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 This cover photo from the December 1956, issue of Radio and Television News depicts the 1950s ideal -- a happy family with a color television for Christmas.   Mouseketeer Annette Funicello  I Love Lucy  Charles Van Doren  The Twilight Zone  Lucy and Desi | |||||
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RATINGS: Sites are rated from 1 owl (good) to a high of 5 owls. Read more- The History of Broadcasting, 1920-1960
From the Wireless Act of 1910 to the network television programs of the late 1950s, Dr. Marvin Bensman of the University of Memphis provides an extensive review of the history of broadcasting at his website. Although it's a bit dry in presentation, this site is loaded with information and is a great place to bone up on pre-TV history.
- The 1950s: Social History and TV Drama
Why were there so many cowboys, cops, detectives, dogs, spies, and superheroes on 1950s television? This page by a professor at Dublin City College compares the television of Ireland, Britain, and America in the '50s and what programs revealed about those societies at that time. The similar patterns in theme, character, and plot in all three countries may come as a surprise.
- The Quiz Show Scandal
In the late 1950s, America's most popular quiz show, Twenty-One, was scandalously revealed to be fixed. The producers of the program had been providing the star contestant, Charles Van Doren, with the answers prior to the show. The fix is the subject of an acclaimed 1994 film and this PBS website. Learn about the key players and key events in the scandal, read a contemporary newspaper account about it, or play Twenty-One.
- TV in the '50s
This website from Fifties Web offers information on a comprehensive collection of '50s television shows. Each genre of '50s programming, from Western to variety, is covered with photos and descriptions. This site is a nice place to visit for anyone who wants a look at the type of programming people watched at mid-century.
- The History of Television
Few people know that color television was actually broadcast as early as 1950 when most people had only black-and-white sets. Or that cable TV actually existed as early as 1958. This chronology of television gives a year-by-year highlight of popular programs and special television features, from TV's humble beginnings in the stroboscope to DVD's upstaging of video tapes. Special attention is paid to the 1950s, when television became affordable and programming boomed.
Land of Television
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