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Andy Griffith Dies at 86: What Was the Best TV Show of the 1960s?

SodaHead Slideshows 2012/07/03 19:10:27

SLIDESHOW: What Was the Best TV Show of the 1960s?

“The Andy Griffith Show”
1 of 8

“The Andy Griffith Show”

Andy Griffith stole America’s heart as Andy Taylor the sheriff in small town Mayberry, North Carolina. The widower was raising his son, Opie, played by little Ronny Howard, with the help of Aunt Bee and Barney Fife.
  1. “The Andy Griffith Show”

    “The Andy Griffith Show”

    Andy Griffith stole America’s heart as Andy Taylor the sheriff in small town Mayberry, North Carolina. The widower was raising his son, Opie, played by little Ronny Howard, with the help of Aunt Bee and Barney Fife.

  2. “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

    “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

    Rob and Laura Petrie became the symbol of the young, happily married couple. He was a comedy writer, and she was a stay-at-home mom raising Richie and rocking the pedal-pushers.

  3. “The Beverly Hillbillies”

    “The Beverly Hillbillies”

    Every week “The Beverly Hillbillies” told the story of a man named Jed and his kinfolk who struck oil and moved into a mansion with their cement pond in sunny California.

  4. “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”

    “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”

    Long before there was “Saturday Night Live,” “Laugh-In” was bringing cutting-edge sketch comedy to TV with hip, young talents like Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Artie Johnson, and Ruth Buzzi.

  5. “That Girl”

    “That Girl”

    Marlo Thomas was every young girl’s idol in the late ‘60s. They wanted to dress like her, live in a New York City apartment, and have a boyfriend, who they did not have to marry.

  6. “The Carol Burnett Show”

    “The Carol Burnett Show”

    We’re so glad we had this time together, Carol. The ultimate variety show, it brought the world sketches like “As the Stomach Turns,” “Went with the Wind” and “The Family.”

  7. “I Dream of Jeannie”

    “I Dream of Jeannie”

    Before Larry Hagman got shot on “Dallas,” he played astronaut Major Nelson. The somewhat uptight spaceman happened upon a magic bottle and found himself a genie, played by Barbara Eden.

  8. “Bewitched”

    “Bewitched”

    Who didn’t wish they could wiggle their nose and instantly tidy up the house or change their husband’s ad campaign to woo the client? Samantha Stevens cast a bit of a spell on everyone.

Andy Griffith Dies at 86: What Was the Best TV Show of the 1960s?
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With the passing of the legendary Andy Griffith, people are waxing poetic about the good old days of television. It was a simple time on the small screen, when married couples slept in separate beds and “I Dream if Jeannie's” Barbara Eden couldn't show her belly button. But it was also a time when the medium was breaking ground, setting standards for the shows to come and creating programming that still remains popular today.

Sure, "The Andy Griffith Show" on the surface was a down-home, feel-good family sitcom, but it was also the first series to feature a single dad, who was raising his boy, Opie, with the help of his family and friends.

Meanwhile, Marlo Thomas' "That Girl" showed young women they didn’t have to be married and have a family to define themselves. And "The Carol Burnett Show" took the variety show to new heights, and its comedic genius has never been surpassed by any series in the genre that's followed.

"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" dared to go where no comedy show had gone before. It brought the hippie culture to the mainstream and introduced such catchphrases as “Sock it to me!” and “Here comes the judge.” Click through our slideshow and let us know: What was the best TV show of the 1960s?
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Top Opinion

  • Georgia50 2012/07/04 04:31:14 (edited)
    “The Carol Burnett Show”
    Georgia50
    +11
    I watched them all and liked them all, but there was nothing quite like the cast of the Carol Burnett Show cracking up in the middle of an improv.

