shows were super hot in the '60s, too!

15. Family Affair

Family Affair — CBS — 11,459,380 I had a Mrs. Beasley doll. She didn't talk. Mom took her back. So I got the 30th anniversary edition or something. She didn't talk, either. Even more tragic? Look up the history of these actors. One little girl didn't grow up.

14. The Dean Martin Show

The Dean Martin Show — NBC — 12,459,380 Dean Martin dances with Kate Smith. Considering how groovy he was, you'd think there would be other photos from the year. Nope.

13. The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show — CBS — 12,569,640 If you don't recognize the face on that lanky fellow talking to Ed Sullivan, well, I can't help you.

12. The Lawrence Welk Show

The Lawrence Welk Show — ABC — 12,569,640 A variety show for old nerds. They really got into Halloween, as you can tell by this shot of The Lennon Sisters.

11. The Virginian

The Virginian — NBC — 12,569,640 A western! Westerns were big(ish).

10. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. — CBS — 12,569,640 Gomer Pyle was introduced in the town where Andy Griffith lived, Mayberry. He joined the Marines and got his own spinoff.

9. The Beverly Hillbillies

The Beverly Hillbillies — CBS — 12,900,420 Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed, A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed, And then one day he was shootin' at some food, And up through the ground come a bubblin' crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

8. Bewitched

Bewitched — ABC — 12,900,420 Samantha and Endora, daughter and mother. Witches never get old, nor does the way Sam says, "Well" with a lilt in her voice. Such a sweety.

7. Daktari

Daktari — CBS — 12,900,420 That lion probably couldn't have survived in the wild. His name was Clarence and he's cross-eyed! Adorable.

6. Green Acres

Green Acres — CBS — 13,561,980 It's worth looking this one up just to see how terrible the set was. If they thought the house they moved into was awful, the set was even worse. But the acting was great and the laughs plenty. Simpler times.

5. The Jackie Gleason Show

The Jackie Gleason Show — CBS — 13,947,890 Who knew The Honeymooners had a second run when Jackie Gleason had a variety show? Well, some people. Not me. The women who played the guys wives didn't tag along for the ride.

4. The Lucy Show

The Lucy Show — CBS — 14,444,060 The '60s were big not only for Lucy, but John Wayne was making the rounds, too. I caught a marathon of The Lucy Show on MeTV not too long ago, and it's worthy of the Top 5 spot here as well as standing the test of time!

3. The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show — CBS — 15,105,620 The Andy Griffith show has one of the best theme songs to whistle to EVER. And it stars Ron Howard. Without Ron Howard, we wouldn't have a lot of beauty in the entertainment world and maybe Kevin would have made a better decision on the finale of This Is Us.

2. The Red Skelton Show

The Red Skelton Show — CBS — 15,546,660 During this TV season, The Red Skelton was in its (wait for it) 16th season out of 20 and STILL number 2 in the ratings. Talk about staying power.

1. Bonanza

Bonanza — NBC — 16,042,830 Airing its eighth season out of 14, Bonanza was certainly no slouch. Is there a show in recent memory you can think of that would have that kind of draw? The kind that pulled in 30% of all households with televisions for the entirety of the season? It's like magic.

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