Cult Television

Beginning in 1948 and during the following decades, TV series . . . Good, bad, and indifferent . . . came and went. Some became a part of popular culture, their titles sparking recognition even today: Howdy Doody, I Love Lucy, Dragnet, The Tonight Show, The Lone Ranger, Baywatch. Several still appear today on cable outlets or for purchase on DVD. How fascinating, though, that other series which were all the rage for a period of time have virtually dropped out of our myth pool; forgotten, if not entirely gone, as some are now emerging for a revisit via streaming. Cult fascination with such shows, as has been the case for decades now with movies that the mainstream may be unaware of but devotees recall with a passion, is increasing in leaps and bounds. Several are lost forever, particularly those that were broadcast live; though in some cases kinescopes of such early experiments do exist in museums dedicated to the history and heritage of television. Here, then, are 101 series, the titles of which may ring a bell and stir ancient memories for those who were very young in that long ago era when TV made its initial inroads into our lives.

DOUGLAS BRODE is a novelist, graphic novelist, produced screenwriter and playwright, film historian, TV and radio personality, regional theatre actor, multi-award-winning educator and multi-award-winning journalist.