Television Dramas of the 50's, 60's and 70's

Now that we can rent or buy entire seasons of old television series on DVD, my husband and I have behaved like kids in a candy store. We have consumed numerous television series especially from the decades of the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. Since he and I are both children of the 70's, we get a huge thrill out of watching television shows that were off limits in our childhoods. We have to laugh at ourselves when we realize that we are feeling guilty for watching a show past the opening credits without being sent to bed by our parents! I highly recommend the trip down memory lane through these early shows, not to mention the entertainment that they provide.

One of my all time favorite television actors was Raymond Burr. As each new half season of the original Perry Mason series was released, I immediately snatched them up. The characters of Perry Mason, Della Street and Paul Drake were endlessly entertaining. The actors had a wonderful chemistry with each other. The courtroom scenes were often edge of your seat scenes. Even in black and white (or maybe especially in black and white) the plots unfolded effortlessly and left me ready for the next episode. This is truly a timeless series as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.

As a Raymond Burr fan, I had to watch the entire first season of Ironside when it was released. Even though I had never even seen one episode, I quickly became addicted to a nightly dose of murder and intrigue with Chief Ironside. This series is remarkable in that Burr took up the role of Chief Ironside, a police chief who was confined to a wheelchair due to being shot in the first episode, after being tremendously successful in his role as Perry Mason for years. A lesser actor would have probably stayed typecast in the first role, but Burr was completely convincing as Chief Ironside. Most of the stories are interesting and keep you guessing until the end. An added bonus is that you get to take a trip back in time to the styles of the 1960's.