Swinging TV: 1960s Britain and the action-adventure television series

Swinging TV celebrates the many 1960s British action-adventure TV series produced by Lew Grade's ITC and by ABC. From Danger Man to Strange Report, the writers explores the cultural significance of these shows at a time when British popular culture - fashion, photography, music and TV action heroes - had the world enthralled. The 1960s is the first decade where we can legitimately discuss British television in terms of ‘popular culture’, where the small living room set became a focal point for people’s domestic entertainment. It was a decade synonymous with the semi-fantastic, contemporary action-adventure series which entertained a nation and, increasingly, the world.While the majority of social history books covering the decade either ignore or dismiss the increasing cultural significance of television as a medium, Swinging TV re-examines the action-adventure, exploring how it engaged with the Sixties Zeitgeist, including: people’s changing attitudes towards the ‘Establishment’; transport and travel; design; music; science and technology; gender and fashion; and the Cold War.Did the increasingly ‘out there’ action-adventure simply offer viewers ‘escapist entertainment’ at the end of the working day or week? Or was there more substance to these series which, a generation later, still attract many of us? Read more