Television in the 1960's

Despite the popularity of dramas like Gunsmoke and game shows such as Password, comedies were still the most prevalent and popular programs on television. Two such sitcoms in particular -- The Dick Van Dyke Show and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In -- were incredibly popular and very well-received by American TV audiences and critics. Presented in times of strife and struggle, amid tragedies such as the assassination of President Kennedy and the prolonging of the Vietnam War, these shows often appealed to the public desire to escape from trouble by seeking laughter. Indeed, these programs saw particularly stellar ratings during especially trying times for Americans. The Dick Van Dyke Show earned the #3 spot in Nielsen ratings in the 1963-64 season, a time mired by JFK's assassination, while Laugh-In rose quickly to #1 in the ratings in the 1968-69 season, a time marked by the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention. This reality is seemingly part of a broader pattern in American television history. When times become tough, Americans typically turn to laughter as appropriate medicine. In fact, during the Iran Hostage Crisis and stagflation of the Carter era, the sitcom Three's Company was the #2 most popular show on TV (1979-80) while Friends became the most popular program in the 2001-02 season amid the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.

Rising to a high spot in the ratings by the time a similarly terrible tragedy struck, The Dick Van Dyke Show was a critically acclaimed sitcom focusing on a pictureesque suburban American family. A winner of 15 Emmy Awards, the show focused on Rob Petrie -- played by Van Dyke in spite of an original inclination to give the role to Johnny Carson -- who was the chief comedy writer for The Alan Brady Show, a fictional TV variety program. In the sitcom, Rob is married to Laura Petrie, an independence-craving, stay-at-home housewife - played by Mary Tyler Moore - and works alongside the jocular Buddy Sorrell (Morey Anderson) and the sexually frustrated Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) at his office. By the second season of the show (1962-1963), the sitcom jumped to #9 in the ratings, catapuled to #3 by the next season, #7 in the 1963-64 season, and #16 in the 1964-65 season. Although popular throughout its tenure, producer Carl Reiner insisted that the show end after five seasons as his vision of the program consisted of Rob Petrie spending the entire run of the show writing his memoirs for five years and then submitting them to be eventually turned into a variety show at the end of the series. Featuring much physical comedy from Van Dyke and mocking 60's cultural staples like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Beatles in numerous episodes, the sitcom was very popular.

Similarly popular was Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, named for comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the hosts of the popular variety program. Premiering on January 22, 1968, amid the rising unpopularity of the Vietnam War, the show popularized comedy sketches that skewered politicians and included sexual innuendo. The subject matter of these sketches and skits - the main thrust of the program - clearly earned the adoration of viewers and critics alike. From 1968 to 1972, the show never fell out of the coveted echelon of the top 20 highest-rated TV programs, even earning the #1 spot in the Nielsen ratings in both the 1968-69 season and the 1969-70 season. At the height of its popularity, nearly 19 million Americans tuned in to the show. The program also won several Emmy awards, including for Outstanding Musical or Variety Series. Such an 'outstanding' variety series included Rowan and Martin offering an opening monologue where they played in character, a segment mocking the evening news (an early precursor to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), a segment featuring bizarre talents, and an extremely popular segment featuring actress Judy Carne ravished with water after she said, "Sock it to me." In fact, in the course of TV history, the singular phrase that is often associated with and will often define Laugh-In is "Sock it to me." The show even featured President Richard Nixon, then the Republican nominee for the White House, saying the line, "Sock it to me?" - as a question - during the 1968 campaign. Ultimately, the show was both controversial -- a 1971 episode mocking the FBI was thoroughly investigated and reviewed by the bureau -- and groundbreaking, helping lead to the success of Saturday Night Live, The Gong Show, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

PICTURES:

1. http://www.welshgrl2.com/

2. static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laugh-in.jpg