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Opinions

  • wcpjams joeman 2012/07/04 10:27:38
    wcpjams
    +3
    Ashamed and FIRED!
  • shywink wcpjams 2012/07/04 12:01:35
    shywink
    +1
    AMEN!!
  • skip.siemon 2012/07/04 01:12:50
    “The Carol Burnett Show”
    skip.siemon
    +5
    My FAVORITE was The Red Skelton Hour. I also liked Andy Griffith / Mayberry RFD, Gunsmoke, Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke along with others. I was BORN in 1964, but find an affinity to shows that were a good, clean time for the whole family. I am contemplating cancelling my cable TV for lack of decent programming.
  • Rob Williams 2012/07/04 00:53:53
    “The Beverly Hillbillies”
    Rob Williams
    +1
    I've never seen The Andy Griffith Show, That Girl, or The Carol Burnett Show; I don't think they made it over here.

    I do remember seeing all of the others and The Beverly Hillbillies was by far my favourite.
  • cebo 2012/07/04 00:42:47
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    cebo
    +2
    There are alot of 60's shows left off here I know it was not out of disrespect it was just too many to add I guess so kudos to all of them because they were wholesome, clean and entertaining not like so many we have today. I am a fan of The Andy Griffith Show because of the southern warmth and his way of raising his son, now I know it was a scripted show but it took a great man... human being to sell it as if it was real and Andy did just that. As a father, although not a single father, I try the calm, easy style of parenting Andy gave Opie (without the same results). RIP Mr.Griffith aka Sheriff Taylor, aka Ben Matlock aka True TV Icon.
  • no no cebo 2012/07/04 13:18:27
  • Pam 2012/07/04 00:37:09
    “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”
    Pam
    +5
    rowan and martins laugh in ITS SOCK IT TO ME TIME!!!!!
  • Mtnsmith Pam 2012/07/04 01:24:29
    Mtnsmith
    +3
    You bet your bippy!
  • Pam Mtnsmith 2012/07/04 07:48:29
    Pam
    +4
    And you win this weeks Flying Fickle Finger of Fate award!
  • wcpjams Pam 2012/07/04 01:51:16
    wcpjams
    +3
    And can somebody explain to me what it is about her. I couldn't have been more then 10 when that show was on, but I was crazy about Judy Carne???? WHY
  • Gwendol... wcpjams 2012/07/04 02:03:18
    Gwendolyn Harper
    +3
    You have to ask why?
  • Pam wcpjams 2012/07/04 07:50:19
    Pam
    +2
    She was adorable, a bit elvin, liked her more than Goldie Hawn, maybe it was the British accent. BTW, look at Goldie then, you see where Kate Hudson gets her looks.
  • wcpjams Pam 2012/07/04 10:57:30
    wcpjams
    BINGO!!! THAT'S IT. Because even today as an adult, I still love women with a British accent , Naomi Harris, Kate Winslet, Mel B, Freeman Agyeman, Emily Blunt just to name a few.

    Wow! after all these years I could never put my finger on why I liked her so much. And I didn't try to hard either. I just figured it was because I was a child and didn't know any better. Because I definitely don't think she's attractive, but I loved her.

    Well thank you for giving me some closure lol. And now I guess I can add her to my record books as the one who began my love of British Women!!!

    And yes, Kate Hudson looks just like her mother.
  • bill.fi... wcpjams 2012/07/06 15:30:14
    bill.fife.3
    And the British Invasion aka Beatlemania was at full tilt in the spring of '68 when the show first aired. It was cool to be British and to Come Together over me. Whatever that meant -
  • thє вluє wαndєrєr 2012/07/04 00:13:18 (edited)
  • rusty lemonade 2012/07/04 00:12:02 (edited)
  • lurx: the soda jerk 2012/07/04 00:08:04
    “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
    lurx: the soda jerk
  • luke 2012/07/04 00:07:36 (edited)
    “Bewitched”
    luke
    +5
    No Gilligan's Island (It premiered/piloted in 1964)?



    That's a far better show than the majority of the shows you've listed here.
  • Gooky 2012/07/04 00:01:20
    “The Carol Burnett Show”
    Gooky
  • Catgirl 2012/07/03 23:51:25
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    Catgirl
    +2
    The Beverly Hillbillies is a close second for me, then Bewitched.
    I remember watching The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock when i was little, with my papa. Those were better times...
  • Greg Mynyk 2012/07/03 23:47:45
    “The Carol Burnett Show”
    Greg Mynyk
    +7
    Out of the listed choices, I took the Carol Burnett show, which was pretty consistently funny as hell. But really, my pick would have been Star Trek. Kinda shocked it wasn't on the list given the cultural impact it had.

