Watching television is such a big part of most people’s lives. I remember when our family got our first color television. What a big deal it was for the whole family to sit in the living room and watch a wholesome family TV program on television that depicted the values we held in our family at that time. Back in the 60’s, we didn’t have to look far to see tradition & wholesome family values on television because it was the norm. But it doesn’t hold true for today’s generation. Many people have changed with the times but others did not and they continue to search out the stations that show the type of family programming they want to share with their familes. If the major television networks aren’t producing enough wholesome family TV programs today, people will look to cable stations for programs of the past and look to buy videos and DVDs of their old favorites.
An Alternative to seeking out old family favorites of the past on DVDs is watching the HALLMARK Station and also the new LIFE station. Those two stations had many great Christmas specials this past season as well as other specials through-out the year. Hallmark is a great venue for family-friendly programming. Direct TV has a family-friendly package well worth the extra money which gives you over 40 family-friendly channels.
Listed below are 40 great family-friendly programs of the past. Look for them on DVD or on your family-friendly TV stations.
1. Little House on the Prairie – 1974-83
This television show tells the story of the pioneer life of Charles and Caroline Ingalls with their family in the early 1900’s out west.
2. Waltons – 1972-81
This television show tells about John & Olivia Walton with their 7 children and the grandparents living on Walton’s Mountain during the depression.
3. Father Knows Best – 1954-60
This television program features Jim & Margaret Anderson with their 3 children portraying middle class America in the 1950s.
4. My Three Sons – 1960-72
This TV program is about widow, Steve Douglas, and his 3 sons and Uncle Charley. The three sons are the main focus of the show with eventual marriage for the dad and older 2 sons.
5. The Dick VanDyke Show -1961-66
This TV show tells of the life of Rob & Laura Petrie with their son, Richie, living In New York. Rob is a comedy writer for a TV show.
6. Leave It To Beaver – 1957-63
This is a 1950s all-American family featuring Ward & June Cleaver and their 2 sons, Wally & Beaver (Theodore).
7. The Donna Reed Show– 1958-66
This is another typical family sitcom of the 1950’s featuring housewife, Donna Stone and her doctor husband and 2 children.
8. Bonanza – 1959-1973
This western TV show features the Cartwrights, a widowed man, Ben, with his 3 sons, Hoss, Adam and Little Joe.
9. Courtship of Eddie’s Father – 1969-72
Here we have another TV show featuring a widower, Tom, whose son, Eddie, was determined to play match -maker and find his dad a wife,
10. Highway To Heaven – 1984-89
In this TV show, Michael Landon played an angel named Jonathan Smith who traveled all over trying to help people and make their lives better.
11. Apple’s Way – 1974-75
This show was short-lived but I remember it as a family with many children who moved to the country and all pitched in to run a mill on their property.
12. Family Ties – 1982-89
Family Ties features the Keaton family with Elyse and Steven and their children, Alex, Mallory, Jennifer and later Andrew living in suburban Ohio.
13. The Cosby Show – 1984-1992
This show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper-middle class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
14. 7th Heaven – 1996-2007
This is a good television series featuring the Camden family that includes a minister and his stay-at-home wife and their 7 children.
15. Touched by an Angel – 1994-2003
I loved this show depicting angels who appeared just at the right time in the lives of people who were in crisis and needed intervention from God.
16. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet – 1952-66
This TV show featured a real-life family, The Nelsons, who performed musically.
17. Make Room for Daddy – 1957-64
Danny Thomas played Danny Williams, a comedian and nightclub entertainer in this television program.
18. Christy – 1994-1996
This was a Christian-based fiction drama about a young girl who moves to Cutter Gap, Tennessee to teach children.
19. Eight is Enough – 1977-81
This was about a family with eight children, whose mother dies, and the dad, Tom Bradford, eventually falls in love with his children’s teacher who comes to the house to tutor them.
20. Father Murphy – 1981-83
This is another creation of Micheal Landon, that did not run long. Murphy pretends to be a priest to save some orphans.
22. Lassie – 1954-73
Who hasn’t seen Lassie? This show had a long run with many series after that. An all-time favorite of many about a boy, Timmy, and his dog.
23. Julia – 1968-71
This TV show made history featuring an African American woman as the main character. playing a nurse, Actress Diahann Carroll, played a nurse, Julia, who was widowed and had a young son, named Corey.
24. Andy Griffith Show – 1960-68
This was and has been a very popular television series, even today in syndication, featuring Andy Taylor, a widowed father, who is the town sheriff, and his son, Opie, living with their Aunt Bea.
25. Gentle Ben – 1967-69
The story of a boy and his dad, who was the park ranger who rescue an orphaned bear cub and raise it as a pet.
27. Flipper – 1964-67
Flipper was a show about a game ranger named Porter Ricks, and his two sons, Sandy and Bud. The show centers around a pet dolphin, named Flipper, and all their adventures.
28. Gilligan’s Island – 1964-67
This show runs still today and is loved by many. Who doesn’t know the story of the S.S. Minnow that went on a tour only to shipwreck on an island?
29. Happy Days – 1974-84
The Cunningham family live through the 1950’s with help and guidance from the lovable greaser, Fonzie
30. Laverne & Shirley – 1976-83
A spin-off from the show, Happy Days, this comedy featured two gals, Laverne and Shirley, who shared an apartment in Milwaukee next door to Lenny & Squiggy.
31. Hazel – 1961-66
The show Hazel was a bout a live-in maid and her relationship with the family she worked for. The Baxters consisted of George, Dorothy and Harold Baxter. And let’s not forget the dog, Smiley!
32. The Real McCoys – 1957-63
Grandpa Amos was the main character in this show in which his family, The Real McCoys, learned life lessons in every day life.
33. Family Affair – 1966-71
This was a series about an architect, Uncle Bill, a bachelor who was raising his brother’s three orphaned children with the aid of his butler, Mr. French.
34. Here Comes The Brides – 1968-70
This show was about the Bolt brothers who owned a mountain and logging camp in Seattle. The brothers borrowed money to bring back a shipload of ladies to boost morale. But if any of the women left Seattle within a year, the Bolt brothers would lose their mountain to the man that lent them the money.
35. The Flying Nun – 1967-70
Sally Field played the flying nun This fun sitcom was about a nun whose huge habit used to catch e breeze and lift her into the air to fly.
36. The Wonderful World of Disney – 1954-90
This weekly show had a variety of films to captivate every member of the family. This was definitely a family favorite to many!
37. The Littlest Hobo – originally 1963-65 and then revived 1979-85.
Both TV series centered around a stray German Shepherd dog that wandered from town to town helping people in need.
38. Maya – 1967-68
I loved this show which was about an American boy searching for his missing father, a big game hunter in Africa. The American boy was played by Jay North of Dennis the Menace TV show.
39. Dennis the Menace – originally 1959-63
On the sitcom, Dennis was basically a good boy who always was trying to help people but winded up making situations worse.
40. The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin – 1954-59
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin was one of television’s earliest canine heroes who left big paw prints for his descendants to follow.
