Golden Age of Television
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The Golden Age of Television is more of a reference to the period in the United States from approximately 1949 to 1961, when television became a popular mass medium and many of the common programming formats were developed, and not when television was at the peak of its success[1].
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[edit] Why "Golden Age"?
As a new medium, television attracted many innovative and high-quality programming in this era; in the United States, prime time television drama was dominated by original and classic productions from such writers as Paddy Chayefsky, Reginald Rose and Rod Serling.
Most of these programs were produced as installments of live dramatic anthologies such as The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre and Playhouse 90, though in the mid-to-late 1950s the genre spread to include filmed series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone.
[edit] Technological developments
The Golden Age of Television also saw the first telecasts of Walt Disney programs, as well as the first telecasts of Mary Martin starring in Peter Pan, MGM's classic motion picture The Wizard of Oz, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
TV stations did not broadcast 24 hours per day, as has been customary in North America since the 1990s — technical limitations in the design of TV transmitters at the time forced broadcasters to use a 12-hour to 18-hour-per-day broadcast schedule.
Television did not quite play the role in people's lives in the 1950s that it does now. However, by about 1958, it had become the dominant form of home entertainment, depleting audiences in movie theatres. It was the fear of this that drove movie studios to begin using widescreen processes beginning in 1952, in an effort to lure audiences back with something they could not see at home.
[edit] Cultural broadcasting innovations
High culture dominated commercial network television programming in the 1950s and 1960s more than it does now. PBS and educational television stations did not exist during the early days of television.
- The first television appearances of Leonard Bernstein, as well as all of Arturo Toscanini's TV appearances occurred during this era.
- The first opera especially composed for television, Amahl and the Night Visitors, originally aired in the Golden Age of Television.
- The first telecasts of Tchaikovsky's ballets The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker also took place during this era.
- The first live American telecasts of plays by Shakespeare took place during this era.
All of the programs mentioned above were broadcast on NBC, CBS, and ABC, something that would be unheard of today. Commercial networks now concentrate on more popular items and leave the "culture" to PBS and cable.
[edit] Not all content was original
Many of the best early programs of this era were not original programming, but evolved from successful radio shows that with the transition to television brought with them already polished concepts, casts and writing staffs. This is a major reason why quality was so consistently high during this period.
[edit] The role of radio
Even an original show like I Love Lucy drew heavily from radio as many of those scripts were rewrites from Lucille Ball's late-1940s radio show My Favorite Husband.
- Shows like Our Miss Brooks, The Burns and Allen Show and The Jack Benny Show ran concurrently on both radio and TV until television reception reached beyond the major metropolitan areas in the mid fifties.
- By the early-1960s about 90% of American households had a television set. At that point sitcoms and dramas dropped out of radio and became wholly the domain of television. At the same time, shows such as Playhouse 90 ended their run.
[edit] The Golden Age of TV in Canada, Australia and Europe
[edit] Australia
Australia did not start television broadcasting until 1956, unlike 1946 in the USA. It took about five years (until the early-1960s) for TV in Australia to become a mass media phenomenon. Australia's "Golden Era of Television" is said to date roughly from 1960 to 1985.
[edit] United Kingdom
- British television had a head start on American TV, with the BBC Television Service beginning regular broadcasts in 1936, however these ceased in 1939 (as did the production of television receivers) — resuming in 1946 after World War II.
- The golden age of British TV enjoyed its peak around the same time as in the United States, ranging from approximately 1949 to 1955 — although the term has been used to describe the period right through until the 1970s.[2]
- Writers such as Nigel Kneale and producers like Rudolph Cartier produced classic programming such as The Quatermass Experiment and Mystery Story (of which no recording exists).
- Other notable programs include serials by the producer Francis Durbridge and classic children's programs such as Muffin the Mule and Andy Pandy.
[edit] Canada
- Canada was forced to adopt TV broadcasting some 10 years sooner than Australia and NZ because most of its population was in reception distance of US broadcasting stations.
- Canada's Golden Age of Television timeline is very similar to the US's, but there is an overall 5 year delay because of the constraints of economic and physical geography
[edit] South Africa
- South Africa was one of the last nations in the world to have TV; the apartheid government resisted TV broadcasting until the mid-1970s, with experimental broadcasts only beginning in 1975 and nationwide service starting in January 1976.
- The development of TV in South Africa can at least be considered in NZ or Australian context -- although the social and political constraints limit the length of the 'Golden Era' in this nation.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Museum Broadcast Communications article on the Golden Age of Television
- Can iTunes Resurrect Old Time TV? — October 25, 2005 MP3 Newswire article
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