Daily Archives: January 20, 2014

Classic TV Shows on Hulu

Posted on by

Although I no longer subscribe to Hulu Plus, the online streaming service has an impressive selection of classic TV series in their library.

There are actually two Hulus, the original Hulu online and Hulu Plus. The latter is a subscription streaming service which costs the same as Netflix, $7.99 a month. The difference is Hulu Plus carries programming with “limited commercial interruptions.”

The commercials are kind of annoying for a pay service, but their classic TV library is pretty vast. Many shows are limited, however, so you may only see a season or two.

I spent a lot of time searching the Hulu site for classic TV shows (1950s-1960s-1970s) and put together the following list organized by category. Please note that not all series may be available on Plus. This list was researched in mid-January 2014 and is subject to change:

Adventure/Crime Drama
Adam-12, The Adventures of Black Beauty, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, The Buccaneers, Dangerous Assignment, Dragnet, Ellery Queen, Flipper, Highway Patrol, I Spy, Ironside, It Takes A Thief, Kojak, Man with a Camera, Movin’ On, Naked City, Peter Gunn, The Rockford Files, Route 66, Sea Hunt

British
I Claudius, UFO, Yes Prime Minister

Cartoons/Kids
The Adventures of Flash Gordon, The Archies, Archie’s Funhouse, Dick Tracy, Dudley Do-Right, The Electric Company, Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids, Felix The Cat, Fireball XL-5, Fractured Fairy Tales, Godzilla, Gumby, The Jackson 5ive, Jason of Star Command, Johnny Soko & His Flying Robot, Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, The Mr. Magoo Show, The New Three Stooges, Popeye the Sailor, Return to the Planet of The Apes, Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends, The Secrets of Isis, The Soupy Sales Show, Speed Racer, Supercar

Comedies
The Abbott & Costello Show, All In The Family, The Andy Griffith Show, Barney Miller, Bewitched, The Bob Newhart Show, Buster Keaton (Short Films), Date With The Angels, Dennis The Menace, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Donna Reed Show, The Doris Day Show, Ernie Kovacs, Father Knows Best, Good Times, Green Acres, Here’s Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, I Love Lucy, Laurel & Hardy (Lost Films), The Lucy Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, McHale’s Navy, Mister Ed, The Mothers-in-Law, My Favorite Martian, My Living Doll, My Mother The Car, Nanny and the Professor, Rhoda, Sanford and Son, The Three Stooges, WKRP in Cincinnati

Dramas
Lassie, Studio One, The White Shadow

Game Shows
You Bet Your Life

Science Fiction/Dramas
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Battlestar Galactica, Dark Shadows, Flash Gordon, The Incredible Hulk, Land of the Giants, Lost In Space, Night Gallery, One Step Beyond, The Outer Limits, Space: 1999, Star Trek, Tales of Tomorrow, The Time Tunnel, The Twilight Zone, Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea

Variety
The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Lawrence Welk Show

Westerns
Alias Smith and Jones, The Big Valley, Bonanza, The Cisco Kid, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, The Roy Rogers Show

If you like classic TV and don’t mind watching on your PC, check out all the free shows on Hulu. If you’d rather watch on your TV, get a Roku or other streaming box and subscribe to Hulu Plus.

Classic TV Birthdays: January 20

Posted on by

A couple classic TV stars are celebrating birthdays today. UK actor Tom Baker, who played Who..Doctor Who that is…from 1974-81, turns 80. Arte Johnson, best known for his verrrry interesting role on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, turns 85.

Several January 20-born stars are no longer with us. Leon Ames starred in a number of early television series (Father of the Bride, Life with Father) but may best be remembered as next-door neighbor “The Colonel” on Mister Ed.

Others include DeForest Kelly (Bones on Star Trek) and Patricia Neal, a stage actress who starred as Olivia Walton in what would be the pilot for The Waltons (1971’s The Homecoming: A Christmas Story).

Dorothy Provine was also born on this day. She starred in some 1950s and 60s era series including The Alaskans and The Roaring 20s. She also had a prominent role in the classic 1965 Disney movie That Darn Cat, playing the sister of Hayley Mills.

A number of classic TV favorites passed away on January 20. Al Hirschfeld was not an actor, but a well-known caricaturist whose work often appeared on the cover of TV Guide magazine. Legendary film star Barbara Stanwyck portrayed family matriarch Victoria Barkley on The Big Valley.

Nedra Volz was not a household name, but many remember the character actress for her roles on such shows as The Dukes of Hazzard, Filthy Rich and Diff’rent Strokes (she played Adelaide, replacing Charlotte Rae’s character who moved on to The Facts of Life).

Also passing on this day: Johnny Weismuller. He’s well known as an Olympic swimming star and for playing Tarzan in the movies, but Weismuller also starred in a short-lived 1950s TV series called Jungle Jim.