In a remarkable act of creation spurred on by the space race between America and the Soviet Union, science fiction television shows in the 1960s confidently came of age, emerging from campy low-budget offerings of space commandos amid cardboard sets and sparking rockets to more sophisticated fare.
The turbulent decade that saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King’s assassination, and the Vietnam War meant that home viewers were more open to escapism and entertainment that would whisk them away from the world’s horrors.
In the second of our series spanning classic sci-fi TV series through the decades that began with the best TV shows of the 1950s, here’s a nostalgic compendium of 10 stellar shows from the ‘60s — a period dominated by two immortal anthologies and Gene Roddenberry’s seminal space show that defined a generation.
Mix up a big glass of orange Tang, break out the Ritz crackers and spray can of Cheez Whiz, and find your spot on the couch as we run down the best sci-fi TV shows of the 1960s.
10. Land of the Giants
Big things have small beginnings, and this excellent but oft-forgotten series springing from the fertile mind of Irwin Allen — later nicknamed the Master of Disaster — first aired on the ABC Network on September 22, 1968.
It centered around a group of passengers aboard a suborbital aircraft that gets sucked into a portal and crash lands on a planet similar to Earth except for the fact that everything on this world is twelve times larger!
With theme music by the legendary John Williams and only lasting two seasons, “Land of the Giants” made its mark on the ‘60s TV scene with imaginative, big-budget special effects ($250K per episode) and a fully committed cast to back it up.
9. The Twilight Zone
Though technically premiering in 1959, creator Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” hit its full stride in the 1960s as the sci-fi genre was maturing and explorations of the human mind and spirit were being dissected across all mediums. Serling wrote 92 of the 156 black-and-white sci-fi fantasy episodes throughout the five-year run, with distinguished writers Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson contributing 36 more top chapters.
Similar in format to “The Outer Limits,” this acclaimed anthology was a provocative examination of key concepts like space travel, futurism, the afterlife, dreams, nightmares, psychology, religion, magic, and mental telepathy.
William Shatner starred in the famous episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” as did many other young actors breaking into careers like Robert Redford and Robert Duvall. Star Trek’s carefully crafted stories still resonate with modern audiences due to Serling’s fine command and exceptional writing skills.
8. The Invaders
Cold War paranoia and hysteria reigned in this intense alien invasion drama that aired on the ABC Network from 1967-1968 for a total of 43 episodes. Actor Roy Thinnes portrayed architect David Vincent, who stumbles across an extra-terrestrial assault on planet Earth after witnessing a flying saucer.
Vincent attempts through various means to convince people of this infiltration of aliens who appear as normal humans except for their emotionless personalities and deformed little fingers on their hands. With its serious conspiratorial tone and UFO invasion themes, it was a major influence on later sci-fi series like “The X-Files,” and John Carpenter’s 1988 feature, “They Live.”
7. The Outer Limits
If “The Twilight Zone” is the Granddaddy of all ‘60s anthology TV shows, then “The Outer Limits” is the Queen Mother, with episodes centered more around melodramatic hard sci-fi, time travel, aliens, multiple dimensions, cosmic horror, and the perils of technology. Debuting in 1963, with the ominous “control voice” telling viewers that “There is nothing wrong with your television set,” this cerebral anthology series lasted a total of two seasons.
Far more serious than its “Twilight Zone” counterpart, it featured unforgettable episodes like “Demon With A Glass Hand,” “The Zanti Misfits,” “The Architects of Fear,” and “Soldier” written by acclaimed sci-fi masters that delivered startling original material.
6. My Favorite Martian
This good-natured sci-fi fantasy sitcom aired on CBS from 1963-1966 and starred Ray Walston as a Martian xenoanthropologist who crash lands on Earth and is assisted by newspaper reporter Tim O’Hara (played by Bill Bixby) all while trying to repair his damaged spaceship. The benevolent extra-terrestrial assumes the identity of O’Hara’s “Uncle Martin.”
The primetime series offered a number of sticky situations with friends and neighbors involving our stranded alien’s invisibility powers anytime his antennae were extended, abilities of levitation using his finger, and uncanny skill at talking to animals.
