USPS photo.by Armand Vaquer
The United States Postal Service blew it in their choices for the new commemorative postal stamp set, Early TV Memories, that were issued yesterday in a ceremony in Los Angeles.
“All of the classic television shows represented on these stamps represents the collective memory of a generation well deserving of entertainment,” said U.S. Postal Service Board of Governor member James C. Miller III in dedicating the stamps. “It was a generation that survived the Great Depression and fought World War II. They were pioneers — creative geniuses — who brought television shows of the 1950’s into our homes, breaking new ground to provide entertainment for everyone.”
The choices include: Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; The Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; The Ed Sullivan Show; The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show; Hopalong Cassidy; The Honeymooners; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; The Phil Silvers Show; The Red Skelton Show; Texaco Star Theater; The Tonight Show; The Twilight Zone; and, You Bet Your Life.
While most of these were good choices, some I have to disagree on. Hopalong Cassidy, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Dragnet and The Dinah Shore Show did not have much of a cultural impact or longevity. They really couldn't be even considered "hits."
There is one show that was a big hit, had the longest longevity (second only to I Love Lucy) and had a cultural impact (at least on the kids). That show was the Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves. If there is any show from the Golden Age of Television that deserves to be included in the stamp set, it is this one.
Above, the one Golden Age of Television show that deserves to be included in a stamp set.Kukla, Fran and Ollie?! Give me a break!
5 comments:
I totally agree that they blew it by not including Superman as it is the one show that I have the fondest memories of.
Burr Tillstrom, puppeteer of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, was working in TV with RCA before TV ever reached the commercial airwaves. Kukla, Fran and Ollie started in 1947, way before any of the others except for Howdy Doody, and has as much right to a stamp as any of the other shows. If you're going to complain, gripe about Lucy, who already got a stamp. Just because your show was not included on the first sheet is no reason to denigrate one of the others.
Sorry Armand, but much as I love TAOS and agree the USPS should've included it, you're 100% wrong about "Dragnet."
"Dragnet" was the #3 show of 1952-53, #2 of 1953-54 and #4 of 1954-55. It continued as a top 12 entry for another two seasons beyond that. By contrast, TAOS was never even a blip on the Nieslen radar.
"Dragnet" was the first TV series to spawn a theatrical feature (which grossed $5M, btw). It was the first show to RETURN after cancellation for another successful run, and no series did better in reruns during the '70's than "Dragnet 1967-70." Most importantly, it still influences today's TV. There's no "Law & Order," "CSI" or any other procedural show without "Dragnet."
TAOS was probably the most successful filmed syndicated children's adventure series (although "Hopalong Cassidy" made the cover of TIME, while TAOS never did)... but even "Lassie" got better ratings, simply because it aired on network prime time.
Had "Wild Bill Hickok" or "Captain Midnight" been chosen for this collection, you'd have something to rant about. Unfortunately, all of the choices were good ones... and you'd be hard pressed to find a crime drama that has had more influence on TV than "Dragnet."
I do have one gripe: calling "The Twilight Zone" one of "the television shows of the 1950's" is unfair, because it only ran for three months during that decade, having debuted in October 1959. I would have saved "Zone" for a sixties collection, and slotted in TAOS instead.
Michael
I didn't "denigrate" your show. You are correct on Lucy. You can say the same on Raymond Burr, he already has a stamp and was a Canadian. If you re-read my reasoning why "Superman" should have been chosen, you may re-think your response.
I read somewhere that "Superman" was number one in most markets in which it aired in the 1950s. That's more than a blip.
Ben Weldon
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