Top US Telefantasy Of The ‘70s

The STARBURST Guide to the Top US Telefantasy of the ‘70s

- Jordan Royce

The 1970s brought with it an influx of exciting and groundbreaking new shows from the US that were escapist fare. The cop shows were still being imported, but these new series had sci-fi, horror, and fantasy in their DNA.They were a mix of original fantasy-based shows such as Battlestar Galactica and The Man From Atlantis, some transitions from the cinema to the small screen such as Logan’s Run and Planet of the Apes, coupled with several commendable attempts to bring comic books to the small screen, such as Wonder Woman. Suddenly the UK airwaves were colourful and full of wild concept shows. The yanks had certainly stepped it up a gear, and children in the school playgrounds were playing at being bionic or invisible. This plethora of shows had a massive cultural impact on a new generation of children, and with the availability of boxsets are still being introduced to younger audiences. It is difficult to convey the impact of these ‘70s US fantasy shows. They were brash and bold and would lay down the groundwork for the modern era where ongoing story arcs could be pursued. Back then the producers of these shows had to make them while constrained by the limitations of syndication. They were not allowed to progress or change over time as each episode would be sold and shown out of any particular order. Despite this limitation the producers of shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man would indulge in some mythology building with occasional twopart stories. Modern television owes a lot to these pioneers that were trying to bring concepts to television that had hitherto only been possible on movie budgets. With the return of the classic telefantasy property