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...

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...

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...

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...