In Bewitched Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) tries to renounce her witchy ways to become a normal human for husband, Darin (Dick York). Samantha's mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead) disapproves.
The castaways of Gilligan's Island, clockwise from top left: Thurston Howell III / The Millionaire (Jim Backus), Eunice Lovelle Wentworth Howell / His Wife (Natalie Schafer), Ginger / The Movie Star (Tina Louise), Jonas Grumby / The Skipper (Alan Hale, Jr.), Mary Ann / Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), Gilligan / Gilligan (Bob Denver), Professor Roy Hinkley / The Professor (Russell Johnson).
Gomer Pyle USMC, starring Jim Nabors, premiered in 1964 and became one of the top ranked shows of the year.
Combat was a World War II series starring Vic Morrow -- it was in its third season.
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When the Class of ’65 seniors found time to watch television we were often times watching some old favorites.  The most watched show that year was “Bonanza” which had been going strong since 1959.  “The Andy Griffith Show” was in its fifth season and was a top five program while “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was still in the top ten in its fourth seasons.  But we also tuned in to some new shows.   Elizabeth Montgomery twitched her nose for the first time in 1964 and “Bewitched” became the hottest rookie show, finishing second in the yearly viewer rankings.  “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” a spin-off of “The Andy Griffith Show” was the third ranked show. 1964 was also the first time we met the world’s most well known castaways as “The Minnow” went down and left its seven seven stranded passengers on “Gilligan’s Island.”  It was a series that only had 98 episodes in a three year run, but “Gilligan’s Island” and its characters became pop icons mostly due to syndicated reruns over the next forty years.  It became a classic question:  “Ginger” or “Mary Ann?”  As the James Bond movies became popular it was inevitable that television would find a way to tap into the secret agent genre – the result was “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”  Two “Spooky” comedies debuted in 1964 as ABC gave us “The Addams Family” and CBS produced “The Munsters.” Two other new shows were generated by the “British Invasion” in popular music, and probably had the biggest appeal to teen audiences.   ABC debuted “Shindig,” a musical variety series, in September of 1964.  Originally intended as a short-term replacement for the defunct “Hootenanny,” the show caught on as it featured many British bands, including a show taped in England with The Beatles.  In the wake of “Shindig’s” success, NBC debuted “Hullabaloo” in January.  The two shows were similar in that each had a set of “go-go dancers” that would dance as the rock and roll acts performed.  While “Shindig” had a constant host in disk jockey Jimmy O’Neill, “Hullabaloo” was hosted be a different performer each week who would sing original hits and introduce the other performers.  Both shows only lasted two seasons.  The “The Fugitive” which was in its second season had a big year, finishing at #5, after a #28 showing in its debut year.  Two major innovations occurred in the 1964-1965 season, one as a technological advancement and another as a programming strategy.  By the fall of 1964, satellite transmission had advanced far enough that ABC was able to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics live.  Using a “geostationary” satellite, Syncom 3, the network was able to air 5 hours and 41 minutes of coverage directly from Japan.  The new programming strategy was the prime time soap opera, “Peyton Place.”  Based on the 1956 novel by Grace Metallious, the series was aired twice a week in two half hour episodes (as the series became successful, it was later increased to three per week).  Ryan O’Neal’s career got a big boost from his portrayal of Rodney Harrington and Mia Farrow’s career was launched by her role as Allison MacKenzie.  The series would last until 1969 with 519 total episodes.  1964 was also the year we first watched the animated Christmas classic, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (Dec. 6th, 1964).  Eventually, our kids and grandkids would be watching Rudolph and Gilligan.  They’d think Harrison Ford was “The Fugitive.”  They’d take satellite transmission for granted.  We knew it would all be good ... “time, time, time, is on my side, yes it is.”
Top Ranked Shows '64 - '65
1. Bonanza
2. Bewitched
3. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
4. The Andy Griffith Show
5. The Fugitive
6. The Red Skelton Show
7. The Dick Van Dyke Show
8. The Lucy Show
9. Peyton Place II
10. Combat
11. Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
12. The Beverly Hillbillies
13. My Three Sons
14. Branded
15. Petticoat Junction
16. The Ed Sullivan Show
17. Lassie
18. The Munsters
19. Gilligan's Island
20. Peyton Place I
21. The Jackie Gleason Show
22. The Virginian
23. The Addams Family
24. My Favorite Martian
25. Flipper
26. I've Got a Secret
27. Gunsmoke
28. The Patty Duke Show
29. McHale's Navy
30. The Lawrence Welk Show

In Peyton Place: Mia Farrow played Allison MaCKenzie, daughter of single parent Constance MacKenzie (Dorothy Malone). Ryan O'Neal played Rodney Harrington (popular son of town patriarch Leslie Harrington (Paul Langton).
"Shindig" debuted in September of '64 -- it was originally viewed as a short-term replacement for "Hootenanny" which had succombed to the British Invasion. Pictured above: the Shindig dancers
The "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" special was first broadcast in December of '64 -- it would become a Christmas classic.