    Star Trek
  • wcpjams Greg Mynyk 2012/07/04 01:52:41
    wcpjams
    +1
    You are so right
  • native65 2012/07/03 23:46:47
    “I Dream of Jeannie”
    native65
    +5
    I was born in 1965 so I saw the reruns of these shows... I remember my favorites and it was "I Dream of Jeannie" had the biggest crush on Barbra Eden. I watched "Bewitched", "The Andy Griffith Show", I loved "Lost in Space", "The Munsters", And my favorite cartoon was "The Flintstones" ... carefree times, hope when I die.. In the after life, as a reward heaven would be that I can go back and live in my childhood again... Saturday morning cartoons with a big bowl of cereal... mom & dad young and strong again, & my little sister being that wonderful pain in the ass!! :-)
  • shywink native65 2012/07/04 12:04:52
    shywink
    +1
    Hope your dream comes true, Native65.
  • Dwight-AFCL>dogsbody 2012/07/03 23:34:59
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    Dwight-AFCL>dogsbody
    +2
    I watched all of these and loved them. But Andy had a special humour that just can't be foun any more.
  • native65 Dwight-... 2012/07/03 23:55:33 (edited)
    native65
    +5
    Sergeant... Can't forget F-Troop!! I loved that show as well. CPL. Agarn was funny as hell!! Wrangler Jane was a main reason I watched that show... Those tight pants and the boots! Can't forget how she would grab Ken Barry's character and practically rape him!!
  • Dwight-... native65 2012/07/04 14:08:12
    Dwight-AFCL>dogsbody
    +1
    Ah, the memories!
  • JesusIsMyGod 2012/07/03 23:33:55
    “I Dream of Jeannie”
    JesusIsMyGod
    +1
    May he rest in peace.
  • Bobby 48 2012/07/03 23:17:31
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    Bobby 48
  • no no Bobby 48 2012/07/04 13:19:46
  • sally 2012/07/03 23:14:42
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    sally
    +1
    I remember watching this show when I was little. I loved That Girl but watching The Andy Griffith Show every Sunday for about a year brings back a lot of memories.
  • msteresa87 2012/07/03 23:14:30
    “I Dream of Jeannie”
    msteresa87
    +1
    do I have to choose just one?...RIP Andy Griffith
  • Elementer 2012/07/03 22:53:30
    “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
    Elementer
    +7
    NO TWILIGHT ZONE? ARE YOU SERIOUS SODAHEAD?

    twilight zone sodahead
  • bill.fi... Elementer 2012/07/06 15:32:10 (edited)
    bill.fife.3
    +2
    ...and it's a Real Good Thing that you did that! ...REAL good..!
  • shaboogie 2012/07/03 22:47:21
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    shaboogie
    +1
    I loved Andy Griffith in all the TV shows he did. Didn't see to many of his movies.
  • no no shaboogie 2012/07/04 13:20:09
  • Gwen 2012/07/03 22:46:50
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    Gwen
    +3
    not too many shows make you laugh...or cry...or think about life lessons and relationships.......and 45 years later you own dvd's of the show...because they are just that good...
  • jc 2012/07/03 22:46:33
    “Bewitched”
    jc
    +5
    I loved Elizabeth Montgomery.The way she twitched her nose! elizabeth montgomery twitching her nose
  • Gwendol... jc 2012/07/04 02:04:52
    Gwendolyn Harper
    +2
    Yes, and I don't think she went on to anything else. She was a real down to earth person and she did not like the limelight.
  • no1ymfan 2012/07/03 22:32:04
    “The Andy Griffith Show”
    no1ymfan
    +2
    I thought Leave it Beaver was in the 60's... How come it's not an answer choice?

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