From the mid-1950s through to the late 1970s Sir Lew Grade’s company ITC (Incorporated Television Company) were quite possibly the most dominant force in British television. The earliest series from this new company were predominantly swashbucklers or, more accurately, historical action adventure shows. The Adventures of Robin Hood was the first of these shows, proving to be extremely successful both in the UK and USA. It was soon followed by other shows of the same ilk. ITV channels in th...

It is now over four decades since the famed archaeologist and explorer Indiana Jones first appeared on our screens in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The creation of George Lucas, it borrowed heavily from the Saturday morning cinema serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Although not quite as prolific as Lucas’s ‘Star Wars’ franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels spawned a whole range of merchandise. This book brings together a large selection of the multitude of products that have been creat...

What is the appeal to Irwin Allen’s shows? Well, to a sixties TV audience used to a diet of westerns and hard-boiled detectives, they were new and exciting compared to what had appeared before. As for the appeal, much of this is down to the groups of diverse characters within each series. The sense of family within Lost in Space was carried through into Land of the Giants, with the passengers of the doomed transatlantic flight. Irwin Allen’s shows soon became a dominant force in TV science...

The Saint is a classic that continues to be reinvented for each generation. Simon Templer is the Saint, a modern-day Robin Hood, or Raffles – a gentleman debonair charmer, not entirely honest but always morally on the side of good. Originally created in the 1920s by Leslie Charteris, for many it is Roger Moore who will always be the Saint, having been perfectly cast in the role in the 1960s ITC series. Moore brought a knowing charm to the role, a likeable rogue, unlike the aloof far more e...

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was American television at its best. In the sixties, spy series just didn’t come any cooler than this. Almost a direct result of the success of Bond in the cinemas, this series spawned a whole wave of copycat TV shows and its influence is still being felt today. The recent Kingsman films and comics owe more than a passing nod to the show for inspiration. A remarkable array of different products was issued in connection with this series - everything from bubblegum to...

Danger Man is possibly the show that started the whole sixties spy craze, first appearing a full two years before the first James Bond movie hit the big screen. The show’s hero was John Drake, an agent for NATO’s secret service played by Patrick McGoohan. While immensely popular around Europe the series may well have ended after its first series, if were not for the success of the Bond movies. The show was resurrected and extended to hour-long episodes, and subtlety altered to reflect a mo...

What can be said about what is probably ‘the’ fantasy adventure series of the sixties? Beginning in 1961, the series ran until 1969. Most items of Avengers merchandise were issued in a two-year period, 1966–67, coinciding with the show’s most popular pairing of John Steed and Emma Peel. This is a series that continues to influence even today. Cathy Gale and Emma Peel were the first in a long line of emancipated heroines with influences being seen in many modern series, including Marvel’s B...

Produced by Dr. Elliott Haimoff, Barbara Sharp, Alina Butina and Randy FriendThis audiobook contains the UNIQUE unfiltered, unedited, and previously unreleased interviews conducted by Dr. Elliott Haimoff of Afterburner Enterprises of the long-time LA Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, and his daughter, Jeanie Buss, who is now the President and controlling owner of the Lakers. These two iconic figures collectively changed the game of pro basketball as we now know it, and altered the enti...

Since they began in 1955, the Duke Longitudinal Studies have aging have been regarded as landmark investigations, amassing invaluable data on the typical physical changes that accompany aging, typical patterns of mental health and mental illness, psychological aging, and the normal social roles, self-concepts, satisfactions, and adjustments to retirement of the aged. Comprising information on more than 750 aged and middle-aged persons, these studies have contributed enormously to our abili...