I’ve been trying to remember as many old TV series as I could which started broadcast in black and white then went to color.
Here’s what I have so far:
Gilligan’s Island
The Beverly Hillbillies
Bewitched
I Dream of Jeannie
The Andy Griffith Show
Lost in Space
My Three Sons.
I’m not sure about :
Gunsmoke
The Wild Wild West
Help?
Coronation Street
Hockey Night in Canada
The Friendly Giant
Wagon Train
The Man From U.N.C.L.E
Definitely Gunsmoke. I think the pilot for Wild Wild West was shot in black and white, but all the episodes were in color.
Don’t forget
F Troop
Get Smart IIRC
Believe it or not, the last two production cycles of The Adventures of Superman were shot in color, back in the 50s, while the first two were black and white. The syndicators bet on color someday being the standard, and they were right.
“Dragnet” appeared in b&w, and color. I think I remember seeing “Planet of the Giant” episodes in both B&W and color, but can’t be sure.
As a fan of british sci-fi & adventure shows, and I know that both “Dr. Who” and “the Avengers” broadcast black & white and color episodes.
“Dark Shadows”, like most of the daytime soaps, have been on forever and broadcast in black & white, then color.
As a side note, do you remember the little tags that tv shows showed just before their color episodes? I remember reruns of “Bewitched” would start with Elizabeth Montgomery facing the camera and saying “Next is a show about a witch - in FULL COLOR!” The tags were eventually snipped out over time.
Slight correction: it should be “LAND of the GiantS” (plural). :smack:
I can’t believe I forgot F Troop and Doctor Who. (as to many of the others, they weren’t shows I was too familiar with) I don’t remember ever seeing an episode of Get Smart in black and white.
Art, I don’t remember those tags, though I do recall the old NBC peacock and the announcements that the following show was in “living color.”
Here are a few other long-running shows that come to mind:
“The Ed Sullivan Show”
“The Tonight Show”
“Today”
“Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” (I think the first season and maybe the second season were in B&W.)
All the network news and interview shows (e.g., “Face the Nation” and “Meet the Press”)
“Walt Disney” (An early switch over, at one point it was called “Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” before becoming “The Wonderful World of Disney” in the late 60’s once color became the standard.)
“Land of the Giants” was always in color.
Also:
Gomer Pyle, USMC
DOn’t forget Mr. Ed it was color at the end IIRC
In the case of GET SMART and HOGANS HEROES. the pilot episode was black and white. all the rest in Color. VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, first season B&w, 2nd - 4th color.
Correction to above info: The entire first season of “The Wild Wild West” was in black and white.
Practically any show from 64/65 that was renewed for 65/66 went from B/W to color. Exceptions being a few with producer/whatever who bet that color would be the future norm, and shot that way from the get-go. Example being “Bonanza,” which started in 59 in color, as I recall.
Did someone mention “The Fugitive” yet?
Sir Rhosis
Regarding Dr. Who, I think the reason that Jon Pertwee was stranded on Earth was to cut costs as the show moved from b&w to color.
What’s my Line, To Tell the Truth, and Password. I’m sure there are many other game shows that will qualify. Not speaking of revivials, but original shows that moved to color.
Patty Duke commented in her autobiography that the network cancelled her sitcom because they didn’t want to pay the added expense of filming in color.
The Joey Bishop Show is the rare show that went from b&w to color on NBC and then back to b&w when it moved to CBS, according to IMDB anyway. Apparently, CBS didn’t start its color changeover until after the show was cancelled.
Weren’t the early episodes of Are You Being Served? in b&w as well?
I remember that in the 60s the Disney TV show was titled “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” (later changed to “The Wonderful World of Disney”)
My Favorite Martian
The pilot was, probably to cut costs in case it wasn’t approved. AFIK, all the other episodes are in color.
Really? How did they conceal the fact that he was a zebra then?
heh heh heh heh