This was the television schedule on all three U.S. TV networks for the fall season beginning in September 1964. This is the first full season in which NBC broadcast more than 50% of its schedule in color, a fact which the network emphasized during its September 19-25 premiere week.[1]
CBS and ABC, still mostly in black and white, continued rolling out rural sitcoms; in fall 1964 the networks added Gomer Pyle, USMC (CBS) and No Time For Sergeants (ABC) to their respective schedules. According to television historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), critics objected to CBS's rural sitcom-heavy schedule, particularly the Gomer Pyle character, but the "high ratings earned by the silly gimmicks and simpleton heroes would assure rural sitcoms spots in the network schedules for years."[1]
Castleman and Podrazik also point out the large number of "escapist" programs which debuted during fall 1964: Gilligan's Island (CBS), Bewitched (ABC), My Living Doll (CBS), The Addams Family (ABC) and Addams clone The Munsters (CBS). Only NBC avoided the escapist trend during the season.[1]
All times are Eastern and Pacific. New fall series are highlighted in bold. The highest-rated show for the year is colored in gold. The second highest-rated show is colored in silver. The third highest-rated show is colored in bronze.[2]
Sunday[]
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Local | Wagon Train | Broadside | The ABC Sunday Night Movie | ||||
| CBS | Lassie | My Favorite Martian | The Ed Sullivan Show | My Living Doll | The Joey Bishop Show | Candid Camera | What's My Line? | |
| NBC | 6:30 Profiles in Courage | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | The Bill Dana Show | Bonanza | The Rogues | |||
Monday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | No Time for Sergeants | Wendy and Me | The Bing Crosby Show | Ben Casey | ||
| CBS | To Tell the Truth | I've Got a Secret | The Andy Griffith Show | The Lucy Show | Many Happy Returns | Slattery's People | |
| NBC | 90 Bristol Court (consisting of 3 half-hour sitcoms): Karen; Harris Against the World; and Tom, Dick, and Mary | The Andy Williams Show | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | ||||
Tuesday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Combat! | McHale's Navy | The Tycoon | Peyton Place | The Fugitive | ||
| CBS | Local | World War One | The Red Skelton Hour | Petticoat Junction | The Doctors and the Nurses | ||
| NBC | Mr. Novak | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | That Was The Week That Was | The Bell Telephone Hour | |||
Wednesday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Patty Duke Show | Shindig! | Mickey | Burke's Law | ABC Scope | |
| CBS | CBS Reports / CBS News Specials | The Beverly Hillbillies | The Dick Van Dyke Show | The Cara Williams Show | The Danny Kaye Show | ||
| NBC | The Virginian | NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies | |||||
Thursday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Flintstones | The Donna Reed Show | My Three Sons | Bewitched | Peyton Place | The Jimmy Dean Show | |
| CBS | The Munsters | Perry Mason | Password | The Baileys of Balboa | The Defenders | ||
| NBC | Daniel Boone | Dr. Kildare | Hazel | Kraft Suspense Theater / Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (once a month) | |||
Friday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Jonny Quest | The Farmer's Daughter | The Addams Family | Valentine's Day | Twelve O'Clock High | Local | |
| CBS | Rawhide | The Entertainers | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | The Reporter /ended December 18 | |||
| NBC | International Showtime | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre / Chrysler Presents a Bob Hope Special | The Jack Benny Program | The Jack Paar Program | |||
Saturday[]
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Outer Limits | The Lawrence Welk Show | The Hollywood Palace | Local | |||
| CBS | Jackie Gleason and his American Scene Magazine | Gilligan's Island | Mr. Broadway | Gunsmoke | |||
| NBC | Flipper | The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo | Kentucky Jones | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | |||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Castleman, Harry; Walter J. Podrazik (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 171–179. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.
- ↑ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
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