On this day in 1961

[Jacson6]

In a speech to U.S. broadcasters, Newton Minow, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, described commercial television programming as "a vast wasteland".

wikipedia.org

[House of Roberts]

1. I was only 5 in 1961.

Top-rated United States television programs of 1961–62

[Jacson6]

2. Hmm. The Lassie Show!

The Lead actor Mutt! Don't hit me.

[House of Roberts]

3. Timmy fell into a well?

Never happened on the show but it's been a staple of comedians for decades!

[wnylib]

4. I was 11 years old. I remember every program on that list.

[House of Roberts]

6. I least remember Dr. Kildare and The Defenders.

We pretty much watched all the rest, but some might have been on at the same time and we saw them in other seasons.

I distinctly remember the intro of the Garry Moore show, with a caricature of Moore's head receiving his trademark flattop haircut via a tiny man with a tiny lawnmower. I've never forgotten seeing that.

[wnylib]

7. Most of those programs were on for several seasons.

The order of ratings changed with time. I was surprised to see Wagon Train at the top. I'd have guessed that Ed Sullivan was higher in the ratings than the list showed. Maybe it was in different years.

I wstched the Rifleman because I had a crush on Johnny Crawford, who played the son of Chuck Connors.

[Wolf Frankula]

5. A lot of those shows are now considered classic.

Accept the hostile criticisms of the plays of William Shakespeare.