Opie Taylor, of the Andy Griffith Show

IN 1965, the top ten rated television shows were:

1. Bonanza
2. The Beverly Hillbillies
3. Gomer Pyle
4. The Lucy Ball Show
5. Red Skelton
6. The Andy Griffith Show
7. Get Smart!
8. Saturday Night At The Movies
9. The Ed Sullivan Show
10. Petticoat Junction

Not much in the way of great drama or comedy, but not much explicit sexual content either.

Introibo Ad Altare Dei reflects on the changes since then.

— Comments —

Sven writes:

Thankfully, in this age of internet and Amazon.com, we can be very selective about what we watch and allow our children to watch. There’s no reason for kids not to enjoy old classics. The Swiss Family Robinson VHS rental copy was worn out because my dad rented it for me so many times when I was a kid in the 90s, and we also had the Beverly Hillbillies on video. One hidden gem I found recently is an animated version of the Prince Valiant comics. This animated series has strong but well presented lessons about honesty, duty, obedience, respect for parents, and many other great themes for kids.

Parental guidance can be a great tool too, since there is hardly a single perfect movie or TV show out there. Use an analysis of characters’ moral actions as teaching moments so that children learn discernment, because they will be exposed to the entertainment industry sooner or later.

Laura writes:

Yes, good points.

Or they could just not watch TV at all. People can survive without it. Usually that works best when one has other families with which to share that TV-free lifestyle. It’s hard to do alone.

Neil writes:

Years ago, there was a “late night soap opera” called Soap (1997-81, or so Wikipedia tells me). It was so risqué (for the time) that ABC aired it at 9:30 PM. When ten or so years later it went into reruns, it was shown during the daytime.

Sven writes:

One other thing. I was reading about Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Ford Show, which aired from 1962 to 1965. The show wasn’t actually named for its lead, but for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company. Ford Motors insisted that one song in the show be religious, but there were vigorous protests by producers that that would be too controversial.

I was surprised that Christianity on TV was  a concern in the early 60s, and it adds further evidence to my theory that the degeneracy in America goes back much farther than the 50s idolizers would like to admit. As it turned out, the religious song became the show’s most popular feature.

Neil writes:

While I think it’s best not to have a TV, one thing is that we all have internet. You can find all sorts of stuff easily on the internet that is far worse than what’s on TV.

If I subscribe to Amazon, Netflix or whatever I could purchase things that are just horrible.

Having regular cable would expose me to lest temptation than what I fight daily on the internet.

I find this something of a paradox, but I’m not sure why.

Laura writes:

It’s like trying to protect yourself from pollution in the water. It shouldn’t be there.

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