Your Pick for the Most Unwatchable 1960's Sitcom

[Dianne3]

The Beverly Hillbillies.
The fact that this show was No. 1 for at least their first 2 seasons, is a sign that there was not much else on TV.
It's also a sign, IMO, that viewers by the time BH came along were probably tired of all the westerns that were still dominating TV in the early 1960's.
I can't stand BH because the characters (minus Jed) are so stupid.
I find it hard to sit through any episode.

As for Hogan's Heroes two of the actors themselves were prisoners of war (don't have details). So it the actors who experienced war had no problem with the show, then neither should viewers.

Generally though, I like 60's TV.

[tlc38tlc38]

"The Beverly Hillbillies" is actually one of my favorite shows from the sixties. In fact, Granny is one of my all-time favorite sitcom characters from any decade.

[Tubehead]

only two I can think of are:
Gilligan's Island
green acres

[Sal]

Originally Posted by Dianne3

The Beverly Hillbillies.
The fact that this show was No. 1 for at least their first 2 seasons, is a sign that there was not much else on TV.
It's also a sign, IMO, that viewers by the time BH came along were probably tired of all the westerns that were still dominating TV in the early 1960's.


Generally though, I like 60's TV.

You're right, there was "not much else on TV" to watch during those two seasons, except maybe for....

"The Andy Griffith Show", "My Three Sons", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Leave It To Beaver", "The Lucy Show", "Ozzie & Harriet", "The Donna Reed Show", "Dennis The Menace", "Dobie Gillis", "Petticoat Junction", "Mister Ed", "McHale's Navy", "The Real McCoys", "My Favorite Martian", "Candid Camera", "The Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", "Ben Casey", "Dr Kildare", "The Rifleman", "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", and about a million other Westerns.

And in those two seasons, "The Beverly Hillbillies", a series that was almost universally destroyed by the critics of that era, (and even a few from this era, including on this very page), absolutely trounced all of the above series and more in the ratings.

Speaking of ratings, the series was #1 in its first two seasons averaging audience shares of 36 and 39, which translates to about 40 million viewers in its 2nd year. No series will ever approach those numbers again in our lifetime. Those numbers include the episode "The Giant Jackrabbit", which still holds an unofficial record for the highest rating ever received for a regular sitcom episode. That's a normal half-hour episode that has no special significance whatsoever like a special guest star or a series finale. There are also at least 8 other episodes from those first two seasons that still rank as being among the top 100 most watched US TV broadcasts of all time. Once you take out all the Super Bowls, Oscars, and Bob Hope specials, the Clampetts dominate the rest of the list.

Top 100 rated TV series of all time

That means despite all the criticisms, all the bad jokes, the nonsensical behaviour of its main characters, all the elements that were already in place to label this series as a big fat disaster, instead it thrived in a big way. The viewers who watched it loved it tremendously and have continued to watch it and love it ever since, including myself.

So there you are. The Hillbillies rule and always will.

Y'all come back now, y'hear!

[tlc38tlc38]

Originally Posted by Sal

"The Beverly Hillbillies", a series that was almost universally destroyed by the critics of that era, (and even a few from this era, including on this very page), absolutely trounced all of the above series and more in the ratings.

So there you are. The Hillbillies rule and always will.

What do critics know anyway?!

Granny for president!

[biffbronson]

"Here's your choice for Possum Queen
Granny... Granny
She don't ride no limousine
Granny all the way!"

[Dianne3]

Sal (sorry, I don't know how to edit)
Some of those shows you mentioned I wouldn't mind seeing because I have never seen them such as Dennis the Menace, Dobie Gillis and the Donna Reed Show.
I would especially love to see the Twilight Zone and the 2 medical dramas, Ben Casey and Dr.Kildare.

What I do know is quite a few of the shows you posted were nearing the end of their run when BH premiered.

I also read somewhere that in 1962 with the Cuban Missle Crisis, BH helped take people's minds of it.

[Frenky]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

You can't really enforce tastes, but the Hillbillies were a ratings power right through the sixties:

1962–63 1 36.0
1963–64 1 39.1
1964–65 12 25.6
1965–66 7 25.9 tied with Bewitched
1966–67 7 23.4 tied with Daktari and Bewitched
1967–68 12 23.3
1968–69 10 23.5
1969–70 18 21.7
1970–71 33

What's with huge drop in S3, it can't be only with show moving to 8:30pm?

[Skywalker]

The Flying Nun

[Sal]

Originally Posted by Dianne3

Sal (sorry, I don't know how to edit)
Some of those shows you mentioned I wouldn't mind seeing because I have never seen them such as Dennis the Menace, Dobie Gillis and the Donna Reed Show.
I would especially love to see the Twilight Zone and the 2 medical dramas, Ben Casey and Dr.Kildare.

What I do know is quite a few of the shows you posted were nearing the end of their run when BH premiered.

I also read somewhere that in 1962 with the Cuban Missle Crisis, BH helped take people's minds of it.

And don't forget that a year later JFK was shot so, more than ever, the series, with its campy light-hearted touch, became even more of an escape for Americans who were in need of a good laugh after the awful grief they had to endure.