“My Favorite Martian” was 107 episodes of good clean fun and old-fashioned hijinks and if you don’t look too closely you might not see the strings and wires used for the show’s visual effects!
5. The Time Tunnel
In yet another stone-cold classic created and produced by Irwin Allen, “The Time Tunnel” was a precursor to later network sci-fi TV shows such as “Quantum Leap.”
Starring James Darren and Robert Colbert as scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, The Time Tunnel aired from 1966-1967 on NBC and depicted the time-jumping adventures of this daring duo as they tinkered with a government-led time travel tube called Project Tic-Toc.
While experimenting with the portal, the brilliant scientists become lost in time, hopping back and forth from past to future events to witness pivotal moments in human history. Sadly, the series was prematurely canceled before a proper finale could occur, stranding our fictional time travelers forever.
4. Lost in Space
Danger, Will Robinson! Created by sci-fi mastermind Irwin Allen as a takeoff on the Swiss Family Robinson, “Lost in Space” followed the exploits of the Robinsons, a pioneering family whose Jupiter 2 spacecraft becomes, well… lost in space after a sabotage incident causes a little detour on their trip to a habitable planet in Alpha Centauri.
Joining them on their wayward voyage were their pilot Major Don West and the sneaky Dr. Zachary Smith as they met up with cheesy aliens (Tybo the Carrot Man?) on strange new worlds. Its special effects budget might have been little more than peanuts and later episodes veered into campy silliness but nevertheless, the series had a devoted family following in its three-season, 83-episode existence from 1965-1968 and a healthy revival in syndication.
3. The Jetsons
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include Hanna-Barbera’s animated classic, “The Jetsons,” in this collection. Its brightly-colored optimistic vision of the 21st century with its jet packs, flying cars, robotic maids, aerial cities, and fantastic gadgets has still not made its presence known but we’re still waiting.
Essentially a futuristic iteration of “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons” was conceived as a sitcom based on the daily life of George Jetson and his nuclear family living in Orbit City that consisted of his wife Jane, daughter Judy, son Elroy, canine pet Astro, and their android housekeeper Rosie. Millions of kids grew up with this imaginative cartoon during its prime-time slot from 1962-1963 before landing on the Saturday morning circuit and reruns.
2. Doctor Who
It’s bigger on the inside! “Doctor Who” is one of the longest-running science fiction TV shows of all time and practically a UK institution that first aired on BBC TV on November 23, 1963. During its initial 26-season run, episodes centered around the adventures of our favorite regenerating Time Lord scientist from the planet Gallifrey and his occasional companions aboard the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions In Space) time machine designed like an innocent British police box.
Its ability to present different incarnations of the Time Lord that retained memories but exhibited different appearances and personalities helped keep the series fresh as The Doctor battled monsters, aliens, robots, zombies, weird creatures, and those pesky extermination-crazed foes, The Daleks.
The show’s First Doctor was played by actor William Hartnell who galavanted around the universe on “Doctor Who” until 1966, when Patrick Troughton inherited the TARDIS keys for the rest of the decade. After 62 years, “Doctor Who” remains an indelible part of sci-fi’s creative evolution and TV history still entertaining audiences.
1. Star Trek
With its current grip on pop culture, it’s hard to image anything of the decade eclipsing creator Gene Roddenberry’s “Wagon Train To The Stars,” which was rescued from potential oblivion by Lucille Ball’s Desilu production company.
Originally airing on NBC for three seasons starting in 1966, “Star Trek” followed William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy’s First Officer Spock, DeForest Kelley’s Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy and the rest of the intrepid crew aboard the USS Enterprise on a five-year mission to explore the galaxy on an ambitious tour showcasing goodwill, scientific research, alien encounters, and humanistic discovery.
With its character-based approach and storylines that often delved into 20th-century politics, race, and religion, “Star Trek” spawned an entire franchise that later included fan conventions, action figures, animated series, games, feature films, and multiple TV series. Often imitated but never duplicated, this show’s universal influence has stood the test of time more than any other title on this list and continues to be reinterpreted and reinvented for both new fans and older acolytes.